Modern Vespa

Heyo, one year BV350 owner here. It's been 12000km with my first example of "fine Italian engineering". My previous experience has been with Tawainese scooters of various displacements--what's called a Genuine Buddy 125 in the states, a Kymco Bet & Win that unfortunately came a cropper too early, and a Kymco GT200i People that took everything I could throw at it up until it became unresponsive after 50000km. Luckily, I had already paid for my new BV350--a 2017, which seems to not have the various issues noted in earlier model years.

Now, the quotes around the "fine Italian engineering" are due to some...quirks that the scooter had in its first riding season. The mirrors often loosened at the base of the stalk requiring some grunting with the little rubber boots and a few seconds with an adjustable wrench. The license plate bracket along with license plate came off somewhere in the Townships; I put that down to an oversight with the PDI. I had to buy a small electronic bicycle pump because the hand pumps I was using simply could not work with the odd angle of the valves, especially the rear.

But in general, she's run perfectly fine without leaks or stalls for 12000km.

Then I discovered on Monday that the low beam bulb had burned out sometime within the last 1000km . A bit annoying as the same bulb on my Kymco high wheeler had lasted much longer. But eh, these things happen. Checking the copy of the manual on my phone, I found that it was an "easy job" that required removing only six screws without any major removal of plastics. I could do it in the driveway.

(The use of quotes are quite deliberate.)

Removal of the little plastic plate above the dash cluster? No problemo. I needed a flat-head screwdriver to pop it out, nothing major. I stuffed a rag into the space beneath because I had read that the screws securing the top of the headlight assembly could drop down. They proved a bit of a bugger to get with my small bike-toolkit screwdriver, so I fetched a stouter one from my big toolkit in the apartment. Back it out, it dropped, caught by the rag, grope, erk, get some tweezers from upstairs, probe--

CLUNK

FFFFFFFF[BLEEEEP]

Luckily, the screw (though not the washer) dropped out when I twisted the headset. The second did not fall down so it at least had the washer. Fine. *grumble* Let's get the lower screws at the front of the headset housing. Fiddly angle, a bit stiff, just...

These screws are stripping faster than Khrystal at Club Supersexe.

(Lovely girl, I'm a person to her, not some customer.)

(Really. We have a bond.)

Stomp upstairs, get ratchet/coupler/adapter/phillips head bit, lefty looser, and YOU WILL GET OUT IF I HAVE TO USE THE HAMMER OF THOR AND A SAW--

They came out.

THANK YOU.

Popped the old halogen out, put the new one in, fumbled with the plug until I found the right way to put it on (and checked the high beam for wire orientation), slid the headlight assembly in, turned on scooter, pressed ignition, and then there was light.

Everything went back in with far less drama. And thus I found myself fulfilled at saving myself a visit to the dealer and labor charges.

And if I have to do that again in the next few days, I'm getting that hacksaw.

Last edited by Samarkand on Wed, 19 May 2021 03:29:17 +0000; edited 1 time

An excellent first post. You'll fit right in.

Ditto.

There's no adventure like getting into the headset of a Piaggio!

I've had mine open a couple of times now. It gets easier...I think. Problem is I seem to forget some of the details before I have to do it again....

I use a magnetized screwdriver on those screws inside the headlight, which makes it easier to get them out and back in without dropping them.

Halfway through my GTS's second year, I also had the misfortune of discovering that the license plate bracket is considered a wear item. Luckily, I noticed mine was loose before it ended up at the bottom of the San Francisco Bay.

Welcome!

As the captain of the Titanic was reported to say: "hindsight is 20/20." What was worse was that I thought I had fixed the issue when I discovered that the license plate bracket that was supposed to be bolted on by several bolts was just hanging off that top one. It seems my fix was less secure than expected.

When I came by the dealership when getting a simpler Vespa-style plate plaque from Scooterwest, my first word when handing both it and plate over to the mechanics was "Locktite".


Mind you, overall the BV350 has really pleased me. I do not pamper my bikes though I am diligent in having them serviced. They are my commuting vehicle from spring to autumn, do twice-daily trips onto the autoroute, go out in the cold and the wet, and go on weekend rides of 3-500km. So far, my Dragon Red BV has always started up with a firm prod on the starter.

Welcome to MV, Samarkand! I hope you never have to bust out Thor's hammer. But if you do, please post about it here.

Eh, it wouldn't even be the most serious I've had to deal with.

Nothing builds character like pushing a 350 lb scooter over ten kilometers on a hot summer day back to something resembling a town because the one thing you forgot to get serviced was the CVT belt. Like I said, my old scooter had a lot thrown at it.

