Modern Vespa

Hey all...

So I took my 2009 Vespa GTV 250 out of the garage after a long cold winter here in Iowa. It had a hard time starting up...but I finally got it to run. I took it down the block and it conked at the corner. I got it to run again, but just long enough to get it home. It was not idling at the right speed for some reason, and sounded rough. Once it stopped again, I've not been able to get it to start up.

I called the dealer/shop where I purchased it in 2010, and they said they no longer sold nor worked on Vespas, and that Vespa had since pulled out of Iowa!

Now I'm stuck with a beautiful GTV that will not run, and the closest dealer is 3+ hours away in KC.

I need some armchair sleuths here. Could it simply be the battery? I didn't tender mine this winter as usual. Or what else could it be?

When I turn the key and push the ignition button, it starts to turn over, slowly, but then click click click, with lights on the dash simultaneously lighting up. the engine light seems to be lit longer than the others too.

Thoughts?

The battery is now run down from all the attempts at starting and restarting so you need to charge it. But that was not the original problem, which I suspect may be old or otherwise bad gas. You need to siphon out the old gas and put in some fresh and try starting it again. If it starts and runs, or runs roughly, then add the recommended amount (it'll say on the can) of Seafoam additive to a full tank and use that tankful up and then reevaluate how it's running after that.

If the battery is more than three or four years old you may need a new battery anyway.

Most likely your battery is toasted. Could be older gas too, but a new battery might just get it firing fine.

As for service.... look around for a shop that handles vintage motorcycles. Most of those guys don't mind getting their hands dirty, and they may take on a unicorn like a modern Vespa. If you get the repair manual and bring it in when you need service, they may be more than willing to wrench on your ride, or know someone who will.

Barring all that, you could learn a lot from youtube and the guys here.

gr33n,

If you're in Eastern Iowa, you could hit up Lenny Mumm in Covington.
41.997757, -91.758235 on google maps.
Very knowledgeable bike guy, and he likes working on rarities.

But for something this simple, I'm pretty sure you don't need an actual mechanic to sort it out. As the others said, probably just stale gas and a dead battery.



Best,
-Slashy

Thanks all! I'll keep you posted when this is resolved...

Another vote for the battery

Charge or replace the battery, dump the old gas and replace with fresh and clean the carburetor.

So...I've got both good and bad news.

I hooked up my battery tender and fully charged the battery. It took around 25 to 30 hours. In the meantime, I tried to siphon the gas out, only to find there was very little gas in there. I then filled it with at least a 91 octane fuel, with about 1/8 of a container of Sea Foam.

She started up perfectly and seemed to be in good order. I decided to pick up my son from a friend's house and take him with me while I ran some errands...16 miles away with temps hovering around 100 degrees and high humidity.

We went all the way with no problem. Then, after backing out of my parking spot at the store, she would not start up. Similar sound to what was happening before. I could still see enough gas in the tank. Not sure about the battery, but assumed that it was still fine since it had enough charge to allow my tender to kick in (won't charge if it is completely expended), and it actually charged until the "reserve" light was on.

I wondered if the temp was a problem, like maybe the engine was overheating. I noticed that the automatic engine fan hadn't kicked on, even though it was likely warranted. I took the face plate off and checked the coolant....empty!

I went back in the store to try to get some coolant that would work (did some searching on the forum) filled it up.

By then the Vespa had cooled enough, I suppose. She started up and I took off. About half-way home, at a traffic light, she sputtered a bit, then died. This time, I tried to start her up a few times, but on the final time I gave it some gas to try to up the idle. It took.

I kept the idle up at every traffic light en route to home, and made it.

I have so many possible problems here, and (keeping in mind) no Vespa shop now within close proximity.

Any thoughts on what I need to look at?

*Could it be that I need a new battery still?
*Could I have messed up the engine without any coolant?
*Could the cooling fan have a bad switch, circuit or fuse?
*Could it be the carburetor?
*Something else?

THANKS!

... and three hours is not that far for a dealer. Many folks here do that, me included. I take it up on my truck, leave it, and go back when it is fixed. Unless it is a quick fix.

