Dave C wrote:
I called up Scooters Originali today and asked how often I should change my oil on my GTS. The number they gave me was every 2,000 mi. When I said that the service manual said that the 2,000 mark was just an oil check, they said that they change the oil anyway just to be sure.
From my haunts around her I was getting numbers in the range of 4,000-6,000 for an oil change.
I'm inclined to believe the professionals on this, but how often should I change my oil?
Ah, that explains it

When I got into work this morning Gene told me he had taken a really adversarial call about service on a GTS.
You both went over the differences in the manuals and Gene explained to you what they teach in Piaggio tech school. He also explained about the tough riding conditions on the rough, crappy roads around here and went over quite a lot of detail and our reasoning for why we do things the way we do, and how a service is actually more than an oil change. He would have spoken with you for longer, but you kind of cut the call short. We usually go on to ask the customer about the type of riding they do and what checks they perform on their own bike on a regular basis, MPG they are currently getting, changes in general performance etc. Most of the bikes we see people don't even perform the most basic of safety checks. Its a real concern in these parts.
You can see my opinion on what I do with my own bike as far as services go here:
http://www.modernvespa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=482316&highlight=#482316
Incidentally, the service intervals recommended by Piaggio USA are either a mileage schedule or a time schedule, that time being 3 months. There is a lot of discussion on different forums over this 3 month schedule and the majority are against it.
I honestly don't appreciate us being called on the phone and asked for an opinion, then a fraction of what was actually said being posted here, with our shop name. It makes me feel like the purpose of the call was to be able to slam us on the internet.
I also don't appreciate the posters after you insinuating that we are trying to rip people off because we quote the manufacturers recomendation, albeit with qualifiers. JimC, until Piaggo USA officially changes its recommendations to the same as Piaggio UK's recommendations we dealers and certified techs shouldn't really change what we tell strangers on the phone based on what we read on forums.
The truth of the matter is that you can do whatever you want with your own vehicle's service interval, but above all things I highly suggest you form a good relationship with your dealer. Dave, I assume that you bought your bike from Metuchen. They're really good guys. You should have popped in and asked them. They know their stuff and I'm sure would have been happy to discuss it with you.
Andrea