Modern Vespa

Second day of owning a vespa and someone stole my helmet from under the seat... they broke part of the plastic of the underseat compartment... I guess to break in... so that now I cannot lock anymore the seat. do you know if it is an expensive thing to repair? thanks

welcome to MV, sorry you're here under such annoying circumstances.

it would help if you'd tell us what model Vespa you have - if it's the plastic covering that sits on the bodywork, then no, it won't likely be very expensive but the price depends on the model.

it's a LX 125

Bad Luck !!
Sorry that this has happened so soon after buying a Vespa, which is supposed to be a fun experience.
whereabouts did this happen? is it commonplace?

yeah I was so excited and this morning I was shocked.. I couldn't believe it.. Happened in London, Islington, in a residential street

Bummer.
take a photo of the broken parts/area and post it up here and the guys will be able to point you in the right direction of getting a replacement, etc.
It's probably a pretty cheap part if it's just the plastic moulding, just the inconvenience of it.

Not to put a downer on this, but it would probably be better to not bother to repair it, the scrote will probably do the same thing again as soon as you repair it.
Your best bet is to keep it empty and take your helmet with you when you leave the scooter....sorry,,, probably not what you want to hear. I hope I'm wrong

terry, the only problem with that solution is that leaving the seat compartment open makes it easier for future scrotes to steal the battery i've just found what I think is the correct replacement on ebay for £16.50: clicky. do please double-check to make sure, but it's not an expensive part. When i had the same thing happen to my ET4, the replacement cost £10, and it's easy to fit it yourself.

unfortunately Islington's a bit notorious for scooter theft. a few general rules..

- never leave anything valuable in the scooter. nothing. if you have a topbox, leave it empty and unlocked.
- if you can lock the scooter up on private property, do so.
- put more locks on it than you think you will need.

i live in Hackney, and my scooter is locked at the top of a flight of stairs (I drive it up a ramp), chained to an eyebolt in the front of the house, under a bay window, with a camera trained on it. so far that seems to have kept the scooter itself from being taken (touches wood) although the license plate, cover, and tax disc have all been pinched at various times.

really sorry to burst your happy carefree scootering bubble riding a scooter is great - keeping somebody else from riding off with it, or bits of it, is more work and a whole lot less fun.

totally agree. the only problem is, if they want a battery guess what they will do anyway

My late father in law always said "locks only keep the honest people out".

Sorry to hear this!

Although I live in a rural area where you can leave just about anything unlocked I chain my helmet to my bike. I just slip the chain through the visor and lock it to my bike. I have an Oxford safety helmet bag that I can run the chain through so it doesn't damage my helmet also keeps it safe and dry.

It is sad and ironic with the countless requests for info on how to open a locked seat and all the dialog as to why that info shouldn't be posted. Finally the procedure was added to our wiki...and a couple of days later, a seat is forcibly broken into. This confirms that thieves aren't going to look on line to find out, they will just bust it open.

NW my friend it's in England. Which unfortunately is the land of scooter thieves. I wonder if the people who steal even know about MV. Just knobs stealing. You did right by putting in the wiki. You'll help more honest people who actually own the bike. No person who steals will look it up first. Maybe if they were making a bomb they might look how to do that up but a large screwdriver or crowbar is all you need to get under the seat. Very easy to get under the seat. To the OP aloha and welcome to the forum from Hawaii. Sorry you had to join on such a theft. You have some awesome advice from fellow countrymen/women. Hang in there and enjoy your scooter. Got any pics?

Can you post a pic of the seat area and the damaged part? It'll make helping you with you problem easier. Also somebody may have the part you need sitting around in their garage.

I think I live in a pretty safe area but I still have a righteous place to lock stuff on my scoot. If anybody's interested:

My New Top Case (or, Your Brains Will Fall Out)

guess what happened last night??? bye bye battery............ so annoying... i was so excited of having a scooter...

thanks everyone for you answers... spoken to some neighbours who had the same thing happening to them... one of my neighbours said at some pioint she was taking off the battery every night and bringing it inside her home to prevent it from being stolen

what else should I expect to be gone by tomorrow?

Islington again? Not good. That's where mine was attacked.
So sorry that this has happened to you-its horrible to think some scrote has messed with your stuff. Was it outside your home? Some of us use CCTV as well as other methods to keep thieves from trying to nick off us.
I think they are going to target you again if you don't move it.
Maybe we can use it as bait? Stake it out and surprise the thieves!

it was in the parking bay in the road behind my flat.. today i will leave it under the lamp in front of my flat.. unfortunately i have nowhere to hide it

PM sent