NGC~~~MP3

[jcctx]

Ran across a low milage (2K) MP3 250; that I can buy for $1,800. Looks new!! Any comments from those who have owned or ridden one. Only negative I see is the thing is heavy at about 500 lbs. Like the 3 wheel scooter idea???

[Ronkom]

I own an '09 MP3-500. It will run w/the big boys & still get 50 mpg (on hi-test).  As you said, heavy. A lot of fun, but you have to stay focused when riding. Steering is quick, & smaller wheels (than a regular MC) mean you don't have the stability of two big gyroscopes spinning under you. Machine is complex & has it's own peculiarities to deal with. There is a forum  dedicated to the MP-3 as part of "Modern Vespa".
ronkom

[Zinfan]

Ran across a low milage (2K) MP3 250; that I can buy for $1,800. Looks new!! Any comments from those who have owned or ridden one. Only negative I see is the thing is heavy at about 500 lbs. Like the 3 wheel scooter idea???

You don't mention the model year but the first few years had a 12" rear tire size and that wore out very quickly.  I had a 2007 MP3 250 that I put over 30k miles on and never averaged more than 2500 miles on a rear tire (I did darkside the bike but who really wants to get into the arguments about that??).  More recent versions had a 14" rear tire that helped a lot but I've never ridden or seen one.  The biggest check point for the MP-3's is the steering head bearings, you want to move the handlebars back and forth and feel for hitches in the movement, the bearings on many of the MP-3's seemed to be under greased no matter which model and form a notch in the movement.  Here is a link to a post on Modern Vespa about a possible fix but I did this tweek and even with greased bearings the notch came back and I had to do a full replacement which isn't easy on the MP-3 (I had a shop do it for me). http://modernvespa.com/forum/wiki-mp3-short-term-fix-for-the-notch-

[LowRyter]

All that I have heard, if it's been crashed, very hard to impossible to be put right.

[fotoguzzi]

I'd be asking self, "is it really worth $1,800 of my own money".