Modern Vespa

Hey all,

I got the akrapovic exhaust for my Vespa gts250 and just after 5 min of riding with it the carbon fiber started to melt (see photo). And it started to move to the metal part as well. Has anyone experienced anything like this?

wow that must be one hot pipe, I guess any after market exhaust is prone to fail.

that exhaust has been damaged. you can tell from the metal strap being ground away.

I bought it brand new out the box and it had no damage at all.

something has caused this scratching damage. Did you install it?
Do you have anything that was tied down near it like a bungee cord or something? Maybe a boot buckle rubbing against it?

Do you have crash bars?

when i first got my akra it kept banging against the vespa when going over bumpy ground at speed,until i upgraded to malossi shocks and its ok now.

Yes I do have crash bars. Do you think they are banging agains the exhaust?

I did install them and there was nothing hanging hear the exsaust

Yes I do. Do you think they are hitting against the exsaust?

Yes, I installed it myself. Nothing was/is near the exhaust.

That looks like crash bar damage to me as well. Definitely not melting.

I see, what can I do to prevent this? Would Raising the back shocks help?

While nothing may be close to the pipe as it sits on the stand the engine does swing quite a ways up as you are riding. If you take a look directly above where the abrasion is by about 6in you will find the cause.

After finding what's rubbing on it you can sort out how to stop it.

+1 definatly NOT melting, i call crash bar damage to !

the manual and on the site of akrapovic it states that this exhaust can not be used with crash bars(!!!).

Would raising the rear shocks help?

That can help...

Or fitting some better/stronger aftermarket shocks because the stock ones are crap.

Awesome! I'll look into it. Any recommendation for replacement shocks?

Some urethane upper shock bushings mounted on the OEM shocks stopped mine from bottoming out. They also crisped-up the handling a bit.

That and I maxed out the pre-load adjustment.

All good now.

I have Mallossi shocks with Jettin bushings along with crash bars and an Akrapovic exhaust and haven't experienced this, even while riding 2 up. Are you sure you've got your exhaust mount spacers in the correct position? seems like there was a thread sometime ago about someone installing an Akrapovic and having their spacers in the wrong place?

gogogordy Could you elaborate on the "urethane upper shock bushing", ie what ones etc.

I followed the instructions as they sent. Big spacer in the back and small towards the front.

Sounds as if you've installed it properly. After inspecting mine, I have a hard tome seeing that the crash bars would actually come in contact with the end of the exhaust can. I made this observation by sighting the 2. It looks close, but should be adequate room unless there were some sort of side to side motion. How many miles on your scoot?

I have 7400 on it. It s a 07. My crash bars are diff. They might be original which has a bolt right above the exhaust about 6-8 inches.

post some pics of a little father away so folks can get the whole pic to see whats different in yours

That's your culprit then. Modify it.

I looked on McMaster-Carr trying to find a flush headed bolt to give you clearance but could only find a stainless carriage bolt that might work (page 3020). I've seen bolts with an almost flush head but I'm not certain what they're called? A sex bolt may also work if your bolt is only securing a slip joint? These generally are made of aluminum or brass and have flush heads and may be a better alternative for the exhaust side of your bike. Go to www.mcmaster.com and type sex bolt in search.

McMaster is a fantastic resource. But when I'm stuck and unsure about what I want or need I head out to a Fastenal store. They're everywhere these days.

http://www.fastenal.com/web/locations.ex

Willie B: You have the Vespa bars. Those don't conflict with anything at all, that I'm aware of. They stick out farther beyond the body than other bars in that same area. I have the same ones. Love 'em.

Nelly likely has the Piaggio bars. Those have been noted to conflict with a few things, including some aftermarket exhausts. Tweaking/replacing the shocks and/or sometimes modifying the bar mounts usually solves the issue.

So, I think that the shocks might need replacing because they are at the highest setting already. And I changes the placement if the screw. Take a look at the photos. I'll see what happens today and will report back.

Thank you all for your help!

Ouch... yeah, definately the mounting for the bars bottoming out on the exhaust. That's a bummer. It's not my style at all, but that's a totally cool exhaust.

Another possible solution would be to switch to the Vespa branded bars. There's no mounting bracket anywhere near anything that would conflict with the exhaust. They bolt on under the floorboard, and under the seat. It would be a less invasive fix, anyway. Might require just as many curse words.

You've obviously got a differing set of crash bars. The affixing bolt is in a horrible spot considering the action of the rear suspension and exhaust location. My stock shocks were junk and I replaced them with Mallossis. Try having someone sit on the bike and bounce the rear up and down to see how close the crash bars are coming to the exhaust. Replacement shocks might help, but not sure they're going to completely alleviate your problem considering a pot hole or something that upsets the rear suspension. You may consider selling your crash bars and picking up a set of the Vespa ones. That sucks!

First you have way too much shock travel. replace the shocks with a decent set, I like the Bitubos they have a great preload adjustment and they also have a rebound adjustment. Also consider the Malosi, alot of folks like them as well.

Next I would try and come up with a different spot for that pesky bolt some how. Like bend the bracket and fab some kind of connector plate that allows the bolt to be above the crash bar like a U upside down. Something.