Modern Vespa

Hello all. Being new to the world of classic Vespa ownership I'm bound to be turning up with a few daft questions. Here's one for starters:

I came back to my Vespa the other day to find the handlebars misaligned (front wheel pointing to the side with the handlebars held straight). I'm not sure what had happened, maybe it had received a bump, or someone had tried to steal it. Maybe I did it when parking it up.

Anyway I rode home slow... and when I got home had a quick look. I found that at the limit of turning, with a little force, I could move the bars on the spindle and realigned it. I checked the main headset bolt, it's tight.

Should I be worried?

kinda .....
id undo the bolt n make sure its all in line and seated down on the forks properly then nip it up again just to be sure ..... glad it wasnt a mk1 as theyre just buggers to nip up ....

you being in londonvillage id say some shit wanted it n luckily couldnt sus it out .... get yasen a mahooooosive chain n lock ... magnums are good

Thanks!

But London's not as bad as you might think. And my bike's pretty scruffy... Have got a decent chain, and was using it. No other sign of meddling. Who knows. It was only there for half an hour, in quite a visible spot.

I suppose it's possible that a car backed into the front wheel and knocked it out of whack. Or it might have just been me as I parked it, if the bars were loose already...

The bike had new headset bearings very recently... I did initially wonder if they had ballsed that up and caused a problem.

I'm starting to think I should take the handlebar assembly off and have a look. Or maybe just take it back to the garage...

this

OK it's a plan. I've had a look at the Haynes manual, it doesn't look too bad. I need to replace the speedo cable anyway so I'll do that at the same time.

I'm now thinking that maybe the headset locknut has worked loose and lifted up the bars. I did notice some knocking/looseness from the front end - I'd assumed it must have been suspension because the headset had just been done, and decided not to worry about it.

I'm guessing that these parts are best assembled dry (i.e. no grease) right?

i wouldnt go as far as fully stripping ..... thatll mean unpluggin the lectrix n replacing the cables as they never go back as they where ....... n no theres no grease

Had half an hour to do some little jobs on the scooter so had a quick look this afternoon.

Loosened off the bolt, pushed the bars down to check they were seated properly (they felt fine in the first place). Tightened up (but didn't want to overdo it) - they can still be moved with a little force.

Had a good feel of the headset bearings - they feel OK, no looseness detected.

I wonder if there's some grease where there shouldn't be. Any other ideas welcomed - I guess the two options are to take it apart and have a look or just go a little tighter.

Been meaning to buy myself a torque wrench for ages. Maybe now's a good time...