Vespa Ciao

// The story

The Ciao was built by Piaggio, the company behind the Vespa scooter, from 1967 all the way to 2006. That's almost 40 years of the same basic idea. In some markets, including Canada in the 1970s, it was sold under the Vespa name.

It runs a 49cc air-cooled two-stroke and uses a belt instead of a chain, with a leading-link front fork and drum brakes at both ends. Most have no battery at all, just a magneto, and they're famously easy on gas.

Piaggio built a whole family around it: the Ciao itself in several versions, the Si with telescopic forks, the Grillo with 14-inch wheels, and the Bravo with front forks and rear shocks. They're simple, cheap to run, and still around in big numbers.