Modern Vespa

Hi all,

Glad to have landed in this forum, having not ridden for over 20-years. Now, I am too young for medical scooters & too old for 2-wheelers hence found 3-wheelers may be the best fit. Budget neither can afford Can-Am or traditional trikes.

I have been checking out pre-owned Piaggio mp3 (250-500) locally and found many good deals but wanted to know more on owner's maintenance cost, consider performing some simple tasks myself.

After reading some posts here, lead me to believe MP3 would be a good choice aside many design oversight might result in high cost on parts and maintenance.

The questions I have are... older models & smaller engine sizes are less prone to have maintenance problems and easier to work on.

Btw, I am not being lazy for not reading many good & informative previous posts here. Just want to start with the right foot forward. Thanks in advance for all inputs, welcome & appreciated. Best.

The front end parts are pretty much the same throughout so maintenance is the same. Only the powerplant and some cosmetic features are different. Regular maintenance performed on schedule is the key to avoiding extra expense.

Do be aware as you are researching the MP3's that they are not self balancing. The tilt lock is only for parking and gently rolling it around on a smooth level surface (for example in the garage). No reverse except for the newest models.

In motion and on the road it will fall over just like any other 2 wheeler. The extra mechanical parts in the front also come with a weight penalty.

That being said the MP3's are comfortable, fun and unusual in their own way.

I've found the three-wheeler Mp3 is best ridden and handled the same as a 2-wheeler. The tilt-lock can be a bit fickle to use feet-up at stop-signs as it requires manual engagement; plan to put your feet down at stops. Sometimes it will refuse to unlock if it locks at a funny angle or shock-compression. I learned this the hard way and dumped the bike at a stop-sign; have since always put my feet down at short-stops.

That said the 3-wheel stability is great on the road and the tilt-lock with parking brake is wonderful. The Mp3 is a solid choice, just don't treat it like a Can-Am.

For Maintenance its a rare bird and most motorcycle shops will not work on them without having a certified technician on-staff. The nearest shop for me that is willing to-do even basic tires let along the major maintenance is 30 miles away so its not a casual trip. Plan ahead and call the local shops near you before you buy unless you plan on doing the deep maintenance yourself.

I paid $930 when I did the 15k service on my 2016 Mp3 500ie Sport for a rear-wheel, front-brakes, oil-change, brake-fluid, and full inspection. I know I could have done the oil myself along with brakes; but I'm not technical enough.

Headlights can be replaced yourself but it takes about an hour or so due to all the plastic that must be removed then replaced.

Rickshaw, what is you intended use for it?

just bopping around town speeds under 65-70 mph? the 250 does great. also is the same basic engine as the vespa 250's so parts are easily to find for that.

if doing more distance longer ride stuff the 400 or 500 can both roll down the road at 80+ MPH if need be easily. both can approach the 3 digits as well.

30 minutes from a shop? I'm more like 5 hours from a certified technician. Not a lot of scooter support here so I'm pretty much on my own.

Wow, thanks for the prompt responses. Since this forum has no introduction section so I review my status here in aid of your kind replies.

Used to ride motorcycles & scooters (licenced before MI & M2) back in the days before wife & kids came along. The largest engine ever owned was a Honda FT500, Vespa 200e (definitely miss this one), Yamaha Route 66 (250) etc... Never ridden an epidural due to short legs. Haha.

The main purpose of riding again because it's on the bucket list, plus it's hard to share 2-cars among 3-people based on priority, and have no plan to purchase a third car.

I plan to ride in & around town plus short trips on freeways as needed. There is a certified repair shop 1-hour away but expensive. I recall doing some maintenance on the ride as part of the challenge & reward as long as I am not over confident. Current experience on basic car maintenance such as oil, brake & tune-up but no electrical beyond battery, lights & spark plugs.

The continuing questions are... potential steering notch, tilt-lock problems etc... will haunt me? since I plan to purchase a pre-owned 2008 mp3 500ie, 14K miles.

The seller (2nd owner), bought used 5-years ago, appears to be a season rider with no time on ride anymore, claims to have belt & tune-up done 2-years ago in an authorized shop (pending invoice) and has not ridden much since.

Please send help links to spot red flags while test riding. Thanks & look forward to your replies.

Note the comments from others above that the MP3 is no more "self-balancing" than any 2-wheeler while you are riding it. It is also considerably heavier than comparable 2-wheelers. If you can successfully ride an MP3, you can also ride most any scooter you choose. And I am an old guy who has owned an MP3, so I know what I am talking about.

Thanks for the kind reply.
I never own or ride (mp3) for the record, but have misconceptions it's easier and safer to ride in comparison to the 2-wheeler which I had. A 3-wheeler allows you to rest at a stop?

I will be test riding one while shopping in a pre-owned market and will be extremely careful. Thanks again for the heads up.

Steering notch:
On the earlier models, the vertical stem bearings only came with a basic amount of lubrication from the factory. That and an overly aggressive torque pre-tension caused the bearings to fail early. The problem manifests itself as a slight detent in the left-right steering motion. Unfortunately that's enough to make the handling squirrely. You can easily check for the issue by jacking the front off the ground and checking the left-right movement for any hiccups.

