Piaggio Beverley 350 anyone?

[Bingo]

In my long search for a big scooter I am currently considering one of these. I tried a Honda SH300 and was underwhelmed by the performance. I Tried a Silverwing 600 and the performance was great but its a lardy beast and my wife was not keen on the rear seat position.

I started a thread about it all but it appears to have died so I wanted to start this one purely on this particular model. It seems I can either go for a more powerful twin like the T Max for around £5-6k for one up to ten years old or I can go for 6-7 year old mid size 400cc scooter like the Burgman, X Max or the Beverley for maybe £3k ish. Everyone was telling me to go for the Burgman and I Can see the logic as its common and a well proven beast but firstly I am not mad keen on the look of it and its raised pillion was what put the wife off the Silverwing, its a lot heavier I think than the Beverley and from what I Can gather power output is about the same as the Beverley.

I have seen this one from a dealer that seems to have a really good reputation. It seems a little over priced to me. What do you think? It is however low miles and apparently in very good condition. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2014-Piaggio ... SwVhFfoHfB

Any advice on this particular model? What to watch out for etc. Its just for fun, flying across to the lakes or up the dales etc. No commuting or anything.

[MrGrumpy]

Used to have one....great engine, roomy underseat space, hated everything else! I'd say they are great for commuting, but I found it very uncomfortable for longer journeys - my shoulders ached like hell after 15 mins! Maybe that's just my strange body.... Disliked the suspension and handling as well - poor feel, especially in the wet. Found it really hard to ride out of town. It may be relatively light weight but its quite top heavy. The big issue I had with mine was that the engine block sprang a water leak - this isn't easy to spot on a casual examination. Also the ABS reset system stopped working, but again, that's not obvious on a test ride!
They are pricey, cos they are in demand by London maniacs, as they go SO fast, and are very compact.
Buy a Tmax - SO much better a bike. The 400 Burger is OK, won't handle as well as a Tmax, but should be more comfortable than a Bev.

[Bingo]

Thanks. Can you fit two open face lids under the seat of the Bev? That one I linked to does not have a top box. Im wondering if you could fit a box on that rack or whether the sissy bar would have to come off.

I did wonder about the "Italian" reliability issue but there are a lot of them about in Italy I hear. The T Max I have to say does appeal from a power point of view but on my budget which ideally I would like to be under £4500 Im going to be looking at a ten year old model at least. What are they about 42hp? A lot heavier than the BV350 I presume?

[MrGrumpy]

Never had an open face lid so can't be sure! I would think so - it swallows a full face lid with lots to spare. Mine had a topbox with it. The sissy bar with its chrome rack is non-standard. It looks like it's got the standard rack underneath the Sissy bar one, I'm pretty sure that the Piaggio box would fit on, or a Givi box with mounting plate could be attached to it.

General reliability wasn't that bad. It did have the odd funny, though nothing terminal. The worst thing it did was to progressively lose power on a dual carriageway, though once I'd rolled to a halt, it restarted instantly and ran without problems after that! Spares service was fine. btw Mine had a surprising number of recalls, for what was quite an old vehicle. Best to check if these were done. One involved the ABS I think and the other was for the Fuel injection. Very expensive (if you had to pay for it).......

The mk1 Tmax (2001-3) had 40bhp, all the rest have around 45, whilst new ones claim to have 47. Weight of all Tmaxs is just over 200kg, which is, if I recall correctly, 20kg more than the Bev - though the weight of a Tmax is carried very low down, whilst the Bev feels top heavy, so it makes very little difference. I think £3000-4000 would buy you a mk3 (2008-11) which was one of the most fun ones, and the last with the enclosed chain drive. I've never taken a pillion, but suspect that they'd be more room on the Tmax, though the official Piaggio topbox had a pillion seat back rest on it, which may or may not help. Back rests were available for Tmaxs as well of course.

[Bingo]

Never had an open face lid so can't be sure! I would think so - it swallows a full face lid with lots to spare. Mine had a topbox with it. The sissy bar with its chrome rack is non-standard. It looks like it's got the standard rack underneath the Sissy bar one, I'm pretty sure that the Piaggio box would fit on, or a Givi box with mounting plate could be attached to it.

