Modern Vespa

Hi everyone.. found the group while looking for some troubleshooting guide.. i just bought myself a used MP3 500 a few weeks ago.. absolutely LOVE IT!! however it died on me the other day as i approach a traffic light and would not start again. Starter just kept on buzzing..typical of a dead battery.. just got lucky that there was a motorcycle shop i know around the corner so took it there.. they kindly jumpstarted it and fired up immediately!
While there the technician offered to check the charging which showed that it was only charging the battery @ 9.5v to 11.5v while idling..should be higher normally?
I thought it's no good having it in this state so i left it with them to sort out..
I just found out about the "hidden fuse" here so did not had any chance checking this before taking it to the shop..
In my head it could be the stator, voltage regulator, wiring or just the hidden fuse.. any guesses?
Thanks in advance..sorry i have posted this already in the general discussion until i found out there is an mp3 discussion😅

You need to test the 3 "legs" on the stator. If one or more are out or not performing, then the bike will undercharge resulting in it conking out.

Robot @ Vespa Motorsport made a good video several years ago how to diagnose and test this very issue. Do a search on YouTube.

A properly functioning charging system will put out around 13V at idle and go up to 14.5-14.7V as soon as throttle is applied.

And yes a fresh battery will kinda "fix" it . . . . for a little while until it has discharged to the point the electronics start going offline.

Thanks Sbaert.. i will have a search around Youtube.. i do think it's the stator.. hopefully they get to sort it quickly.. really wanted to ride the MP3 more than any of my bikes😅😅.. so comfortable and yet you can lean and flick it with ease..

Don't know what other bikes you've got but for me the MP3's strong suit is as a grocery getter. Call it the minivan of the bike world if you will.

However, calling it "more fun" is something you'll never see me calling the MP3.

My other bike is a 2004 Honda ST1300 (it is my summer bike), although I recently had a real positive impression aka "a fun" test on a BMW K1300S as well as the current BMW R1250RT.

Compared to those, the MP3 is slow, overweight, underpowered, underbraked and zero fun.

Strong suit, maybe.
Personally I have been commuting ~65 miles each way on interstate highways to work. Then home. And I enjoy it. Consider it "fun", even.

What confuses me is, with your attitude toward MP3s, why do you hang around here?

Apologies but i seem to be a bit confused about the last reply i got?.. saying that the MP3 being "overweight, underpowered and underbraked" is just stating the obvious and even a non-biker can tell that just by looking at it but if you got one surely you must've considered all these before buying one?
I don't recall myself saying it's "more fun" as fun is very subjective.. a bike with 1300, 1500 or even 2000 displacement never made me say it's more fun as my very own personal definition of fun is making sure i have no chicken strips on my other bike's rear tyres which i am sure you will never agree to..

"Fun" is by nature a very personal term.

I find the MP3 far more fun than driving any of my cars, even though both are considered "fun cars". I ride the MP3 500 pretty much every day.

I do naturally enjoy riding my Honda with more horsepower and faster reactions, but I ride it on average once a week. It is definitely more exhilarating, but also far less practical and also more involved: full gear every time, because if I head up to carve some twisties, I feel better wearing all the gear.

With the MP3, I get the wind-in-the-face experience and I hardly ever wear anything other than regular loafers, jeans, etc. I think it's a blast to own the MP3.

I also would never buy a supersport motorcycle with 200hp and an extreme forward leaning position that kills my neck and arms after a 90 minute ride - zero fun in that, despite horsepower and performance envelope (which probably only 1% of riders that buy those bikes exploit to even an 80% margin).

The MP3 is what it is, and like any other vehicle has some compromises built into its design. A powerhouse in the 0-60 it is not. A nimble canyon carver it isn't either, but that said it is surprisingly easy to keep up with far more powerful motorcycles on very windy roads, especially when going downhill.

But... unlike sbaert, I enjoy going grocery shopping on my MP3 and fit food and a microbrew pack into the ample storage - in bermudas and flippers and a tee (and a DOT open helmet).

Maybe you fellas misunderstood my feelings about the MP3.

The MP3 has its attributes, primarily in inclement weather thanks to the extra wheel and above average underseat storage.

I see the MP3 as ideal for somebody who lives in the inner city and needs a 2nd vehicle or even primary vehicle since car parking has become pretty much impossible.

BUT it is a utility vehicle, in the same way a wheelburrow or a pickup truck is a utility vehicle.

However, the MP3 is no longer the only 3 wheeler game in town. Times have moved on and so has the competition especially now that the new 4th gen MP3 is priced almost $4K higher than the outgoing 3rd gen. And what does that extra 4K get you? Not much, primarily electronics (keyless ignition, glass panel dash, cruise etc.) and some useless features like a backup camera.

For the near to mid teen price they're now demanding you can get a LOT more bike for that sort of money whether it be 2 or 3 wheels.

Now that Kymco is offering the CV3 for the same money as the MP3 530, it has become very evident that Piaggio needs to step up their game big time.

The 3 things that really need to be addressed are:

1) Ditch that 20 year old dinosaur of an engine and put a twin in there. Stop putting lipstick on a pig and fix the biggest shortfall on the MP3.

2) Bigger fuel tank (something in the order of 17-18 Liters)

3) The suspension needs a complete redo, especially the rear. It needs a monolink similar to what Yamaha uses on the T-Max. This "stereo" suspension on the MP3 simply does not cut it.