Fun times with my Piaggio MP3 500

I enjoyed numerous giggle infused experiences with my Piaggio MP3. This scooter was great fun and always caused a little bit of chaos whenever I went for a ride. If you love attention and enjoy meeting new people, this is the ride for you!

We popped in to check out motorcycles at Walt Healy Motorsports in Calgary. It was there I found a Piaggio MP3 500 in demon black colour, the one I wanted . While sitting on my future scooter, my husband watching on with a serious face asks me "Can you please pick something out that is more normal and not so weird?" my quick reply was "Why would I want something normal?"

I remember pulling into a small town Subway one day riding my MP3 with my husband Dave on his Concours, and I see a couple Harley biker guys all leathered up across the street outside the local pub watching me park. We went in for a quick lunch and returned to our bikes so we could continue on our ride. Well the Harley guys were still there, looking across at us, and before I could get my helmet on they had started crossing the street towards me. I thought it would be humorous if they were coming over to beat my ass because I rode a scooter.  I'm happy to report that no, they just wanted to know how the hell I drove it! So we talked for about 15 minutes and one of the Harley dudes tells me there was no way he could drive it, way too complicated for him! They told us to have a great day and they walked away, looking back at my demon black scooter. It made me realize that driving something really different can be a good thing. Some people are impressed just by the fact it has way more technology than their bike! ha-ha


Alex and Piaggio waiting for the Parade to start

My son and I also took my Piaggio scoot in a Ride For Dad parade. I decorated his helmet up, threw some decorations on the bike and off we went down town to meet the other bikers. My son Alex was handed a bucket of candy to throw to the kids, and we went out on the parade route as a group, we ended up being at the back of all the bikes, perfect position to stop and lock the front wheels in the upright position before my son threw candy. I had time to look at the people lined up along the road and check out their expressions, and boy were they funny. We got a lot of clapping, hoorays, woohoos, and others running out to take our pics. Great fun and I could tell a lot of the parade watchers were wondering "What the hell is that thing?"

My husband Dave and I went on a Rural Ride For Dad one year. It was a wonderful day and my first time on a real adventure with my Piaggio. The route was through Kananaskis and it was so beautiful. Mountains and Lakes were a plenty so the scenery was awesome. At the end of our riding day there was a BBQ, entertainment, awards and prizes. There was a Prize for Most Unique Ride, and I am happy to say my darling Piaggio won it! And guess what my gift was? A set of Harley Davidson Mugs! I bet the Harley dealership never saw that result coming.



My low cost rain suit that makes me look like a scientist?

One of the funniest memories was the time we were biking in the Sundre area. It started to rain and I put on my rain suit (also known as white painters disposable coveralls, the ones you can buy at hardware stores, cheap, light, and not fashionable). My son Sam got me into them after he went to leave work one day and it was pouring rain, he still had on his disposable coveralls and decided to try them out as his rain gear was at home. They worked and ever since then we pack them on our bikes. So this day I have my white painters coveralls on with my white helmet, and we pull into a gas station in Sundre, I get off my scoot and start filling Piaggio up with fuel. My son and husband are waiting behind me to fill their motorcycles up too. I finished filling the gas tank and stood up to hand the fuel nozzle back over to Sam, then I notice the gas station employee coming out and walking towards us in a hurry, I think to myself, "Oh crap, what did we do wrong?". He walked right over to me and my scooter and asks what kind of Scientist am I and what is going on in the area, is it something he should be worried about? I look over at my son Sam confused and look back at the employee and ask him "What do you mean?" he tells me that I must be here testing things because I am all suited up and driving something no one has ever seen before. I laughed and told him everything was ok, I am not a scientist, just out riding the area and introduced him to my Piaggio. This is one of my fondest memories and we still laugh over this one. Just thinking about his face of worry and concern, it makes me giggle. Poor guy, I hope he recovered quickly that day.


Piaggio looking like Darth Vader's scooter

So don't ever think that being different is a bad thing, you might find that being unique can be a great time and very rewarding. Different is fun, and sometimes being the same as everyone else can be boring and non-eventful. Always pick the motorcycle that will give you a smile and make your journey through life a fantastic experience.



Rural Ride for Dad starting in High River with a bunch of great people

Give scooters a try!

My name is Helena, I have been riding scooters for 8 years now, and I have to tell you they are great fun. I started out on a dual-purpose dirt bike, a Yamaha XT225 that I bought for dirt biking and road use. It was a great bike to learn on and drive around our little town, but once I got bored and wanted to go out on the country roads and start riding farther it was time to get a bigger motorcycle.

2009 Piaggio MP3 500 (second from the left) ready for an adventure

My husband let me decide on my next bike and at the time I never knew I would end up with a scooter. After many trips to a lot of different dealerships, the one bike that kept interesting me was the 2009 Piaggio MP3 500, and the more I sat on it the more I really liked it. It was a demon black colour, with 2 front wheels and 1 rear wheel, Made in Italy, with awesome underseat storage (that was a huge selling point to me). So very strange but so cool at the same time. After weeks of reading online reviews and watching youtube videos I had decided it was the one, and I promptly called the dealership and started the financing. It was awesome to hear back that I had been approved, and he would be ready to go in a couple days. Woohoo, let the fun begin! This scoot always caused a commotion everywhere I went, lots of people wanted to know what it was and how the front end worked. I even had an engineer from Germany who came to Canada for a vacation crawl underneath the front to take pictures. I put 18,500 km on that cool scooter and sold it to a lady who was wanting to start riding with her husband. I miss my Piaggio but was very happy he went on to help another person enjoy riding.

My awesome touring bike, a 2012 Yamaha TMAX

My next scooter was one that had interested me for years while I owned my Piaggio MP3, and the reviews were always positive. When I had my Piaggio up for sale it was time to get serious about my next bike. I already knew years before I bought one that the Yamaha TMAX would be in my garage sometime in the future. All it took was a call to my local Yamaha dealer and they ordered a new 2012 Yamaha TMax 530cc model for me, just in time for our trip to Nakusp, British Columbia. It is a beautiful white colour with light blue flakes in the paint that would shine in the sunlight. This scooter was and still is a fantastic touring machine. It handles great, light weight, underseat storage, two front cubby storage areas for your cell phone and a camera, goes fast when you need it to be, and has a large fuel tank. Perfect for those long adventures you never want to end.

I still own and enjoy my Yamaha TMAX, but there was still one more scooter I had to have, because if you are going to ride scooters you have to sometime in your lifetime own a Vespa! After selling our house and coming out a little ahead after buying our new home there was enough left in the old chequing account to purchase a scooter for my inner child, a scooter to make you smile and giggle everytime you went for a ride, a scooter that would make you believe there is nothing wrong in the world, all is well and happiness can be found everytime you turned the key in the ignition. My new love was a 2013 Vespa GTV300 in a rich cappuccino brown colour. I love this lil guy, he is wonderful to ride, light and flickable in the corners, sporty and fun, with vintage scooter looks. He has a bag hook below the handlebars, underseat storage, and front storage too. You can even order a bottle holder that suction cups to the scooter for easy access while riding. Fun, fun, fun!

Riding the Buck Lake area with my 2013 Vespa GTV300

So if you are trying to decide on a motorcycle, don't ever rule out a scooter! I am so glad I didn't :)