 Review of the Piaggio Fly 150 3V
August, 2013
Man, time just flies by. It's been way too long
since a new review has been posted here. Today we're taking a look at
the new Piaggio Fly 150 with a three-valve fuel injected powerplant. Why
is it so tough to review a scooter these days? Aside from building the scooter, Piaggio had nothing to do with this review. Like Honda, Yamaha,
Suzuki and BMW, Piaggio has made it clear to me that they DON'T put "review"
scooters in the hands of people who run websites like JustGottaScoot.com.
We are not considered a "legitimate" media source because we don't
accept advertising. That's right, we won't take their advertising money,
so we get no scooters to review. It's ONLY through the largess of
dealers like Bob at Scooterville that we have any chance to put some
miles on Piaggion/Vespa scooters.
That's enough sniveling.... for now. In the
interest of full disclosure, I should mention that I have not
been terribly impressed with a lot of Piaggio's scooter offerings in the
past. The questionable component quality,
sometimes poor fit and finish,
and lack of end user support left a bad taste in my mouth so far as Piaggio was concerned. If Piaggio keeps putting out fine machines like
the BV350 and this new Fly 150, I'm going to
have to change my tune. I may even become a (shudder) Piaggio
fan.
This review began with going through the pre-delivery process on
the Fly 150. Aside from some whining (which is different from
sniveling) about the use of TORX fasteners as opposed to good old
Philips screws, everything went fine. The battery is located inside the
glove box and installing it requires the removal of the horn cast, but
the location frees up storage space under the seat so I'm OK with the
modicum of extra work. Evidence of the new (to me) Piaggio
attention to detail was obvious during the pre-delivery procedure.
Speedometer Reading/Speed/Fuel Economy
 During pre-delivery, I installed the base for a GPS mount under the port
side mirror. On older Piaggios, I had to struggle to find a good place
to put the GPS, but on the new Fly 150 there are conventional mirror
mounts. Hmmmm, more evidence of a better scooter.
The speedometer is
biased toward kilometers with miles displayed in smaller numbers on the
inner part of the display. The odometer displayed kilometers. Like most scooters we review, the Piaggio
Fly 150 reads optimistically. The speedometer indicates 10% faster
than actual speed. An indicated 30 MPH is actually 27 MPH and an
indicated 50 MPH is actually 45 MPH. The odometer was very close to spot
on. My 18.5 kilometer trip to the office (GPS verified) indicated
18.5 on the odometer. Piaggio claims the Fly 150 has a top speed of 61
MPH and gets 104 MPG. The fastest GPS speed I saw was 58 MPH and that
was with a bit of a tailwind. I managed 86 MPG during the review which I
consider to be very good. This
was a brand new scooter that was NOT yet broken in. I expect that
both top speed and fuel economy would improve after engine break-in.
With some more miles (sorry, I meant kilometers) on the Fly 150
AND a rider who DOESN'T weigh 220 pounds, I would expect 61 to be
easily obtainable. As to the 104 MPG....... I don't see that being
realistic.
Features
The
Piaggio Fly 150 is powered by a
150cc air-cooled and fuel-injected, single over-head cam three -valve single cylinder engine, it gets
power to the rear wheel through a CVT automatic transmission. Brakes are
disc front and drum rear. The front and rear tires are 120/70 - 12" and the rear suspension is by
a single shock. The dash and controls are
well laid out and the component quality is a distinct improvement over
previous models. The dash is easy to
read and delivers the info one would expect. The speedometer is in the center
and, as mentioned earlier, bias toward kilometers. The odometer (no
tripmeter) is in kilometers. To the left is a fuel gauge and to the
right is a digital clock. Below those are lights for low fuel, oil,
check engine, headlight, high beams and turn signals. The hand controls
are in the usual configuration - high and low beam headlights along with
flash-to-pass, turn signals and horn on the port side with engine stop
switch and the electric starter on the starboard side. The turn signal
switch was easy to engage and to cancel. What? On a Piaggio? Yes, I
was shocked as well.
Moving down we find a glove box that would be good for,
well, gloves. Small ones at that, I don't think I could cram my huge winter
riding gloves in there. Half the glove box is given up to the battery,
but I'm fine with that. Just below the glove box is the fuel filler.
It's locked by key and is in a location that made it a touch tricky to
fill the scooter. This "low" fuel tank is a sure sign of fuel injection.
Carbureted scooters rely on gravity (and vacuum) to feed fuel
and, as such, have tanks higher up. Easier to fill, but worse for weight
distribution. I will gladly exercise caution in filling my scooter to
gain the myriad advantages of fuel injection.
Underseat storage is very good on the Fly 150. It was
no trouble at all to fit my melon-head XXL three-quarter helmet under
the seat with room to spare. Hey, look, there's no battery or fuel
filler to steal storage space from me under there! There is also a rear
luggage platform ready to accept the Piaggio topcase (part number
602995M0F2), or, if you want something of better quality and more
reasonably priced, I'm sure a SHAD topcase would meet your needs.
There's a pull-out hook in the front of the seat so one can hang a bag
or two on to the floorboard with feet on either side for even more
hauling capacity.
