Piaggio BV 500 reviews

I bought my 2007 BV 500 new 2/27/09. The dealer had marked it down making it a better deal than the 2009 BV 250 I was planning on buying. I am really, really glad I got the BV 500. It has plenty of power and easily keeps up with other scooters and motorcycles on the highway. Having long legs, I could always use a little more leg room. However, this scooter gives me more than others I tried on for size. I live just 25 miles from Jerome, AZ, and took my first ride there yesterday with two friends. I can see why that ride, 158 curves in 12 miles, over Mingus Mountain is such a favorite of motorcycle riders. It was fantastic! The BV 500 handled the mountain with no problem whatsoever. I'm 68 years old and had a Cushman motor scooter for a year or two in high school. This is my first scooter since; I had forgotten how much fun 2 wheels can be. :-)

It's not too big for the city and not too small for the highway. The rear tire only lasts about 7,000 miles. The bike is very practical and now I want to modify the drive train. I'm also interested in the new cam for the motor head.

I ride anywhere that I want to go. My work commute is 80 miles per day.

I love my scoot. It is so much fun, and most may not realize this BV is better than a motorcycle in many aspects. It pulls me around (250 lbs) with ease.

The Piaggio BV 500 is more than a scooter, and better than a motorcycle. After years of riding BMW bikes (two old classics) and a 15 year hiatus, I decided to go for comfort at my age (60+) but didn't want to sacrifice performance and tourability. The BV 500 was the perfect solution. Cruise all day at 65-70 or maneuver around town: it masters both.

I got my BV 500 and have had zero scooter problems at 1200 miles. I wanted to kick in with what appeals about the BV 500. It has a lot of personality. The CVT works like you hope it will. This scoot will do anything from a 2 mph crawl, which will let you converse with a walking pedestrian, to a 90+ mph run down the interstate highway. You can leave all the cars behind at the stop light with the exception of a few muscle cars, if they are both determined and attentive. CVT allows you to keep both feet out for balance when you need to go slow because the road is gravel or the road is slick. All that, a bag of chips and 60+ mpg too.

I have owned the BV-500 for nearly three years and found it to be in the Italian tradition for superior engineering and performance. How Piaggio managed to get 39HP from a one cylinder engine and outrun many motorcycles is amazing in itself! I have also found the scooter very stable at speeds well over 100 MPH!

Great scooter, comfortable, fast, steady on hwy and very manuverable, very balanced. Best investment I made.

I've had 22 bikes (everything from full-dress touring to sport-touring to cruisers to retro to 'nakeds'), and I have to say this is among the very best, if not THE best. Easy to maneuver around town and yet very adequate on the highway. Good acceleration. Outstanding comfort & wind protection. Stylish looks. Can park for free on sidewalks. Optional saddlebags & topcase, when combined with glove compartment, underseat storage, & bag holder swallow as much gear as my former Goldwing. Good on gas (4L/100km or about 70mpg). Did I mention comfortable? No heat onto rider from engine (a blessing in hot weather). Strong brakes are a bit stiff at the lever and difficult to modulate. Givi windscreen is awesome for total wind protection with very little buffetting, but you need to take it off in really hot weather or you'll cook with so little breeze. This bike is easy to overlook among 'real bikers' but that's a shame because it has a lot to offer. Works just as well 2-up as solo. Passengers enjoy the wide plush backrest on the optional topcase. Crashed the bike this past weekend (sand on pavement - went down at high speed). Bike was still running when we found it in the bushes/ditch. Surprisingly little damage, considering the impact (saddlebags were not broken; fairing was cracked but all lights still functional even though scraped). This is clearly a tougher bike than I had imagined! Design also allowed me to fall clear of the bike without getting impailed by the handlebars or riding up over the tank, as might have been the case on a conventional motorcycle. Impressive.

I traded my 2005 Piaggio BV200 for this Piaggio BV500 and it was the greatest deal I have ever made. There is no comparison between these machines. The 500 is a tad longer but handling characeristics are exactly the same. I love it.