Modern Vespa

Hello, Everyone! I'm happy to be a brand new member of this forum! I finally bought a Vespa! So excited, but also very nervous. I bought it from an Ebay seller, and have not even picked it up yet. (It's a six+ hour trip) I would greatly appreciate any advice/tips from Vespa Veterans! Here's the low-down: It's a 2006 GT 200L. 30 miles on the odometer (!) It's been sitting in the seller's "climate controlled" basement since 2007 on a battery tender. All paperwork, certificate of origin, & both keys are included. It did suffer a "minor tip-over' with some light scratches.
Anything I should be wary of? What needs to be checked out? Thanks!

Would change the oil and re start the break in procedure. Also check, clean and re oil the air filter. A peak at the belt wouldn't hurt either. Wouldn't completely trust fluids and rubber siting that long. I bought my BV200 after sitting in the Florida sun for 8 years and it took all that and then some to get it right. Being stored indoors, yours should be ok rubber wise. Any gas in there should be drained from the tank and float bowl. Anyway welcome and happy scootin!

tommy is right on. The only thing I might do different is just chuck the belt and put in a new one. That is a long time for it to be sitting around. I might also check the battery figuring that 4 years is usually the max life for one even if it has been on a conditioner.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.


Oh and tommy is probably right about the tires but check for age cracks too.

Thanks for the advice. Tommy, tell me please, how exactly do I do a "break in procedure?" Thank you!

Congrats and welcome! I recently bought an '06 also that had ben sitting and only had 1600 miles on it. All the hoses looked good, not dried or stiff, and it had a new gel battery.

The tires looked fine, but from reading here and checking on Google, apparently the rubber ages despite looking suitable and shouldn't be considered safe. Particularly the speeds a 200L can travel. I had my doubts, but found 2 Michelin City Grips, well respected here, for $108.00 with free delivery, so it was an easy decision.

Also, I strongly recommend gel batteries. Even though yours has been on a trickle charger, the likelihood of a failed cell would send me to the store for a new one. Have you checked voltage across the terminals yet? Even a good reading can disappear tomorrow.

They're just fantastic scoots, excellent handling, very adequate speeds and after fresh oils and some good runs, you'll likely notice your mileage gaining as I have.

And don't forget the Seafoam for the first few tanks. Good luck!

A 2006 GT with 30 miles on it. I rode mine that far this evening on the Tuesday night club ride.

Not saying you have to do this, but I would......
Drain fuel, add new premium.
Change oil and filter
Change hub oil
Flush and add new coolant
Replace clear plastic fuel lines and filter.

Ride it for a few days.

Change belt and tires before heading out for a long ride.
Check exhaust gasket while separated for tire change. They sometimes get damaged doing this.

Have fun. You have found a great scooter.

I have an "05 GT200L and since there is no alternative starting method, such as a kick starter, I recommend a fresh battery to preclude being stuck away from Home.
Other than that, I would put some miles on the existing tires to see how they feel and wear.
Plan on new tires as soon as you get the feel of the bike. I personally prefer Heidenau Tires but there other very good ones available. I'm sure that many other members of MV have opinions on tires.
I would suggest you try to hold your speed down until you feel confident that you're not pushing your limit and then think about new tires before you get to runnibg at high speeds.
Learning to safely handle the scooter is your first thing.
Good luck.

Actually, I would say you need to do the items above. I also don't think there is much of a chance that an older lead acid battery would survive 8 years on a trickle charger. I'd replace it with an AGM battery and move on.

I've done my fair share of motorcycle and scooter inspections, including for some that have been in storage for a long time. I'd like to add the following things that I've found helpful, particularly when inspecting a long way from home.

Take a good flashlight with a known good battery. It helps to peek at items in shadows or other poor light conditions for interior spaces.

I would take a can of starting fluid, carb spray, brake cleaner, canned "air", extra rags, and some protective gloves. There are good youtube videos of how to use starting fluid properly, avoiding flare up danger, reducing stress on the starter by getting the juices flowing with some RPMs. I give the brake discs a quick wipe down with cleaner. Smog particulates can accumulate on the discs over time, so it's good to remove that layer to get to clean metal. Canned air is good for blowing dust out of tight spaces, particularly the area around the spark plug if it needs to be pulled to clean it.

I would take a full metric socket set, open ended wrench set, screwdrivers, torx drivers, spark plug sockets, and adjustable wrenches. I usually don't need many of them, but when I need one, It's very helpful to have it on hand.

