I fully intended to replace my Northern Ireland-based Beverly 350 with a newer Beverly 400. Instead, I just bought a Honda ADV 350 that I previously test rode and hated. Here is why I settled for the Honda, and why I will probably sell it by spring.

fully expected to replace my old Piaggio Beverly 350 with the new Aprilia SR GT 400. I booked a test ride in Spain expecting to hand over my cash, but it turned out to be a bit of a letdown.

I pulled the CVT apart on my Piaggio Beverly 400 HPE here in Spain to check the belt after 12,000 hot kilometres. Piaggio do not give a stock width measurement, so I compared a brand new belt to the old one. The width was basically identical, but the depth told a completely different story. Here is why you need to look past the standard width checks and look at glazing and depth wear to get your scooter running smoothly again.

Always on the lookout for the next great thing in the scooter world, I decided to give the Honda ADV350 a test ride. Awesome Showa suspension they said, massive underseat storage they said, class leading performance they said. Honestly... They talk a lot of bollox.

A while back I upgraded the Irish Beverly 350 to some Dr Pulley sliders. The results were excellent. So of course, I had to try them in the Spanish Beverly 400. But this time, the goal was different, but the results the same: Big improvement.

Piaggio claims the Beverly 350 gets 65 MPG, but most real-world owners see the high 50s. I wanted better. Ditching the "butt dyno" for cold, hard data, I threw in some Dr. Pulley sliders, tweaked the aerodynamics, and made a counter-intuitive exhaust choice to push this old agricultural 330cc up to a massive 74.4 MPG.