From left to right: Eric with the Honda Big Ruckus, Jim with the Piaggio MP3 500, and me with the Piaggio MP3 250.
We decided to ride out to the Huntington Country Store, where we could take a break, grab a coffee, and discuss how the ride had gone up to that point. This allowed us to stick to mostly back roads, so that Eric could get his feet wet before tackling busier roads and highways. It turned out to be a great day, weather-wise -- about 58° and sunny. Jim took the lead, Eric followed Jim, and I rode behind Eric. That position gave me the opportunity to watch Eric to see how he was riding on his first time out.
And I was impressed! Except for being a little tentative at first, especially in corners, Eric did really well. He rode at his own pace, avoided sand on the road, and in general did everything he needed to do to ride safely. Here's a shot I took while riding to Huntington -- that's Eric on the Ruckus, with Jim further off in the distance.
I look forward to many such rides in the future. Welcome to the club, Eric! -- PL
8 comments:
congrats eric! i wish one day i can afford a motorcycle and experience it for myself. Thanks for sharing Pete! I wanted to ask why your bike is called an mp3? does it have a player installed? sorry if its a dumb question.
-->> Piaggio s have four wheels ?!
Where are those Bikes from ??
Super cool! I must say the unexpected bonus was how good I felt the rest of the day.
Funny how such a normally mundane activity (I drive my car several times daily) can become so stimulating with a change of vehicle.
I hope this feeling stays.
"AGLIAREPT said...
congrats eric! i wish one day i can afford a motorcycle and experience it for myself. Thanks for sharing Pete! I wanted to ask why your bike is called an mp3? does it have a player installed? sorry if its a dumb question."
I'm not sure why Piaggio named this model the MP3, but I suspect it has something to do with the fact that it has three wheels. It's possible that they thought the association with the popular music file format would give it a "hip" edge, but I'm just guessing. The bike does not have a music player, but, curiously enough, when I bought the first one (the 250) I got a free portable MP3 player with it. -- PL
"~ tOkKa said...
-->> Piaggio s have four wheels ?!
Where are those Bikes from ??"
No, they only have three wheels. They're from Italy. -- PL
"Eric Talbot said...
Super cool! I must say the unexpected bonus was how good I felt the rest of the day.
Funny how such a normally mundane activity (I drive my car several times daily) can become so stimulating with a change of vehicle.
I hope this feeling stays."
Eric, if my experience with motorcycling is any indication, I believe that feeling WILL stay with you. It's one of the reasons why I ride to work even when it would be more practical to take the truck, even though it isn't a particularly long or exciting route from home to Mirage. It's STILL more fun that going on four wheels. -- PL
Blogger PL said...
"~ tOkKa said...
-->> Piaggio s have four wheels ?!
Where are those Bikes from ??"
No, they only have three wheels. They're from Italy. -- PL
Just out of curiosity, how similar are they to the spider?
" Stephan @ The Turtle Van said...
Just out of curiosity, how similar are they to the spider?"
Almost entirely different. Both MP3s are physically smaller than the Spyder, and an MP3's two front wheels lean together at the same angle as its back wheel, so that it steers and corners like a regular two-wheeled motorcycle. The Spyder doesn't lean, and thus steers like a car. The MP3 countersteers, the Spyder does not. Both MP3s have automatic transmissions, while the Spyder has a five-speed manual transmission. The MP3s have single cylinder engines, while the Spyder has a v-twin. -- PL
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