Modern Vespa

I just bought a 2013 300GTV from a fellow MV member...he tells me that the bike is trouble free save for the electric seat release button. He told me that his Vespa dealer said that the only fix was to replace the cable....big job so he hasn't done it..,instead has placed spacers at seat latch to prevent it from fully closing (and locking)...my question is twofold: has anybody dealt with replacing the "cable" and is there a way of manually opening the seat latch when the button is inoperable?

There are 2 ways of opening the seat, one is with the push button and the other is thru the manual lever inside the glove compartment, left side, up then to the right. If the mechanism is broke none of the two options will work. Try first the manual lever. What happens when you push the button? Do hear a sound?

I'm going to have to assume that they've tried that so it's likely that the cable needs to be replaced...any idea of what that job is like?

It uses 2 cables, a long one and a short one. You should try the manual lever first since it would be weird that both cables failed. Maybe is not the cable but the mechanism.

Here is a thread regarding the latch that my be useful

gts seat latch problem

I did the cables and the electric release on wife's GTV a couple years ago.

I don't recall all the steps but it was not a five minute job for sure!

Think I took 3 or 4 days to do the job, not 8-10 hour days but a few hours at a time. Then I was able to take my time as I did this during the off season and had a heated garage to work in and could leave the scooter sit with no tight schedule for having it done!

Seems like there is more than one thread about those cables, maybe not just for the GTV but know I got help and ideas somewhere.

Thanks...a chat with the local Vespa shop confirmed that it's a PIA to replace the cable...said it would be around $300 labor and $100 for the cable...confirmed it's a 2 part deal...any idea of where the connection point is...maybe there's a possibility of making it 1/2 the job.

Well both cables attach to the "actuator" which is located on the inside of the rear fender about even with the center of the rear wheel.

One cable goes from there under the floor boards and up to the release lever in glove box.

The other cable goes from the actuator up to the rear of the seat hooked to the latch.

Have you tried the manual release in the glove box?

On my wife's GTV the actuator was the original problem, you could hear it try to work but took a few hits to get it to release. The manual release in glove box would work but was very hard to pull.

Once I got the front cable out I could see why it was so hard to pull it had a kink in the outer housing. Not sure if that happened at the factory or when dealer worked in it due to a leaky head gasket.

Kind of wish I had kept notes on all the steps I had to go through. I know wife was a bit surprised with all the parts removed just to replace a little cable!

If it might help I'm going to try to attach the page out of parts book on the latch parts and cables.

The bike is arriving Wednesday so I haven't actually tried anything but the seller told me the manual release in the glove box was a no go...I don't have an indoor space to work on the bike and it sounds as if replacing either cable is going to be above my pay grade. If you find the wiring diagram it might embolden me to try...at the very least I'll have a better idea of the scope of the project.

Oops...I see the diagram you attached...it doesn't give me a sense of where everything goes on the body....from what you've described it sounds as if I would have to take the leg shield apart...I've watched the tutorial on that and I think that's where I'll draw the line and admit that it's not something I want to tackle...thanks again.

Like I said I forget all the steps but know the floor boards have to come out and also I believe the glove box and the sheet metal below it, I do know both of the fold out passenger pegs had to come off. Also recall having to remove the front luggage rack.

I mentioned the estimate a dealer gave at $300 labor plus parts to my wife expecting her to say she owed me that much. But she asked where you lived and I should volunteer to do it for $250 and parts! Guess she thinks I need more projects!

Forgot to give a couple hints on the location of things.

In the diagram where the number 24 point to the front cable that point is under the left floor panel near where the battery is located.

Item number 13 they call a plate is mounted on the inside of the left side panel of the scooter right in the area where the air filter is located.

This makes me curious about the possibility of making a small manual clasp for the seat and eliminating the cable altogether. There's nothing I love more than eliminating unnecessarily complex junk.

Wouldn't that eliminate the ability to lock the seat when you secure the scooter?

I suppose one could modify something like this and just install a combination lock to secure the seat:

Like this?

Perfect!