Modern Vespa

I'm considering getting an MP3 but I'm getting concerned over the number of issues being reported on this forum. I think it would be a great resource to have a sticky master thread that would either detail the current issues and solutions or link to the threads that discuss those issues. Personally, I'd like to print the thread out and take it to my potential dealer to go over with them before I purchase.

As an example, I'd be happy to get replacement hose clamps to have the dealer install during the final inspection (PDI).

Cheers,

Simon

Every vehicle has its issues. We had this conversation when the GT200 came out (clutch), the GTS (exhaust) and so on. I ordered a Mini Cooper S, began perusing that user group, and nearly cancelled my order! The Mini's 2 and half years old and it's been nearly trouble free.

What you read here isn't a true slice of reality as it applies to these machines....it's a microscopic view of a very dedicated and involved group of enthusiasts, but does not represent the entire bell-curve of ownership experiences.

Matt,

You say "it's a microscopic view of a very dedicated and involved group of enthusiasts, but does not represent the entire bell-curve of ownership experiences". Well, that's exactly what concerns me... even with this small group, we are seeing a fairly significant amount of problems, some of them fairly serious and some easy to fix.

I realize that any complex machine can have issues but I'd rather be proactive and learn from others' experience than to have it happen to me personally if I can avoid it! Don't you think it is a good idea to have a main thread describing the issues, cures and other pertinent info?

Simon

You're also seeing the praise for, and enthusiasm about the same machines on this site...

My point was, however that only a small portion of owners actually visit here, the ones that do don't ALL have problems, and that makes the incidence against the total population (of owners both ON and OFF of MV) quite small. The sampling here is quite small, and of that sampling, the percentage of those with "issues" is of course only a percentage, and a small one at that...

Not everyone has "bad" hose clamps. Or an exhaust gasket on the GTS 250 which failed. Or a grinding clutch bell on their Gt200. But those that have, AND are active on MV, will of course post about it. That is the small sampling you are seeing.

Then there's UFO, who has 40,000 nearly trouble-free miles on HIS Mp3250....

Matt,

I can't quite figure out why you seem opposed to this idea. It's also a pity that of 70 odd views so far that no one else has expressed an opinion.

I am fairly certain that I will get an MP3 but I want to know the correct questions to ask my mechanic & salesman when I go to do the deal. It's not like the individual issue threads are not here, just harder to find. All I'm proposing is a single thread to keep updated with current info that would be sticky and thus easy to find. If there needs to be a disclaimer about what a small incidence these faults might represent, so be it. It would also be a much easier way for Piaggio to monitor potential problems and resolutions.

Surely this is exactly what the function of this forum is all about... disseminating good information to other owners or potential owners?

Simon

I'm not opposed to this idea at all. You seem to take my post to heart in the wrong way.

I simply suggested it may not be worth as much concern as you're apparently getting from reading some of these posts for the reasons I specified....for every "bad" hose clamp, there's multiples of others doing their job for miles and miles and miles. And so on.

I don't believe Piaggio monitors Modern Vespa, and clearly they don't care what WE think...that's been exhibited time and again.

Let the community know if your dealer replaces your clamps pre-delivery.
Better yet, purchase the extended warranty with your scooter and put those concerns away, at least for three years.

I am with Simon on this one. I think a simple sticky (that only an admin can edit) that lists the common problems that have been cropping up is a good idea and would benefit everyone, not just us potential owners.

I agree that the scale of the problem appears worse than it is as people tend not to create posts with "I have no problems" (ChesireSoundLab excepted!) but that won't help you if you are the one who breaks down in the desert and all you needed was a simple tie back to get you home.

Matt's got it right and I also think Simon's idea of a sticky is very good, going straight to it every day for a heads up instead of trawling through everything else, then when you have the time enjoy/catch up with all the other posts.






"[/i]jimc is an MP3 God"

Because we mp3 owners shouldn't be inconvenienced with the search function. Far too pedestrian.

