GILERA FUOCO 500
LEE EDWARDS OF MIDLAND SCOOTER CENTRE

I was asked by Tom to do an article on various scooters, starting with the venerable Gilera Fuoco. Obviously, this would involve a thorough road testing on Midland Scooter Centre’s demonstrator, which I was more than happy to do!

OK let’s start at the beginning. My first encounter with these three wheeled wonders, was when we received delivery of our 125cc and 250cc Piaggio MP3 demonstrators. We promptly PDI them, then went for a play!. I went out on the 250. WOW! It is only a 250, but what fun! It was the first time in as long as I can remember that I came back with a silly grin, it was so much fun (that is including all the sports bikes I have ridden). The 250cc is reasonably quick, but the speed around corners, and the confidence it inspires is truly hilarious. You have sparks coming off the stand very easily. The control you get from the handling, brakes and engine is awesome. People always give you a double take and point as you ride by, They couldn’t believe their eyes, I used every opportunity I could to get out on the MP3 then we took delivery of the Fuoco.
I worked with Russell Rawlingson at Rev and Go in Leicester a few years ago. Russ very generously gave me the full use of (amongst other scooters) a big yellow X9500 to do the 50 mile round trip each day to work and back to Derby. I did 8000 miles on this in 4-5 months it is by far the best all-round transport I have ever used. It was quick, handled reasonably well, great for passengers, very cheap to run (cheaper than a runner 180!) and very very comfortable with this in mind and after ridding the MP3 I thought I had a good idea of what to expect.
I had ridden the Fuoco a few short times before I went on the test around the Peak District. My impression firstly was that it was quick, but not turn or change direction as quickly as the MP3. The wheelbase is longer on the Fuoco than the MP3. This at first was a disappointment; it needs to be longer than the MP3 because of the extra power, and to make the Fuoco stable at higher speeds. Although the look of the Fuoco is very masculine and mean, which will give you a clue as to what I found.
The weather on the day of my test was warm and sunny. I collected the Fuoco from work. The start of my journey from MSC in Stapleford Nottingham took me through some of my favourite lanes – Cossall .I had a fear, which I had to get my head around, of the scooter under steering i.e. the scooter wanting to push the front wheels away to the outside of the turn. This at first is not helped by the fact that, as you turn and lean you can see the outside wheel coming into your peripheral vision as the fork extends. The quarter of a tonne weight at first made me feel that I should not push the tyres to hard until I was happy with my technique. However my confidence rose very quickly when I realised that no matter how rough and bumpy the road surface is, the front stays where it should be! The rear can chop around but the front always stays firmly planted. There is also more ground clearance on the Fuoco compared to the MP3 and the suspension is stiffer. All this translates to fantastic cornering speed with almost complete confidence. The acceleration and speed are very respectable too. I have had reports of on indicated 110mph.
I thought the lack of a bigger screen may affect the comfort but it does not.
I rolled into Matlock Bath Derbyshire, parked up, and then walked a way to have a brake. As I walked away people began to gather round. There was constantly about 10-20 people looking over it mad max looks, while it was parked. I had a chat with a few until it was time to do my next stint up to Chatsworth House. I rode through and out of Matlock, I could not help but notice the amount of attention the scooter was getting just about everybody was having a good look.
I have had a lot of people asking me about filtering through traffic it is a big scooter, and it looks obviously bigger from the front of course, the widest part is always the handlebars. You can certainly get through traffic easier on the Fuoco than on a bike. The smaller wheels play a big part in this less centrifugal force; meaning less force is required to change direction. The sharp acceleration comes in very useful too, as does the higher speed. There is a massive difference, as you would expect from the 250-500. Within 25 miles I had found my legs and was really starting to enjoy myself, by this time I was begging to what the Fuoco was all about. It has strong, smooth acceleration as you would expect, but what sets it apart of cause is the extra wheel on the front. All of the linkages on the front look very complicated in fact they are not. There are two heavy struts that link up what are essentially, two Vespa sets of forks. As you lean the scooter, the wheel you lean into rises up into the bodywork while the other wheel drops down keeping both wheels in contact with the road. On top of the forks, there is what is basically a third of a brake disc, which is bolted to one of the main struts. The disc has an electrically operated hydraulic calliper. There is a switch on the handle bar, which you can use to lock both forks in position this has several advantages. The obvious one is you can get off the scooter, let go and it will not fall over you can also push the scooter around very easily without fear of the weight overwhelming you (this is ideal if you need to park the scooter in a tight spot). The next point is very important; you can operate the switch while on the move at very low speeds i.e. when you are about to stop. This means you can stop without putting your feet down!. This gives you no particular advantage other than it is fun to watch the looks on people’s faces because they are