Modern Vespa

Going to look at a 2007 MP3 250 with 3400 miles at a Vespa/Piaggio dealer in Plano tomorrow. Price seems good, at $2700. I already know it needs two tires due to the date codes. The oil has been serviced and the vehicle was "75 point" inspected for what that's worth.

I'm driving over Friday morning (200 miles each way). What kind of things do I need to look at/for when I inspect the bike?

Haven't had a tri-wheeler before. I've owned a lot of scooters, though, big and small, including 2 Vespa GTs and a Stella shifty, so I can do much of my own work.

Thanks in advance.

to me, the main thing to look out for is the 'dreaded notch'

it's something that's really only discernible if you ride the bike, and manifests itself with the bike weaving from side to side at low speed, and an undulating wobble when going round islands or tight curves (in my experience)

it's an expensive fix (about 4 or 6 hours work for a mechanic that knows what they're doing)

if you search 'notch' in the MP3 forums, you'll soon be up to speed..

At 3400 miles the notch is ridiculous I'd just grab the bike and and check thoroughly at home. All the glitches, gremlins and worn-out little thingies are considered in the great price for the almost new, but not brand new mp3. Even what is not damaged, should be replaced, and me personally would replace the belt, brake fluid, some other cheap things. But at home, not declining the deal because of some imperfections.

BTW I still love my ruined mp3'250 2006. Now I own an mp3 400, but I'd easily change it to 250 (if the 250's owner wants to pay the difference in their prices).

I recently picked up a 2007 MP3 250 with under 5000 miles for $2000.00. It is like new and because of the low price I didn't really inspect it. I just looked to see if there was evidence of it being dropped as the previous owner claimed it had never been. I found no obvious evidence.

Here is what I am doing.

New tires for the same reason as you.
Oil change
Belt change because of its age
Cleaned the air filter
Checked all the rubber bits for cracking
Checked the brake fluid (it looks good) and the brake pads which as expected still have a lot of pad left

This bike was kept in a heated super clean garage so it was in excellent condition. Here is a link to my post on it with pictures. My latest acquisition. Got it for a song.

I purchased the MP3 today and will pick it up from the dealer after Christmas. Pics will follow then.

I bit the bullet and told them to replace all three tires with City Grip 2s and flush the coolant. It came with the Owner's Manual and the service history and warranty book. It also has one Red key, two black keys, and the keycard.

The Service Manager told me the PO was their customer and had had the brakes flushed earlier this year. Also, he had a faulty tilt lock motor replaced and the system serviced prior to sale, which is apparently an expensive repair, and it has a new battery.

So, overall, I'm relatively pleased. Why relatively? Because the dealer had brand spanking new HPE 300s, in multiple colors, sitting on the floor, and I sat on a white one and it-just-fit-so nicely....maybe at the end of '22 I can revisit the issue...the $5k I didn't spend will buy a lot of farkles for the MP3. It's definitely going to need a taller windscreen.

Congratulations and good call on the tires and flushing. Post some pics when you can.

Got it home from Plano yesterday. New tires mounted and fluids flushed by the dealer. Needs a little elbow grease. Rode it a bit today. Seems to run well. Different feel from a single track. Ordered a taller windshield from SIP and a new belt so I know I'm starting with one that's not 14 years old. Got a lube bolt from Scooter West so I can pump some grease into the front end.

Awwww, so cute! Great New Year gift! Have best roads with it!

It does look like it was well taken care of. Should give you plenty of miles of fun.

A dealer in Texas was selling HPE 300's?

It was a barely used 2007 250, sold to them when the PO decided to stop riding.

The dealer (Plano Kawasaki, et. al.) bought out Vespa Dallas' stock and carries other European brands as well, plus Japanese and Genuine bikes.

I was sorely tempted by the new 300 HPEs on the floor (my choice of colors!), but just couldn't convince myself to write the check.

I was under the impression that the 300 HPE's never hit the US market?

The GTS 300 HPE (also called the Supertech) has been available for a few years here, now.

Ok, I thought you were talking about the MP3 300 HPE.