Modern Vespa

orders for steering tube plugs still coming in, I made a new batch for all three bikes I.E. MP3 500,400, 250, Thank you guys and girls for all your support.have a great holiday and new year.
Sincerely Mike aka ironmike350
price 25U.S.plus 7 dollars shipping
pay pal info MLafer@sc.rr.com
or send money order to
Michael Lafer 873 E Billy Farrow hwy Darlington S.C 29532

It's a "Must Have" Update !
Could possibly save your life...

Keith,
Marietta, GA

Thanks Keith for getting the message out.your friend Mike

Hey Mike I just sent payment for the plug to you through PayPal.

Thanks so much for making these. My tube is not loose nor crushed,but better to be safe than sure and for $32 bucks...it's a NO BRAINER!

Thanks again,
Steve

[quote="ironmike350"]orders for steering tube plugs still coming in, I made a new batch for all three bikes I.E. MP3 500,400, 250, Thank you guys and girls for all your support.have a great holiday and new year.
Sincerely Mike aka ironmike350
price 25U.S.plus 7 dollars shipping
pay pal info MLafer@sc.rr.com
or send money order to
Michael Lafer 873 E Billy Farrow hwy Darlington S.C 29532[/quote]

plug orders still coming strong still have a bunch left place your order and will ship same day mike

I got mine. Thanks Mike

Is there a thread that explains what these plugs are for?

With a new 500LT (UK), do I need one?

If I do (or might), is shipping to the UK possible?

Thanks

Steve

me too
I'm eager to know too !, am curious to all for the mp3

They are steering tube plugs so the tube doesn't bent when using the handle bars as tie down a point or crushing it by over tightening the steering tube nut.

The MP3 250 has a thinner walled steering tube, however the 400 and 500 are thicker. Cheap insurance for all models. In Ironmike350s case he bought a used 500 where the steering tube was replaced with a 250 tube and later crushed. This is what spurred him to personally manufacture the plug. Ironmike350: correct me if I'm wrong!!

your spot on. I got the first plugs he made to test and thats how we found out his steering tube was not a 400/500 one. the 2 ID's are totally different even how the handle bars are mounted to the tubes. The 250 actually have a slot in the back of the tube the bolt passes by where the 400/500 are solid and the bolt is on the outside of the tube.

hey guys i ship to the U.K. no problem.thanks for you orders.i had no idea the response i have gotten from people all over the world. thanks to doug.aka old as dirt he really helped me out getting the right size.so to answer your question yes i ship to the U.K. thanks again mike aka ironmike 350

Thanks, sent a PM a couple of days ago.

[quote="loulouclub"][quote="Estaban"]Is there a thread that explains what these plugs are for?

With a new 500LT (UK), do I need one?

If I do (or might), is shipping to the UK possible?

Thanks

Steve[/quote]

[b]me too
I'm eager to know too !, am curious to all for the mp3[/b] :popcorn: :D[/quote]

yes there is a thread but i can answer all your questions.

Reviving an older thread just as a cautionary tale to anyone thinking of getting these tube inserts. First off--they are a no-brainer, get one, and you'll never worry about crushing your tube no matter who does the maintenance.

Second, it seems as if Piaggio was less than uniform in their production of the MP3 500s. I have two at home, both bought new in 2009 from a dealer with 0 and 4 miles on the odo respectively. I had purchased two plugs last fall and was getting ready to install them when I got the dreaded "WAIT, don't install those in the 500 because my bike had a different steering tube in it and I didn't realize it" e-mails. So Mike went to the trouble of getting new ones made, and sent me another pair--great guy, and definitely committed to making good on the deal.

Flash-forward to this weekend and I'm finally getting around to installing the inserts while I'm getting the scoots ready for the season. I pull off the tops to both handle-bar sets and...whiskey tango foxtrot...one 500 steering column is thick walled, the other thin, one has the notch mentioned above for the bolt to pass along the outside, the other, nada. The bike with the smaller diameter tube and the notch in the back was manufactured in May of 08, the wider diameter tube appears on the other bike with an Oct 08 mfg date.

