Piaggio Ape 50 with a Honda CBR600 Inline-Four

The Piaggio Ape three-wheeled light commercial vehicle produced since 1948. A popular modification is swapping the weak engines for much larger motorcycle engines. Gianmarco Gentili owned a Piaggio Ape 50 and after seeing videos of these little beasts racing he decided to build his own in seven months.

Gianmarco started by building his own custom chassis. This would allow him to run not only a bigger engine but also stronger supporting components. He also installed a stronger front fork from a Ape TM 603.

The Ape 50 came from the factory with a 49.8 cc two-stroke single-cylinder engine. Gianmarco replaced that with a 600 cc inline-four from a Honda CBR600F3 that produces 90 horsepower and 42 lb-ft of torque. That’s about 12x increase in displacement.

Power goes through the CBR’s six-speed transmission into driveshafts and CV hubs taken from a Alfa Romeo 75. The rear brakes were made from Sumitomo calipers with modified Fiat 500 discs. The front brakes were taken from a Honda Hornet (CB600F). Gianmarco finished the project with a Herbie #53 livery.