Red Dog and Me

This is an on-going dialog between me and a certain motor scooter, namely a 2009 Piaggio MP3 500 that came to live with me in October of 2009. I've named the scooter Red Dog and as yet have not determined its gender. In the past when I've named boats, bikes, and other like characters I've thought of them as feminine due to their behavior characteristics. Red Dog I'm not so sure about...we'll see. Update: OK, Red Dog's a girl...with an attitude

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Jan 23, 2010 The Uni-Go Trailer Project is finally winding down


Boy this has really been a fun project, building the hitch, ordering and waiting for the trailer to arrive, then assembling it and seeing it on the scooter for the first time.


Then making up the wiring harness and plugging in the lights and no sparks or blown fuses! And the first short ride towing it without even sensing it was back there, that was really great.

I still have to adjust the shocks to their heaviest setting but that won’t take long. The idea is to compensate for the added weight of the trailer on the rear end, otherwise the front end would be a bit light resulting in funny handling.











After putting the final touches on the wiring harness I remembered I had to treat all of Red Dog’s switches and electrical connectors with dielectric grease so I’ve started on that. It’s no small project as there are lots of components and most are buried under the plastic body parts.



This is something I picked up from other owners on the Modern Vespa Forum. It seems nearly all MP3s are prone to electrical issues that can be avoided simply by early weatherization treatment.

Now I’m truly looking forward to the first road trip, probably to Portland to have Red Dog’s saddle reshaped. The weather starting Tuesday of next week is looking pretty fair for this time of year so if it holds that may be a good time to go.
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6 comments:

  1. D and NJanuary 25, 2010 at 6:41 AM

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  2. D and NJanuary 25, 2010 at 6:43 AM

    I'll try that again...

    Di-electric doesn't have a very promising sounding name, does it?

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  3. Larry ParmenterJanuary 25, 2010 at 8:14 AM

    Ewww...

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  4. AnonymousMay 5, 2010 at 4:58 PM

    I gotta say your project made getting a qoute for mine way way easier! The shop took one look at the photo's I saved from your project and they said no problem. I did work with these guys like 15 years ago and now they are in a new bigger space!I was afraid I would have to pay "bigger new space" prices but not at all. I will let you know what happens since I am picking up the bike this weekend from the dealer and taking it to them first thing Monday morning. 

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  5. Larry ParmenterMay 5, 2010 at 9:18 PM

    Sounds good Anonymous, I'll be interested in hearing how it goes for you.

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  6. AnonymousMay 25, 2010 at 4:05 PM

    I was at the shop today and I have great news and pictures to share on the vesp forum under "extreme mod" later tonight. Also we are adding a hydrolic brake system to the trailer so that I have 5 wheels with brakes vs just 3!

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