Lighting is very good which was really thrown in my
face after a ride on an older small displacement motorcycle. Dim
headlights, weak brake lights and barely visible turn signals aren't all
that noticeable to the rider UNLESS one hops off an old motorcycle or
scooter and on to a newer one. Wow. The road in front of me was suddenly
clearly visible. I parked side-by-side and looked at the brake lights
and turn signals - what a difference good lighting makes. The turn
signals on the Piaggio Fly 150 even look good and fit well with the
overall design of the scooter. Another clear indicator of good design
and execution are the rear-view mirrors. They are VERY well shaped, both
to look good on the scooter and to provide an exceptionally good view of
what's going on behind one. The angle at which they are set is even wide
enough for the full-figured among us to clearly see more than one's own
shoulders.
Passenger accommodations are nice with a large seat and
flip out foot pegs so the person on back isn't required to take up the
cowboy stance required of passengers on so many other scooters. The
features of the Piaggio Fly 150 add up to a well designed and well made
scooter with high quality components. I really didn't find anything to
complain about so far as the features of the Fly are concerned.
Riding Impressions
 Enough walking around the scooter, poking, prodding, pushing buttons and
so forth, let's fire it up. Turn the key to "on" allow the fuel pump to
do its thing, grab a brake lever and press the starter button. The Fly
150 fires right up and quickly settles into a smooth idle. Hot or cold,
it didn't matter, the Fly started immediately and ran flawlessly during
the review. I just love fuel injection on scooters.
Sitting on the Fly 150 with the
engine running and getting ready to take off I was struck by just how
nice the ergonomics of this scooter are. The stock seat is roomy and
very comfortable. The reach to the controls was just right. Leg room and
foot room are amble. The seat height of 30 inches makes the Fly 150 more
approachable for new riders than other, "taller" models. Entering
traffic I noticed how smooth the acceleration was. Nothing to write home
about off the line, a Genuine Buddy would rocket ahead of a Fly, but
more than adequate. Power delivery is smooth and even throughout the
speed range with no dead spots. Of course it goes without saying that I
wanted more acceleration AND more top end, but I could say that about
nearly every scooter I've ever ridden. The Fly 150 will easily keep up
with traffic and gives enough ooomph up to about 50 MPH. Getting the
rest of speed capability out of the Fly took a bit.
Handling is very good thanks to
a firm suspension and steering geometry perfectly suited to the size of
the scooter and its twelve inch tires. Some other riders I have spoken
with found the suspension a touch harsh, but I like a firm ride. The Fly
150 takes a line quickly and holds it well, something a softly suspended
scooter won't do. The ground clearance runs out long before the handling
capabilities of scooter reach their limit. The center stand hits first (and
often) during spirited riding. Braking is more than adequate. Yes,
one can wish for disc rear brake that the Europeans get on THEIR fly,
but I found the disc/drum combination to be strong and easy to modulate
with no apparent fade in normal riding. The strong brakes and good
suspension contribute to drama-free sudden changes in direction and
speed when the idiot in the VW in front of you is too busy texting to
actually drive.
The Fly 150 was a great deal of
fun to ride and did everything I asked of it. My daily ride includes
about 25 - 30 miles of streets and parkways with posted speeds up to
45MPH. On the rare occasions that traffic isn't completely bogged down,
I have several routes to and from work that involves twisties and speeds
of about 50 MPH (I was just keeping up with traffic officer). As
long as you don't try and make a highway cruiser out of it, the Fly 150
would be a wonderful daily rider.
Fit & Finish
One of my concerns with Piaggio
products overall is in the fit and finish department. I have found
miss-matched fasteners, misaligned body panels and low quality plastic
and operational components on past Piaggios. The Fly 150 shows what
Piaggio can do when they try. The
tolerance on seams is tight and uniform. The body panels line up
perfectly, appear to made of high quality materials and are beautifully
finished. Currently, you can have your Fly 150 in any colour you like as
long it's black or white. The seams on the seat were not perfect, but
I'm nitpicking. The glove box door opens and closes without immediately
going out of alignment as on previous Piaggios. The overall look of the
Fly 150 is, in my opinion, gorgeous. It's modern without giving up that
scooter "image".
Piaggio Fly 150 vs.
The Competition
I've selected the Honda PCX 150 and Yamaha Zuma 125 as comparisons for
the Piaggio Fly 150. I've reviewed the Zuma,
and I've ridden a couple of PCX scooters, though I haven't done a formal
review. In my opinion, the Piaggio Fly 150 is a better scooter than the
Zuma in every category. The Honda PCX is both quicker and faster than
the Fly 150, though I don't find it to be nearly as comfortable and I
think the Fly is better looking. So far as bang-for-the-buck goes, the
Fly 150 is the clear winner. As this is the first year in the US market
for this version of the Fly 150, I'm going to hold off adding it to my
"what scooter should I buy" list. If Piaggio can hold the line on
quality, pricing, and continue to demonstrate good support, I'll
certainly be adding the Fly 150 to my list.
Conclusions
After reviewing the Piaggio BV350,
I was looking forward to the Fly 150. It appears that Piaggio is
bringing us new products that are not only on par with Honda, Yamaha and
other top tier companies, but doing it at a price point that represents
an outstanding value. I know that a lot of you are tired of me sounding
like a broken record when it comes to a recommendation for a city
scooter. It seems I spout "Buy a Buddy" over and over again. OK, here's
something else for you to consider, especially if you're looking for a
scooter a bit physically bigger than a Buddy.
Again, a big THANK YOU to Bob at
Scooterville in Minneapolis for providing the scooter used in this
review.
David
Harrington
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