My Piaggio MP3

I am now the proud owner of a Piaggio MP3. At the time of this writing, I've had my MP3 for three weeks now, and I've clocked over 900 miles on it.

It was November 2006 when one of my coworkers piqued my interest in the Piaggio MP3. He owns a 200cc Vespa scooter, and with gas prices on the climb I started asking questions. One morning he pulled up a web site to "show me something cool." As you've probably already guessed it was a 3 wheeled scooter--the Piaggio MP3! As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to have one. I printed a picture and stuck it to my bulletin board at home. I had no idea they were coming to the states, but I just loved to look at it and imagine having one. I even picked out a place in the garage that could be it's home.

Piaggio announced the MP3 open house starting April 19th. As soon as the announcement was made, I went looking for dealers in the area. The BMW dealer sent a double sided brochure with technical specs. This I stuck to my cube in my office.

I actually visited the dealer three times to look at the scooter in the showroom, dragging any and every friend I could coerce to go to look at it with me. The dealer had two MP3's at the time, one graphite and the other silver. Of the two, the graphite was the more attractive of the two, but neither was particularly colorful. What I really wanted was the red scooter I had seen on the web and in the brochure. I asked about getting a red one. The dealer wasn't sure when one might come in, but he'd let me know.

On the way home the thought occurred to me that there must be another dealer somewhere with a red MP3 I could get a look at. A quick Google search revealed a dealer in Aberdeen, NC: Steve Jones Motorsports. After a quick call, I made arrangements to haul a friend with me to Aberdeen to go look at their red scooter the following Saturday.

Steve Jones Motorsports

As soon as I walked into the Steve Jones dealership in Aberdeen, I liked it. The showroom was bright and inviting, and everyone greeted me with a warm welcoming smile.

Tamilla introduced me to David, the manager of the dealership, and brought me out back to see the red MP3 they had just finished putting together. As soon as I saw it, I grimaced. This was not even close to the shade of red shown in the brochure or shown on the Kneeslider web article.

The actual color is really more of a burgundy with some purple in it. My friend agreed, this was not an attractive color. What were those Italians thinking? I considered getting one of these red scooters anyway and painting it later to a better shade, but I just couldn't get over the fact that I would have to ride around on a scooter that hideous red color until I could get it painted.

Oddly enough, one of the candy blue Suzuki SV1000's in the showroom caught my eye. David, the manager, told me the color was called "Plasma Blue." This color really appealed to me, and now the idea of getting the graphite scooter and painting it candy blue was starting to blossom. I'd seen photos of MP3s that were blue and if this had been an available color, I would have gone with it:



David had one graphite scooter, and it was still in the box. The dealer in Raleigh also had a graphite scooter that was already put together, but it already had 250 miles on it. I decided that if I was going to drop seven grand on a scooter, I wanted a new one. The following weekend my coworker drove me down to Aberdeen with his trailer to help me haul the scooter back to Cary.

I have to say that the entire Steve Jones Motorsports staff (Tamila, David, Janet, and their head mechanic Jay) all made this purchase experience very pleasant. They make a great team, and as much as this is going to sound like a plug, I really like these people and recommend this dealership to anyone who is considering buying an MP3. Even though I live an hour away, they always make me feel at home. I really like these guys. You will too.

I got most of my gear (including my Shoei RT-1000 helmet, and FieldSheer jacket, pants and gloves) from Triangle Cycles in Durham. If you need outfitting, Michael in the parts department is your man.

I've had my MP3 for three weeks now, and having gotten to know the bike a little better, I have some observations to offer.

Some Things I've Noticed About the MP3

1. At slow speeds (at 5 to 10 mph) you don't counter steer--you just steer; however, as you speed up (anything over about 20 mph) counter steering kicks in.


2. Cornering is a breeze (and a lot of fun). You can slow corner at speeds and radii that would drop an ordinary scooter.


3. My fuel consumption is right at 63 mpg.


4. After doing some controlled tests to get a feel for the brakes, I really laid into both the front and rear brakes a time or two. This thing REALLY stops.


