Piaggio MP3 Review

The Piaggio company, nestled in the Tuscan countryside between Florence and Pisa, first invented scooters in 1946 when it produced the first ever Vespa. Today, Piaggio continues to produce scooters under three brands: the classic Vespa, the sporty Gilera and the contemporary Piaggio.

In Australia, the Piaggio brand offers an extensive range of Italian scooters from 50cc to 500cc. The MP3 400 has an innovative parallelogram front suspension. Its tilt mechanism is composed of four cast aluminium arms, with four hinges fixed to the central tube and two guide tubes on either side of the parallelogram, connected to the arms via suspension pins and ball bearings.

Value for money
Pricing

The MP3 400 is $11,990 plus associated dealer and on-road costs. Piaggio is running a promotion from May 26 - July 31, 2008 offering free registration and CTP.

For those wishing to jump straight onto an MP3 400 or 250cc, you will need a motorcycle licence to be able to legally ride one.


Standard features
Tinted screen, large underseat storage, handbrake, digital centre dash with two trip meters, anti-theft coded-key immobiliser, remote boot and seat release, centrestand and shopping hook.

Accessories
A top box, various larger windscreens, heated leg covers, passenger backrest, scooter cover and a Tom Tom rider navigator are available.

Design & function
Comfort
The rider's seat is quite comfortable but it did tend to try and push you forward. The only way around this was to have a re-adjustment from time to time.

The bars are nicely placed in relation to the seat and never gave any soreness when riding in the city or country.

Ergonomics
The finish on all switches and the dash layout is very impressive. An analogue speedometer and tachometer consume the two outer dials, while the middle dial is digital and contains a large clock and two trip computers.

Luggage space
The exceptionally large underseat storage bay will hold two open face helmets plus a medium sized shopping bag.

Build quality & finish
After inspecting the MP3 400 a number of times I was impressed with the build quality and finish. From the paintwork to the switches on the bars, it looks and feels good quality with a Euro flair.


On the road
Fuel
As it has a relatively small fuel tank it was fortunate the MP3 400 returned good fuel consumption results. No change in consumption was noticed riding in dense city traffic or on open country roads. 260km can be expected out of the fuel tank making this scooter a genuine touring option for those preferring not to ride a conventional two wheeled motorcycle.

Performance
Being quite heavy, the pull off the mark was not as good as expected. However, once cruising at speed the 400cc engine had no trouble maintaining speed limits and pulling up hills.

Ride
My first impression of two front wheels was that it looked pretty weird and, although it was unnerving at first, once I got used to feeling every bump and not worrying about the front moving around, I found they gave double the feedback.

When travelling under 15km/h the scooter has a very handy feature of a switch on the right bar which locks the suspension at whatever angle you are at. Although it took some getting used to it made for an easy ride by eliminating having to put my feet down. It can also help parking on uneven surfaces, as the suspension can be at an odd angle whilst you position the bike upright and lock the suspension via the switch.

Handling
The MP3 400 three-wheel scooter has revolutionised personal transport by redefining the entire concept of ride stability. Fun, nimble and nervy, the MP3 400 handles corners with extraordinary safety and road holding. I had the misfortune of approaching a fresh diesel spill around a blind corner at 100km/h. The MP3 400, with its Michelin tyres, only slid slightly, whereas I have no doubt I would have been in serious danger on two wheels.

The only downside was the limited lean angles either side as the centrestand hangs down close to the ground. On numerous occasions the centrestand scrapped the roadway which has the potential to dig into the bitumen and upset the handling.

Braking
I was impressed with the scooter's stopping power with twin discs on the front and a single disc on the rear. The brakes gave the impression of being on a much larger capacity motorcycle.

Smoothness & quietness
As with most scooters the engine was a little rough. However, there was no rattling from poor fitting plastics.

The exhaust was reasonable, producing a putt putt noise which is common amongst the scooter style of motorcycles.

Summary
Comfortable and innovative with exceptional performance, the Piaggio MP3 400 will seduce novice riders as well as seasoned motorcyclists, as it combines enjoyment and ease of use with unprecedented safety.

If you wish to have everyone, and I mean everyone - from small kids to the elderly- looking at you, then this is the bike for you.

If you struggle with putting your feet down at a stop or want the benefits of a scooter style bike, I suggest taking a test ride on either the 400cc or 250cc version and try this unique experience for yourself.