Modern Vespa

-Some time ago I posted comments about having a coolant leak with the resultant fix which was a total replacement of the water pump. Since then haven't had any leaks. Took some time to narrow down the problem but it was worth it.

-About 2-3 months ago my Piaggio starting leaning after a few days with the tilt lock engaged and not on center stand. It got progressively worse in that it would start leaning within a day. For the first year I had it, I never experienced that. With lots of great help and guidance from JimC I was able to pinpoint the problem and get it fixed. The leaning came from lack of pressure on the hydraulic locking devices (not tilt lock). It was not from a hydraulic fluid leak but rather pressure loss from the 2 small hydraulic locks (right and left) that slide up and down on the aluminum tubes. Noticed that the Piaggio leaned to the right very slightly at first and then the left side (left locking device) next. With tilt lock engaged I noticed that I could push in the damper/plunger (whatever you want to call it) on the right lock very easily. The plunger/damper should not have "given" that much if pressurized correctly. The left suspension lock was much more resistant to my thumb pressure but still gave some. Told me that the right one was bad and the left one was giving up trying to hold the piaggio upright but was not able due to the additional weight on the right side.

Had both hydraulic locks replaced and no leaning. I can hardly push in the damper/plungers on both locks. Now fully pressurized. And no issues. I do however make sure that I use the center stand, with the tilt lock unlocked (locks unpressurized) if I know that I will not be driving it for a few days. As JimC has stated before the locking device system is not very robust. The center stand is easy.

Need to give kudos to my dealer (Fun Bike Center Motorsports, Lakeland, Florida). I live in Tampa Bay. They have been great and on top of everything with me. They were able to get the water pump overnighted (once figured out) and had that fix in within 1 day. The were able to get the hydraulic locks in within 3 days and had it fixed in 2 hours. At first I was a bit upset with this dealer as I thought they weren't that knowledgeable. It was more a result of my impatience and lack of understanding that the Piaggio MP3's are new to many dealers and there is a learning curve for them as well as me. Fortunately the water pump was under warranty and the locks under an extended warranty. Very happy with them.

Good post and good info. Thanks for taking the time to add to the knowledge base.

I secound stickfrog's comments.

thanks for the updates on the leaking locking cylinders. Kinda makes me go hmm wounder if this is cuasing some alarm issues others might be having.