Regrettably, I have been in similar circumstances.

Welcome to the MV madness! Seems like you fit in already. Post some pics of your lovely ride and don't be a stranger.

I would like to have my say on Italian engineering, the refined one.
It is not a technical problem, I have pointed out this many times, it is that the design technique is also influenced by the culture of the country it comes from. But it's not necessarily wrong, just different.
For an Italian mechanic or in any case for a mechanic trained to work following a method that is not necessarily the same for everyone, the disassembly operation would have been easy.
He knew "what to do" but above all what "not to do" to get a good result.

if you had this much distress i eagerly look forward to your post about adjusting the valves, doing fork seals or... really anything on the 350.

i revel in the deliciousness that somebody else gets to be tortured as much as myself.

great bike. pain in all nine assholes to work on.

-g

Ha! I think I went there as part of the bachelor party for a Vermont wedding 30 years ago!

I've never been to a place of perdition, how is it?

somewhere between replacing a turn signal on a PCX150 and a rear signal on a kymco like 200 with a little bit of LT150 carb clean mixed in for good measure.

sittin here la la waiting for my ya ya levels of funk.

-g

How do you make express yourself so clearly while looking rough?

Excellent answer even if I only partially understood it.

That's the unique greasy vocabulary that only he understands

It means exactly what he wants it to mean, nothing more and nothing less!

Welcome to the forum. Samarkand is on my bucket list of places to visit!

Let's trade

Holy Crap look at that tool cabinet. Is it full of tools? Like... where you live at & stuff hehehe

Kidding. That must have cost a lot of coin. A lot. Like a new BMW M4 amount of money.

It is a relic from my past. I ended my career as an auto tech in 2001.

Yes, it is full of tools, probably approaching $100k in today's money!

how come sometimes if I quote a quoter, I only quote the quoter and not the quoted? (like where's Atilla and Greasy's quotes gone?)

from Brace Yourselves: Incoming Software Update:

I curse you Greasy for lodging that song in my head!

my parlance knows no bounds. french and german swear words get thrown around frequently. spanish is generally muttered under the breath. but the southern dialect comes at full volume. in person, it is totally understood.

but trust me on this one broham, ain't nobody want a trip into this lizard brain of mine to try and understand my lingo.

Thankfully, I have heard there are these ancient temples of wisdom known as "dealerships" where trained monks of the Order of the Qualified Motorcycle Technician may do such arcane tasks when presented with a powerful talisman known as a "credit card".

...no, seriously, a man has to know his limitations. Mine is basically being limited to doing fluid changes, taking out the battery for the winter for charging, and lightbulb changes. I also rent an apartment in a building with only a shared basement garage to work with and a downward sloping driveway outside. Like Hades am I trying to take off plastics and engine covers to futz with the valves or anything else.

The more I read you, the more I would be curious to meet you. Or not

years of back breaking work and god given talent. it's a gift, really

KRL 10 series? i'm guessing? (waves from across the room)

bummed i sold mine (just didn't have the room or need) but kept my tools.

at 100K that's easy money all day, every day.

r dealer's choice:
and here's your capper
you're welcome


choose wisely my friend

-g

i'll give you a quick pro tip. most of the really good techs leave the dealer and pilot their own ship. so maybe cast a wide net and see what that nabs ya before rolling right up to the doors. they may be working in a shitty garage and out of the way but the work is second to none and the eye for detail is well above the standard. just sayin'

-g

meh. i'm harmless. c'mon down and we'll have some beers. throw something on the grill and talk a bunch of BS about scooters and life and what not.

however, i'm not nearly as clever or charming in person.

-g

Run Through the Jungle did the trick. Thanks!

it's a roll of the dice on what's playing in the shop.
bring something to sip on and thick skin cuz the insults and blue stories fly.

no need for band aids, i have electrical tape.

Creedence Clearwater Revival.

I don't even remember to tell you the truth. But I have to stand on the lower drawer to see inside the top. Of course I'm not the tallest guy in the room at 5'8", but you have to be closer to 6' to have a good clear view. But I considered myself a good size for a tech. I could fit under a dash, in an engine compartment when working on trucks, or in a trunk to hunt down a noise or leak.

But I am truly glad I'm not doing it for a living anymore.

Some clean paper towel and electrical tape makes a fine band aid. Duct tape will do in a pinch, but electrical tape is better because stretchy, and half the time or more you're putting it on a finger where some motion is expected.