OP
@lc353 avatar
UTC

Addicted
nope
Joined: UTC
Posts: 817
Location: I'm going there, but I like it here, wherever this is.
 
Addicted
@lc353 avatar
nope
Joined: UTC
Posts: 817
Location: I'm going there, but I like it here, wherever this is.
UTC quote
The 2 people you don't f*** with...the people who serve your food and the people who work on your vehicles. Both are perfectly capable of making your life miserable.

I have an expensive problem that seems to be getting progressively worse the more my Vespa dealership digs into it. I'm in no way double-guessing my mechanic (see above mantra) but rather, I'm wondering if anyone has any helpful ideas that may expedite my ass getting on my Vespa & finally hitting the pavement?

I have a completely stock, 2-stroke, 2003 Vespa ET2 50cc with less than 700 miles on it. Obviously, it has sat dormant for the vast majority of it's life. After a month & a half at the dealership being cleaned up & worked on, we're now at the point where the stator and coil are the 2 'major' things that have been replaced. Apparently those things go bad solely from age & disuse. I'm told the Vespa did run well on the lift once those 2 things were replaced but when they tried to start it again the following morning..."no spark" was the call.

Being that #1 - this is an official Vespa dealership and #2 - the 2 people I've been dealing with there seem to be extremely honest, I AM NOT second-guessing any of them. At this point, I've got nothing but great praise for all of them.

I'm just wondering if anyone here has had the same problem?

I've got 6 weeks time & $540.00 hard-earned US dollars (so far) put into this project and still no scooter! FYI - I'll be back to check on this thread as soon as I can but I work odd days & hours so forgive me if I don't get back to you right away. Thanks everyone!

Ok, actually there are 3 people you don't mess with...I forgot about Gary Busey.
@socalguy avatar
UTC

bodgemaster
63 GL, 76 Super (x2), 74 Primavera (x2), 79 P200, 06 Fly 150
Joined: UTC
Posts: 7223
Location: So Cal
 
bodgemaster
@socalguy avatar
63 GL, 76 Super (x2), 74 Primavera (x2), 79 P200, 06 Fly 150
Joined: UTC
Posts: 7223
Location: So Cal
UTC quote
When's the last time the scooter ran?

How and where was it stored all the years it wasn't being used? Inside, outside? Covered, uncovered?

Who put those 700 miles on it? How was it ridden?

Has it ever had any service?

All those things go into the equation. Yes, a stator and coils can go bad with age. Wires crack, metal oxidizes, rubber gets hard. Diagnosing electrical issues can take time. A month and a half may seem like a long time, but did you tell your mechanic you needed it running ASAP? Or was it a "hey, here's an old scooter I haven't used for years I'd like to get it running, see what you can do" kind of thing? If you want it on a front burner, let him know.

Good luck.
OP
@lc353 avatar
UTC

Addicted
nope
Joined: UTC
Posts: 817
Location: I'm going there, but I like it here, wherever this is.
 
Addicted
@lc353 avatar
nope
Joined: UTC
Posts: 817
Location: I'm going there, but I like it here, wherever this is.
UTC quote
SoCalGuy wrote:
When's the last time the scooter ran?

How and where was it stored all the years it wasn't being used? Inside, outside? Covered, uncovered?

Who put those 700 miles on it? How was it ridden?

Has it ever had any service?

All those things go into the equation. Yes, a stator and coils can go bad with age. Wires crack, metal oxidizes, rubber gets hard. Diagnosing electrical issues can take time. A month and a half may seem like a long time, but did you tell your mechanic you needed it running ASAP? Or was it a "hey, here's an old scooter I haven't used for years I'd like to get it running, see what you can do" kind of thing? If you want it on a front burner, let him know.

