Modern Vespa

Greetings,

Today I discovered that the service interval of the Vespa GTS 250i.e is 6000mi.

The service book (old one) turns out to be for all other Vespa's and gives a service interval of 2000mi!

Which means I have serviced my Vespa 8 times in the 1600mi I have done as opposed to only having had to do it 3 times to maintain the warranty!

At an average of £150 per service this has amounted to £750 over two years overspend!

I am furious and will be going to court over it!

Anyone else had this experience, or got any advice for me?

Thanks for listening!

The 2 different service intervals have been a hot topic here for over a year. The service book being one interval and the owners manual showing another.

Most Vespa Techs will tell you that changing your oil every 6k miles will kill your engine.

Depends on your goal ... maintain your warranty or give the best service to prolong the life of the small engine that powers your scoot. Your call.

Sounds like you need to learn to wrench mate.
Cheers!

The silence from dealers to this issue is deafening!

RTFM!

Dealers? What dealers?
I think for the most part, dealers stay off of this board. The possibilities of creating bad blood or taking things the wrong way is just too much for them. Anyone ever notice anyone from Piaggio on this board or even the BBS?

Last I checked, Piaggio employees tend to stay off. It's probably good policy. One on one communication is where it's at.

I would think if dealers could be disciplined enough to keep the promotional urge in check but help us with insider information, it would be a great value for MV. Inkslinger is a good example that it can work. Drewteague (sp) is too. There may be more, but if they don't identify themselves, I can't know they are dealers.

6000mi is a misprint.

stick to the recommended 2K

also, given your stated 16K mileage over the two years, you need to understand that $1,500 (USD) works out to a mere $0.10 (USD) per mile of long trouble free motor operation insurance.

have fun in court.

best,
-greasy

this is why im gonna start to do my own services.

i have had 10 services in a year.

and one of them was £240 add that to the other 9 services at £85 each....

£1005 a year on servicing alone.

its silly.


it costs LESS to service a car......

Bloody hell, you're right.

My car costs me about £300 a year to service and it has covered 35000 in 2.5 years.

You are kidding, right!

That would mean, all five pages of the GTS250 owners manual are misprinted, the respective pages of the GTS250 Workshop Manual are misprinted, but the generic, outdated "service manual" for non-specified two-stroke and 4-stroke engines, is correct.

If it helps, I compiled the confusing, cryptic, byzantine workshop manual schedule on a spreadsheet. Look here:

Maintenence Schedule for GTS

Nobody could give Inkslinger a hard time because she's hot AND she seems to have a genuine interest in scooters. Even has a motorcycle license last time I checked. Bosco is an old vintage guy, Bobby in Santa Barbara has been around about as long as Motorsport. All have no attitude.
Unfortunately, most employees of Vespa dealers don't have motorcycle licenses, no interest in scooters and no idea what they're talking about. "Insider" information from people that don't know what they're talking about is pretty useless.

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I'm a Vespa sales guy with a class M1, and my GTS is my only vehicle. I've been a rider/enthusiast for about 7 years, and this is the 2nd dealership I've worked for. And I've been trying to get to a riverside or hollywood ride since i've been in LA

~Drew

6000 miles does not seem excessive for a liquid cooled engine. My car, a Honda Civic calls for 10,000 miles or one year, whatever comes first.

I do services at 2000mi intervals because I'm too paranoid I might need new tires or breaks and don't want to mess with the bike myself because I need that warranty to last the full year...after that time, I'll be all for doing my own services, etc

where can i get a clutch holding tool and a variator holding tool from?

I figure its a single piston motor spinning like crazy. I change my oil with Motul 300V (almost $15.00/qt.) every 2000 miles. Its a WORKIN' motor and deserves the best

I am not sure which maintenance schedule to follow so I tend to be very careful. I will be taking the bike in every 2000 miles but don't feel 6000 is out of line. I even replaced the belt at 4000 miles even though it will likely go to 9000 miles before needing a replacement. I want the scooter to run like the day it was new. 8)

I had my MP3 250 (same engine as GTS) booked in for the 2000 mile service tomorrow morning, based on the generic service booklet. After reading this thread I checked the owners manual and it stated that it only requires a service every 5000km (about 3000 miles), so I rang my service centre and they confirmed that I should ignore the service booklet and only bring it in as per the owners manual.

Great to see a dealer being honest and treating customers well - they could have quite easily performed an unnecessary service and charged me for it. Thanks Oscarhotel for starting this thread.

Change your own oil. These scoots last long enough! After a few months, years, or decades you could do it with your eyes closed. Use the best oil, change it more often. Nothing gets over-tightened or stripped, no unexplained shop scratches or mishaps. Time saved. Spend the savings on your favorite beverage du jour. Don't make me boss you guys around !

I'd change my oil as it's a piece of piss but if I want my warranty to remain valid I have to get it serviced at the dealers to get the book stamped.

We have them if you can't find them on your side of the pond.

I am the service manager at Top Gear Scooters and know all about the confusion regarding the service intervals on the GTS. I have come to the conclusion that the warranty book has a missprint. If you follow the 2 stroke milage then it matches the workshop manual. I have told all my customers that their generic warranty book is wrong ( and have changed it to make sense) and I will follow what my specific work shop manual recommends. Please keep in mind that oil changes should happen every 5000-6000km (depending on model) for all 4T Vespas. This generaly means once a year here in Edmonton. Please question your service providers or check with other shops if you think something is wrong with the frequency of service. If they take offence, then you should probably go elsewhere.

I've got about 16000 miles on my GTS, and have used the factory recomended brand oil in the motor and gearbox, changing the oil every 3k miles and gearbox lube every 6k. Yes, this isn't the factory perscribed method but it's running like a top and still has the same pickup and ride it has had since I bought it. Granted I'm overdue for a valve adjustment but other than that It seems like it's been the best combo for the bike.

And it's the bike that matters, not some tech writers in Milan.

we reccomend people service their bike every 4 months if not driven frequently, and every 2k if it's a daily rider REGARDLESS of what the manuals say.
that aside, Piaggio requires that you service your bike 3 times during the first year to maintain your warranty.

Sorry, I couldn't find that requirement. Where is it written?

my next service is due in about 3 weeks.

20000 miles.

i shall be doing most of it myself if i can get hold of a clutch/variator holding tool.

the belt, rollers, brakes, suspension, airfilter, plug, clutch.

he'll be doing the oils and valve clearances and fitting a front tyre.

just because i can't be botherd.


itll still cost an arm and a leg though.

I think oil changing at 5-6oooKM is fine , thats 3-3.5K miles and a such a small sump capacity who wants dirty oil in there. It works hard.
Cheap motor care.