Modern Vespa

ok, went for a second test ride today...

the first time was a short MP3 only test. it was fun, but a very different ride than i was use to...so i had to rethink abit. it doesn't help that my stella is riding just about perfect and loves this current weather (she loves 40s, 50s and 60....likes 30s and 70...is ok in the 20s and 80s...acts like a whiny bitch below 20 and when it gets in the 90s).

so today i go to the local vespa shop and test ride multiple bikes. i have only ridden my stella before, so i want to see if all more modern bikes have the MP3 feel.

some history and info....my current ride--stella, a geared, 2 stroke, 240 pounds, 10 inch wheels flat seat scooter. i have over 6000 miles in almost 2 years of riding. i love her to death, but she is a bit of a dirty bird and can be finicky at times.

the bike i test rode last week...MP3 (the black one). rode about 5 miles of city riding. it was fun and easy and stable, and she was plenty quick off the line for me...but she was almost too stable and i thought i was missing too much info from the front end. i also felt that i was a bit worried by the size and weight. coming from a geared scooter i was happy that i never once pulled in the left lever thinking it was the clutch. but i did try twice to foot brake with my right foot. doh.

the bikes i test rode this morning...MP3 (the pretty red one), GTS, and a X9 (wanted to ride a BV500, but they didn't have a model in stock).

ok...the disclaimer....i am in many ways a noob....i am not bryce...this is not a review...i have not ridden tons of different scooters. this is just a summary of my thoughts on the day.

started off on the MP3...the red is nicer in my eyes than the black. i actually like the silver more than the black too (which surprised me. the black is just a bit too flat and a bit to...not sure, just not a black that either pops or sings).

i was much more comfortable on my second ride. i also did more high speed riding. went about 7 miles in a mix of outer city and open road.
open road is where this baby shines. the stability is really strong and she rides very stable. i could see this as a very nice touring bike. it wont go over 80, but it is very quick from 20 to 60...cruises easily at 70 once you get her up there. wind protection is very good for the city and outer city riding, but i might get a slightly larger windshield if i was doing lots and lots of highway riding. she turns and corners great, but is still a bit of work at slow speeds. i would get better, but she wont turn as sharp as my stella or a gts at slow speeds. she is still abit heavy, but that feeling goes away as she picks up speed.

the upside....liked the ride a lot more the second time.
the downside...i tried to right foot brake twice again...doh. also, not in love with the turn signal light placement. the dang speedo is Km/H, which will either drive me crazy or lead to thousand of tickets as i never know how fast i'm going (usually too fast as this bike is faster and rides smoother and quieter than i;m use to).

rode her back to the shop and was happy that the ride felt so good. but now it was time to try the GTS.

the GTS is very similar in seating height. but i could slide back just a touch more. also my knees when my feet was on the floorboard were just a bit lower than my hips. on the MP3 my knees are just a bit higher. not a big difference, but i would likely add an inch to the front of my seat and shave off an inch from the back higher part to make it more like the GT seat. i like to slide back. the shop has a person would does that work and said it would be easy and not too much dough. the GTS has a bit more room to move your feet forward. again, not a lot, but some.

i'm 6 foot with a 33 to 34 inseam. easily flat footed on both the GTS and MP3 when at a stop.

the ride. the GTS is more like my Stella. lighter and more feedback from the front end. a bit quicker and a couple of more MPH on the top end. not a huge difference, but you could tell going from one to the other. the 100 pounds make a difference. the GTS didn't have a windshield, so the wind protection was much worse than the MP3. i mini windshield would improve this, but i think the MP3 would always be a bit better here than the GTS. at slow speeds the GTS turns sharper. at speed they both turn and grip well, the MP3 grips better. again, it was easy and fast and a lot of fun. a great ride and a great bike. if we had a vespa shop in town 2 years ago i would have loved this bike (or the GT i guess...i dont know if the GTS was around in aug of 2005). rode her for about 6 miles.

