Modern Vespa

Hello All, my first post here since acquiring a 2007 MP3 250. I'm going through some rehabbing to get it sorted out. One issue is the engine light staying on while riding. From everything I read it points to voltage regulator. I just tested it and it's reading 17.25 volts at idle. I don't know if this is important but the PO is looking for the red key. I don't have that yet. Will that be a problem changing the regulator?

Before buying one I thought I'd get confirmation here from those who have some experience with these.

There are currently just over 6,000 miles on it. I am the second owner.
So far I've done:
Oil and filter
Air filter
New grips
Lots of cleaning and polishing
Have the fluids to flush brakes and rear drive.

Th battery was dead when I got it and fortunately it is the same battery as my BMW R1200 GS Adventure. Go figure. I had a spare.

Thanks in advance. I'm looking forward to reading more and learning the ins and outs of this thing.

red key is not needed when changing the VR. Your VR does need replacing as its way to high. contact scooter parts in Charleston SC he has good pricing.

check the date code on the tires.

also change the gear oil.

contact Jim H at allmotorcayclekeys to get a spare cut.

allmotorcyclekeys.com

OaD slipped you an extra 'a' in there!

Thanks for the info. I found several scooter parts places in Charleston, SC. I looked around and "assumed" the referral was to scooterpartsco.com . I see they offer two versions of the VR. One says OEM and the other says Vespa/Piaggio original. so I.m checking on which is preferable.

Also, the key place shows almost all Vespa Piaggio keys out of stock.

Will it do further harm to ride the bike on short <12 miles trips before receiving and replacing the VR. 17v seems pretty high. I don't want to fry any other parts.

I'm also looking at a better seat and windshield.

hell yeah it will do harm. your pushing 17v into a 12v battery. you risk an explosion of the battery.

Voltage should be 13.8, maybe 14 tops.

The regulator should be internally set for ~14.5V.

Yes, 14.5 .

Let me tell you about the time my battery boiled over...
That's basically what happens, especially if you ride it fast for a long distance with a bad regulator.
It makes a high pitched whistling sound for what seems like a very long time, and pours acid out pretty much everywhere. I'm not sure what happens to a lithium battery when that happens, but I think Boeing might.
I was on a trip where I couldn't get a new voltage regulator or the right battery for the bike I was on for quite some time, so I initially strapped a car battery to the seat behind me, and then was replacing motorcycle batteries about every 2000 miles, in addition to keeping the speed down, which is not a lot of fun when there are wide open spaces and slack enforcement of speed laws.

Message received. It is parked until th replacement arrives in the mail. I appreciate the advice here. I'm sure there'll be more questions as I go through this rehab project. There's so much information out there I'm way ahead of where I expected to be with it.

Just to follow up, my new VR arrived today from scooterpartsco (fast shipping👍). I installed it following the wiki instructions in the 250 section.
Success. The engine light is off, and the voltage now reads in the 14s.

Next on the to do list is flush front and rear brake fluids.

excellent