Good luck.
Last ran around 5 years ago.
It has been garaged since then in desert climate.
I put 500-ish of those miles on it and I can't imagine Evil Kneivel could have killed it only 700 miles but...it was mostly wide-open roads.
It's never had service prior to now because it ran for the short time I actually used it until it started to leak (fuel lines now replaced).
Yeah, they know I'm looking for it to run as soon as they can make it road-worthy.
Thanks SoCal
@greasy125 avatar
UTC

Sergeant at Arms
Weird 80's Vespas & Cool Vintage Lambrettas
Joined: UTC
Posts: 15080
Location: The state of insanity, SoCal
 
Sergeant at Arms
@greasy125 avatar
Weird 80's Vespas & Cool Vintage Lambrettas
Joined: UTC
Posts: 15080
Location: The state of insanity, SoCal
UTC quote
man... this is always a tough one. when bikes sit for an extended period of time all manner of wacky things can happen. things that generally don't happen to low mileage units. but, because they've sat, all these odd little problems seem to crop up.

when you couple that with a mechanic that doesn't have great product knowledge (be that vespa, honda, yamaha, etx) you're looking at an uphill battle. shoot, i've watched a tech battle with a honda elite for HOURS on a spark issue... only to find out that the kill switch was off...

ET2's are fairly straight forward. yes, sometimes components fail, but it's rare for something to just go out like that. i'm guessing that there is a more involved issue or somebody is just taking stabs in the dark.

-g
@cdwise avatar
UTC

Veni, Vidi, Posti
GTS 300, Buddy 125
Joined: UTC
Posts: 8871
Location: Knoxville, TN
 
Veni, Vidi, Posti
@cdwise avatar
GTS 300, Buddy 125
Joined: UTC
Posts: 8871
Location: Knoxville, TN
UTC quote
There's a 2005 GT 200 over at my local dealership that is getting all its hoses replaced amongst other things because it has been sitting for years. Ethanol or sitting/age rotted them out.
OP
@lc353 avatar
UTC

Addicted
nope
Joined: UTC
Posts: 817
Location: I'm going there, but I like it here, wherever this is.
 
Addicted
@lc353 avatar
nope
Joined: UTC
Posts: 817
Location: I'm going there, but I like it here, wherever this is.
UTC quote
I think they replaced all the hoses & belts first, 11 years of dry rot & all. What I'm wondering at this point is if it's even worth it. It was a $3,000 scooter when it was new. I'm already nearly spending 20% of it's entire value & they're still in the diagnosis phase. Is it possible to buy a new engine entirely? Guess I'm just getting frustrated & impatient.
@vespizzare avatar
UTC

Addicted
Customized 2006 LX150 Thunderbolt the Wondercolt
Joined: UTC
Posts: 937
Location: Santa Monica, CA
 
Addicted
@vespizzare avatar
Customized 2006 LX150 Thunderbolt the Wondercolt
Joined: UTC
Posts: 937
Location: Santa Monica, CA
UTC quote
(Maybe it's a given, but) I'd get into a beef with a mechanic or a server way before I'd go up against a policeman. Or maybe it's just me.
UTC

Hooked
Joined: UTC
Posts: 146
Location: BayArea
 
Hooked
Joined: UTC
Posts: 146
Location: BayArea
UTC quote
greasy125 wrote:
i'm guessing that there is a more involved issue or somebody is just taking stabs in the dark.

-g
I think it is the latter of the two. All to often I see bad diagnosing, more so for electrical then anything, or lack of diagnosing skills. So people start to do the let swap/switch/replace parts and see...this tells me the person doing the work isn't very good or at least don't truly know what's what.

Stators are very easy to figure out, same with R/R. CDI on the other hand when starting to go bad will many times work or not intermittently then stops working...it is the hardest and most frustrating of the electrical problems when that occurs. Second would be a break or short on a wire somewhere hidden, third a bad connection; these two aren't hard just a pain in the ass and very time consuming for a something so easy.
@bart4u avatar
UTC

Member
Joined: UTC
Posts: 21
Location: Burbank, CA
 
Member
@bart4u avatar
Joined: UTC
Posts: 21
Location: Burbank, CA
UTC quote
Did you mention the carburetor was worked on? I know any bike that sits for a long time the carburetor should be rebuilt or replaced along with any rubber parts like hoses. If a carburetor smells like lacquer it needs to be cleaned and the jets replaced or dipped or replace with a new carburetor. I was going to buy a 2006 LX 150 with 34 miles but the bike sat for 6 years. The bike had engine issues so I did not feel comfortable buying it. I passed on that deal even though the price was a good deal. I ended up getting a 2011 LX 150ie. I hope you get the bike working soon.
OP
@lc353 avatar
UTC

Addicted
nope
Joined: UTC
Posts: 817
Location: I'm going there, but I like it here, wherever this is.
 