Bottom line: before you place an order for one, you should check the diameter of your steering tube to see how wide an insert you need

@ Ironmike: your bike may well not have been repaired with a different steering column, it may have been built that way!

Oh and BTW, I now have one spare of each size if anyone wants one thanks to the sizing snafu.

this is the season to get your bike in top running order,this includes getting your steering tube plug, it works and is a must for piece of mind knowing your steering is not going to come loose,which is a very bad feeling, as it happened to me.quick fix and problem solved. many thanks to doug aka old as dirt and the rest of you guys who helped get the word out.i have plugs for all mp3s i.e.250,400,500,i ship all over the world.thanks again guys and girls for your support,also any machine work you may need i can do.send me your ideas and i can make it your reality a big fan of the mp3s they are great,and i will be getting another the one i bought was a 500 ie but had some problem look at thread for details.old as dirt keep in touch havent heard from you in awhile give me a call, your friend mike thanks again if you lost my number its 843-245-3954 anyone who needs info feel free to call thanks and Doug call me need to ask you a few tech questions also hi pony driver.

Mike I will try and get ahold of you Sunday.

Another informative thread..

Does any have a pic of the plug?

Hello Mike,

It's been a while since I've seen you around. It's good to see you back on the board.

Ralph

The search function turned this up: pictures of the plugs for the steering tube
and this: MP3 250, 400, 500 Steering Plugs/Pictures

You beat me to it!!

MP3 250, 400, 500 Steering Plugs/Pictures

MP3 250, 400, 500 Steering Plugs/Pictures

These really work,, he did goooooood!!

Only because when I saw the thread I just *had* to see what the hell this was about. Now I want one.
Like the Futurama meme says: "Shut up and take my money!". ;)

Sorry for the bandwidth, I've PM'd ironmike350 but haven't received a reply. If theses are still available ('09 MP3 400) I'll send my $$.

Looking for MP3/250 Plug...
Anyone have any?

Keith,
Marietta, GA

I could use one myself. Handlebars keep loosening up. Afraid I will over tighten it and crush the tube.

I just PM to: ironmike350
You may want to do same to see if he has any left.
The MP3/250 is one size, and the MP3/400-500 are a different size, but similar to those bikes.

Keith,
Marietta, GA

Hi. I have a 2008 Gilera Fuoco, and need a steering plug. Let me know if you have them in stock and willing to ship to Sweden, and I'll be happy to buy

I have also pm'ed IronMike to purschase the plug, but the message is still sitting in my outbox.

FWIW I never did get a reply from my email and PM to him back in August. I'd still like those plugs also.......

me too for '09 500

I have given up on IronMike...
PM's, Emails, no response.

I wonder if someone else has the knowledge to make these?
I would be willing to take mine out for someone to clone for the MP3/250.
The ones IronMike made were first class, unfortunately he's no where to be found.

Keith
Marietta, GA

Did OAD get one/ If so, perhaps he can pull his out and get it replicated. He seems to have good contacts with machine shop, witness his UFP and UPPs.

Doug, what about this? I would purschase one for available.

OAD,
I can send you mine for the MP3/250 to clone that one.
I believe the MP3/250 is one size, and the MP3/400-500 or the same size but different from the MP3/250 steering tubes.

I would want +1 for the MP3/250 if he can re-produce.

Keith
Marietta, GA

Lets not make any judgements just yet about Iron Mike, what I am seeing on some searches is not real good at this time.

I bought one and never got around to installing it. I just pulled it out of the drawer and put calipers to it, and made a rough metric dimensional sketch exactly as measured - no tolerances. Pencil in pic for scale. Not much to it, quickly turned on a lathe, no real surface finish, just mild steel. If Iron Mike is not around to make more some industrious person could have several of these turned in a local machine shop rather inexpensively and recoup the costs by selling a few of 'em.



. . . .

searching for Mike has turned up an obituary from last july. I am trying to contact a couple of family members.

Well that is sad news. I knew he had not been around here for awhile; but just thought he had dropped out of the MV world.

Last year my mom realized she hadn't heard from a friend of hers in a long time and no reply to letters. Searching online she discovered her friend of 60+ years had died six months previously.