Scooter Review

Benelli Pepe 50

Benelli’s peppy Pepe brings style to the streets.

Words by JEREMY BOWDLER, photography courtesy of BENELLI

Pepe. Peppy. Pert, pretty and powerful.

The Pepster. Okay; pert and pretty maybe – that’s in the eye of the beholder. Powerful? Hardly. The specs say the Pepe produces 3.67 French horsepower or 2.7kW in the metric parlance. Now you can imagine riding 3.67 horses down the Champs Elysee, I’m sure. But they’ll be nobbled by the time you ride them down Swanston Street. Thank your local regulatory body.

The Pepe, being of the 50cc persuasion, is LA complied. Merde.

It’s a pity, since the new Pepe has a lot going for it. The basic scooter type harks back to the ground-breaking Aprilia Scarabeo, much beloved by the fashion mavens of Milan. And the lightweight, narrow scooter with narrow, large-diameter wheels is a very good formula for congested cities with cobbled streets. Or Australian cities with their potholes. Which is where the Pepe shines. Although it looks insubstantial, the scooter handled my weight (95kg) and size (195cm) with ease, the suspension soaking up anything my commute could throw up, while the brakes, although limited by the amount of rubber those narrow tyres have in contact with the road, offered good feel and power.

Although I only had the Pepe for a day, I came away fairly impressed; not only with the styling, which is sharp and modern, but also with the spacious flat footwell which would make carrying stuff easier. There is a good luggage hook, though using it to carry bags will get in the way of the lockable glovebox.

There is limited storage under the seat, accessed via a lock on the left-hand rear body panel and unlocking the seat also allows access to the fuel tank and two-stroke oil filler. In addition, there is a small rack behind the pillion seat which will take an accessory topbox.

The instrumentation is basic but clear, though I would like to see a clock fitted and, perhaps, a resettable tripmeter.

Overall, the Pepe, designed in Italy and built in China for Benelli, has what it takes to make a significant impact on commuting. Unfortunately, our restrictive legislation knocks the top off the performance and penalises anyone who wishes to return the scooter to standard. Still, it’s one of the best nifty 50s on the market, and our pick of the big-wheelers in that category.

As published in TW SCOOTER MAGAZINE - 1/02/2009
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