Modern Vespa

I was cleaning the scooter today and noticed this......

The top bolt holding on the rear brake caliper has become loose.

I checked the bottom bolt, this was a little loose but nothing like the top one.

I have checked the front caliper and thats OK.

I do ride the scooter everyday and I wash it at least once a week. Being very meticulous, this includes the brake calipers and I have never noticed this before.

I would suggest that this has become loose since last week.

Please everyone, check your calipers. Your life depends on these brakes.

Blue Loctite FTW.

Normally the other way round for me, proper battle to get them out sometimes

Caliper bolts are something that Piaggio Corp. recommends checking/putting a wrench on at every service. I have seen this on some Moto Guzzi's.

Few months ago when I changed the front caliper to brembo I was careful not to over tighten the caliper to the bracket (As it's ally) - but didn't think of using thread lock.

All seemed fine for a week until a bumpy ride through the twisty country roads at NSL (60mph) and 1 of the 2 bolts decided to fall out with the other on its way.

That was a day I don't wish to repeat.

I'm sold. Loctite it is.

Something worth remembering is that the caliper bolts are the same size as the wheel lug bolts. If you lose a caliper bolt (Ivana Tinkle did once miles from anywhere) you can safely take one of the wheel lug bolts out and use that pro tem. The same applies if you lose an exhaust mounting bracket bolt.

And, there's always the drill-and-wire racer's approach.

After my first service (mandatory to keep the extended warranty by the importer), I noticed that the service guys had marked most of the bolts & the surface close by with a color marker. This is an old trick I've used myself - it's really easy to have a quick look at the the bolts and see if they match with the color marks. If they don't, this means the bolt has moved by itself.

+1

Some handy tips there guys...thanks.

I do have the paint/pen marks on the front calipers but not the rear. Strange.

I've applied the loctite this morning and marked with permanent pen so hopefully, no more dramas. Thanks for your inputs guys. This is what makes this forum so worth while.