Modern Vespa

The competition is getting hot in the 3 wheeler world.

I ride my 2016 MP3 500ie sport for touring and racing around the local mountains; not so much for commuting.

Looking at the on-paper specifications I would take the Kymco CV3 due to the better parallel twin engine, better electrical reliability, and less complicated tilt lock system. Though I would miss the storage space of the Mp3, its offset by the superior performance and reliability of the Kymco.

But I do wonder about the exposed belt that drives the rear wheel. On the CV3 the belt is exposed to the elements while on the Mp3 the belt is somewhat (if not fully) covered. Its not really any different than dirt-bikes or other motos that have an exposed metal chain driving the rear wheel and those get along just fine. But on those chain driven bikes, the expectation is that the owner would be regularly cleaning and lubricating the drive chain.

Would the exposed drive belt of the Kymco CV3 wear out faster than the covered belt on the Mp3? Would we have to do more maintenance and inspections of the belt due to increased direct accumulation of dust and grit?

I do not ride off-road or on especially terrible roads (its a scooter, not an ADV) but I do go on long 1,000+ mile trips through the mountains which is where the superior engine of the CV3 would be a huge improvement.

PS: Yes, I'm aware I could just get a regular traditional motorcycle, but the wife fully believes a 3-wheeler is safer, etc so in deference to her I stay on 3-wheel fun. Also; I've noted that people tend to smile and wave when they see the Mp3 vs other bikes, so thats nice

Belt drives are essentially maintenance free, other than the prescribed replacement intervals. Thing along the lines of a timing belt on a car. Long lived and replaced seldomly.

No cleaning, lubing, greasing.

A few examples: Suzuki's Burgman 650 call for a replacement interval of 60Kmi/100K km. Can Am Spyder is listed at 50K mi/75K km. Compare that to Piaggio which calls for replacement at only 1/10th the interval and the reduced running cost is a no brainer.

However, just like tires a old belt needs replacement even if it has seen very low use.

And for our American friends must add in all the harleys I have had in the past all had belts, and never once did I have a problem, for the moment going to stick with my new to me 2020 hpe 500 sport, and let all the rich people be test pilots for the first batch of Piaggio 530,s and Kymcos

You guys are confusing V-belts in a CVT (Piaggio) and toothed drive belts (final drive belts / timing belts etc).
The wear characteristics are completely different.

But the Burgman uses a CVT, and yes I was aware about the toothed aspect.

It's a different type of belt in the Burgman.

The GP800 and Aprilia RSV850 had CVTs but a final chain drive. That was the death of them - if it had been a low maintenance belt drive many more might have been bought.

So could you give a few examples of these different belts and address the difference in reliability and efficiency?

Have you tried Google and/or Wikipedia???

V-belt in a CVT - the sides are continually sliding across the metal of the variator/clutch pulleys. This wears the belt down fairly quickly, in a matter of a hundred hours or so.

Serpentine timing belts just have the teeth engaging with very little friction even on those tooth surfaces, and they are often steel reinforced.. They last for a thousand hours or so. Same with final drive belts in HDs etc.

As above, a little googling might help here...

WTF does a burgman have anything to do with the comparison between the MP3 and the Kymco 3 wheeler?

The exposed toothed belt is the final drive, the cvt is enclosed, swing arm, motor bolted to the frame, mounted further forward
The steering angle can be a bit tighter before the shakes set in

One of the limits of the scooter wheel/motor/transmission as unit design is as the motor gets bigger the weight bias moves further back or the unit gets longer

The extra weight of the CV3 is in spite of no tilt lock

Here's the parts fiche
https://www.bike-parts-kymco.uk/kymco-motorcycle/550-SCOOTER/CV3/CV3_550_4T_EURO_5/VARIATOR/246/33/0/246

Read post #2. Because somebody raised a concern about belt durability.

Well thank you for that simple explanation, every day is a learning day, I was under the impression a belt was a belt

cv3 hits USA market!

Great news! Its on the Kymco-USA webpage
https://kymcousa.com/2023-scooters/2023-cv3/

Its going to take awhile for the CV3 to really show up in stores and the market here, it currently has an "ocean freight" charge associated with it.

I love my Mp3 and it has allot of miles with smiles left in its engine before I consider replacing it. The next bike is either going to be the Kymco Cv3 OR a tilting-motor-works modified bike. The Cv3 has the favor though due to being narrower and smaller than the TMW modded sytems.

Ouch! At the same price as the MP3 530, I could see the Kymco driving the MP3 out of the USA especially since Piaggio uses the USA as a outlet mall for models/engines it can no longer sell in its home territories.

Maybe this will finally force Piaggio to give the MP3 something better than a bored out lawnmower engine.

And if not, maybe at least clean up their lousy dealer network and customer satisfaction rep.

Competition is a wonderful thing. It keeps everybody on their toes and honest.

Kymco has been developing this scooter for about six years. It's pretty neat in person. The Kymco is a lot like a derestricted Yamaha TMax in terms of how it performs and feels. The twin cylinders are considerably smoother than a big single, and the Kymco will likely be a lot more reliable than the MP3. By going with a separate toothed drive belt, Kymco solves the big handling issue with Maxi-Scooters, which is unsprung weight. The Kymco will handle more like a motorcycle than a traditional scooter because of that. If you want a nearly new one, but don't want the $12000 plus ocean freight surcharge price, wait for them to get out into the market. Just like the MP3, there will be a lot of people who didn't realize it's not a tricycle until after they bought one.

There is a YouTube video of changing the variator. it is on the right side with the two pulleys almost touching. Have to remove right side floorboard to get cover off. This is the belt that will wear like the MP3 one. Belt is pretty short with pulleys so close together so it may wear faster. Video of a 2 wheel Kymco but I assume it is same on 3 wheel.

One tool for both the clutch and variator removal is good. Wonder if it will need a Fuzzy washer?

Looks like the Kymco CV3 is already landing on the US East Coast at a cost of about $12,000 MSRP

https://www.cycletrader.com/Kymco-Cv3/motorcycles-for-sale?type=Motorcycle%7C356953&make=Kymco%7C6513283&model=CV3%7C764993986&sort=distance%3Aasc&page=1

Hopefully the Kymco will have a better dealer service distribution than Piaggio which in my opinion is terrible.

Update. RMC Garage in Santa Clara will not work on Kymco Motorcycles. Says the parts are hard to get in California and its prone to stripping bolts when working on them. Between the frequently stripped bolts, hard to get parts, and lack of documentation RMC Garage doesn't want to work on these.

So if you are in the SF Bay Area, finding a shop to work on your Kymco Cv3 will be difficult. Plan to do allot of work yourself and have a parts source.


Hello Mp3 Community.

For those with an Mp3 in the San Francisco Bay Area, Salinas Motorcycle Center says they have Kymco CV3 coming into their dealership in the next couple weeks. They called to say the first shipment is in country and on its way to be delivered but will take a couple weeks yet to get ready for show-room and demos.

https://salinasmc.com/Inventory/New-Inventory/New/Kymco

I'm planning a day trip there to check them out if folks want to meet up and go down as a group. I'm fixing to go down the scenic route to get there.

I just got done maxing out my Mp3 for mods (heated grips, exhaust, lights, accessories, etc) so I will not be buying a Kymco for at least a year or so. So why go see them? Because its cool thats why and I want to see for myself how similar, different, etc the bike is vs a fully modded 2016 Mp3 500ie.

Send me a DM if in the Bay Area and interested.