Cee Baileys Windscreen and Maintanence on Piaggio MP3

Chiron with the new Cee Bailey windscreen. 

The Piaggio MP3 has been running great and getting me good gas mileage. With summer here, I've been driving it back and forth to work every day. It is very relaxing to hop on after a long night of work. Motorcycle therapy is good for the soul.

I put a new Cee Baileys windshield on and love it. It is a custom job in light green to take up the glare of sunshine on wet roads. Works -- and looks -- very nice.

When the spring rains were still constant, I had the big bug shield on -- which was okay for cold weather. I hate looking through a windshield rather than over it, but I'll put up with it if it means I can ride dry 4 seasons.

That said, I think I'll ride with the Cee Baileys as long as I can. It is very comfortable and sheds light rain over my shoulders. It forms a great cushion of air around me that makes the ride very easy while still cool on a warm day.  I'm very happy with it and the price was very reasonable even with the custom color.

Already I've added 3,000 miles to this bike commuting to work and hopping on it for rides whenever I can. It is amazing I've ridden that much since December, but it really is a great all weather bike.

I've changed the oil, but now it is time to do the 6,000 mile service. Too far from the nearest Vespa dealer, I'm on my own. Actually, I have the help of the Modern Vespa community which is very friendly and helpful with great how to videos  and pdf files on everything you need. I set my laptop up next to the scooter and began removing layers of plastic.

Under all the covers, the CVT is pretty simple. 

The job itself is straightforward, but I'm always very nervous when tearing apart a perfectly fine running motorcycle.

It pays to have a breaker bar and good torque wrench. What it didn't know was that I'd need an 8 mm socket to remove 7 cover bolts. All I had was an 8 mm open end wrench so that was tedious. Seating the new belt was also tricky -- the video has you pound in a dowel to make space for the belt to go down - that spooked me but worked fine.

 I got it all back together and gave it some throttle while it was still on the stand to see if the belt change was a success. The engine cut out -- panic loomed. I tried it again, then noticed that the dang parking break was on. (facepalm). So I went for a little ride and everything seems to be okay.

Still need to do the other stuff on the list, but it now has a new belt and Dr Pulley sliders which seem to smooth out the acceleration. I start my commute back to work tonight. Wish me luck!

Modern Vespa Wiki - MP3
Cee Bailey Windscreens