General reliability wasn't that bad. It did have the odd funny, though nothing terminal. The worst thing it did was to progressively lose power on a dual carriageway, though once I'd rolled to a halt, it restarted instantly and ran without problems after that! Spares service was fine. btw Mine had a surprising number of recalls, for what was quite an old vehicle. Best to check if these were done. One involved the ABS I think and the other was for the Fuel injection. Very expensive (if you had to pay for it).......

The mk1 Tmax (2001-3) had 40bhp, all the rest have around 45, whilst new ones claim to have 47. Weight of all Tmaxs is just over 200kg, which is, if I recall correctly, 20kg more than the Bev - though the weight of a Tmax is carried very low down, whilst the Bev feels top heavy, so it makes very little difference. I think £3000-4000 would buy you a mk3 (2008-11) which was one of the most fun ones, and the last with the enclosed chain drive. I've never taken a pillion, but suspect that they'd be more room on the Tmax, though the official Piaggio topbox had a pillion seat back rest on it, which may or may not help. Back rests were available for Tmaxs as well of course.

Thanks again. Prices seem high for the T Max This one is within budget but its 13 years old!!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/YAMAHA-XP500 ... SwcTJgKtWA

Never realised they had a final chain drive. Does this require self maintenance? I cant do my own maintenance mainly due to my Arthritis in my knees, hence the reason for a scooter and not a proper motorbike. I believe the maintenance schedules for the Bv350 are quite far apart. What about the T Max?

Im just a bit nervous of going too old but I do like the look of the T Max. The other slight problem is wheeling the thing about when parking etc. As said my knees are knackered. Having said that I pushed a Silverwing around a bit and it wasnt as bad as I thought it would be.

[MrGrumpy]

Thanks again. Prices seem high for the T Max This one is within budget but its 13 years old!!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/YAMAHA-XP500 ... SwcTJgKtWA

Never realised they had a final chain drive. Does this require self maintenance? I cant do my own maintenance mainly due to my Arthritis in my knees, hence the reason for a scooter and not a proper motorbike. I believe the maintenance schedules for the Bv350 are quite far apart. What about the T Max?

Im just a bit nervous of going too old but I do like the look of the T Max. The other slight problem is wheeling the thing about when parking etc. As said my knees are knackered. Having said that I pushed a Silverwing around a bit and it wasnt as bad as I thought it would be.
[/quote]

That ebay one looks nice (early mk3) - note optional passenger backrest. Also note aftermarket exhaust, which may be good or bad! The enclosed chain drive only requires the occasional oil change, otherwise its completely ignorable! Later models had a belt, for no good reason.
Servicing - services every 6k miles, but oil change every 3000. 12k services are bigger, including V-belt. To an extent servicing costs aren't too huge, but the consumables (brake, tyres, oil & air filters) add up.

Secondhand Tmaxs are becoming pricey - they seem to be quite sought after now. I think prices are actually rising, rather than falling!!!

As for pushing it around, the Tmax is a bit lighter than a Silverwing. They can roll quite easily, but of course, if something that weighs 200kg+ starts to fall, its pretty well impossible to stop it! And pushing one uphill is only for the strong & fit! As I've said, the weight of a Tmax is carried very low down, which makes them easier to manhandle. Reminds me of my brief ownership of a Pan European - a complete nightmare, impossible to handle. I rapidly bought a Burgman 650 instead, and even though the actual weights of the Burger and Pan European aren't that different, the Burger felt like a moped in comparison!!!

[Bingo]

Thanks. I have the added issue of a gravel drive with a garage at the end of it and no real way of turning a big scooter around on it. I guess what ill probably do is leave it at the top of the drive and stick a cover over it or carefully paddle it backwards into the garage. I have a Vision 110 at the moment but it only weighs 102kg and I can lift its back end around.

[wightegi]

So how about a Piaggio mp3 ,the 350 version ,with 3 wheels locked it would be easy to push around .

[Bingo]

So how about a Piaggio mp3 ,the 350 version ,with 3 wheels locked it would be easy to push around .

No, I dont think so. Just dont fancy one at all. Ill manage, It will get left out most of the time its in use anyway. If need be ill just recruit my neighbour to get it into the garage.

[DTO]

The early Beverly 350 suffers from coolant leaks if not changed every 2 years , It rots the engine freeze plugs and head / base gaskets .
I also found both the early seat with bolster and later seat without to be very hard at the bottom of my spine .
I brought it new in 2013 and traded in ( with mystery coolant leak ) at 3 years old .

I’ve had my t- max 530 for 7 years now with zero problems just saying