You have all the symptoms of a dead or dying battery. My bet is a new one will cure the starting problems. 8)

The good news is a battery is easy to replace yourself. Don't need to take the scooter in to a shop for that.

So...this model is a 2009 GTV 250. There has been some issues with the fuel pump on this model. Could it be that?

Again, once the bike cooled down, I could restart it...

Isn't it fuel injected?

I think if it ran again without problems after it cooled off, you likely didn't hurt the engine much.

You don't have much to lose by changing the battery....

^^^^
This. If the battery is three years old or more it owes you nothing anyway.

If the battery is more than three or four years old or if it's lived a hard life it may not be holding a full charge, even though it appears to be with no load. And fuel injected Vespas seem to be sensitive to weak batteries.

It could be the fuel pump, or it could be the valves need adjusting, but I'd start with the battery.

Good luck!

You haven't said where in Iowa you are...

You could order a battery on-line, or maybe find one at a motorcycle dealer or Walmart. I get most of my batteries at a local Batteries Plus store because they usually have the type I need in stock and it's easy to return if I happen to get a bad one. They're a bit more expensive but they're good batteries at a reasonable price.

...it's not "fly-over" country, it's beautiful "riding through" land.

I'm near Des Moines...

Look, replacing the battery is the easiest thing to do, and most likely will solve your issue. When batteries sit idle for a long time, they don't like to come back to life.

Take the easiest and most likely first step, replace the battery, then look and see what you've got after that. You can order a battery from Amazon and it'll be here in 2 days.

Good advice Larry! To the OP yes it's fuel injected, no carb. Sometimes bad fuel leaves a thick sticky gum in the fuel lines and pump and injector. So once you have your new battery it's worth riding it a lot to give that seafoam a chance to work. And work it does! Good luck and don't be a stranger on here. Ask anything and tell us about your exploits.

Ps. It may run a little rough with seafoam in it especially if it's not had this in it before and the engine is very dirty inside. All normal! It will clear up fine once you put a new tank of gas in her. You may even need two tanks of seafoam to do the job.

Don't think you can buy a weaker fuel system cleaner or you wouldn't have to add every 2000 miles like they recommend.

Get something strong like Chevron Techron Concentrate Plus.

Yes, replace the battery. Obvious next step. Now about that coolant. If you had little or no coolant in the reservoir you likely have a coolant leak. Watch the coolant level closely. If you are still loosing coolant, check the hose clamps on the coolant hoses. Replace any clamps where there is indication of leakage - coolant, stains, etc. Riding your scooter without coolant will destroy the engine and you can forget about your various other worries.

Ok...

Thanks all!

Coolant question...I had to go with coolants available at the big box store where I broke down. I reviewed some threads on this topic here, and had to make the best choice from a limited supply.

What I wound up placing in there is: Prestone Dex-Cool Extended Life Antifreeze/Coolant. Do I need to flush that out and replace with a more correct version? What is the correct kind?

Also, where do I find the correct type of battery?

Sorry for so many questions that are likely answered elsewhere...

Here's a shot of my wife and I on my Vespa...

And when I road with a local (since disbanded) Vespa club called The Corporation in the St. Patrick's Day parade...

And another...

You should be fine with the Prestone. As long as it's OAT, it should be good. (In fact I think that's just what I put into mine).

Batteries:
From what I see you have one Batteries Plus location to the north and one to the west. Good for starters.

Definitely get a new battery, it's cheap enough to maybe solve your problem, but I suspect you still need to run more miles with fresh gas with fuel system cleaner before you expect the problem to be solved.

Once fuel system cleaner is in the system it's doing it's job. Driving does nothing but use up the cleaner that is in the fuel system. Just starting it for a minute or two every day is just as good as driving and the cleaner doesn't get just burned out the taill pipe.
I put in fuel system cleaner when I am going to be driving the least.

If there's some speck(s) of dirt or gum from stale gas in there, it needs to be worked thru by riding.

It's OK of we disagree.

gr33n, Sounds like a dead cell in the battery. It will charge to a reasonable voltage, but can't hold it.
Time for a new battery.

Best,
-Slashy