Well, well, well... it appears as if the rumor about the Piaggio MP3 getting a larger engine for the U.S. market might just be a reality. In fact, it's even better than even the die-hard scooter fanatics could have hoped for. Not only is the MP3 getting the long-rumored 400cc engine here in the States, we are also getting an MP3-500! The 500cc equipped machine will differ from the other MP3's though. The Gilera Fuoco 500ie, which is a brand not sold at all in America, is being brought over almost exactly as-is, except with another badge on its flanks.

As a refresher, the Piaggio MP3 is a leaning three-wheeled scooter which is currently available for sale. Currently a 250cc engine powers the scooter and the 400cc version should be in showrooms soon. Rumor has it that the MP3 500 should go for around $10,000. That is pretty expensive, but as Steve from The Scooter Scoop says: hotness has a price!

The last piece of good scooter news is that the new Vespa S might come stateside as well. I know some people have been waiting for that announcement too!

[Source: The Scooter Scoop]

UPDATE: cc numbers corrected.

Today we bring news which does not register very far up on our green meter, but we'll fit it in nonetheless. Piaggio has recently made headlines on our site by indicating that they might offer up their hybrid scooters in the U.S. in a few years time. Now, they go and partially undo that good news with this, the Gilera GP800. Now, I am not saying that the scooter is a bad product, what I am saying is that I wish that the push for ever larger engines in scooters would come to an end. Don't get me wrong, I love scooters. But, I personally think that the scooter market is better served with machines which focus on frugality rather than outright speed. A 500cc engine with a CVT transmission is plenty large enough to get well ahead of traffic when the light turns green, and can cruise comfortably above any speed limit in America or (Autobahn aside) the rest of the world. So, why go bigger? And, if you are gonna go bigger, why not cater to the market that really seems to want to go bigger - motorcycles. Oh well, we'll all just have to wait and see, if the GP800 indeed does go into production, how well it sells. Maybe I'm wrong and scooter riders do want bigger and more powerful.

Another interesting tidbit from another source: "Piaggio is building a version of the 3-wheel MP3/Fuoco with the 839.3cc engine and CVT plus final-chain-drive from the 850Mana/GP800 which will be sold as a Moto Guzzi." Really? That would be interesting, and there might be more of a market for the three-wheeler than the two.

[Source: The Scooter Scoop and Motoblog]

Here we go again with another round of multiple posts about motorcycles with three wheels on the same day. Earlier today, we told you about a new scooter that could be coming in the future from Can Am, and we reminded you of the Can Am Spyder, which is a three-wheeled motorcycle (two in the front, one in the back) which was recently made available in the United States. I believe that this is the first mention of the Gilera Gilera Fuoco 500ie, however. That might be because that brand is not available in the United States. But, we have brought you plenty of news about the Piaggio MP3, on which the Fuoco is based. The difference between the two bikes is in the styling and the size of the engine. The Gilera features a large 500 cc engine, while the Piaggio's make due with 125s and 250s. Rumor has it that a larger version of the MP3 will be available soon.

One major and obvious difference between the two vehicles here is that the Gilera and MP3 lean into turns like a motorcycle, while the Can Am does not. The Can Am does offer sophisticated technology to keep you on the road, however, with stability control and ABS brakes. Just how practical are these two machines? That depends on the rider, of course. What is the weather like where you live? How far do you travel in a day? Do you often carry large items with you? Conversely, how much money can you spend on a vehicle? How much do you want to spend filling up the tank? Vehicles like this serve a small market of people who enjoy wind-in-the-hair riding but want some added stability and feeling of safety, and they save plenty of gas in the process. There is also a rumor that Vectrix might release an electric scooter based on the technology of the MP3. That would be really great.

[Source: Telegraph]

Piaggio is the 800-pound gorilla when it comes to Italian motorcycles, owning and creating vehicles under the Piaggio, Vespa, Moto Guzzi, Gilera, Derbi and Aprilia brands. The majority of the vehicles the Piaggio Group sells are scooters, with motorcycles and rickshaw's making up the rest. But, here is an interesting rumor I found scanning 2 Stroke Buzz: will Piaggio start making four-wheeled vehicles in India?

The main point of the article, which was originally written by Adil Jal Darukhanawala and printed in the December, 2006 issue of Bike India, is that Piaggio will develop a brand new Vespa for the booming Indian market. This is big news in itself, but something that stood out to me is this quote: "At the Milan Show BIKE INDIA caught up with both Roberto Colaninno and also Ravi Chopra, CEO of Piaggio Vehicles in India and they both confirmed that it was only a matter of time before the company went on to add both two as well as four wheeled vehicles in its portfolio."

The article finishes by stating that we should see examples of the new Vespa in twelve months, but no timetable is mentioned regarding a four-wheeled vehicle from Piaggio. They did just release the MP3...

Related:

• A three-wheeled extravaganza! Piaggio MP3, VentureOne, KTM X-Bow and Can-Am Spyder

[Source: Adil Jal Darukhanawala / India Bike via 2 Stroke Buzz]