MP3 LT400 (2007 - present) review

Piaggio has just launched what they reckon will sway all those London-luvvies who find the whole concept of two wheels a bit scary.

The MP3 LT is a 400cc scooter with one big difference, an extra wheel at the front. Yes this concept has been around for a while and you might have seen three wheeled scooters kicking around before, but not quite like this one. Because the axel distance between the front wheels is over 465mm this scooter classes as a trike, and can therefore be ridden on either a full car or a full bike licence, and without a crash helmet!

So anyone with a car licence can rock up, hand over their cash and wobble off down the road on it minus a crash helmet! Although at this point we should mention that Piaggio don’t recommend you ride it without a lid and offer a training course as part of the cost!

So what’s it like to ride? At first the MP3 feels like a very front-heavy scooter. It’s a bit odd to start with but as soon as you get moving the MP3 is brilliant fun. The extra wheel at the front makes losing the front end virtually impossible, so you simply charge over any bump or pothole in the road with complete confidence you won’t fall off. Where on a normal bike you might exercise a bit of caution, especially if it’s wet, on the MP3 you just plough on regardless of the condition of the road’s surface. It’s like riding a bike but with none of the skill or forward planning required!

When you eventually have to stop the MP3 is no harder to balance than a normal bike, and it comes with a neat button that locks the front wheels so they don’t lean over, meaning you can sit on the bike with both feet off the ground. This is, however, a bit of a mute point with us. The button only locks the wheels when the bike is at walking pace, and automatically unlocks them again when you start moving again, but the problem is that if you lock the wheels when they are slightly lent over (in a corner or on a camber in the road) when you come to pull away in the split second before the system unlocks itself you are forced to ride in the direction the wheels are pointing, which can get a bit scary. It’s a system that is best avoided until you get used to the bike’s quirks.

Read more: http://www.visordown.com/road-tests-first-rides/piaggio-mp3-lt-400cc-review/7313.html#ixzz0xd8dLZIu

Piaggio has just launched what they reckon will sway all those London-luvvies who find the whole concept of two wheels a bit scary.

The MP3 LT is a 400cc scooter with one big difference, an extra wheel at the front. Yes this concept has been around for a while and you might have seen three wheeled scooters kicking around before, but not quite like this one. Because the axel distance between the front wheels is over 465mm this scooter classes as a trike, and can therefore be ridden on either a full car or a full bike licence, and without a crash helmet!

So anyone with a car licence can rock up, hand over their cash and wobble off down the road on it minus a crash helmet! Although at this point we should mention that Piaggio don’t recommend you ride it without a lid and offer a training course as part of the cost!

So what’s it like to ride? At first the MP3 feels like a very front-heavy scooter. It’s a bit odd to start with but as soon as you get moving the MP3 is brilliant fun. The extra wheel at the front makes losing the front end virtually impossible, so you simply charge over any bump or pothole in the road with complete confidence you won’t fall off. Where on a normal bike you might exercise a bit of caution, especially if it’s wet, on the MP3 you just plough on regardless of the condition of the road’s surface. It’s like riding a bike but with none of the skill or forward planning required!

When you eventually have to stop the MP3 is no harder to balance than a normal bike, and it comes with a neat button that locks the front wheels so they don’t lean over, meaning you can sit on the bike with both feet off the ground. This is, however, a bit of a mute point with us. The button only locks the wheels when the bike is at walking pace, and automatically unlocks them again when you start moving again, but the problem is that if you lock the wheels when they are slightly lent over (in a corner or on a camber in the road) when you come to pull away in the split second before the system unlocks itself you are forced to ride in the direction the wheels are pointing, which can get a bit scary. It’s a system that is best avoided until you get used to the bike’s quirks.

Read more: http://www.visordown.com/road-tests-first-rides/piaggio-mp3-lt-400cc-review/7313.html#ixzz0xd8dLZIu