I wondered how long it would take for some remark such as this to appear. Search functions are great if there is a consistent term to look for. I've seen at least two if not three separate threads on the water pump hose clamp issue alone.

The whole point is to have a single condensed thread showing issues and solutions that one could print out and discuss with a dealer/mechanic.

If a single thread for issues doesn't make sense to you from this perspective alone, I guess my contributing to this thread any more is quite useless.

The search function is all well and good, but there are plenty of us who look to the MV community for help and answers because we ourselves don't know much. Before I posted about my slipped hose, I didn't even know what the hose was for, what it was leaking, or what the name of the part it was attached to was. Not much to base a search on...

For what it's worth, I'd favor a sticky "common problems and solutions" listing. If it had been there and I'd been able to check it first, I wouldn't have started a new thread about my problem and consequently wouldn't be perpetuating the perception that the MP3 is a consistently troubled piece of machinery either

I think it's a good idea (searches don't work if you don't know the question...). However it would need someone to cobble together a good 'first post' with as much relevant info as possible. Don't just look at me[1].

Perhaps we can produce such a post between us in this topic, post the result as a new topic and ask a Mod to make it sticky.

Things to ask before purchase.
Things to expect done at PDI.
Service intervals.
Warranty terms.
Known issues and cures/work-arounds.

[1] But it would prevent me needing to repeat myself so often!

There are a lot of different little issues but coming on and finding them is not so difficult that it requires a sticky. Let's not forget that it is one more thing for a moderator to spend his or her time working on, the various threads that exist already have plenty of information and point to plenty of other info that you would be better off reading than a blurb in a sticky.

I get the impression you've been stuck modding a forum before

Sure, but people (and some dealers!) need to know before purchase/sale about possible issues. And the steering bearings one is a biggie, as is the 'reversed' wiring on the starter relay...

Glad to see others see some benefit from this. I will go though the threads that I've bookmarked and cut and paste the relevant info to a single document. Then maybe between us we can flesh it out. Not having my MP3 yet is a nuisance as I'd love to take some really good pictures of the different problem areas etc, but hopefully that will come from others at this point.

Cheers,

Simon

I definitely like the idea, but there are some logistical pros and cons to be weighed and, of course, no singular best solution... The search function turns up a bunch of crap to sift through more often than not for me, though I do try to use it before asking stuff. Most recent example: I tried "MP3 J Costa" and returned plenty of hits where the MP3 was only passingly mentioned somewhere within the thread while the main topic was about another model.

Copy & Paste works well for consolidation but makes one person in charge of content/what he/she deems is relevant within the discussion, and requires a LOT of maintenance by the original poster (or Admin... who have other stuff to do...) This style, while being concise in individual titles, also lends itself to multiple threads of different FAQs which can clutter up the sticky section at the top of the page so that it eventually gets largely ignored...

A consolidated "link thread" -where topics are well- described in the first post and then discussions are linked to, may require a few edits before they're "just so", but not as many as a copy/paste type consolidation. Though this will have folx resurrecting old topics and bumping them to the first page of the forum, that's not necessarily a bad thing and it seems to be the way most owner/admins of php boards seem to go... Members can read all sides posts on a certain topic and you then have just one thread stickied at the top of the forum instead of several threads addressing individual FAQs.

I was sort of toying with this idea but it takes a good bit of homework and time to get set up initially and right now all of my "downtime" in the evenings is spent either "practicing" on the MP3 *ahem* or taking on Tiger Woods on the Wii.

Simon, if you choose to take this task on/beat me to it, bully for you! And thanx! 8)

The technical gallery is really where this type of thread would go. If someone wants to do all the work to gather the info, then maintain it so it always bounces to the top, this would be a small solution that does not involve the admin.

FFS, it's no work for a Mod to make a topic sticky (10 secs max?) - *IF* it is a topic worth making sticky. We're not asking that *they* do any maintenance on it.

Let's (not hurriedly) get the FAQ content together.