# Three wheeled scooters?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheeled-scooters/595166
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [September 4, 2011, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheeled-scooters/595166 "2011-09-04T15:13:48Z")
**Posts on this page:** 15
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2011, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheeled-scooters/595166/1 "2011-09-04T15:13:48Z")
I watched a guy riding one yesterday, Vespa I think, and noted that he did lean into turns and he did put his feet down when stopped. I’ve wondered about that and now I know. But what I don’t know is what’s the point of three wheels? Looks kinda cool once you get used to it, but what else.
Peace,
mangeorge
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### Author:  [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2011, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheeled-scooters/595166/2 "2011-09-04T15:47:59Z")
You mean as opposed to having two wheels? A three-wheeled vehicle won’t tip over when it’s at a complete stop, for one thing.
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### Author:  [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2011, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheeled-scooters/595166/3 "2011-09-04T16:00:40Z")
> [@hogarth](#):
>
> You mean as opposed to having two wheels? A three-wheeled vehicle won’t tip over when it’s at a complete stop, for one thing.
So it’ll lean just so far then stay there? It could be set up to remain upright at a stop, and the guy just likes to put his feet down.
I was thinking maybe also a braking advantage.
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### Author:  [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2011, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheeled-scooters/595166/4 "2011-09-04T16:03:34Z")
It was probably just force of habit.
Was it 2 wheels in back, or 2 wheels in front? The latter are supposed to be much more stable.
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### Author:  [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2011, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheeled-scooters/595166/5 "2011-09-04T16:04:43Z")
I know someone whose balance is so poor that she cannot safely ride a bicycle. She rides a tricycle. I guess if she wanted something powered, a 3-wheel cycle would be her logical choice.
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### Author:  [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2011, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheeled-scooters/595166/6 "2011-09-04T16:16:40Z")
> [@Alessan](#):
>
> It was probably just force of habit.
>
> Was it 2 wheels in back, or 2 wheels in front? The latter are supposed to be much more stable.
Sorry, I wasn’t exactly specific. It was two in front, like a Vespa.
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### Author:  [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2011, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheeled-scooters/595166/7 "2011-09-04T16:36:08Z")
The leaning three wheelers are suspended so that they will stay upright without a rider. This prevents dropping it when stopped. They also don’t fall over when parked due to kick stand sinking into hot asphalt.
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### Author:  [@J-P\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/J-P_L)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2011, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheeled-scooters/595166/8 "2011-09-05T02:26:34Z")
Was it a Piaggio MP3, or something similar
[Video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0eOSVMy09M)
[Images](http://www.google.ca/search?q=Piaggio+MP3+500cc&hl=en&qscrl=1&nord=1&rlz=1T4GGLL_enCA362CA362&biw=1155&bih=773&site=webhp&prmd=ivns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=oDJkTtmaB_HI0AHn96X9CQ&ved=0CE0QsAQ)
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### Author:  [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2011, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheeled-scooters/595166/9 "2011-09-05T03:45:12Z")
> [@J-P\_L](#):
>
> Was it a Piaggio MP3, or something similar
>
> [Video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0eOSVMy09M)
>
> [Images](http://www.google.ca/search?q=Piaggio+MP3+500cc&hl=en&qscrl=1&nord=1&rlz=1T4GGLL_enCA362CA362&biw=1155&bih=773&site=webhp&prmd=ivns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=oDJkTtmaB_HI0AHn96X9CQ&ved=0CE0QsAQ)
Very similar. I was behind it most of the time.
I see you needn’t put your feet down or clutch, which is cool running around town. Stopping and starting are the most awkward parts of city riding, I think, because you have to go so slow.
I won’t be getting one, because I’d miss the raw power of my Burgman 650. 😉
Isn’t the Piaggio a Vespa product?
Story is that the maker of the scooter named it “Vespa” because it sounded like a wasp, which it does. the story goes on that his daughter said “Daddy, it sounds like a wasp”. It is Italian, so that could explain the romantic story. 🙂
BTW; I just happen to be the proud owner of a 1965 Honda 50 Cub, “The World’s Greatest Motorcycle”.
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### Author:  [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2011, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheeled-scooters/595166/10 "2011-09-05T04:44:50Z")
There are two versions of the MP3, one that has hydraulics and can stand upright on its own, and the cheaper version that can’t.
