Modern Vespa

Hello new to the forum and have a question regarding oil in the air box. Read all the previous posts about this issue. The scooter has never been dropped, and I have cleaned the filter numerous times. I am getting excessive amounts of oil inside of the air box, to the point where it is leaking out of the sides of the box. When a remove the clear bubble I get anywhere from just enough oil to fill the bubble, to 3 or 4oz! It has no problem starting and doesn't run sluggish at all. Any help would be greatly appreciated, I'm stumped. Thanks

Has the oil in your LX been recently changed? Is it possible that the crankcase was somewhat overfilled? That can cause quite a bit of oil to blow by into the airbox. Was the air cleaner recently serviced? That can also cause some oil draining out of the airbox if the filter was over enthusiastically oiled. Some oil will find itself into the airbox under almost any circumstances, but I would say that several ounces is unusual - and a nuisance.

I recently changed the oil, but put the proper amount back . That's what I thought was wrong in the first place, but when I checked the oil last there wasnt any showing on the dipstick and I'm still getting a good bit of oil in the box. I recently removed and cleaned the filter about 5 times over the last month. Cleaned with mild soap and water, and let dry. Oiled it very lightly and put back. What's strange is its not running poorly at all, just a pain draining out the box everyday.

May be a dumb question, but are you screwing the dipstick all the way in to check the oil?

Yes sir, the dipstick is screwed down tight.

I'll chime in. There is a crankcase ventilation valve attached to the cylinder head cover. If this is faulty or stuck in the open position you would get excessive oil blowby into the air filter. I believe that this is basically a pcv(positive crankcase ventilation) valve. If you clean or replace this it may solve your problem. I was having blowby on my Jeep until I changed the pcv valve. Afterwards I wasn't getting the excess oil in the air filter. YMMV

Reference number 825080 Crankcase breather cover valve(829008)

Find it here:
http://www.scooterwest.com/items/?_pageCCS=t#page=/item_details/Crankcase-Breather-Cover-Valve-Vespa-LX/9207

How old is the bike?

It's a 2011 and has 1300 miles on it. Is the any way of telling if the breather valve is faulty or stuck open, or is it better to just go ahead and order a new one. Could very well solve the problem and for $30 it's worth a try.

Wanted to updated this post as it seems I am still having an issue. Recently changed PCV valve and also changed the oil and filter. Still getting oil blowing into the air box. I Removed the hose from the PCV and started it up, oil is sputtering out of the PCV while at idle. Measured the oil precisely to make sure it wasn't over filled. Kinda stumped!

Broken Piston

It's crankcase blow by. I had the same problem with my Honda scooter. Don't ride it too much before you fix the problem. I haven't gotten any feedback as to what started my problem.
Check your spark plug. If the tip is white then the O2 sensor is making your scoot run lean and you will burn a valve
It could be a factory defect(hope you have warranty left), poor break in, Bad valve guide or stuck piston ring.
Check the compression and compare it to spec. You can get a compression gauge for $30.

Unfortunately the warranty has expired, going on 2 years of ownership. What would be the best way to go about fixing this. Obviously its going to have to be taken apart to fix. Been thinking of upgrading to the mallosi 190 kit for some time now, should I just bite the bullet and upgrade the top end?

I would - the extra labour charge would be minimal, the extra power very desirable.

Looking to do the install myself, that's part of the reason I've dragged my feet so long to install it.

Now's your opportunity then - you can do the whole lot yourself if you fancy having a go.

Went ahead and ordered the 190 kit. Took the scooter out today for about 20 minutes and came back to an air box full of oil. Checked the dipstick and it didn't even show oil, that's how bad it's gotten. Looking forward to the added power and hopefully no more oil issues! Thanks for all the advice.

It time to quit riding and take apart.I've switched tops ends with motor on the bench and still on the scoot.Motor still attached seemed faster but your on the ground a lot .

Now your scoot will be able to keep up with my SH's stock 16 HP 8)