Modern Vespa

Hey gang,

My '01 ET2 repairs are going along okay (per my other threads)...aside from now needing a new steering column (fork)! Ugh. Meanwhile, for both health and safety reasons, the one thing that I'd really love to knock out is the gas smell that accumulates in my garage after riding. It goes away after about a day or so. What remains is a light smell of 2-stroke oil (I guess.)

I had replaced the petcock and the line to the Weber 12 carb with Tygon hose, which definitely got rid of the all-the-time gas smell (the petcock had failed and was leaking fuel 24/7).

Ideally I've tuned the scoot fairly well I think...so it's not really running too rich?

Is the float needle leaving the carb bowl full of unevaporated gas?

Wherever it is, it's probably coming from the carb or unburned gas from the exhaust as I already redid the line going back to the gas tank and replaced the gas cap seal.

I'm concerned about this as the fumes can waft upstairs (it's the basement of our apartment duplex), especially when it's hot and humid.

Of course I could ride the scoot, park it outside when done, and then pull it into the garage. However, I'd rather wrench and just pull it into the garage like our LX50 with no issues.

Thanks!

Moved to NSM as this is a 2T engine thing.

What you may want to do is a little ways from home just shut off the gas. By the time you get home the float bowl is out of gas and it stops running from fuel starvation right when you're rolling into the garage. This is what I do and it seems to help. I've figured out the point where to shut off the gas so I don't have to push it the last 50 feet, and I don't have to wait an extra minute.

Hmm not sure why they moved it to the NSM forum since the ET2 is a twist and go with a vacuum operated fuel tap so no ON, Off, Reserve.

Here's a few guesses- Have you looked at your air filter element? It's a piece of foam and may be saturated with gas/ oil and time for a wash? What conditions are the hoses in the charcoal filter/ Evap system/ gas tank overflow? The float/needle might leak a bit but you'd probably have consistent hard starting too.

(MODERATOR: A a gentle request for this to be moved out of "NSM" as it's an automatic like an LX50?)

I'd love to be able turn off a petcock (like a vintage Vespa) and let it die before rolling into the driveway, but there is none. It has the same petcock that's in the LX50...it's identically vacuum operated and is also brand new.

Air filter is a Malossi and is brand new. However, you CAN smell gasoline when you open the air box. I think there's a clue right there.

Maybe I'm missing something, but there doesn't seem to be a charcoal filter / evap system/ gas tank overflow system anywhere on the ET2.

Interestingly enough, "The float/needle might leak a bit but you'd probably have consistent hard starting too." Well, what I'm wondering is that after letting the ET2 sit for a few days...is that it takes about 20 seconds for the scoot to start after revving the throttle. Not sure if that's normal? So I'm wondering if whatever gas in the bowl that was there has evaporated...and it needs to fill before restarting. No such problems if I restart the ET2 after having used it earlier in the day. Maybe this is another clue?

Thanks again, everyone.