Modern Vespa

ok, one of the main reasons i was thinking of getting a MP3 is to use it in light snow (2 or 3 inches max)....i ride year round and we get some, but not a lot of snow (well except this winter when we got 20 inches over 2 days on my street...but that a) was a once in a lifetime total and b) it wouldn't matter much if it happened again...2 wheels, 3 wheels, 4 wheels...i ain't making it off my street in 20 inches of snow except by snowshoe.

but i have read that the MP3 is actually worse in snow...and thinking about it it makes sense. one, the tires all have to make their own track in the snow, unlike cars or two wheelers where the front tires make a path for the bzck. and two, the great part of the MP3 is the leaning...but in snow you don't want to lean, especially when the front is sliding, causing lean when you don't want it.

But could Piaggio do this: similar to the brake lock/roll lock. you have a lever, but this one is hiding under a panel so you have to work a bit to access it. but when you engage this lever, instead of locking the brakes, it locks the wheel so there is no leaning. this would only be used for low speed rides when leaning is bad, ie snow and mud. in both situations the leaning of the front end would be a very bad thing...but having a locked front end with two wheels for balance up front would actually make the ride safer than a 2 wheeler....

the other possible improvement would be having a second seat type for taller riders...raise the front to be equal or near equal to the back so tall people can slide back a bit more and also so their knees aren't higher than their waists when their feet are on the floorboards...

at 6 feet my feet are flat on the road at stops...so raising the seat a couple of inches won't make stopping a problem for me...and it would be nice to slide back a bit and to have my knees a bit lower when they are on the floorboard

g

Oh dear - possible improvements ???

Do you realise you are talking about the vehicle applauded by many and referred to by USA Weelend magazine as the "next Big Thing" .....

I read about that attempt to ride a near new MP3 through a blizzard and considered it ill guided.
I don't think Piaggio has for one moment intended the MP3 as a snowmobile. That bike wasn't run with the optional "winter tires" - and even they are only:

"suitable for riding on road surfaces that provide little grip. Recommended for use on slippery, dirty, slick or wet road surfaces and in cold weather temperatures."

No snow mentioned there!

The MP3 is all about road holding, thrilling cornering, decent protection when it's cold; amazing braking !

The MP3 is what it is - an engineering marvel and it suits me perfectly.
I hope you find the ride that suits you



Ms D

mmm, not sure the person was ill guided...

he rode his MP3, then he rode with his other scooter....the other scooter did better in snow...

i think we have all, at least year round riders have, had times when the weather is much different when it is time to leave work. if it starts snowing hard, we leave work early or stay over night. still leaving early means we often ride in an inch or two of snow.

no scooter does well in snow...but on those rare occasion when you are out or need to go out and there are a couple of inches of snow, it would be great to be able to lock the wheels and still move at a slow speed. the two wheels up front would actually make the MP3 not a snowmoble, but it would ride much more like a car...but only if the lean locks (cars don't lean, unless you count the carverone).

currently one can lock the lean at lights and to park, it shouldn't be hard to have the lean also lock and still be able to give it some gas and have it move with the lean "disabled"

just think, it will take the next big thing and make it better

g

I can categorically state that it wouldn't work.

I've spent some time rolling the MP3 around with the engine off and the suspension locked, and it's just not very stable in that mode. There's enough weight up high enough that it can be easily tipped over. A mild push rocks it back and forth, one wheel momentarily leaving the ground and then the other. A decent shove with the suspension locked would knock it on its side. Even a mild turn with the suspension locked and no lean would leave the bike on its side and the rider on their back.

Remember the three wheel ATVs? It's like one of those, but even less stable because the wheels are even closer together.