The TGB Tapo is one of the scooters with which the Taiwanese manufacturer covers the smaller end of its two-wheel range, listed in RR and RS forms. It shares that pair of designations with the Bullet, and it stands in the model list alongside the Bellavita and the 101, between the 50 cc machines and the larger quads.
TGB Tapo at a glance
| Maker | Taiwan Golden Bee Co., Ltd. (TGB), Taiwan |
|---|---|
| Model | TGB Tapo |
| Listed versions | Tapo RR and Tapo RS |
| Place in the range | scooter, in the two-wheel part of the programme |
| Engines | mainly Morini units, licence-built Moto Franco Morini designs |
| Assembly | Taiwan: Youn-An and Ping-Tung plants |
| Company founded | 1965 as Taiwan Vespa Co. Ltd.; renamed Taiwan Golden Bee in 1978 |
| German distribution | ZEG from 2001; Leeb of Austria from 2008 |
| Technical data in the source | none: the two model names are all the source gives |
No Wikipedia page exists for this model in any language. The page is built from the German, Polish and English articles on the manufacturer, Taiwan Golden Bee; the source gives no technical data for the Tapo and does not explain the difference between RR and RS.
History of the TGB Tapo
Taiwan Golden Bee began as a scooter maker and never stopped being one. Registered in 1965 as Taiwan Vespa Co. Ltd., it produced Piaggio scooters for the Taiwanese market under Italian licence; in 1978 it took its present name and started building vehicles of its own design. The scooters stayed in the programme after quads and all-terrain vehicles were added, and they are still listed in numbers today.
The Tapo is part of that continuing scooter line. The manufacturer gives it in two forms, the Tapo RR and the Tapo RS, and uses the same RR and RS designations for the Bullet, which suggests a common naming scheme rather than a documented hierarchy: the source does not say what separates the two versions, nor does it give engine size, power, weight or production years for either. No article on the Tapo exists in any language of Wikipedia.
Where the sources are fuller is on the company. Most bodywork is made in-house, while cockpits, handlebar switches and engines are bought mainly from Morini, whose engines are licence-built Moto Franco Morini designs and have appeared in scooters of several other, less-known makers as well. TGB also supplies complete continuously variable transmission systems to Piaggio, Rotax/Can-Am, Peugeot, Polaris, Minarelli, Morini and SYM, and its two Taiwanese plants, Youn-An with 270 employees and Ping-Tung with 170, produce the scooters and quads side by side on capital of NT$190 million, about four million euros.
In Germany the scooters of this size came first through the hardware trade: the Ergon 50 and Akros 50 were imported by Auto-Teile-Unger between 1995 and 2001 and sold there until 2003. From 2001 the Cologne cooperative ZEG held the exclusive import, having used the Pegasus name since 1997, and since 2008 scooters and quads have been distributed by the Austrian importer Leeb.
Design and features
- RR and RS versions: the Tapo is listed in the same two forms as the Bullet.
- Small-scooter class: it sits between the 50 cc models and the Bellavita in the range.
- Morini engines: the company fits mainly Morini units, licence-built Moto Franco Morini designs.
- Own bodywork: most panels are made by TGB itself.
TGB Tapo versions
- Tapo RR: the RR version in the manufacturer’s list.
- Tapo RS: the RS version, the one most often modified by owners.
- Bullet RR and RS: the other line that uses the same pair of designations.
The TGB Bullet shares its RR and RS names, and the TGB Bellavita is the larger scooter above it. More machines are in the TGB collection.
Video: Tgb tapo rs tuning
Video by tobi m on YouTube.
Sources
- Taiwan Golden Bee, German Wikipedia: Tapo RR and Tapo RS in the model list, company facts
- Taiwan Golden Bee, Polish Wikipedia: company profile and other model names
- Taiwan Golden Bee, English Wikipedia: origins and transmission supply
