2003 Piaggio X9 500 review from United Kingdom

Nothing went wrong in the three months I owned it, but then I doubt I really gave it time.

In my second bike I was looking for something to continue the commuting capability of my little Typhoon, but something that was also capable of being ridden in place of driving the car at the weekends.

I knew pretty well instantly when I did my bike test that I was never going to get used to manual gear-change after two years of scootering, so a big auto bike was the only option, and after finding a Silverwing uncomfortable, I went for this.

First the good points - it was fantastically comfortable, blisteringly quick (for a scooter), almost as easy to handle as my little Typhoon (though it coudln't quite get in the same gaps) and it had a vast array of gadgetary (including an automatic centre stand for goodness sake). Fuel economy was okay, in the 50's round town.

There was only one bad point, but in the end it proved fatal, and that was the fact it was a bit top-heavy and the wheels weren't quite big enough for the weight (190kg unladen on 14's).

One day another bike did an emergency stop in front of me when an old lady stepped out into the the road without warning. I swerved to avoid going into the back of him and the bike went over - and that's when the bike's other fault became apparent - all that fancy plastic work on the side didn't actually contain anything as rigid as crash protection. End of bike with all of one side ripped off.

(End of my right boot as well, the only thing that prevented it being the end of my right foot according to the paramedics).