Modern Vespa

Well, after a few weeks of deliberations about with what to replace my dead Burgman 250, I finally plumped for a BV350 ST (much prefer to call it a BV rather than Beverly!!). I chose this scoot not only in part becuase of some of the glowing reviews on this forum, but actually got a great deal on a brand new BV....right time, right place and got there before someone else did. It's a lovely gloss black. I've been riding mcy's for about 35 years now and took up Scooting as an easier way to learn The Knowledge (black cabs) in London - started it on a ZZR1100, cost a fortune in fuel!!! Back to the BV...After I've run it in, my riding will involve some fast dual carriageways and motorways so looking forward to being able to use it's potential. A couple of questions though... Does anybody else feel like the small backrest/hump in the seat pushes them forward? (I'm 5'10") I found this constantly today and would consider removing the 'rest and taping over the holes to prevent water ingress. Also, I'm considering the Givi 358A windscreen (is there a difference between the 358A and the A358A?) but have read somewhere that it can suffer from reflection from the headlight at night that the 5606A seems not to? Aside from the seat hump issue, and even with hardly any miles on the clock, the take up off the line is astounding and this can only get better as I pile the miles on....and that engine braking, where does THAT come from???

Welcome to Modern Vespa from the American desert, Daveperce. And welcome to Modern BV350 too, I think you will like it.

Many of us find the seat bolster to be in the way, it is easily removed, and there are several threads here about it. You could probably search for "bolster" and find them. Before I had a seat reupholstered I removed my bolster and filled the holes with what we in the US call body panel fasteners. It has a ribbed shaft slightly larger than the holes in the seat, and a wide, quite flat, plastic 'head'. It worked well for me.

Yup take it out and it's so much more comfortable.

Maidstone boy here.

Bill x

Congratulations on the purchase of the BV and welcome to MV. I am also 5'10" and prefer having the bolster .... did try it without but after a few rides went back to stock with the bolster in place. I have 3200 miles on my BV and and no complaints with the seating position. It's a matter of trying it and seeing which works best for you.

If you do decide to pull the bolster, the pictures below show what the removed and plugged seat looks like, the fasteners I used and the location of the nuts that must be removed.

Enjoy your scoot!

Wet clutch.

Welcome to MV and congrats on the BV. My buddy has the 250 version and it is a great scoot. I bet the 350 is a ton of fun!

Have fun and ride safely.

Congrats! Good luck with the new ride!

Welcome. Let us know what you think about the bv after you've had it a while. I'm always looking for opinions from bv owners. I'm considering one for my next scooter purchase. Ride safe.

Welcome, and well done on the Bun-Vac. Its a great bike for sure, and I think very well put together. Very good grunt too, as you noticed.

I have the GIVI screen on mine, but I don't remember which model. It is the 'large' screen. I have not cut mine down as I know some owner have. I don't mind looking through the screen, but mine is not old, yellowed and scratched either. I'm just under 6' and if I sit up straight, I can look over the top of the screen.

There is some glare from the top of the headlight, but I think that can be fixed with some tape over the top part of the headlight lens.

Certainly the stock screen is terrible.

I took the bolster off, and I do like it without the little croissant, but the seat shell/ frame rises fairly sharply there, and there is no padding under the vinyl, so you may find it uncomfortable in a different way.

I am 5'9" and would say much the same. After 8,000 miles, the riding position and orientation of the bolster work fine for me. It is a matter of your height, length of your legs, and the riding position you prefer.

Yes I have taken it off and used expanding plastic plugs through rubber grommets to fill the holes and secure the seat fabric. I prefer being able to move about a bit and on the X10 the rear part of the seat will take large items of luggage when needed. Performance of the X10 is excellent up to 70 mph so I should think the BV will be even better and the engine braking is an good safety feature.

Regards Roadster

Thanks for all your replies..I will definitely try it with the 'Fat Croissant' off and like the look of the fasteners Syd has used so will go down that route. I'll keep you posted on how I get on. The sun's out and the BV is calling for more 'run in' miles.....

Hi Daveperce, Welcome to MV. You'll find a lot of good friendship, help and advice here. Congratulations too on switching from a motorbike to a rather excellent scooter. I've done exactly the same and haven't regretted the change at all.

As far as the Givi windshield is concered I started what turned out to be a rather long and informative thread on this windscreen. It's at Large Givi Windshield for BV350. I find it very satisfactory, particularly after I cut it down so that I could see over rather than look though. Yes, there is dazzle from the headlight (dipped beam mostly) because the screen is mounted a bit further than the OEM screen. I solved this by sticking some silver duct tape over the top part of the headlight lens. That's been on for more than a year now and hasn't pealed off at all.

I like the seat bolster. Yes, its a personal thing. I push my tail into the bolster and find it vaery comfortable. The riding position on the BV is more upright than I was used to on my previous motorbike but as my Mum and teachers used to say (a long time ago!) "sit up straight" it's good for your posture. I'm 6' by the way with rather short legs (31" inside).

We like picture on MV too

Regards, John W

Congrats. This is a very capable machine. Have fun and see the country.

Congratulations on the purchase. I am loving mine, even with the seat bolster in place. Good advice on this forum, I found.

Hi!

A very happy owner of Berverly 350 here too. Now on 8600 km mark. I have also been riding on very cold tempretures, -12 Celsius, and all weather and everything has worked fine. On cold mornings it may need a few attempts before engine starts, but it has never failed.

I have had only one bad experience with the scooter. The coolant hose clip which connects to the top of the engine got loose and sprayed coolant all over the engine. Not any other damage to the bike, but it had to been towed to the service shop.
I know another case with exactly the same happened:
http://www.ashonbikes.com/forum/piaggio-bv350 It's easy to open the service panel on the bottom of the petbox and check the hose clip. Here in the bottom is the photo of the disconnected hose and the clip marked with a red circle.

Now I'm looking for a new windscreen and trying to find a Givi 5606A. Does anyone know an online reseller in Europe which has these?

-MarMV-