Piaggio Typhoon 50

The Typhoon 50 was sold in regular and special ‘Norman Haas’ edition (SE) trims for the first couple years. Both versions got you a great Brembo disc brake up front, sporty styling and a peppy 2-stroke motor. The Typhoon has a fairly nice dash setup with a tasteful palette of gauges including a tachometer. On the downside, there is no glovebox so storage is limited to the reasonably sized underseat area.

One unique aspect of the Typhoon’s design was the inverted front forks. These forks minimize the unsprung wheel weight for better handling over choppy pavement. They also look pretty cool like a high end sport bike.

The original Piaggio Typhoon used an air cooled 2-stroke “Hi-PER2” motor. This engine is the same motor found in other 2-stroke 50cc models from the Piaggio group, including Vespa’s ET2 50 and Piaggio’s 2-stroke Fly 50 scooter. In its stock from, the Typhoon was capable of about 35-40mph, but it can be unrestricted
fairly easily to achieve around 45mph. Being a 2-stroke, acceleration is quite peppy which makes this scooter a good choice for heavier riders. There are also a good selection of aftermarket parts available for this scooter, which is one of the benefits of sharing a motor with other popular scooters.

With it’s sporty looks and fat tires, the Typhoon competed with scooters like Yamaha’s Zuma/BWs 50 and Kymco’s Super 8 & Super 9 models. While not one of the most popular scooters, the Typhoon seems to have sold moderately well. The only real downsides to the Typhoon 50 are the lack of a glovebox and the normal downsides that come with any 2-stroke scooter (gas milage, emissions, shorter engine life). Overall, the Piaggio Typhoon 50 is a great scooter for anyone looking for a peppy 2-stroke sports scooter and doesn’t want a Zuma / BWs 50 like everyone seems to buy.

Owner review:

Milage: 5000 - 10,000 Miles
Likes: Stable, reliable, fast for a 50cc
Dislikes: Original knobby tires, Mickey Mouse turn signals

Review: “I bought my 2005 in a USA model, which has great Halogen Headlights that will blind riders in front of me in low beam. In high beam it lights up the world! A lot better than the Euro model.

I replaced the Mickey Mouse turn signals with the Euro model, and it makes for a nicer looking scoot. I also added a windscreen and it cuts most of the wind. I did change the tires to the Pirelli SL26's, they make a lot nicer ride.

The speed, out of the box, top, was 43mph, with no restrictions of the US market. At 3500 miles, I put in a 70cc Polini Corsa Kit in, derestricted the 17.5 Delorto Carb and changed the jets to size 78, and put on a Laser Pro X exhaust, and top speed is now around 55mph. The varator nut and crank got striped, and I put in another engine, that had a bad top end....and replaced the rings at around 9000 miles. I recently added 4.0 gram Dr. Pulley sliders, and it helped with acceleration.