Modern Vespa

Hello again,

I'm quite a big boy on 1.80cm and 105kg and maybe this issue is singular to me but I cannot stand the MP3's seat more than 20 minutes. I commute it daily now after almost a year of not riding it due to the pandemic and I was quickly reminded about the shitty seat. The driver's seat is to small and too upfront and also there's no support to stop you sliding forward.

I looked for replacement seats but on Shad's website they only offer seats for Piaggio till 2015 mine's 2020. I looked here in France on the Top Sellerie's website in the hope I can reapholster it. The quote was about 500 euros and I have to send my seat upfront (bike's unusable till they finish). Usually in FR there are MP3's everywhere and I was actually expecting to get the deal where they send you a refurbished saddle and you send yours in exchange after you receive the reapholstered saddle. They don't even have a model of a saddle on stock or to show on their website (are people that happy with their seats?)

The airhawk thingie here it's about 200 euros (def not gonna pay that much for an inflatable for what it's essentially an inflatable pillow).

Also no after market seats for 2020 HPE 500 model.

Any suggestions?

At 6'4", 180 pounds I never was able to get comfortable for any distance on my MP3 500. I think it was more a case of the floor boards being too high. The seating position is just wrong for taller folk.

Another reason why I binned mine.

my mate who's same size as you and rides the same bike did a 2000 mile tour of France, Switzerland, Germany a couple of years ago, he bought an Airhawk for the trip, and now won't go anywhere without it. They are pricey, but he swears by it.

He did buy the small one for him and large for his pillion, but found the large was much better for him.

+1 on the Airhawk. I use the Cruiser R model in combination with the Piaggio gel seat. Fits the seat shape perfectly.

I am 1,87 and around 100kg

Was around 100 euro, definitely not 200.

Once you use it, you won't live without it

HPE MP3s can use the Piaggio gel seat from the 2014-2015 model years

Well trying to get the AirHawk R large.. on FR Amazon it's 200 euros + on the Airhawk website with delivery in France it's 300

sbaert -> not very sure about the 2014-2015 models.. seats seem different

Ok, managed to find on a french website an Airhawk Cruiser large with 120 euros. Hope it will improve the comfort.

he says at first he didn't get on with it, until he realised you need to release excess air down to the point where there's just a few mm between your bum and the saddle

Good to know It will be delivered on August 30th. Will let you know how it handles.
Was also thinking on going on a long touring trip with my MP3 but confort and storage was always an issue..
Compared with my old Burgman I'm quite dissapointed with the MP3 in many aspects.
Don't really like the engine that much and it's quite a fat hog to maneuver through heavy traffic. The only thing that's a huge plus is that I ride a lot in winter and during wet weather on the autorute/cobbles and nothing beats that extra wheel for grip.

Sheepskin is my solution

The 2020 mp3 seat
Easy to add other pads, I like yoga mats or other anti fatigue mats

now that looks a little TOO comfy

Donno how nice it is in the rain but otherwise it looks VERY confy

It will fit since the bike has not changed since 2014 other than minor cosmetic differences and tweaked to stay saleable (Euro5 compliant).

I still have the original seat (brown leather look) from my 2015. For 150 Euro it is yours. Still in the box, since the original owner upgraded to the gel saddle as part of the new delivery.

If it's the same seat(shape and size) should be as uncomfortable as my current one no?
If somehow it's better I would be interested to get it.

Here's mine:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gWmvBtnTvzkR9WuqzVL6ACMujOHWsvtY/view?usp=sharing

It is shaped differently and is taller. I, as a taller individual, prefer the older style from the current gen MP3.

Hmmmm. Sheepskin rug . . . woman on sheepskin rug. I like your style, although leopard skin beats sheepskin hands down every time especially when it is something like this.

As leather goes sheepskin, can be wet or washed & dry without ill effect, beyond a wet seat
I wet molded to form fit the drivers buttpad area
The cowl is deerskin, that's mink oiled
The skin for the MP3 was $65, since it is so long

Never have to sit on a hot seat, which doesn't suck here in Reno with it's 300+ sunny days & high UV index

I probably won't spend much time in the rain & park inside at home
I have used a tall kitchen trash bag as a good disposable cover for a similar set-up on a 650 burgman


Burgman with a $20 red skin
No passenger buttpad on the Burg to hold down the back
When riding solo the back section would slowly tap my butt at certain speeds
When I sold it last year, the red had gone pink

I've used Allyn Air Seats since the 1980s. Same principle as Airhawk but much less expensive. Don't know if they ship overseas.
https://allynair.com/Eagle-seat.html

I am 6.1 and 225lbs and find the seat very comfy, plus I want to feel connected to the bike. Then again I am used to cramped sportsbike seating positions - the only thing I hate at my age is the extreme lean forward position on some sportsbikes.
Years ago there used to be a big custom seat market even for exotic bikes, these days the Corbins and Sargents etc just seem to make seats for cruisers... Corbin seats were high quality and super-comfy (they used "NASA foam"), but *heavy*. Also leather doesn't have longevity on motorcycles in my experience.

