Scooter Review Gilera Runner VXR180SP The Runner is so sporty, there’s even a national racing class for it in Italy. Traffic light Grand Prix, anyone?
- On first impressions the bike certainly looks sporty. The race-inspired graphics and fairing as well as the dashboard and “upside-down forks” add a race replica feel to the package.
The increased performance of the Runner, over the opposition, comes at a cost at the pump. The fuel economy is worse than you would expect for a scoot, though the large, 12-litre tank makes up for it. On test the bike had an average around 20km/l - about the same as a 650 Burgman - but would improve if you avoid quick starts and loading the bike up full of stuff and go for a more conservative approach. All in all, it adds up to around 240km per tank of juice, though it’s not as impressive as most other scoots.
The brakes on the Runner are excellent, fade free and extremely powerful. The chassis integrity and handling package make the Runner very confidence inspiring particularly under brakes and extremely stable, more so than any other scoot around. You get great feedback and stability in all road conditions and the Runner will track along its line, pretty much unfazed by bumps. Part of this behaviour is due to the location of the fuel tank over the front wheel. The shift of weight forward works to even up the usual rear-end bias of most scooters, which comes from the heavy engine-swingarm layout, and plants weight over what would otherwise be a vague front end.
The engine is a liquid-cooled, two-stroke single with crankcase reed-valve induction. The oil is in a separate 1.8-litre reservoir with an auto mixer that will need filling up once in a blue moon. Performance from the engine is an impressive claimed 15.6kW with a power to weight ratio that puts it at the top of its class.
 I got the opportunity to throw a leg over a slightly modified Runner the other day. Gone were any indications that it was ever a road bike. In place of the normal road gear was a trick-looking racing bodywork set-up. The engine had received a pipe and carburettor and the auto oil injection had been dumped in place of premix fuel.
The bike was so light that it did stoppies and pulled the front wheel up under acceleration. Even with very little suspension and engine fettling, the bike was trick, and it would be nice to see a field of these things getting around a racetrack like they do in Italy.
So, how’s this for an idea? A Runner with Poggiali livery, a race pipe, race bodywork and a diet. Now that would be a real performance scooter. You listening Gilera?
As published in TW SCOOTER MAGAZINE - 27/10/2003
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