Piaggio problems

[Steve Young]

I bought my X9 in March 2009. At time of writing almsot exactly 3 months later, I have done over 4000 km. I went to wash it this morning, and there was fork oil all over the brake calipers, discs and wheel, not to mention a thick layer on the fork stanchions. Looks like blown seals, both sides. I am NOT HAPPY!! I took it back to the shop immediately, who made sympathetic noises but said they would have to contact the importers on Monday. I hope (for their sake) that they honour the warranty. :mad:

[rexmitchell]

Thats too bad to hear.....

[iamgumby]

Keep us posted.

[Steve Young]

So of course the importer makes not-very-sympathetic noises and tries to infer that someone has sabotaged my scoot. So the shop takes the dust seals off and pumps out a whole lotta fork oil, cleans up the whole shooting match, replaces the seals (that's the DUST seals, not the actual shock absorber seals on the rod, which is down deeper inside the tube and hence harder to get to) and tells me to ride it around for a few days. So I ride it to work today (66-mile round trip) and lo and behold, everything seems to be okay. Not only that, but the suspension seems to be working better than before. Now, that reminds me of the first time I ever tried to change the fork oil in a motorcycle - over 30 years ago now! I stuffed it up completely, and the forks were, like, rigid. No spring in them at all. :confused:Which would suggest to me that someone in the factory doesn't know how to assemble forks. I hope that all that extra fork oil didn't actually blow the seals. (The real seals, I mean). Time will tell. Of course, the shop didn't charge me.

[atcdanner]

So, how do you like the X9 (if it didnt have problems)?

[Steve Young]

Actually, I do like it, but it's very different to a "real" motorcycle. The handling doesn't seem to be as good as a "real" bike, but that may just be down to a much lower centre of gravity which means that it responds to handlebar inputs more quickly i.e. it feels jittery. 14" wheels probably find bumps harder to handle than bigger wheels, too, and they have a smaller choice of rubber available, which means that I'll probably have to put up with the Michelin Goldlines, even though they feel to me like they don't have much grip.

On the other hand, weather protection is great (I ride in all weathers), comfort is armchair, and the underseat storage convenience is a must-have in my situation.

The Gilera GP800 has bigger wheels.........must try one!!

http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/gilera/gilera_gp_800.htm