Addicted
@lc353 avatar
nope
Joined: UTC
Posts: 817
Location: I'm going there, but I like it here, wherever this is.
UTC quote
I wouldn't think there would be a break or bad connection because I don't think it's had enough miles on it to cause either problem...but I've been wrong plenty of times before so who knows.

Doesn't the mechanic at an official Vespa dealer have to be officially Vespa certified? As I mentioned before, at this point I have complete confidence in him so we'll see how this goes.

The carb had to have been completely flushed/cleaned I'm certain. I would think they completely cleaned up the spark plug & socket also, maybe replaced it too but I don't know for certain.

I appreciate all the responses, thanks everyone. I'm still praying for a 'magic bullet' answer but maybe I should also have asked this question at the beginning...How much would you be willing to spend to fix this scoot if it were yours? I know everyone has their own threshold for pain (spending $) but I'd be interested to know what the general consensus is on what it's worth.
@bart4u avatar
UTC

Member
Joined: UTC
Posts: 21
Location: Burbank, CA
 
Member
@bart4u avatar
Joined: UTC
Posts: 21
Location: Burbank, CA
UTC quote
I was told about the 2006 bike I was going to buy the carb was cleaned by an authorized Vespa dealer by where the guy lived which was an hour from my home. I saw the receipt but the bike ran very very ruff. I just cleaned and rebuilt a carb on my old Honda Z50 that sat for 8 years before the last engine start. The parts were very hard to clean and many of the metal parts were double dipped. Dipping and cleaning a carb is very time consuming. I ended up putting all new jets in my carb with a rebuild kit. I knew the bike I was going to buy had carb problems even though it was repaired at a Vespa dealer. Please ask how the carb was cleaned and were any parts dipped. Dipping usually takes over night to breakup up the caramel colored gunk. The solution is called Berryman Chem Dip and even after the dipping I used a wire brush on the the other parts. It was easier just to replace with new jets instead of using the old ones. After the clean my Z50 started right up and runs very smooth. I just wanted to give you a possible reason to double check. This is your bike and you are their paying customer and you have every right to ask questions. Hope you get things sorted out soon. The Gary Busey comment was very funny.
@socalguy avatar
UTC

bodgemaster
63 GL, 76 Super (x2), 74 Primavera (x2), 79 P200, 06 Fly 150
Joined: UTC
Posts: 7223
Location: So Cal
 
bodgemaster
@socalguy avatar
63 GL, 76 Super (x2), 74 Primavera (x2), 79 P200, 06 Fly 150
Joined: UTC
Posts: 7223
Location: So Cal
UTC quote
LC353, put it this way, you've probably already spent very close to the difference in value between a running 2003 ET2 with low mileage and a non-running 2003 ET2 with low mileage.

Vespas generally are pretty reliable, and like greasy said, ET2s are simple machines. "No spark" shouldn't be hard to figure out as there aren't that many variables. Read the article below to get familiar with how the ignition works, then ask your mechanic to walk you through what they've checked.

http://www.pedparts.co.uk/blog/piaggio-parts-piaggio-ignition-fault-finding
DoubleGood Design banner

Modern Vespa is the premier site for modern Vespa and Piaggio scooters. Vespa GTS300, GTS250, GTV, GT200, LX150, LXS, ET4, ET2, MP3, Fuoco, Elettrica and more.

Buy Me A Coffee
 

Shop on Amazon with Modern Vespa

Modern Vespa is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com


All Content Copyright 2005-2025 by Modern Vespa.
All Rights Reserved.


[ Time: 0.0138s ][ Queries: 3 (0.0026s) ][ live ][ 325 ][ ThingOne ]