after that i brought her back to the shop and was puzzeled again. the GTS and MP3 in some ways where very similar, yet also very different. both easy to ride. both quick and fun. but i couldn't put my finger on something. So i jumped back on to the MP3 and took her out again for just a short 2 mile loop.

i don't know if it really answered anything except to further cement that the GTS was a faster, smoother, quieter stella. the MP3 was...well rode like a motorcycle.

so i come back to the shop and talk to the sells rep and ask about the seat (easy to fix), the speedo (not much they can do there) and then about the coming 500 (he hasn't heard anything about that...). but he tells me to take out the X9 (i say, no, not to be too hung up on looks, but it's really not my style). he says no, ride it just to see what a 500 cc engine is like. he tells me it is a bit quicker and a bit faster top speed, but that he doesn't think it would be too different than the 250. now i'm more than happy to jump on and give it a test.

the seat is lower and the back rest is much higher. but it is comfortable. and when i take off i finally understand why piaggio is making these split seats. the X9 takes off fast and it pushes you backwards. but the high seat holds you in place. the X9 rides much faster and also rides much nicer than i thought. if i was going cross country i would love to do it on this bike. the ride is stable, fast and effortless. nice balance too. i was very impressed. it is kinda big for city riding (it will do it easily and fine, but i prefer my stella for my short commute), but a damn fine bike. it also rides just like a motorcycle.

so i come back. and i come back thinking, dang they are all nice. but now more than ever i really want to try an MP3 with a 500cc engine. that x9 engine was sweet. and just a bit louder than the MP3...and i like my engine to be heard (quietest to loudest...GTS, MP3, X9, Stella with sito plus.).

the sales rep was in a meeting when i got back. waited around a bit (15 minutes), then took his card and told the other people i would call back. will call tomorrow...but still not sure what i want just yet.

g



end notes. so what do i do. well i love the GTS, but it feels mostly like a faster version of my stella. if i was selling my stella i might very well get a GTS. since i am keeping my blue i think getting a GTS would be a bit redundant.
i still have to ride the BV this weekend. but unless it just blows me away i think i will do this: try and cool my jets and wait for the 500 MP3 or give in to the madness and get the MP3 250. all truth told, i would be very happy with a new GTS or a MP3 250. but since i don't NEED a new scooter i have the luxury of possibly waiting. i would hate for the 500 to come out in 4 or 6 months and be like, dang....(one person in the shop thought they would be in by summers end....i so very much doubt that, but i would love to be wrong...well unless i buy the 250, then i hope the 500 comes out in 2009

of course i could wait and test ride the 500 and think it is too heavy and go back to the 250. but i really think the 500 would be good for the city and just amazing for both touring and twisties.

g

Very interesting takes on all of these. I'll be taking my first MP3 ride Saturday. I'm used to a modern CVT-but not a relatively heavy 250. Should be educational.

Hey Gelding (?)

Just curious,

I would assume you took the MP3 at least once around the 4 Hills loop up by PJ's Vespa - How did it handle the speed bumps? When I test rode the GTS on that loop it seemed to handle the bumps 'smooth as butter'.

I am also excited to hear that someone there can do some seat reshaping as that was going to be my first mod when I get my GTS out of their storage container (still waiting on my insurance settlement). I really didn't want to have to get it done out of state.

I am going to try out the MP3 on Saturday - not really interested in owning one, but am certainly curious about it.

Take care - and good luck with your decision,

Desi B.

yeah, speed bumps were no problem...though i have a tendancy to stand whem i go over speed bumps...just something i picked up riding my stella

and yes i took her up four hills....also up central past town and out the canyon...that is when you see just how stable and effortless she is at speed. will be great for long rides.

one other complaint though. she has lots of storage. and she has that extra area in the back givng her a big ass end. ok, so that is good. but why the heck didn't they make it a couple of cms bigger (maybe just 1/2 an inch) so a full faced helmet can fit? my helmet almost fits. but doesn't. so i will still have to carry my helmet into work each day. not a horrid thing, but it seems they thought of making it a helmet carrier, but just not a full faced helmet carrier


g

pa...have fun on the test ride

last thoughts:

wheel lock plus seat switch is a good thing. i kick start my stella. so when i started the MP3 i was standing beside it. i gave it some gas and it normally would have disengaged the wheel lock. i probably would have dropped the MP3 if that had happened. but, because i wasn't sitting on it, it didn't unlock the wheels. smart move.