I don’t know about other countries, but in Greece you can ride the one that doesn’t tip over with your regular car driver’s license.
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2011, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheeled-scooters/595166/11 "2011-09-05T14:20:32Z")
Checking the Piaggio website at [http://www.piaggiousa.com/scooters.html](http://www.piaggiousa.com/scooters.html) I’m mystified that 500cc could move so little bike so slowly. With that much displacement any modern crotch rocket could do more like 150mph, not just not-quite-90. Sure, it could be governed down, but then I would not expect to see the top speed dropping more or less \*pro rata \*from the 500 to the 400 to the 250.
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### Author:  [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2011, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheeled-scooters/595166/12 "2011-09-05T14:31:48Z")
> [@Dog80](#):
>
> There are two versions of the MP3, one that has hydraulics and can stand upright on its own, and the cheaper version that can’t.
>
> I don’t know about other countries, but in Greece you can ride the one that doesn’t tip over with your regular car driver’s license.
Why would a regular car driver’s license cause a scooter to tip over?
😃
I should probably apologize for that.
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### Author:  [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2011, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheeled-scooters/595166/13 "2011-09-05T14:56:55Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Isn’t the Piaggio a Vespa product?
> Story is that the maker of the scooter named it “Vespa” because it sounded like a wasp, which it does. the story goes on that his daughter said “Daddy, it sounds like a wasp”. It is Italian, so that could explain the romantic story.
Other way around. The parent company is Piaggio. The first model was produced by Piaggo Aero following WWII. The 2 wheeled / commercial vehicle business was spun off into a separate company in the 1960s. That company has several divisions besides Vespa, including MotoGuzzi:
> **[Vespa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vespa)**
>
> Vespa (.mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}Italian pronunciation: \[ˈvɛspa\]; Italian for 'wasp') is an Italian brand of scooters and mopeds manufactured by Piaggio. The Vespa has evolved from a single model motor scooter manufactured in 1946 by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A. of Pontedera, Italy, to a full line of scooters and one of seven compan...
[http://www.piaggio.com/en/](http://www.piaggio.com/en/)
That article doesn’t attribute it to the daughter:
> [@](#):
>
> Upon seeing the MP6 for the first time Enrico Piaggio exclaimed: “Sembra una vespa!” (“It resembles a wasp!”) Piaggio effectively named his new scooter on the spot.[3][4] Vespa is both Latin and Italian for wasp—derived from the vehicle’s body shape: the thicker rear part connected to the front part by a narrow waist, and the steering rod resembled antennae. The name also refers to the high-pitched noise of the two-stroke engine.
A couple of years ago I noticed one or two of these Piaggio MP3 things around here. I was briefly intrigued by the idea of getting one to zip around locally on, but decided not to.
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### Author:  [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2011, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheeled-scooters/595166/14 "2011-09-05T15:01:40Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#):
>
> Checking the Piaggio website at [http://www.piaggiousa.com/scooters.html](http://www.piaggiousa.com/scooters.html) I’m mystified that 500cc could move so little bike so slowly. With that much displacement any modern crotch rocket could do more like 150mph, not just not-quite-90. Sure, it could be governed down, but then I would not expect to see the top speed dropping more or less \*pro rata \*from the 500 to the 400 to the 250.
My Suzuki 650 Burgman’s 638cc motor will just get it up to 100 mph. Suzuki’s GSX650F claims a top speed of 135 mph. That’s a 35% increase for just a few more cubes.
It’s my guess that scooter riders aren’t all that interested in 100 mph plus speeds. If they (we) were they’d get a crotch rocket.
Prices of that motorcycle and the top Burgman are pretty close.
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2011, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheeled-scooters/595166/15 "2011-09-05T15:13:33Z")
Agreed.
But that 500cc’s-worth of power goes to either top speed or to acceleration. Or else it’s a really detuned 500. None of those 3 alternatives make much engineering sense for a scooter’s mission.
I suspect what’s really going on is that the 250 is plenty of power for the scooter mission, but the marketing department figures a line of 3 engine sizes will sell better. I’d also bet the incremental cost of the 500 engine is less than the incremental price of the 500 scooter. Win-win for them.
I’m not suggesting this is evil; merely the same marketing approach used in lots of other motor vehicles, … and TVs, and …
The mistake (such as it was) in my first post was approaching this as a purely engineering issue.