expecting you to fall over. There is also a novelty value, The brake is designed to release in two ways, if you operate the brake as you are coming to a stop i.e. at the traffic lights as soon as you open the throttle the brake instantly releases and you ride away as normal. The other way of cause is the switch on the handlebars However you do need to be aware of how this works. If you are sitting on the scooter one click of the switch is required, if there is no weight on the scooter then two clicks are needed. There is a pressure switch in the seat, so that it knows when someone is sitting on it. As you get off the scooter, there is a delay in these two modes. So for example you come to a stop, operate the lock, dismount, accidentally knock the switch with your knee/ jacket the lock will release and the scooter will fall over. You do need to check the scooter is secure before walking away. You need to check that and also that the handbrake is on!. The suspension lock is not designed to be constantly on. The constant pressure required to do this will wear parts and eventually damage seals. Always use the main stand if you are walking away from the scooter. There is another reason for this, as I found out to my embarrassment. I came to work one day on my Kawasaki ZXR 750, pulled up next to the Fuoco I didn’t put the stand down properly, lost balance and fell into the Fuoco. Both were about to fall over and as I was sat on the ZXR, I couldn’t save both, The Fuoco toppled onto its side, in slow motion with me saying “Nooooo”! Had the Fuoco been on its main stand, this would not have happened. The force of me knocking it compressed the suspension on the Fuoco and caused it to loose balance. Please also be aware that when the suspension lock is operated while riding/rolling you may come to rest at an angle if the road cambers changes or there is a bump in the road. All this is very soon overcome with a little practice. There is a bleeper and warning light to tell you if the lock is on/off. Another massive advantage of two front wheels is the slopping power. Two discs and two wheels with the extra tyre contact on the road speak for itself.
There is a peculiar handling characteristic worthy of note as you are riding along, if one wheel hits a bump and the other doesn’t you get a strong pull on the bars. As opposite sides of the suspension are loading/unloading at different times to each other. On a conventional scooter, this would translate into a bump, but on the Fuoco, you feel a gentle pull on the handlebars this is by no means worrying just different.
The ridding position is very good you are sat upright so there is no weight on your wrists, The seat is comfortable and you have great visibility as you are not straining your neck to look around and you are sat quite high up. I did miss the amount of legroom you get on the X9, but the handling and moving around you get into turns more than made up for it.
The instruments are very clear at a glance and tell you everything you need to know.
There is luggage space under the seat, which will cope with little more than a full faced helmet, although a 42 litre top box is available.
Right back to the road test around the Peak District, With Each mile I clocked up the more I begin to realise how much you can push this scooter. I was grinning like a Cheshire cat! I rode through Chatsworth, Bakewell, Heathersage then past Ladybower Dam (where 617 Dambuster squadron practiced before their famous mission), where I stopped for a brake. I had to have a word with myself as I was starting to think I was indestructible and I was about to ride up the infamous Snake Pass! The Fuoco copes with this kind of task effortlessly and it is as exhilarating to ride as anything twice the engine size and that is the honest truth. All of this with a scooter that is good mannered around traffic and town then show it an open road…. Prepared to be very impressed.
I know the roads around Derbyshire like the back of my hand, on my way back through Edale and Castleton I began to really get into my stride and really push it with no dramas what so ever. The only thing that came close was a sharpish downhill left hand turn, taken at pretty much full lean, I hit a very bumpy part of the road which didn’t upset the front at all, but the rear wheel bounced around a little with the revs picking up and dropping as it did so. The scooter and I hardly battered an eyelid! I arrived back at midland scooter centre having really enjoyed myself and buzzing with adrenaline, The tyres had gone blue and rubber had rubbed to the edges to make them “snotty” you could smell the heat coming from the scooter and hear the ticking of it cooling down.
A couple of weeks later, I was to take the scooter to Long Eaton Carnival, it was a Saturday and there was very heavy rain, you have to be gentle with the throttle, as the torque of engine spins up the rear wheel other than this, the scooter again behaved impeccably. You don’t push as hard as in the dry of cause but it does cope very well with adverse conditions.
The MP3 and Fuoco are aimed at people that maybe worried about ridding on two wheels, the MP3and Fuoco are very liberating to ride. Completely automatic and fantastic handling with a front end that will not tuck from under you. It is hilarious to ride because you get away with a lot more than you would on two wheels.
Now for what maybe a bombshell. We at Midland Scooter Centre have commissioned an engineering company to make spaces for the wheels at the front, which allows the scooter to be registed as a tricycle. This means the MP3 and Fuoco can be ridden on a car licence with no CBT or Bike Test! We also have the MP3 and Fuoco available along with the Vespa GTS 250 as demonstrators. Please call for details.