Piaggio MP3, Five-Wheeler?

An auctioneer on eBay motors has taken motorcycle safety to a new limit-with the introduction of a modified Piaggio MP3 5-wheeler. You read right. This bike keeps its original rear wheel supplemented with a trike kit. As you know the MP3 already has two front wheels, so this thing has a grand total of 5 wheels. According to the seller:

This is the ultimate in safety – FIVE wheels on the ground! This attention-getter rides like a trike, but is still a scooter with great gas mileage (55+ mpg). The "Twist and Go" feature of the MP3 means no shifting. This scooter is a marriage of the unique ride and features of the Piaggio MP3 with the added stability of the Tow-Pac Mini-Trike.

Its hard to argue that the bike isn't stable, but this set-up is a bit much. If you want solid-ground stability, just get a regular trike. Having 5-wheels as opposed to the usual one in front and two in back flat on the ground trike isn't going to give you anything extra. But why was the Piaggio MP3 designed the way it was in the first place? The Piaggio MP3 is built for motorcycle style riding with extra stability. The two front wheels are set in a sophisticated suspension system that allows them to tilt in a synchronous fashion allowing massive leans with the bike in corners. The whole point of the Piaggio MP3 is not car style stability, its more stable motorcycle type riding. Adding two more wheels to the back completely defeats the purpose.

Well in any case, I guarantee there is someone out there who will want this bike. So here is the link to the auction on eBay, valid as of February 9, 2009.

New Leather Motorcycle Jacket

Lately I've been on a search for a new motorcycle jacket. I've been riding with just a plain old leather jacket and decided its time to upgrade on the protection. Body armor of some kind seems like a must.

I started off looking at synthetics. Something that's funny about motorcycle clothing from my experience is you have to go up on the sizes. Normally I wear a medium or large jacket size. I kind of fit right at the boundary so in many cases could wear either size. But in a motorcycle jacket? No way. I have to go up to XL size for motorcycle jackets in most cases. This has to be because of the body armour, I am not Arnold Schwarzeneger or anything, but I do lift weights so find most motorcycle jackets pretty tight around the arm and shoulder areas. This is kind of a problem, because if I go up too much in size then the arms are going to be too long.

I've been looking at synthetics quite a bit in stores here in town but haven't found anything that really jumped out at me saying "I've got to have it". So for now I'm sticking with leather, and found this cool looking jacket on leatherup.com. Its called the Men's Black Armored Reflective Biker Jacket and its a great compromise all around. As you can see from the picture its got a "traditional" black motorcycle jacket kind of look. I love that style, although its probably going to look amusing wearing it on the Piaggio (although probably a bit more suitable for Aprillia mana). Anyway, its got shoulder and elbow armor so its a good compromise between a plain leather jacket and a good armored jacket. The best feature of all is the price, this jacket is available for just $99.95 on leatherup.com. I don't know how they get such great prices, the suggested retail for this jacket is $269.95. If you haven't visited leatherup.com you might want to and dig up some bargains.

Vespa GTS 300 Super Scooter

The 2009 Vespa GTS 300 scooter is poised to take the position of most powerful scooter in the Vespa line-up. OK, that doesn't mean much as far as power goes, but this little 22 HP bike will be respectable with a top speed of 80 mph while still maintaining a gas-saving 70 mpg.

I'm not a fan of the traditional or retro scooter look, but if you are this might be the bike for you. One downside of traditional scooters is their small wheels. The Vespa GTS 300 still has small wheels, but at least they're 12 inches instead of the usual 10. With double-disc brakes and an MSRP of $6,200 this sounds like a good buy. The famous Italian quality, which I'm intimately familiar with because I own a Piaggio MP3, will make this scoot a good choice for those inclined to the traditional scooter design. Since power is so important for motorcycle safety, I would recomend women interested in a traditional Vespa scooter design to consider one of these-at least it has enough oomph to be safer on the road. Don't put yourself at risk on some Chinese piece of junk or by getting a scooter with a small engine. When your life is on the line with two tire patches and the road, don't cut corners.

One article I saw referred to this as a "man scooter". Sorry I don't share this view. At the risk of offending seeing a man on this scooter, well that looks gay.

Piaggio MP3 Riding in Japan

Don't know why but I like watching this guys videos of his Piaggio MP3. Guess its the Japanese scenery.

Motorcycle Training: Look where you want to go

If there was one concept new motorcycle and scooter riders need to get its this: look where you want your bike to go. A motorcycle (or scooter) follows a law of attraction. If you're making a turn, the point where you focus is where the bike will end up. Try it and see. This is a vital concept in motorcycle training.

A problem with new riders is the tendency to look at things we want to avoid. I actually did this the first 3 times I rode motorcycles. The result was 2 wrecks and a near miss. The first time, and this was my very first motorcycle ride so I was completely clueless, I was staring at a big truck I wanted to avoid (luckily it was parked). A few seconds later, I ran right into it.

The second time I was actually in the motorcycle safety class. I was making a sharp left-hand turn and was looking at a nearby curb I wanted to avoid-instead of looking down the road where I needed the bike to end up. As a result I hit the curb, let the clutch out and the bike spun out of control, throwing me into a nearby fence. The last time this happened, I was practicing riding in a parking lot filled with cement parking barriers, staring at one I wanted to avoid when making a turn. I ran right into it. This time I went right over it, but you get the picture.

Since then I've learned my lesson by practicing over and over, until it became second nature to look where I wanted to go. On the road, that pothole you want to avoid or the truck you're staring at is going to meet your bike in a collision if you stare at it. So if you're a new rider, you need to practice this behavior.

A good place to do it is a large, empty parking lot filled with cement barriers and curbs. You want it filled with obstacles you need to avoid and with opportunities for tight turns. Practice making tight left and right hand turns, turning along wide curves, and tight u-turns in both directions. Avoid looking at those curbs and parking barriers at all cost. Instead, as you're turning, focus down the middle of the road 20-30 feet distant where you want your bike to end up.

This also works when trying to keep your bike exactly following a painted white line in the road at a slow speed, something they made us do in the motorcycle safety class. Don't sit there and try to steer the bike on the white line. At slow speeds that's actually going to be kind of tough for a new rider. Instead, put most of your focus on the line itself. Look down the line 10-15 feet in front of you and keep your eyes focused on that point, and your bike will naturally follow it.

With a few practice sessions this will all become automatic, and you'll be on your way to becoming a skilled rider who is safer on the road. It should make you cringe to think about all the people who've never ridden before that just hop on and ride a new scooter or motorcycle without practicing this. Its one reason you read about so many accidents in the news where someone crashed into something.

Honda DN-01 Motorcycle Videos

Being a complete dweeb, I'd prefer an automatic. But I'd rather have an automatic motorcycle than a scooter. Admittedly the line starts to blur between "scooter" and "motorcycle" at some point, but the Honda DN-01 is more motorcycle than scooter. Here are a couple of videos to keep you entertained:



Can I ask why this stupid bitch isn't wearing a helmet?



I like it! Love the red color. A little bit of contrast to the previous vid:

Motorcycles for Sale

Motorcycles for sale right now on ebay can be viewed below.