Later maintenance bulletins recommend removing the big pivot bolts and pumping the bearing cavity with grease. Also there is a very specific procedure given for torquing the bearings. These have procedures have mostly resolved the problem.

If the bearings are damaged, the replacement procedure is fairly involved. many pieces have to be disassembled.

There is a "quick-fix" posted as a sticky in the forum that may work as a substitute for a full replacement. It involves a partial disassembly and a bit of finesse.

The other parts of the tilt lock system don't have a consistent pattern of failure so it's more of a gamble. If it's working and there are no leaks apparent, it's probably okay.

Easier to ride?: The weight and the little bit of extra friction in the suspension movement gives you slightly more "hang time" at very low speeds. So, creeping along they're less twitchy than a two wheeler. That could be a plus or a minus if you want it to dance through traffic. At minimum fall-over speed, the broad shoulders and higher center of gravity come on fast and you need to be prepared and balanced.

Safer? The 2nd wheel in front gives you an extra chance on marginal road surfaces. Sand, gravel, metal plates, cracks and ruts? The MP3 will glide through where a single front wheel might catch and toss you on your behind.

Resting: Yes, you can roll to a stop and then manually engage the lock and the scoot will stand there waiting patiently while you fiddle about. "Theoretically", you can trigger the lock as you are rolling to a stop and not need put your feet down at all. In practice it involves skill and timing that is difficult to master. You might get it right, or you might time it wrong and embarrass yourself in traffic with a clumsy oops. Best practice I found is to not turn the handlebars between locking and rolling away from as a stop as it will change the balance and thrust vector and make for an awkward start or potentially a tumble. (I've come close on a couple occasions). The body work on the MP3's is complex and delicate and doesn't have much provision for crash bars, so when they do go down, the plastic takes a beating.

I was lost & confused from reading all related posts over the forum.

Thank you for your patience in dissecting such overwhelming information in simple layman terms. My confidence will steadily grow here as I approach the next test ride.

Thanks and please continue to share your precious experiences.

I am blessed to receive a private tutorial here.

I should warn the OP that the MP3, although it has three wheels, is definitely not a trike. It leans just like a two-wheel bike, and is considerably heavier and the handling takes some getting used to. If you have any concerns about holding it upright at stoplights, then it's really not the right bike for you. The tilt-lock function is really a replacement for a side-stand, kind of a gimmick, and improper use will cause more tip-overs than just ignoring it and treating it like a 2-wheeler.

I 2nd this statement

Noted. Thanks for the heads up confirmation and will not share with my wife due to termination. Haha...

I dispute that the tilt-lock is tricky to use when coming to a stop. Almost from the get-go, for the eight years I had my Fuoco, I would invariably use the tilt-lock when stopping. Just at the point when you'd normally put your feet down - press the button and Hey Presto the bike stays upright. Wait for the lights (or whatever) to change, throttle up and away you go.

As long as you *can* use your legs to hold the bike upright should there be a failure of some sort (very rare, I never had one in 50,000 miles) you should be golden using the tilt-lock at every stop.

Honestly, it was the front 2-wheels, caught my attention and lit my thoughts of riding again.

If the "Tilt Lock" does not work as desired, it will be a big disappointment to me.

I will still acquire a pre-owned mp3 to ride out myself but bear in mind the advice received here. Maybe my ride skills will grow along with the technique in use of the "Tilt Lock" like the experience riders here. Thanks and will update my status as it unfolds.

If you actually want a trike or a Can-Am, you should get a trike or a Can-Am. If you want a fairly large, heavy scooter that corners well and is easy to maneuver when parked - consider an MP3. Just don't expect that the MP3 will be any easier to balance than a conventional scooter.

I want to thank everyone in this forum, enlighten and enrich my knowledge during the MP3 search in the pre-owned market. Armed with newly acquired skills allowed me to judge that such a unique machine is too big for my body frame, beyond my riding skill and maneuverability after test ride, sadly.

I will downshift to Vespa gts250, ride over to "General Discussion", continue my search there. Please do look me and chime as always. Thanks again & ride safe. Best.
8)

I guess I should add that the tilt-lock acts precisely as it was designed, it's just that its designed function and the desired function may be two different things. If you want it to be a stable platform when stopped, that takes some practice to get there.

It's like when I first started using clip-in pedals on my push bike. The first time I fell over was when I came to a stop sign and forgot my feet were clipped in. The second time I fell over was when I unclipped early and accidentally clipped back in, then fell over at the next stop sign. The third time, I unclipped the left foot and fell over to the right.

The MP3's tilt lock is similar- I had three close calls and had to reef the baby back up using more muscle and reaction time than I thought I had. The first time, I came to a stop at a slight lean, and the tilt lock kept that angle even though I was stopped, and it was on its way over when I pushed the button to turn it off so I could straighten the bike back up. The second time, I was upright and straight when the tilt lock engaged at a very low speed, and I forgot that the handlebars are steered the wrong way when the front is locked, and I almost leaned it right over. The third time, I was accelerating from a tilt-lock stop, and when it disengaged suddenly, the steering operated the correct, countersteered way, and I almost dumped it.

Now, I just don't use the tilt-lock unless I'm parking on an angle and I can't use the center stand.