Modern Vespa

hey hey hey hey y'all!

i've been lurking around for 3 days now, thought i'd find out what you all here are saying about the mp3, specifically the 500. its an awesome thing of a scoot, im trying to get my hands on a used one if possible, that'll take a couple K's off my chest, but if not and my impatient-ness kicks in, i'll resort to purchasing a brand new one.


lastly, just wanted to say hello and can't wait engage in the discussions with you guys

Welcome aboard. You are gonna love the MP3-500. It is a beast! This is my second MP3. The first was a 250. I put 7500 miles on it before I was able to get my hands on a 500. I was gonna take the Suzuki out today and ride it a bit, but it didn't happen. The beast ruled again!

Jedi's Girl,
Welcome to our friendly MP3 family.
Let us all know when you get yours - and don't be afraid
to ask "newbee" questions!
Get the proper quality safety gear: helmet, gloves, armored jacket, pants -
Then ride it like you stole it!

thanks for the welcomes!
i have all the gear already, from my other scoot, but maybe need to get another helmet to match with the mp3.

i do have ONE newbie question, is it pricey to maintain the mp3's? specifically the oil changes, is it easy to do it myself?

i know as with cars, the more expensive the car, the pricier it is to maintenence it

oil changes are easy to do yourself and you save alot of money on labor costs. The belt and variator rollers changes are a little more involved but that is only every 6000 miles. BTW I saw a 500 for sale on ebay today for 7500 but it is in florida.

Hi Jedi's Girl,
It's usually customary for the dealer to charge about $225.00 for the
very first 600 mile service for a brand new MP3 500.
However, after that, if you take it to a Vespa dealer for future oil
changes, you will probably have to pay around $50.00 to $60.00 dollars.
But if you can find an authorized trained technician working at a local
bike shop, (and there are a few), you can have oil changes done for
cheaper than the dealers' price.

But it's not really hard to change your own oil.
Peruse the past threads (do a search of MP3 oil changes) and you
will learn it's not that hard. Just keep accurate records and buy the
oil grade and filter mentioned in the threads.

There is also tons of info and instruction on doing simple maintenance
and modifications.
Good luck and we're all here to help you.

Welcome. I have never changed the oil on anything before - let the husband or shop do it. But I will be changing the oil on my 250. It looks so easy. Here are a couple of short youtube video's showing how to do the oil change on a 250 - so at least it will give you an idea. Good luck in shopping for your 500.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFAMawMmx5Y&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF-1rY_WDSM&feature=related

Dale