two wheels good three wheels?

[knight2]

Following Poo's remarks about the 650 Burgman he tried I've been wondering which of the maxi scoots give the best ride. People on here speak well of the ADV 350 but are there others that are as good or better. Do three wheelers like the MP3, Metropolitan or Gilera Fuoco, yes I'm thinking of older bikes as well as new. I mention the Gilera as MCN took it off road on a test and seemed quite impressed with it, that and the fact I like the look of them. So I would be interested in peeps opinions.
Afore mentioned mCN test
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Goa_HYPJKKU

[MrGrumpy]

I think the question of ride quality is a matter of personal perception to a large extent....and the sort of roads you are travelling on. Many scoots, even the littler scoots can give a good ride on decent quality urban roads, but they are often not designed with crappy bumpy British rural roads in mind, in which the ride quality often becomes appalling! For big scoots, its often said that the Burgman 650 has a comfortable ride, but I found that whilst it was fine on main roads, it was very unhappy on the back roads. The Tmax has a reputation of being sporty, and maybe not give the most plush ride, but it does handle really bad roads extremely well - OK it may not give a Rolls Royce standard ride, but it doesn't lurch or sway or jerk on the big bumps like some scoots do. I remember my Burgman 200 - it was quite 'executive' in ride quality around town, but it just could not cope at all out of town - it lurched and swayed so badly it was hard to stay on!

[capitano]

Having ridden with riders on MP3s and Fuocos I was curious.

So, when JT was having a Piaggio Centre open day, I took a Fuoco out.

"Any tips on riding it?" I asked. JT grinned, "Try and get the front to wash out exiting roundabouts!" Helpfully adding, "It won't, of course."

It was great. I vowed to buy one the following Summer from him. His spat with Piaggio and sell off of the business happened meantime, and I bought another Harley instead.

Since then I've ridden the MP3 500 , the 300 Yourban, and the Tricity 300, without buying any of them. They were all great PTWs.

Did they ride better than an equivalent 2 wheel scooter.? Not that I could tell. Did they inspire more confidence in dodgy road conditions? Yes, without a doubt.

If you have a Piaggio main dealer near you, They'll probably have a demo 3 wheeler of some denomination. Take a test ride and see what you think.

[knight2]

Thanks for the replies,
Grumpy totally agree about the Burgman on the back roads on a decent road it's brilliant but I suppose you could say that about most bikes. I do regret not tryng a Tmax before I bought the Burgman, having said that I still like the Burgman in spite of it's suspension.
Capitano thanks for that about the three wheelers that's what I wondered about. I mentioned the Gilera because it always seemed to get favourable write ups and I think it's a nice looking bike particuly in the centenary colours. I took the Burgman down an unmade road to farm the other day, I wasn't happy! three wheels would have been nice. Thanks again.

[StephenC]

Careful, though. I guess the launch of the Ur Quattro and journalists believing the hype is too far back for anyone to recall?

OK, back to scoots then: when the MP3 came out with claims about how stable it was, a French mag did a wet braking comparison test with one alongside an ABS-equipped Satelis. The Pug stopped safely, the MP3 fell over.

So yes, a tripod will mostly be better than a two-wheeler for stability, just don't ride one thinking it is infallible.

[roadster]

OK, back to scoots then: when the MP3 came out with claims about how stable it was, a French mag did a wet braking comparison test with one alongside an ABS-equipped Satelis. The Pug stopped safely, the MP3 fell over.

So yes, a tripod will mostly be better than a two-wheeler for stability, just don't ride one thinking it is infallible.

That is exactly what I found out. A patch of black ice had my MP3 over instantly, luckily at a low speed. I also tried it in snow where it was OK on level going but loss of traction from the single driven wheel brought it slewing to a halt on an incline, at which point it was unrideable.