Modern Vespa

Gettting off the expressway it seemed to me that my GTS was a little growly.

Riding on the surface streets I was getting sure there was an exhaust issue.

Once I got my helmet off and earplugs out it was clear. I think the exhaust gasket is blown.

Question is, any harm riding to the dealer to get it fixed?

You should be OK if it isn't too far.... But remember... The mechanic needs to let it cool to replace... so if you have the time to wait...

Thanks Jimmy. Waiting at a Vespa dealer, not a hardship.

I just want to make sure I'm not risking more expensive repairs.

Dave,
No problem to take it to the dealer, but also it is a easy job you could do yourself while you are doing all that wiring stuff. Do you really know where all those wires go?

Thanks Ken.

It does seem like a lot of wire, but I did manage to get the legshield all buttoned back up. Now I have a terminal strip that will make adding heated grips that much easier.

One mod the previous owner did was add a chrome plate to pretty up the exhaust pipe. I personally would never have done that because of a concern of interfering with heat dissipation.

I'm now wondering if that plate is causing some overheating that caused the gasket to fail.

Last edited by David Masse on Fri, 19 Apr 2013 10:36:16 +0000; edited 1 time

I doubt it, the stresses are inside the joint, not outside. They do fail, they will fail, they are a wear item. They should be monitored and adjusted/replaced as necessary every so often. Well-looked after they should last 12,000 miles or so, if neglected they can disintegrate within a very few thousand miles.

The big killer is damaging them when removing and replacing the exhaust - but if that's done with care there should be no problem.

When replacing one the downpipe and silencer should both be thoroughly cleaned and 'polished'.

Thanks Jim, very much appreciated. The bike has 15 thousand miles (25,500 kms) on the clock, so it sounds like the gasket's time was simply expired.

In the meantime, I have one more (unintended, and unwelcome) safety mod, cause loud pipes save lives.

I have ridden around 100 miles with a blown exhaust gasket on one occasion with no issues. But on the first blowout, it melted the rear brake line. A couple of weeks ago, on a long ride, one of our riders had the same thing happen, melted rear brake line. Both were GT's.

OK, I think I'll take it easy riding to the dealer and cross my fingers for the brake line. Thanks for that Bill!

I have had around 5 blowouts on my two GTs. In both cases where the blowout took the rear brake line (both mine and Leslie's) the brake was gone upon first noticing that the gasket was blown. So, by reasoning, since yours is already compromised and you still have a rear brake, you are probably ok. I might suggest wrapping the brake line in aluminum foil as a possible heat shield.

Thanks to Jim for the advice to clean the pipes before reassembling. I have never done that.

Jim kindly helped me repair my 250 last year on the cannonball and it required pulling the exhaust. The gasket had about 4000 miles. I had a spare to put on and all the parking lot experts said we should put it on. Jim said "bullocks" and we put the old one back on. That is roughly 5000 miles ago and three more disassembles and it is still going strong. As we already know Jim knows of what he speaks. Of course I have just cursed myself and when I start my spring ride next week I will probably be changing it in the middle of Mississippi.

This thread inspired me to order a couple gaskets so when the inevitable happens I can fix it.

Having a spare is a Very Good Idea, as they will inevitably fail while riding WOT on a motorway far from home. Carrying the tools to replace one is also sensible. These are needed elsewhere on the bikes, so no hardship.

+1 on this one. I always have a spare, and the tools. It is an easy fix, even miles from home.

I've come up with a system so that when the gasket goes it doesn't ruin your day. I wrap the outer collar with a piece of metal (cut up paint can) and then use two exhaust clamps snug against each other.

That sounds quite a good wheeze.

I may be wrong but I think I have heard that on newer models there is some type of retaining clip to keep it from blasting down the pipe.

That was introduced (as a free replacement at service time) very soon after the 300s came out.

Part #?

300superParts;

Personally I've no idea. It was talked about quite a bit on MV some years ago.

EPILOGUE: I rode to the dealer being as light on the throttle as I could. I didn't put my earplugs in so I could listen for changes in the sound of the exhaust.

Towards the end I could tell that the failure was more pronounced but likely still not 100%.

I was chatting with a guy who was also waiting for the shop to open at 10:00 a.m. (no appointments on Saturdays - so first come first served), when this maniac comes flying into the alley on a silver GTS 300 (and when I say flying, I mean FLYING!) that sounds three times worse than mine, slams on the rear brake and skids into a parking spot pretty much like that stunt rider in the opening credits to the French movie Taxi.

He pulls off his helmet, beams a huge smile, and I then recognize the 'maniac' as the dealership's sales manager.

He recognizes me, walks over, admires my new bike, tells me how much I am going to love it, and asks me what it's in for. When I tell him, he says "Ya, me too, it blew yesterday, no big deal" with the same huge grin, before disappearing through the back door to the shop.

Needless to say I felt like a ninny for having coddled my GTS on the ride in.

When the service guys opened the service bay at 10:00 a.m. sharp, they wasted no time taking the first three bikes, mine included.

An hour and a half later (just enough time to grab breakfast at a nice cosy neighborhood diner with the new friend I had been chatting with), and $80 less in my wallet (which I thought was reasonable and was happy to pay), I was on my way with my bike.

It was sure nice to have my tiger back to purring rather than growling.

Even the 2C weather and a snow squall on the return ride couldn't dampen my enthusiasm.

Thanks everyone (with a special nod to JimC and Lostboater) for the stellar and timely advice, as always.

Another happy MV ending.

Wasn't it in Mississippi that the repairs were done? I remember having a brief WTF moment before figuring out what was going on when I saw your scooter lying on its side.

