Modern Vespa

So this morning I went to start the LX and when I turned the key it started but sounded like very soft machine gun fire. More than a buzzing sound. What's the problem? I tried a different key and it still made the noise. I will say the key that I use was dirty and Saturday night I rode in some bad rain up the coast. Hasn't been ridden since. Could water or dirt have gotten in there? Starts but sure doesn't sound good. Thanks in advance. I swear the LX does these things to annoy me

It may be the bendix needs cleaning and lubricating.

^^^ Yep.

That and/or a weak battery.

Thanks so much. Battery's 3 yrs old. I never seem to get more than that with him. Been wondering about it for a while. Will get it and the bendix checked.

It's very likely that the battery has a shorted cell (or two). What happens is this:

[1] Battery has enough volts to engage the starter relay.
[2] The starter draws so much current that the battery volts drop below the hold-in voltage of the relay - which then drops out.
[3] Battery volts recover - GOTO [1]

So the relay becomes a buzzer...

The shorted cell may be just down to old age, or the regulator is misbehaving, so it'll be worth testing the charging system once you've got a known good working battery in there. If installing a new battery, charge it off the bike before first use - this will help stave off another shorted cell down the line.

Thanks. Been wondering if some of the gremlins are because of my battery. MY HID headlight doesn't come on unless i really press the starter button hard. If i do it lightly it won't come on. To me that acted like a weak battery. Am i right? Battery Bill's (where i get my batteries) charges them before i pick it up. Just have to call them.

So i went and had the battery checked at the place where i get my batteries. Everything checked out fine. So the nice young man puts it back in and goes you might want to get a new one because this one was sold in '08. When i called them they said '11. Sure nuff it said '08. 6yrs old. Wow. I don't tender it when i'm gone and one year i was gone 6 months (3 months at a time) but he does get ridden. My original one lasted a year and a half. This battery was it's replacement. So i got a new one because the shop is on the other side of the island and it's days are probably numbered, especially since i'll be traveling again this fall, for a few months.. Now i'm trying to figure out where the '11 went. I think i must of put it in the LT but i thought i got rid of that bike before '11. Obviously not. Well that wasn't the fix. So i'm off to look at the bendix and the relay. Will keep you posted. Thanks again

What do you mean exactly? What kind of grease? Do you keep the rev limiter plate lubed up too?

I tend to leave the bendix bone dry after cleaning. Any lubricant can collect dust and so gum up the bendix again.

If the battery's OK but it's a stuck bendix, you should hear the starter 'whirring' off-load - I can't imagine that sounding like soft machine-gun fire, but every bike's different I guess.

Jim just my hearing. More than a whirr but what do I know. Buzzing for sure but it has a gun like quality to it. Guns I've been around my whole life so it's relate able in my world. Never grease inside the tranny case. I live in the land of dirt and dust.

Ok so we fixed him yesterday. I didn't mention (probably should of) that just before the starter starting making noises that my HID headlight was acting funny. It would go out at times. A friend had my extra one and i went down the coast to get it. My last one did that before it went. The HID totally went out about a week or so ago. So we changed out my belt and rollers. Threw a new Bendix in there. Need to get a new Variator assembly. At 28,000 you can see wear marks. So we took off the headset and what do we find? See pic Yup rubbed against something and broke it off. So right before we undid the headset, i started it and it still made the noise (Jimbo says it did sound like gunfire also). He saw sparks coming from under the headset. That's not good. So anyway he spliced the wire and added a bit because it was a short connection. It started right up and no more noise from the starter. So long story short must of been connecting to something in there that caused the noise. I got a new relay also and we threw that in there just because. We both noticed that the scooter seemed to run smoother. Is this our imaginations? Oh and my running green light hasn't come back on. Do you think it blew the bulb? The other ones work. Anybody know the size of them? BTW everybody swore at our Mar workshop that we had changed my belt out recently. However i noticed that it slipped once and i knew we probably hadn't. Went back into my records and it was last done at 15,000 miles in 2012. Had 13,000 on it and it was on it's LAST leg. Cracks etc. The rollers were toast as well. Dodged that bullet. Thanks again for all the info

I think Jim said the noise sounded like a spot welder?

"It may be the bendix needs cleaning and lubricating."

Only cleaning - No lubricating!

My 150S did the same thing with less than 400 miles on it... unfortunately, I got the scoot used with 400 miles 2 years later so, no warrantee.

I used contact cleaner on it... a lot of contact cleaner... it was barely sticking at the bottom before the bendix gear springs up.

I originally tried to lubricate with WD-40... worked for about 6 weeks but the oil collected a lot more dirt and made the situation worse.

Dri- slide works well on things like bendix gears because the carrier will evaporate away. This leave the graphite behind which is dry and will not hold dirt.

We just replaced the bendix. No lube but it was a seared wire up in the headlight assembly that caused the noise from the starter.