CarBrandLogos archive · Piaggio · 2006

PiaggioMP3

Two front wheels that lean, and a lock that lets you stop without a foot down.

The story

A defining chapter in Piaggio history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Piaggio MP3, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

Launched in 2006, the MP3 was Piaggio's attempt to solve the scooter's oldest weakness. A conventional scooter puts a small contact patch on a wet, painted, manhole-covered city street and asks the rider to trust it. The MP3 added a second front wheel, carried on a parallelogram linkage that allows both wheels to lean together with the machine, roughly doubling front grip without turning it into a trike that has to be steered like a car.

3 wheeler FB · Diehardscdffan · CC BY-SA 3.0

Design and engineering

A hydraulic lock on that linkage lets the rider hold the front suspension upright at a standstill, so the machine stands on its own at traffic lights. Power comes from a range of four-stroke singles from 124 cm3 upwards driving through a CVT, and it is built at Pontedera.

Piaggio MP3 · FaceMePLS from The Hague, The Netherlands · CC BY 2.0

In production

The commercially decisive detail was regulatory: in Italy and some other markets the three-wheeled configuration meant certain versions could be ridden on a car licence, which opened the machine to commuters who had never considered two wheels. Rivals have since copied the layout, but Piaggio got there first and remains the reference.

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Engine

Petrol engine

Technical specification

The MP3, in detail.

Production: 2006–present
Class: Three-wheeled scooter
Engine: Petrol engine; Petrol: ; 124 cm 3 Leader 125 Four-stroke engine; four-stroke ; 244 cm 3 Quasar 250 Four-stroke engine; four-stroke ; 278 cm 3 Quasar 300 Four-stroke engine; four-stroke ; 330 cm 3 HPE
Transmission: V-Belt Automatic (CVT)
Assembly: Pontedera, Italy
Manufacturer: Piaggio