Modern Vespa

On my way home a car started honking at me like crazy. I slowed down to turn and look at him when I smelled the unmistakable smell of melting plastic. I pulled over and called the fire department. Unfortunately the damage was already done. I'm fine, but very sad.

What's going on with these, its not the first or 2nd one I've seen a toasted gt/gts

Sorry for the loss! Electrical fire?

What the Heck happened ? I can't imagiine why it would just light up like that.

Talk about "just walk away" !

They couldn't tell what caused it. I just got it back from its first service so I thought everything would be perfect.

Wow that sucks!
Sorry for you loss.

Ooh, bad news. Sorry to hear.....and a new one to boot. Curious along with others what caused it in the first place. Hope you get it sorted....insurance, hopefully?

Not sure what the warranty period is over there, but I would expect that this would be a replacement by the manufacturer. If there was an issue with the service, was the service done by the dealer?

Anyway, I would expect that insurance payout would result from an accident, but manufacturer responsible if the goods failed due to an electrical fire or fuel leak fire on such a new vehicle.

gonna have to start carrying a fire extinguisher for my next long trip Were there any mods done to the bike before the fire??

Yeah I'll have to look into the manufacturer responsibility. The dealer did do the service on it, and no mods.

Sorry Man I feel for you. AF1 has a smoking deal on a GTS Super brand new on the floor for $5400.

That sucks. We need to go riding there is a few of us with GTS in Austin that go on 200-300 mile rides on the weekend.

Did you really just say "smoking deal"......?

This is why I always carry marshmallows in the glovebox.

Sorry to see your scoot go up in smoke, mine went up whilst joining the motorway at 60mph, i did not have a chance to compleatly stop, i stood on the seat and bailed,
Lol, cheers
Atb

That'll buff out.... a little mother's and you won't even know.

Seriously, I can feel the heat through the screen...

This was taken about an hour before, after a full bare metal, last nut and bolt restoration which took me 4 months to complete

That'll buff out.... a little mother's and you won't even know.

Seriously, I can feel the heat through the screen...

I forgot to mention i had just filled up with super, ready for a 45 mile haul up the motorway, at the time of it happening i could not figure out what had happened
It was only when i put my riding gear back on a few days later i found the cause, it was there in my pocket all along, the et fuel filler cap!.
So the moral of my tale is
Always put the tank cap back on
Cheers
Atb

Wow and so sorry. Was the gas cap on? I would like to know why it did this as well. Good luck with getting a new scooter.

Yes and that is kinda funny.

http://austin.craigslist.org/mcd/4394871840.html
http://austin.craigslist.org/mcd/4394869494.html

The answer to this is to lift the rear of the pet carrier when filling up the fuel tank and put the fuel tank cap under the edge of the carrier to hold it up and keep any overflow out of the carrier. The cap will HAVE to be removed to get the seat back down and it will keep the cap out of your pocket.

sorry to hear about your misfortune mate

i remember a few 250's going up in smoke when they first came out, leaky exhaust gasket, but piaggio did the fix on that

be interesting to know the cause of this one

D'oh!

Least it should be a straightforward warranty claim.

Having that happen...and right after having it serviced no less...is almost as bad as road rash. Damn, sorry for you bigtime. I'd be having a very long conversation with the mechanic for sure.

one word: EPIC

I am so sorry to hear about this...I guess insurance will cover it but man, this sucks.

Was it due to not putting the fuel cap back on / split fuel line ? Can't think of anything else that could cause a blaze like that except fuel being poured on the hot engine.

I hope they replace it for you soon, really sorry to see either of those Vespas in that state.

The OP seems to have confirmed the problem a few posts ago.

I Why the speculation still?

Its very good information to have and a warning for us all to take out of his mistake and misfortune.

That wasn't the original poster... the original poster has a toasted GTS. The ET with the misplaced gas cap belonged to a different poster. The thread got a bit confusing when a second and separate fire incident was added to the mix.

Uh oh...my bad. Sorry

Whatever...I am still pleased to know that failing to put on the gas cap could be hazardous to my health.

I have a Honda Cafe Racer that frequently decides to spill gas from one of its 4 carbs randomly

I know the smell of hi octane gas on hot engines!

Glad you are OK. That is a very sad photo.

Hope everything gets sorted out in the end.

Talked to the insurance adjuster. They think it is probably a total loss but they won't know until they take a closer look at it. They took it to a lot today to investigate and evaluate. I'm still in shock of the whole thing.

Looks like an electrical fire considering all the melted wire and cabling in that localised area on the right of picture.

Hi, having seen your pic post fire, your fuel return hose from the fuel injector has sheard, the length of the pipe is 1 inch to short, i bet the other half of the injector pipe is still in the return hose.
This is the third one i have encountered on a gts, if the fuel line is just 3mm to high (due to the metal retaining loop being a few minuets out of true) it will rub on the pet carrier bottom, causing fatigue to the plastic eventually causing failure.
Cheers
Atb

You saying...that "rubbing" and issue can occur in less than a year?

Having experienced gas leaking all over a hot engine, and gas leaking on a hot exhaust pipe, this is shocking.

The 3rd gen Mazda rx7 has fuel injectors above the turbo/down-pipe and sometimes they would catch on fire from leaking injectors.... But the 13b tt engine is notorious for running hot.

Sorry for your loss, looks like you still have lots of good parts though

Tow truck came to get him this morning. I hate goodbyes. Especially under these circumstances.

I want to cry but I'm still too shocked this even happened.

That's just brutal to look at, I'm so sorry for you. I hope that either Piaggio or your dealer does the right thing and step up for you...if your insurance company doesn't do so 1st.

Damn that is horrible. What was that small piece of wire that keeps getting hot to the point of melting itself, i have seen it here a few times. Could easily be just that.

Hi, shooter, i dont think the mileage is an issue, it is all about fatigue and stress on a part that was not designed or intended for any stress to be inserted on it, the dealer or "human error" WILL be blamed for the fault. Trust me or do the measurements and maths, under that pet carrier there is very little room for error.
Or just look at the pictures take into account what i have said, look at your gts and go figure.
Cheers
Atb