5. Under the seat is enough storage for my backpack, my extra shield, and a few other items. In addition to that there's a trunk (yes, a trunk :) big enough to store my helmet.


6. On the highway I can generally keep up with traffic without any problems (much to the surprise of some automobiles).


7. Maybe I just need to get used to it, but the seat becomes a little uncomfortable on rides longer than an hour.


8. The speedometer registers about 8% higher than the actual speed. I've had it confirmed by multiple sources that this is typical for most motorcycles. For example, when the speedometer registers 75 mph, you are actually going 69 mph.

Some Things I've Noticed About Scootering in General

1. When the outside temp drops below 80 degrees Fahrenheit, I need the jacket liner to stay warm.


2. Jeans do not offer a lot in the way of of insulation. I always wear protective pants.


3. It's hard to hear myself think at 60 mph without earplugs (even with my Shoei RT 1000 helmet).


4. A bug hit my hand at 65 mph while I was wearing gloves. I can only imagine what it would have felt like without them.


5. I like the reflective shield on my Shoei RT 1000 helmet. Looks like some kind of alien riding a bike :)


6. My throttle hand cramps during long rides.

My First Road Trip

The first service for the MP3 is at 620 miles. Getting back to Steve Jones Motorsports was to be my first "long" trip on the scooter. The itinerary included visiting my parents in South Carolina. While there I planned to stop by Junior Freeman's shop (Chesterfield Auto Body and Paint) to get an estimate for a candy blue paint job on the MP3 and do some work with Dad in his shop.

I started out at 6pm Friday from Cary. I filled up a camel pack with water, partially frozen, it so I could stay hydrated on the road. I distinctly remember stopping at the side of the road just prior to taking the entrance ramp to Hwy 1, gathering up some courage and saying to myself, "Well, here we go..."

The trip down was really very nice. For Memorial Day weekend, I was surprised that the traffic was no worse than any other weekend. I do remember having to shift in my seat a few times to while trying to find a comfortable sitting position, and also the cramping in my right hand while holding the throttle open. I vowed that I would never do another trip like this without a cruise control. Once in Aberdeen (my half-way point), I traded my iridium shaded shield (now full of bugs) for the clear one, took a bio break, and put on my jacket liner. The rest of the trip was in darkness and I loved it.

The next morning, I woke at my parent's house and found a note written on a paper towel from my dad: "Robert, I'm down at the shop. Like the bike. Dad."

Dad and I did some work in the shop, and then I headed over to Junior Freeman to see about getting the MP3 painted. Junior showed me some of the Kosmic Kandy colors, and I found a blue that resembled the Suzuki. He said he could even add some extra flake to make it really stand out in the sun. He painted his son's Mustang candy apple red and silver and it was beautiful. He said that if I could get all the pieces removed for him to paint, he could do the job for 350 to 400 dollars, but add 75 for the Kosmic Kandy paint.

By noon, I had made it back to Aberdeen for the first service. More cramping on the throttle hand, so I asked about adding a cruise control. Jay looked at the throttle and concluded that the cheaper 40 dollar unit couldn't be made to work. The more expensive device could be installed but he would need to fabricate a part to get it to work. I told him to go for it. When it was all done, Jay said it was the first cruise control he'd ever put on a scooter :)

The remaining trip home was so much nicer! The throttle still needs adjustments to account for speed variations due to varying inclinations, but all I have to do now is adjust the throttle a few clicks one way or the other, and there it stays.

This afternoon I took the scooter to the car wash to knock off the bulk of the bugs and debris. At home I put the finishing touches with a good wax, Armor All, and tire black. It cleans up nicely :)

I've decided that I'm going to continue riding the heck out of the scooter during the summer months, and then dismantle the shrouding to get painted when it's too cold to ride in the Winter.

In closing, I just have some advice for Piaggio:

Gli Americani hanno bisogno dei colori bellissimi.

Ciao,
Roberto