Take care that any brake fluid or gasoline spills are quickly wiped off any surfaces they hit.

I'd use the flash light to check all the fuel and vacuum lines, particularly at the clamping point and all bends. Look for collapsed, pinched, split, or cracked lines. Having a fuel leak on a hot engine can make a very good purchase turn into a smoking pile of ash. I normally have a multi-rated fire extinguisher in my transport vehicle that works for burning fuel.

Multi-purpose cleaning wipes are good to remove excess dust that's accumulated and to clean the glass and plastics.

A set of fuses is good to have because sometime you can burn a couple if the battery or charging system is having problems.

Grease can leak or gum up over time, so I would grease any lube points after I get the scooter home.

Well, that's all I can remember for now. Best wishes on your adventure!

I got ahead of myself and forgot to suggest replacing the battery. I would do that too.

My original battery lasted over seven years, but I ride almost every day, keeping it charged.

I recently brought a GT200 out of a multi year hibernation too, I took it in for a service which included fluids belt and rollers.

The other thing I would ask them to change during the service is the jubilee clips for the coolant hoses mine popped off with the original non screw able clips and have read it's a good idea to swap them.

I also had issues with the oil light not sure if it was old stodgy oil but new oil and filter as part of the service and always keeping it topped up with fully synthetic seems to do the job.

Only other odd thing I had to do was swap out the ignition switch which I did myself it was a plug gable component as it was intermittently causing the scooter to cut out and is a known weak point. I suspect with so few starts and miles yours will be like new however so that one is probably not going to be an issue. Good luck with your new Vespa they're great fun

i'll second the full frontal attack/preventative maintenance method.

rebuild the fuel system-- drain the tank, strip and dip the carb, replace all the fuel lines and the filter, test the fuel pump, replace the fuel petcock.

replace the battery and check the electrical system, address any points of corrosion between connections, make sure that the system is charging properly

general service-- do the oil, oil filter, clean and oil the air filter, lube up all the moving parts check the steering and chassis, the plug is probably fine, but i'd check it anyway. flush the coolant, replace the coolant hose clamps, check for any cracks on the intake manifold and associated hoses. flush and bleed the brake fluid for sure.

replace the tires, they're a billion years old, probably dry rotted and flat spotted. same with the valve stems.

personally, i'd go ahead and do the belt at the same time just due to age, but i don't think it's as critical as the other items mentioned.

best,
-greasy

~~~just read through all the replies...I think greasy is the only one that mentioned flushing the brake fluid...for sure, that should be on the top of your list. why? brake fluid is hygroscopic, meaning it absorbs moisture. you wanna get rid of that old brake fluid right away. Even though the scoot sat in a climate controlled room, whatever humidity was there, it's been absorbed in the brake fluid

Tires are another biggie...I just bought an older scooter with only 700 miles on the tires. The tires look brand new yet they were built in the 49th week of Y2K, no checking neither but they're totally unhip to ride on and an accident waiting to happen

Most agree, 5 year old tires, replace them, no matter how little they were used. The rubber is dry and will not grip well at all

Same with the valve stems in tubeless wheels. Your better tire shops will replace the valve stems on each wheel with each tire change, if you're getting 5 years out of a set of tires. Most scooter and motorbike owners will wear out the tire before 5 years is up so no need to change the valve stem at every tire change if you're going through rubber yearly, or every other year, or is it?...valve stems aren't at all expensive. if you're doing your own tire work, buy the valve stems from a source that has fresh stock...you don't want to use a new stem that sat for 10 years on a shelf somewhere

I was surprised at all of the DIY guys that do their own tire work yet never replaced a valve stem. here's the tool to use and it's only a few bucks to purchase



After removing the old valve stem, lube the new one, insert from the inside of the wheel well...thread the tool (short 90 degree swivel end) onto the new stem and pull it in place. Easy Peasy

Something else you should do with this scooter while servicing...lube all of the lubrication points with fresh lubricant...throttle cable, brake lever pivot points, etc. When I went to school for bicycle mechanic training, we were taught oils and grease have a shelf life, even if the bike was never used and just sat, fresh lubricants need to be applied

Have fun with your new ride!

Change the belt. Given the age it can be dry and brittle. The last thing you want is the belt to break, lock up the wheel and crash. My low mileage (2000mile) belt broke on my BV200 a couple weeks ago. Did not lock up the wheel. On inspection the belt was all dried out, an accident waiting to happen.

Also the 200 motor has a short service interval and pay attention to the nut on the variator make sure it is torqued down. If it gets loose it will strip the shaft.