I too have a long commute (about 70 miles each way). I bought this mesh cover for the seat primarily to save the upholstery but I found that the barrier between the mesh and the seat provided comfortable air flow. It was under $10 too.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001267066062.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.27424c4d6M2B94

Airhawk came.. I've installed it and seems comfy on a first run.. Will see tomorow.

HOWEVER.. I don't see this thing surviving on my bike for more than a week. I park infront of the building among maybe 20-30 bikes with heavy foot traffic. It would be too much hustle to take it off every time I leave the bike.

We'll see..

A few tips, since I use a Airhawk as well

Don't use the straps. Just put the cushion on the saddle prior to getting. Make sure the saddle is and stays centered.

Throw the airhawk under the saddle when parking the bike, even if only briefly. Left mine out for just a few minutes. Came back in less than 10 minutes, it was stolen. Lessons learned

Do not overinflate. When properly inflated, you should be able to compress any point without any effort. In other words, just give it just enough to take its shape before it becomes hard. Less is more.

Do not stand up while riding, such as on rough terrain. Otherwise, it will fly off instantly.

Yeah.. used it once for the first commute and I donated it to a friend of mine with a CB100F.
Airhawk makes sense for a motorcycle since the saddle is preventing the sliding forward, but on the MP3 IMHO it's dangerous. It makes a wide seat wider and taller.. no matter how much you deflate it you're still floating forward everytime you break.
It's not for me.. will check other options.. maybe I'll pack a trimmer and look for a sheep on my next commute

That's not really trying if you've already made up your mind after only 1 ride.

And you could have gotten your money back on the Airhawk since they come with a 30 day trial period.

Regardless, it sounds like the MP3 i.e. its seat is simply the wrong vehicle for you.

My MP3 came with a (useless (since the seat is waterproof)) rain cover, which can be stuffed in a hole under the front of the seat..

I used this hole to stuff an old dish towel and some pieces of foam inside the front of the seat, and poked it around with a screwdriver until it was spread more or less evenly.

This stopped me from sliding forward when braking completely. It didn't even take that much volume to get the right effect..

If the newer MP3s don't have this hole under the seat, you might as well cut one yourself (about 30mm diameter should do the trick). Can't make it worse than it already is

Sbaert I did aprox 120 km on the airhawk, mixed highway and town. On the highway it sort of works but if you do filtering you brake a lot and the sliding feeling is annoying. Also you end up being always tensed up on the bottom part of your torso to keep you sliding.
In the city the seat is to high.. I end up tipy towing.. with a heavy bike.
i didn't said its a bad product, I think for a long journey .. on the open road I might get used to it.. but for the type of riding I do involving a lot of movement on the bike.. it's dangerous .
For my friend I think it would be useful, no way of sliding forward on a motorcycle. Also seat is much lower.

I got a custom seat made for ~$300 Canadian at a local car upholstery shop.
I'm 6ft. with a 35" leg.
No more sliding forward.

if your sliding forward or feel like your sitting onan air bubble you have tooooooo much air in the air hawk. you fill with air then place it on the bike/scooter and let the air out with the valve slowly till you can just feel the base of the seat. you only need a little air in them to work properly.

Hello, thank you for the advice. It was almost completely deflated.. I will go on the route of trying to get a custom seat made. Top Sellerie quoted a 3 weeks waiting time... so I'm trying to find some other shop to do it.

would it ever be possible to make an MP3 anywhere near as comfortable as a Burgman?

The Burgman seat shape & foam is more comfortable
I think the burg's bars are a better bend & the floorboards allow for full slouch, that isn't possible on the MP3

Yeah, also the Burgman is much lower with lower center of gravity. Could basically stand in place for a few seconds without puting the leg donw. No extra wheel tho

I have a 2020 MP3. I have the same problem with the seat: it's too low for my legs, and isn't far enough back. On my 2008 MP3 400, I had a custom seat job done which helped a lot but was expensive.

My solution this time, which is not perfect but does help, is a gel seat cushion:

https://tinyurl.com/yfz4oqfc

I added some foam padding to the middle front to give it a more sculptured "tractor seat" shape which helps prevent my butt from sliding forward.

The seating position is still too upright for me and my back really doesn't like longer rides, but it is much improved from the bare seat.