rpms seemed to stay around 7 on the mp3, more 6ish on the GTS.

if i was buying today:

if i didn't have a scooter, i probably would get the GTS. i like the looks better and it fits my mostly city riding best. if i was doing lots of long distance touring i would grab the X9 or BV500 in a heartbeat. but since i have what i think is the near perfect city scooter (it is just fun to ride a light, small geared scooter in the city....if nothing else it keeps you awake) i will likely pick up the MP3. smooth at speed and fun in the twisties. the question remains whether i try and wait for the 500 or get the 250....


the third option is getting a car...haven't had one in two years and, with my youngest heading out to college in august, we will become a one car family again. a car probably makes the best sense. but my thinking is i get a scooter this year, pay it off in a year and get a car next year. if i get a car this year i will find it hard to justify a new scooter till i pay that car off...

so carless one more year = 2 scooters now plus car next summer

vs

car this year = no new scooter for 4 years (maybe 3 if i pay it off fast)


so mini vs mp3....mmmm....maybe i should go test ride a mini and that might help me make up my mind

g

I'm curious: Why don't you want to include the BV250 in the mix?
I appreciate your feedback/review as I'm torn with the choices too.
I keep waffling between a GT and a BV. I'll ride the Mp3 and probably add to the state of confusion.

why no BV 250...

simple...it is my least favorite looking of all the vespa/piaggio line...so, if i was going to get a 250 it would either be the GTS or the MP3. the GTS for looks and all around easy of use. the MP3 for state of the art/cutting endness and for the twisties

so why might i get the BV500 if i love it's ride? one, i think the BV500, especially if the BV cruiser comes to the states, looks pretty good. not as nice as the GTS, but good. and with the 500 engine it would rock the highways and should still be ok for city riding, though i would likely use my stella mostly for town commuting.

if i get the GTS or the MP3 i would likely equally share commuting duties with my stella. if i get a BV500 i would likely use it mostly on the weekends and such.

put it this way....16inch wheels are great for highway riding and ok for city riding...but if your going for 16 in wheels you might was well get the 500...

g

They actually did make it big enough to fit even XXL FF helmets. On the Eurospec models, this works fine. On the US models, they stuck an extra lump under a plastic cover in there, which I imagine is probably the evap cannister. So now large FF helmets don't fit. Teh Sux0rs.

I'm going to poke around in there some more soon. If it's the Evap cannister, it's gone.

go for it sherlock solve that mystery

take photos of lump pre and post...is the evap canister needed?

g

It's primarily a California thing.

It is the evaporator canister. It's pictured on page 84 (part #1) of the Parts Manual. Thanks for finding the manual for us!

But what happens if you remove it?

I enjoy reading such comparisons - thanks for that. And I uderstand your conundrum !

Like you, the need for a second scooter is more a "desire" that moves beyond the confines of logic.
Mainly - I wanted an alternative to my "pride and joy" GTS - I just hate riding it through the West Coast water logged winters.

So I contemplated them all - defined my type of riding etc.
Almost settled on a BV 250 at the end of last season - but thought to myself "hang on, just wait and see the MP3".

Glad I did - I fear if I'd just gone to a maxi I'd never be satisfied and always be wanting the latest one. With the MP3 - I have the weight and sure-footedness of a maxi, but with better insurance rates and easier to handle at slow speed ! Also unique and cutting edge !
Marvellous ....

Hmmm - concerning the helmet thing - my Shoei is a larger full face type - and while it doesn't fit in the MP3 rear trunk it certainly fits under the seat when laying on it's side.

Ms D

I called Al Gore; if you remove the evap canister from i mp3-250 which is driven 4500 miles/year, you will be responsible for accelerating the rate of global warming by .000056%