Modern Vespa

Enclosed is a step-by-step walk thru outlining the fabrication and process for installation of a spare tire on a Vespa GTS 250ie. Note that the Vespa GTS rims are interchangeable. It is OEM recommended that the rear tire (130-70/12) be slightly larger than the front tire (12070-12), but a rear wheel/tire combo can be installed on the front hub without issue. Therefore, if you are to carry a spare wheel tire it is recommended to carry the rear tire size on the spare. The thread will be separated into 5 parts:
1. Spare tire placement options
2. Attach bracket Mock-up and proof of concept
3. Bracket fabrication
4. Wheel installation
5. Horn relocation. Guess where the wheel will be mounted?
6. Review and observations


wheel placement option 1, in wheel well...loose quite abit of storage and foot placement


wheel placement option 2, on rear rack, loose aft storage


wheel placement option 3, upright on rear rack, not ascetically pleasing, would need to fabricate a bracket to mount


wheel placement option 4, on scooter side---like a pannier this would occupy the space of a pannier as pannier space is more valuable and would make the bike asymmetric.

wheel placement option 5, front faring mount. This location provides a few challenges. The challenges include:
1. clearance with front wheel faring
2. wheel attachment to scooter
3. Horn relocation
4. loss of front load carrying capability
5. headlight visability


headlight is partially blocked, I'll need to "rake" the wheel as to limit headlight beam blockage


will mount on OEM front rack


disassemble rack, won't need these parts


re-install rack


quick wheel fit check, wheel contacts post


trim post, need to tuck wheel as close as possible to scooter


make bracket from aluminum rectangle bar stock


fit about here


drill oversized hole matching the front bracket


trim attach flanges


light deburr all mounting holes


rough machined bracket, repeat process


break edges with deburr tool


add loop adhesive velcro to the bracket to front rack contact/touch points as to spare the finish of the front rack


mount check


wheel base-plate out of wood first, then metal


trim with band saw


wheel check


attach base-mount to bracket interface to front rack


attach to scooter


mount wheel to baseplate


scooter fit check


no front fender contact


still some headlight blockage, need to rake the wheel and will try another mount approach


vespa GTS front wheel hub ($30 from e-bay)


opposite side of hub, these hole attach to your front brake disc


need to trim off small tabs to make a flush surface, easy-peasy as hub is aluminum


trimmed hub


trim down the large disc to accept the hub


remove front decorative trim as the tire will tuck to a lower position, plug holes with fastener


aluminum sheet stock, 6061-T4 .125 inch gage


outline transfer from wood to metal


blend corners at 1.5 inch radii


cut on band saw


deburr


mount on bracket


mount assembly on rack


prime (2x coats) + paint (2x coats) the wheel hub


mount assembly on scooter


front view, notice the assembly blocks the horn and running light


countersink fasteners


attach hub with course thread M6 fastener, use blue loctite paste


fit check, no tire contact with scooter or bracket, only hub


front fender check, no issues


view from top


remove stebel horn from cavity. Stable horn install can be found here:
Installation of the Stebel horn on a Vespa GTS step-by-step


will mount the horn here


need additional hose and elbow hose couplers


bond straight coupler into stebel nozzle


mount with fastener here


straight connecter bonded in horn hole


thread nozzle hole thru bracket


horn as attached


horn/hose backside view


assembly on scooter


assembly front view


need to thread horn hose thru plastic trim, no real other option


connect horn hose with hose elbow connector, easy to disconnect if assembly needs to be removed


horn mounted


wheel clearance to top of front fender


front 1/4 view, closer tucked wheel, no headlight blockage


outside front view


side view


front 1/4 view


horn mount side view


horn front view


headlight view from ground

Mod review and observations:
1. Additional piece of mind if need to conduct fix a flat where plug is insufficient
2. Certainly will mount for any long distance riding
3. No additional noise at hi-way speeds
4. Stebel horn is perceived to be ~30% louder, from re-location
5. assembly weight ~ 20 lbs, this will have benefit in cross wind conditions
6. some increase in front impact crash worthiness
7. benefit to other vespa riders if touring with GTS scooters
Enjoy!
Keithm

How about your turn signal lights, they are completely blocked for upcoming traffic..
Or are you planning some sort of upgrade thing on that as well??

