Modern Vespa

Hello to one and all here and whoever's reading this,

Here's a shout out from sunny Singapore! if you know where that is.

I finally decided to get myself a Vespa after years of riding other bikes and longing for the classic iconic scooter deep down. Never regretted getting myself a GTS 300. Love it!

Been wandering about this forum for a little while and I must say there's a wealth of information here. You guys are amazing. So I was inspired to join

I just got a question though. I was fiddling with my battery and when I tried to screw the rubber cover back in place, I noticed a little gap on one side as compared to the other side. Is the rubber cover supposed to fit very snugly at the sides? I tried to press the cover down and screw tightly but without much success. And yes I checked that the battery was in place properly. Am a bit concerned about rain getting to the battery.

Also, I noticed from the manual that two rubber plugs are provided to plug the holes under the chassis. I noticed there are two other holes left open. Are they meant to be that way?

Appreciate any advice and apologies if my questions seem a bit trivial.

Cheers!

Welcome to the forum. Make yourself comfortable. You will fit right in. I'm not sure about your battery issue. Maybe someone else will know.

Shalom and welcome from Israel.

I just stepped out to the parking lot to check the rubber cover on the battery compartment of my GTS 250 (I assume they are identical) and it seems to fit well/evenly.

The holes should force it to line up perfectly with the compartment it is covering, so I'm not sure how it could get out of line.

Is there any chance it wasn't lined up correctly before you took the cover off and you just didn't notice?

In any event, given the amount of rain you get there, I'd want to make sure there isn't a big gap. Ask your dealer to have a look.

Nice to have you join, friend.

My GTV battery cover (similar/same) fits VERY snugly. Actually in tension. Holds that battery tightly.

thanks for all your replies and welcomes!

to clarify, the gap is not big at all. it is just a very slight gap and I can see a little of the battery if I were to lift the side of the rubber flap a bit.

sadly, I didn't notice how well the fit was before I removed the cover.

hope this is not a major issue and not me being OCD or something....I'll have another go at it tomorrow

Welcome to MV! Just looked at the battery cover and it seems to fit very snugly. Not sure what's going on with yours. Someone here will know. Hang in there...

Welcome to the forum!

Welcome from finally sunny Chicagoland USA!

Hi and Welcome!

I changed out my battery recently. And when I replaced the cover it was very
much as you described. The new battery was slightly taller then the old.
So I removed a strip of thick foam tape from the bottom of the plastic hold
down clamp.

I re-secured the hold down clamp and the top fit perfectly again. Maybe this
will help.

Hello and welcome. My friends just returned from living in Singapore for 2 years and they absolutely loved it! Beautiful city and great people there.

Sorry, I cannot help with the battery. I still have a 250

thanks for the friendly welcomes! always great to know more fellow Vespa bikers

radicatkid thanks for the suggestion. I'll see if that works. I was adjusting the battery position just now to see if the cover fitted better but it was still the same.

Singapore's usually either sunny or rainy and lately we were hit by a bout of haze due to forest fires in Indonesia @.@ terrible!

The rubber frame plugs trap dirt, crud, water and keep the chassis from drying out quickly after getting wet. My suggestion is to remove them.
.

I see....hmmmm i'll consider removing them then

Hi Nakedsnake,

Welcome to MV. You'll learn that not question is too small or odd to get a discussion going here (or maybe you've learned that already

Glad to have you on board!

Welcome

Aloha and welcome to the forum from Hawaii. Pics of your new scooter if you can. Would love to see it. Have fun and there are some cool riding clubs. Check out Zero's. Don't know how far away but i'm sure they'd take a ride your way and a good meal will be had by all. Have fun with your new scooter.

Welcome from HOT and DRY Arizona! But, never to hot and dry to not ride....I also agree that the wealth of knowledge on here is amazing! You'll love it......

welcome mate , have a small Ulster Fry on me lol

Hola, eh !!

G'day from down under

Welcome Nakedsnake,

I experienced the same thing - after I bought my 300 I just had to look under there and sure enough, the cover wouldn't go back on quite right. I just had to keep moving things around under there until it fit right - I think one of the cables didn't lay down just right when I put the Battery back in the hole.

Also, make good use of the WIKI - TONS of great advice there - I just put new tires on mine and did everything myself short of putting the tires on the wheels - thanks to micbergsma and his videos!

Also check out the CoolAss seat cover promo - click on the banner add to get a great discount on a great seat cover. Honestly though, I just wanted to be able to say I have a CoolAss!

Cheers,

Welcome to the Forum!!

Welcome to MV! I'm not sure if you got yours new, but if it was used, perhaps the former owner had a battery tender on it which warped the battery cover a bit.

Welcome from Pennsylvania

nice to meet all of you!
and thanks for all your comments and suggestions!

xmanhoe: oh my that looks good!

@ Piglet: my bike is new and thus don't think it is battery tender issue.

@ Ok Lyle: tried fiddling but seems like the fitment is an issue. Attached a picture and I circled what I thought was the likely problem area. It seems to be higher than the plastic hold down clap when viewed from the side.

Now I am wondering if I should remove the battery overflow container as that the battery sits lower. Suggestions?

if not then I think I'll just leave that wee little gap there. unless its a direct blast of water to that area, don't think rainwater can get under there easily.

and now one of the U-clips or speed fasteners for the rubber battery cover needs to be replaced coz the screw slips when tightened fully. Dang @.@ I just went to a hardware shop and even two bike mechanic shops but couldn't lay my hands on any. and I thought this was a common part! hmmmmm... oh wells...

Welcome to the forum!
This site is filled with tons of great folks!

Welcome and grats on your GTS. They are great rides.

From your pic it looks like that metal post connector is bent somewhat. If you detach it from the post, can you bend if straight so it'll sit lower when re-installed?

hmmm...never thought of bending that metal connector coz I was afraid of breaking things haha...maybe i'll give it a shot

OK I did an experiment, disconnected and tucked the black cable under so it doesn't stick out and tried to screw the rubber cover back. Slight gap still seen. maybe its the moulding of that battery cover.
shall ask the dealer about it when I go for first 1000km servicing under warranty.

See if you can turn the cable over, put the high side down so the cable lays more flat. Just a suggestion from looking at your picture.
Welcome Blove.

@ Blove thanks for the welcome! really nice to be part of the whole worldwide Vespa Scootering community

I just popped by the dealer's and this is what the mechanic told me. Apparently there was slight damage to the plastic underside of the battery cover, a dent of some sort. And he deduced it was due to a little metal part sticking out (see attached pic, circled in yellow.)

Unless I modify the battery cover underside a bit, the gap will be there to stay, as I was told.

Really curious indeed. Looks like I am the only one with this little problem?

just a humble pic of my ride

to MV from the Sunny Aegean!

Very beautiful bike. I like. What mods do you have planned?I know you have something n mind.

I was thinking of the usual crash bars and flyscreen and really wanted to fix an airhorn (but not allowed here).

so I thought to myself maybe throw in a front rack and start loading up the headlights and mirrors.

any suggestions?

then I saw this and it looked really cool....

There's been when I wish I had the bazooka instead of air horns.

true that!

As someone who has been to your lovely island nation many times, welcome. I haven't been to Singapore since about 2003, but I do miss it.