Guess you guys saw this too :
http://www.twowheelsblog.com/post/81...heeled-scooter
Printable View
Guess you guys saw this too :
http://www.twowheelsblog.com/post/81...heeled-scooter
Attachment 5769
Piaggio Group confirmed in a statement that the Italian Police force ‘Guardia di Finanza’ seized a three wheeled motor scooter called YB250 ZKT produced and marketed by Chinese company Kaitong Motor based in Taizhou, Zhejiang, through its subsidiary Yiben. The Police carried out the operation at Yiben’s stand at the 2011 EICMA.
Attachment 5771
Guardia di Finanza says that the aforementioned model appears to be a little too similar to Piaggio ‘MP3′, whose design and production rights are obviously owned by the Italian group.
Attachment 5770
Thereby, the model has been restrained over allegations of falsification and copyright infringement. Here are the pictures, you can see that for yourself.
Attachment 5768
Original text edited slightly for clarity.
Source: twowheelsblog.com
Thanks Bikerdoc,
Any pix of the Piaggo three-wheeler for comparison?
These bikes look very weird to me. How do you corner on them?
cheers
The picture posted by MJH is of the Gilera Fuoco 500ie, shares many of the same specs as found on the Piaggio MP3 500 , but with quite different stylistic modifications and upgrades. It's often said that the Gilera Fuoco is a MP3 on steroids...
For some insight into the performance and handling of the MP3's check out the motorcyclenews review.
The parallelogram suspension is an original Piaggio design. The tilt mechanism is composed of four cast-aluminum control arms with four hinges fixed to the central tube and two guide tubes on either side. It is connected to the arms via suspension pins and ball bearings. The tubes on the right and left enclose the steering tube. The result is a scooter that provides incredible stability when turning, braking, riding on wet pavement, you name it.
Attachment 5772
The control layout of the Piaggio MP3 is a little different than other scooters because it includes a front end lock. On the right side control there is a button to lock the front end when at a stop. The mechanism only engages at very low speeds (near to stopping) and when the butterfly valve is closed and the engine is running below 3000 RPMs. With the mechanism engaged, one can sit at a stop with out having one's feet on the ground. The mechanism can be disengaged with the switch OR it will automatically disengage once the scooter is moving at low speeds. The factory specifications say that the auto-disengage kicks in at around 15km/h.
Piaggio have had the MP3 250cc available for sale in mainland China since earlier this year, and it's likely that Kaitong have dabbled in some reverse engineering. This is one of the reasons that I have stated elsewhere previously that foreign motorcycle manufacturers are unlikely to bring in mid-market and lower entry less costly motorcycles and opt instead for the top end of their respective range to try to buffer themselves from some of the modus operandi commonly used by Chinese manufacturers. Examples, include Honda bringing in the ST1300, Suzuki bringing in the GS1300R and M109R.
So I guess Kaitong Motor will fail to get return for "investment".
That's not a Gilera; they sell that model in the USA as the MP3 500
http://www.piaggiousa.com/scooters.html#!s=home/mp3-500
Notice the blue emblem.
MSRP $8,890.00 USD