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[QUOTE=Maria Lucia]Can you legally drive with an adult and two small children in an Ape? I want one.

Maria Lucia

PS what is the plural of Ape? Is it Api?[/QUOTE]

I don't think you can, an APE is not a car.
Ape has not plural, I've usually heard it in singular,
it's like euro, we normally don't say "euri".

You are a woman of great taste, I want, no, NEED one too, how would you fit them all in anyway ??

MMMmm, try [url]http://www.it.vtl.piaggio.com/cross.htm[/url] for inspiration.

Wow, an Ape with a roll bar. How cool!

Ape are cute and they do get a job done. However, they are very very dangerous. Here in my part of Sicily the place is full of them and believe it or not they are the single highest cause of death for elderly people on the road. Almost everyone knows some elderly man who has had an accident with the Ape.

Its not so much that the Ape themselve are to blame. The fault is with the impatience of other drivers who as soon as they come across an Ape want to overtake immediately and if they could simply shove the Ape of the road they would gladly do so. Especially in the backroads where Ape are more often seen (at least in Sicily) they are simply an insignificant obstacle to all the 100km+ aspiring Schumachers around.

Ronald, it is totally different here in Le Marche, the drivers tend to be extremely patient with the Ape, the only problem here seems to be teachng the younger drivers that the vehicle will fall over itself on bends, before they find out about it themselves. We have one accomplished Apista here who "Roars" into the piazza at max. revs, slams on front brake taking the ape to around 45% angle before it slaps down on its rear wheels, he simultaneously kinda vaults out sideways... :cool:

I know it's against the spirit of the thing, but there is also a four wheel Ape. Slightly safer than the three wheeled one.

At the other end of the scale there is the two wheeled tractor which can be used to pull a trailer. You sit on a seat fixed to the trailer and steer the tractor by pointing it where you want to go. I want one of these, Mrs F. wants an Ape.

A four wheel Ape. Is that something like a quad bike?

And an Ape with twin exhausts is a wheelbarrow.

Sorry I did'nt understand your reply. Mine was a genuine query. If you know a website where I can look at a four wheel APE please let me have it. I guess I feel it must be designated as a different vehicle type - having four wheels

regards..........

[QUOTE=Ian and Sandra]Sorry I did'nt understand your reply.[/quote]
Umm it's what we call a joke.
[quote] Mine was a genuine query. If you know a website where I can look at a four wheel APE please let me have it. I guess I feel it must be designated as a different vehicle type - having four wheels.[/QUOTE]
You get them from Piaggio, the maker of the Ape. [url]http://www.piaggiogroup.com/[/url]

A direct route to the entire range of 3 and 4 wheel vehicles is here:
[url]http://www.it.vtl.piaggio.com/[/url]

if you go here you should get details of the lineup. About 4-5000 Euro with three wheels, about 5-7000 euro with four for the Quargo and I think the one in the same spirit as the Ape, the PK500 costs more. The PK500 can also be driven on a motorbike license, it falls into the same category as a voiturette, the tax dodging, license dodging car.

[url]http://www.it.vtl.piaggio.com/pk500.htm[/url]

No doubt I'll fall foul of something or other here, this isn't meant to be aggressive, but didn't it occur to you that all Ape models would be made by the same company? I didn't give a URL earlier because it just seemed as if it would be condescending to do so. If you visit your local Ape (Piaggio) dealer, they'll be happy to show you both versions. The four wheel model can be bought with a diesel engine.

Seeing all the impassioned responses, I have decided to finance my move to Italy with Fibre glass body kits (a la "Max Power" "Pimp my ride" variety)for the ape with built in side impact and roll protection (available in chrome) and carbon fibre dash.

Anyone wanna sign up as my first customer?

Maria Lucia

PS I happened to be reading Winnie the Pooh to my son today in ½ûÂþÌìÌÃ, and noticed that the plural of ape is in fact api!

I think Piaggio may be ahead of you. My mind is still boggled by the Ape "Cross Country" which the advertising says is ideal for transporting your surfboard or snowboard.

An Ape? In winter? On snow going up a mountain :eek:

Steve, you forgot to add "with a young ½ûÂþÌìÌà driving"...It WOULD get up the mountain; then they could surf down perhaps???.
Or, maybe the board would simply be a style statement

The market for goodies is aleady active, however, if they came with English phrases all over them... I think the best seller would be big, chunky stabilisers, chrome and alloy of course. I've been trying to get MTV to Pimp my Ride for nearly a year now :( they aren't interested in panda4x4 obviously, but, would love to see a max power styling makeover on the car of my dreams.

[QUOTE=Maria Lucia]Seeing all the impassioned responses, I have decided to finance my move to Italy with Fibre glass body kits (a la "Max Power" "Pimp my ride" variety)for the ape with built in side impact and roll protection (available in chrome) and carbon fibre dash.

Anyone wanna sign up as my first customer?[/QUOTE]

Sign me up. I've been trying to solve our problem of how to get from the carpark to our house (about a 2 minute walk through an arch up a steepish hill) for ages. The little roadway was built for donkeys I'd guess but an ape can get through the archway - and possibly an old Fiat Topolino might just squeeze through. The walk is not a problem normally but it's a real pain if you're lugging heavy bags or doing any construction. I can't work out how you'd keep the battery from failing though. This can't be a unique problem.

In the UK, it is possible to buy a small solar panel which trickle charges your battery when parked up, perhaps one of these could be incorporated into the interior modifications, in brushed alloy and carbon fibre perhaps...
PS have you seen the adverts at the bottom of the page, all body kits Wowww.

[QUOTE=GeorgeS]In the UK, it is possible to buy a small solar panel which trickle charges your battery when parked up ...[/QUOTE]
Those are practically useless though. The voltage is correct but the current supplied wouldn't charge a standard torch battery. A solar panel that can recharge a typical car battery will cost about £90-150 and will be about 1/2 to 1 metre square depending on which technology it uses.

Ahhhh, I thought I'd be wrong again, although the one I used for three years in Sheffield did keep the Mini's battery topped up........
Maybe the "Correct" one could be incorporated into some kind of wing to increase ground force??? :cool:
Ohh, or have I used the wrong term.....

No ypu can't, the Ape is just for one person.
The plural of ape is always ape, as you are not talking of the bee but of a car called Ape, so that the name stays the same.

You would say:
ho visto un'Ape
ho visto cinque Ape.

does it make sense?

pomodoro- pomidoro

same stuff..

Paola

[QUOTE=GeorgeS]Ahhhh, I thought I'd be wrong again, although the one I used for three years in Sheffield did keep the Mini's battery topped up........
Maybe the "Correct" one could be incorporated into some kind of wing to increase ground force??? :cool:
Ohh, or have I used the wrong term.....[/QUOTE]
Yes, but did you actually run a test with and without the panel? I ask because I don't bother with charger for my 4x4 and often it isn't run for four months or so at a time. Still starts first time every time.

You can get solar panels in all sorts of forms so yes you could have one on a rear wing or even curved to shape to a roof. Flexible solar panels are all the rage a present. If the solar panel is large you also need a regulator to stop it cooking the battery.

Steve, I was offering a solution, which I had used to a request from another forum member, I was not, am not interested in running comparative tests, the enquiry was how to keep an Ape battery topped up, I offered a suggestion, however, I bow deeply to your superior knowledge, and withdraw the suggestion. Wouldn't life be simpler if everyone were more like you...........

Umm why are people so touchy around here? I was only doing what everyone else does - provide an answer to a question.