Bommes, good catch! Just ordered a set of flush mounted LED turn signals. Will need to mount so they will be visible from the head on view.
Keithm

May want to consider adding some clear-bra circles to the scooter paint, beneath the rubber cups or you'll have some perma-circles in no time.

Also, some additional cooling for your VR may be in order....at least in warmer climates.

Like your mods. Not always beautiful but useful! And great documentation!

You have given a lot of consideration to this. May I ask you which has been your best mod out on the road? Assuming you have test ridden all these different options, it would be nice if you shared your secrets with us?

Max,
I have a couple additional mods in the hopper. Once complete, I'll post a list with the intent to prioritize, based on value (bang for the buck). I'm currently fabricating a (no drill) rear Pannier attach rack. I've finished the mock-up (wood) and I am moving to metal. Unfortunately, I do not process any welding skills, so the rack brackets are all mechanically fastened. Very slow process of measuring, fitting, trimming, fastening.
All the Best!
Keithm

you made a real mod there.nice and pro work.i was thinking something like this but in the glovebox.

I considered mounting within the footwell area, except:
1. loose lots of knee area
2. loose access to glovebox
3. No real mount points, would need to secure the tire/wheel to plastic panels
Here is a sneak peak at the next project, the holy grail of 2 wheel storage........pannier racks + lockable metal panniers

left side view...very robust, no loss of hand rail, tucked close as possible to scooter, vertical mount, no interference with passenger, no weld rack, no drill scooter attachment

right sized ammo can...stay tuned
Keithm

you can do this job for living.you are very good.

I think you might have been better off with touring bike like a Honda ST1300 or BMW RT1200 rather than a Vespa.

My thoughts as well

Here is a linky to the forward facing LED aux turn signals added to provide forward facing turn indication:
Adding forward facing LED aux turn signals to Vespa GTS



So the mod also entails relocation of the horn + adding aux turn indicators
Keithm

Looking good Keith, nice (and safe) extra, good mod again.."thumbs up icon"

Still I am in doubt if you really need a spare wheel..??
Ever thought about those rubber plugs for fixing a puncture and a Co2 capsule..??

40 000 miles on my current GTS 250 and not a single puncture that required changing a wheel or tyre.

why?

Not had a motorcycle/scooter flat tire either, but will carry a spare when on Vespa during longer touring rides for some piece of mind.
Keithm

I'm curious how the additional weight on the front affected the handling of your scooter while cruising, turning at speed and stopping?

I have not experienced any handling/braking issues. The only performance issue is a ~2 mph drop in top speed. I erroneously stated a 4mph drop in the pannier post. The drop in top speed is due to the weight and additional drag of the wheel and panniers mounted. I also modified the wheel on the bracket.

revised position, fits closer to bike

raised the assemble about 1.5 inches

reduced the rake, aligning with the front faring angle
Keithm

If its anything like my auxiliary fuel which I carry on my front rack as keithm does his tire, it actually handles better with a little add'l weight up front to me.

This thread is amazing; the brilliance of the pictures and the angle is exquisite. I still think that the best way to carry a tire would be behind the legshield kind of between my legs on top of the battery.

Keith: How would one keep a thug from stealing your nice wheel/tire combo off your scoot??

The perpetrator would need to remove the 5 Allen bolts to walk away with the wheel. I don't think most folks would mess with scooters (at least where I live). The value for them would be in HD's and sports bikes. I could replace one of the attach bolts with an tri-wing tamper-proof bolt. I'll need to consider this....
Keithm

my vespa has different front and rear wheels so i cant really see the point of it but looks good

IMHO, a spare wheel on the front of a scooter is uglier than my ex mother in law.

This is the same for the author's Vespa. Have you carefully red his post? Regards
Armin

I know this is an old thread but I was exploring options in case of a flat tire on the road and I'm thinking Slime is the way to go. I've had lots of success with it. They make a motorcycle kit with a mini compressor that will either plug into a 12V outlet or clip straight to the battery. All you do is remove the tire valve with a little included tool & squirt in the appropriate amount of slime, replace valve & drive. The slime coats the inside of the tire & fills the hole with goo & bits of rubber. Amazing stuff. That tire is killing aerodynamics & adding weight. Hope the scoot is running well, though!