I've been lurking here for a little while and have found some helpful information. I recently got hit with two problems almost simultaneously and after doing some searching, I haven't yet found a post specifically addressing my question, so here goes:

Toward the end of a 400-mile round trip (and two weeks after an oil change and thorough inspection) I noticed my 2005 Vespa GT 200 was sounding a little "blatty" and the temp gauge was shooting to the top after just a couple minutes of riding. Thanks to some posts here I discovered that the exhaust bushing has basically disintegrated and I can see and feel a couple spots where it's leaking. I'm not a do-it-yourselfer just yet and can't afford a trip to the shop either, so I tried a muffler fixer kit from O'Reilly's. While the noise is reduced somewhat, there is still a leak so ultimately the bushing will have to be replaced.

My question is, could the exhaust leak be driving the temp gauge up? It has never gone that high before. If I'm stuck in traffic on a hot day, the gauge will rise to about half way and the cooling fan will kick in. The fan has not kicked in once since this started. Coolant and oil levels are optimum so I doubt the engine is overheating. I can't quite place where the temp sensor is located and the manual is no help so I haven't been able to test it.

I've checked the rear brake cable since there are reports that an exhaust leak can damage that. The cable runs along the left side of the bike and there does not appear to be any signs of it being affected. But I'm wondering if the escaping hot air is getting to the temp sensor and the two are related. Or did I just get lucky and have two unrelated issues happen the same day?