I've been lurking here for a bit. I have been interested in a MP3 since shortly after they became available.
I'm mostly concerned about the amount of service needed to keep one running, as European vehicles all seem to require a lot of maintenance, parts availability can be scarce, but always costly. I've read reviews that say they are fairly reliable, and owners here who have posted good luck with them, yet others seem to claim both the complexity and the electronics seem to give them fits. I live nowhere near a dealer, remote in a ski resort town, that likely there wouldn't be any experienced support close by, and everything here is expensive.
My options however seem to be limited to this one scoot. I am a wheelchair user, but I can walk a bit. I'm pretty sure I could hold up this scooter from standing on the ground when it's fairly upright, but the tilt lock feature would commonly be used at stops, though I understand not to trust it to always work. I'm not looking to commute with it, so fortunately I wouldn't have to stop all that often.
Tilt lock would be required for me to get on and off it, but other adaptive friendly features include reverse aided by the camera, auto transmission, footboard pass through and it sounds like the ergonomics have been improved as well, as comfort would dictate how long I could ride.
I haven't been on a bike since my injury, when before I was an avid dirt biker, and formerly a street biker. I'm pretty active, I ski a monoski (sitski) a hundred+++ days a year, ride a reverse 3-wheel tilting mountain ebike (Bowhead Reach) cross-country but mostly lift-assisted downhill, plus ATV as well. I'm aware of my limitations yet willing to take a hit.
I mostly want to take it through the twisty roads throughout the San Juan mountains, not really touring, but day tripping through some of the best scenery and twistiest roads in North America, right in my back yard. A bigger bike is required here as I live at 9240 feet, so I lose 28% power here due to elevation, plus it's mostly highway driving with very steep grades.
I may try to figure a way to put my chair on the back, but I could get by with a pair of collapsible trekking poles to get very short distances for a restroom or lunch break.
I wouldn't consider a non-leaning trike like a Spyder or a touring delta design, at that point I'd just get a Miata, which I probably will do at some point down the road, but for now, I'd like to get back to leaning.
While I have been following the leaning trikes for more than a decade, it just seems that they have never really taken off in the US, so the problem is not just waiting for more reliable brands to come up with something new, but then for them to also import those vehicles as well. No more Niken, or ever a Tricity, Peugeot, Qooder, or Kymco; plus another half dozen prototypes that never seem to go anywhere. Tilting Motor Works trikes with its wide stance don't seem to have the same motorcycle feel as these scooters, plus I don't really want a long haul tourer for the application I'm looking for.
I'm turning 60 this year, and feel as though I've waited long enough, and other than reliability, the Piaggio seems to check all the boxes of a bike that would allow me to get back to riding.
Thoughts? Thanks in advance for any reply...