Modern Vespa

ok maybe some of you guys might say wth is a bushing? well its what attaches engine and swingarm to the body. this year ive noticed alot of side to side movement while riding. which worsens at higher speeds. it scares the BEJEEZUS out of me on highways. so ive been looking up replacement procedures. it seems very doable for me. there are two types of bushngs. the oem which is rubber and the firmer polyurethane. to those in the know, what is your preference and reasons for..

the poly won't break down as fast as the rubber. should add some stiffness as well.

Polyurethane will give you a very good ride, at the expense of feeling the road a bit more in your backside. So its comfort versus handling.

I had polyurethane bushes in my PX200, and the handling was beautiful - ran on rails! But when I tried them in my GTS I found them too hard.

Mike

Charliebrown, are you on a GT, and how many miles and years on it?

Mine has displayed the same symptoms for a while, particularly on long grooves, waves in the road and high speeds.

I had replaced the bushings for the rear shocks (same OEM) and there was no change.

its a lx 190 im pretty sure the bushings are the problem. its a 06 and im a heayweight. i hold the grab rails and side to side is too squirrly for me..where i live in nyc, roads are poor and lug groceries that tend to push those bushing regularly..p.s i meant the bushing on the sway bar unnderneath..

Urethane all the way on the LX! It actually smooths potholes coz when you hit them, the engine will stay square(er) to the chassis. Plus it just tracks better.

If the swingarm bearing are OK (and yours sound as though they are shot) then it should make no noticeable difference whether the silent block is rubber or urethane.

The upper rear shock bushings (which many responders here have confused the issue with) also show hardly any difference if the rubber ones are in good condition and are tightened up sufficiently. However if replacing then the urethane ones are a good long lasting substitute.

So, which of the two different bushings (swing arm or shocks) will cause the scary scooter behavior?

swingarm bushings..

If the engine/rear wheel can be moved side to side more than 1mm then you need to check the swingarm bearings - which are two pairs of needle roller bearings, no rubber or urethane involved.

Judging by his avatar, Jim, I think the OP has an LX. On all the small-frame scooters, the swingarm bushings are indeed rubber.

I think it is only the larger Vespas that have roller bearings.

Urethane gives me much better tracking on my LX.

im pretty sure they are like ball joints that wear down. ive been checking the parts schematic http://www.scooterwest.com/items/?_pageCCS=t#page=/items/Center-Stand-Swing-Arm/1062 that is what i need to replace..

Piaggio doesn't offer them as a separate part AFAIK. I worked with Clauss to get them made in urethane and now they are readily avalailable. With the bike on the stand, rocking the chassis from side to side, the play between the engine and chassis is reduced roughly 50%. Off the stand that equates to better tracking and rough road handling as the engine won't swing lateraly as much. If you really want rubber bushings, I've got 2 sets that were replaced with urethane, but I can't see why you wouldn't go uretahne. It is a noticable improvement.

OK, I needed to correct my post. On my PX200 I installed plyurethane bushes in the swing arm and in the shocks, and the results were excellent. Best handling scooter I have ever had.

On my GT200 I only installed them at the top of the shocks, and the result was too hard. Took them out again.

So go for it with the swing arm.

Mike

According to Haynes for GTS, the engine needs to be removed to get to the swing arm bushings. Also, there are several bushes mentioned.

That sounds very differt from what I have been reading here between the lines.

What's the scope really?

lx is a snap. 3 bolts..

Never mind this, problem is solved.

So, is it part 2 or part 12 on the GTS?
And how do you get access to them?
Easily removed and inserted, or any special tools needed?

on the gts the procedure looks more involved. no rubber bushings but something called a silent bloc?
page 231
http://www.scribd.com/doc/21369694/Vespa-GTS250-Workshop-Manual

My apologies, I've never spotted that before!

OK, for the LX, urethane would appear to be the best bet.

I have one of those blue urethane ones i got from Oopsclunkthud or Jettins site and i love it. Have a LX as well. Good luck

Never mind, no help needed. I checked for lateral play and there is none. No need to replace anything there then.

x2

If I were to do only one mod on the LX would be this. Takes the "hinge" out of the middle of the bike. Huge impact on handling, zero impact on ride comfort, slight increase in vibration at idle.

That said, did have a failure on the first set -- urethane seperated from the shaft and worked it's way out of the mount. Not catastrophic, manifested as mushy back end. Emailed Clauss pics for free replacement.