Modern Vespa

Hi All,

This afternoon I installed my small Vespa windscreen. I read through the MV threads and felt armed with all the info I needed.

I pre-assembled but kept things loose for adjustment, and tapped the posts/struts into the headset with a light mallet tap.

I noticed that after installation some of the plastic expander bolts are visible from the outside.

Please see photo.

Is this typical or is the expander bolt not in all the way. It's tight, seems to fit the headlight properly but the exposed expanders seem wrong. Is it? And if so will I be able to get the expander bolts the lay flat again to give it another go?

Thanks for reading.

I have an aftermarket windscreen on my GTS, but I had a Vespa-brand one on my old LX. If memory serves me, that is not correct. Something's off, though I can't pinpoint it from memory + the one picture. Hope others chime in and you get the answer(s) you need.

You do not tap them into the headset.....
If anything like the GT...they are pushed up tight by hand and then tightened up...no mallet needed.really.

Thanks for the info so far. Mostly everything I did was by hand. I read in a separate thread regarding the installation that a few folks had success tapping with a rubber mallet just to make sure it seated properly. I then just used my hand to steady the windscreen as I tightened by hand. Then I applied equal torque to each side with a wrench to make sure it secured evenly.

At no point did the mounting brackets easily slide into position sinking the entire expansion bolt into the cowling holes.

I guess I should remove and start over. Hopefully nothing is stripped and the hardware still functions as designed. Thanks again.

I'll grab a few pics of mine in a sec for reference

Was this purchased secondhand or new?

Here's mine installed...snugged up tight....
None of the black part is exposed..I would pull it out...find a drawing of it and reinstall...I'm betting something did not go together correctly...
The black piece you see is the part that expands to hold in place...

Thanks for the photos. Very helpful and clearly done correctly

This is a new windscreen. I double checked the order of assembly, and its all correct. I'm just going to remove it, take a deep breath and perhaps put each bracket on individually so that I have better control of how it seats.

You have been more then helpful. It was very nice of you to take some photos. I'll update when I get a handle on things. Thanks so much.

Well done, Brody...thumbs up for you.

If there's one thing I've learned in the past 5-6 years of working on old cars and scooters, when I start reaching for a hammer, it's time to take a break.

So I took another stab at installing this windscreen on my GTS250.

I double checked the order of parts and carefully compressed the black plastic expander barrel into it's original form (from my failed first assembly attempt). With the left and right windscreen posts set up identically for installation I carefully and fully inserted the assemblies into the scooter.

Before I tightened anything I immediately noticed the right post (my right, facing the front of the bike) was sitting deeper into the hole. I took the posts out and felt around for any burrs. Nothing.

I peered in with a flashlight and noticed that the left hole had some sort of red washer/cover around the mounding hole that the right side did not. My guess is that's what is causing the left post to not seat all the way into the hole. The right side does not have this.

Please see pics below.

Does anyone know what side is correct? Should I try to remove the red washer/cover so the two pieces will sit flush? I will be the first to admit I am new to working on scooters, but I'm not a mechanically challenged moron.

The bummer is the the plastic finish around the holes is starting to take a beating.

Thanks for reading, and I appreciate all comments.

Well, mine certainly did not (does not) have that red washer business.

After multiple install attempts, scouring the interwebs for info, and chatting with the fine folks here on MV I finally got fed up and took the scoot to my dealer to see if they could shed some light on my inability to properly install my windscreen.

With my pride in the gutter I explained to the dealer that I had been unsuccessful with the install. He examined the mounting holds and says:

'Did we have a different windscreen on this in the showroom? If so we did not take out all the hardware.'

'Come back when the service dept. is open and we'll figure it out.'

WHAT?!

Thirty seconds back in my garage and a long flat head later... Disco.

Glad you got it figured out. Don't ya just hate when some knucklehead before you botches something up, unbeknownst to you, and you start to feel like a moron because of it. Sell the part back to them for a free oil change. Or maybe cash instead, you might not want them tinkering with the bike again.