I knew it would happen...and in Mississippi

lostboater, I'm sorry to hear that. It looks like you have it taken care of though. Good for you for having a spare and the tools to change it out.

Ken, I owe you my deepest apologies. It's totally my fault.

I did a blog post and mentioned your Cannonball repair, and that it was still holding out, 5K miles later.

Of course the gasket gods read the post and POOF! there goes your gasket.

You must have been a Boy Scout because you really do travel prepared.

Looks like you've got it all under control, very impressive.

The parking lot repair was actually the swing arm that had sheared to bolts when I hit a ridge on a bridge or RR crossing. JimC drilled them out for me, the thinking being that if I did it I would be nervous about screwing it up and being out of the race there by increasing the odds of me screwing it up.. JimC's philosphy was he did not give a damn about messing it up since it was not his scooter, thereby reducing the chances of a nervous screw up. That and he is one hell of a better mechanic than I.

Bottom line, you own me a beer.

Most impressive, carrying the parts, tools, and a work space (the plywood). I'd love to see everything loaded up on the road.

It's a BIG country, Ken. You don't HAVE to go through Mississippi!!

Yep the plywood work bench is a bitch to keep from flying off.

I would not miss Mississippi for the world. I should have the blog updated tonight with the Blues adventure. http://scooterdiaries2013.blogspot.com/
It was every bit of the labor of love to have the chance to set on the front porch of the Blue Front Cafe and visit with Jimmy "Duck" Holmes, a legend in the blues.
Or the chance to stay a few nights in the Shack Up Inn in Hobson and get to know the owners Guy and Bill. http://www.theshackupinn.com/

Now, if it was cold or rainly when it blew, it would be a whole nuther story.

My GTS Super had started to sound a bit loud a few weeks ago and I figured the gasket was toast. I ordered the exhaust expander tool from Scooterwest. I already had a spare gasket I had ordered from OopsKlunkThud a while ago.

I had a day off today, so I put The GTS up on the lift I bought last year and went to work. The center stand feet were perilously close to the opening in the lift for the rear tire. Just in case I tied down the handlebars with some straps. The absolute hardest part of the whole process was getting the exhaust off. Of course the last of the three screws would not come off using the little hand torx tool I had in my tool kit.

Off to the auto parts store to get help. The only torx tools they had were screwdrivers that weren't large enough or torx bits for 3/8" ratchet sets. Of course I have a 1/4" and 1/2" ratchet sets. So I bought an adapter for 3/8" to 1/2" socket and the size 40 torx bit.

Got home and was happy to see my scooter hadn't fallen off the lift. The new tools worked fine and was able to remove the exhaust. There was about a 1" x 1" piece of the exhaust gasket left that fell out of the pipe. The expander tool made an easy job of inserting the new gasket after cleaning the male and female ends of the pipe with a piece of abrasive pad.

Put it all back together, lowered and rolled it off the lift. Started it up and wow, that's how quiet it's supposed to be. Now I won't wake up my wife when leaving for work at 4:15 am.

Anybody can complete this job with the basic tools needed. I bought the lift because the days of laying on the ground working on vehicles has long since passed.

A bit late to this post as I see David's got it fixed, but I'm just about to swap a noisy blowing gasket on my GTS300 with a new one. Lots of variations in price in the UK (you can find them from £10-£20) but my pal got me an OEM one from Germany for £10 delivered. So with that and an exhaust expander set for £15, I'm set to do that myself now and anytime in the future. If there's no area damage from the ride back with some blow from it, then happy days

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Professional-3PC-Car-Exhaust-Tail-Pipe-Expander-Kit-Tool-Set-Straightener-/110876305264?pt=UK_Hand_Tools_Equipment&hash=item19d0be2770

One of the ScooterWest videos shows a simple step-by-step...

I have a GTS 300 Super and I have to admit I ride flat out on our country roads pretty much all the time. The Bike is 18 months old and I have gone through 3 gaskets - this is the only issue I have had - I've just hit 12,000 miles. I'm lucky to have a great mechanic close by and his advice is invaluable.

He advised to get an aluminum Gasket - prior to this he has fitted the Vespa recommended Gasket as he said this is the only one that should be used. So instead of paying £30 each time I now paid £20 for this.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301142784621?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649



He swears by them, and it seems so do many others. I know this is an old post but I thought it would be good to have some extra info on this. Has anybody else used one of these?

Isn't there a Yamaha or Honda part that does the same thing as this 'Forget' gasket?

And are there any long-term consequences from this different design?

I have just finished replacing the exhaust gasket. No biggie, even for a totally non-mechanic like me. Hardest part was getting under there. I ended up leaning the scooter against the bench as I do not have any kind of lift or table.

The exhaust came of easy as 3.1415. Having the 17mm wrench and a #40 Torx driver did the trick. Pulled out the old gasket - yes, it was shot.

As I do not own an expander (see the video above) I gently opened up the end of the exhaust with a plumber's wrench wrapped in a rag. It went back on with a bit of jiggling from an uncomfortable position lying on the floor of the garage. Replaced the fasteners and bingo, the test ride showed a successful fix. The loud exhaust is back to it's previous gentle purr.

my gasket failed on my 2014 GTS 300 abs after 7000km. replaced it with basic tools in under 35min. No backfiring, super silent, constant pull - could not be happier. ordered mine at Loius.de for 5 eur/p https://www.louis.de/artikel/auspuffdichtung-endtopf-kruemmer-versch-gr/10042960/bewerten?purchasedate=20180108

its a graphite type...