Modern Vespa

Hi there

Having trouble with my 2006 LX125 that until recently has been a very reliable commuter.

Had some power problems recently, replaced the battery and all seemed ok.

Left Vespa off road for a month (new baby) and power completely died. Recharged battery and back to normal, running well.

Went back this morning and bike is completely dead. Tried recharging battery to full, but still nothing.

Mechanic suggested I might have killed the new battery by leaving the bike for a month, but a second new battery hasn't changed anything?

Don't think it's the alternator (no power problems when used regularly)

Any ideas?!

Have you any extras fitted, like an alarm, USB port or whatever? Something is draining your battery.

Once your battery is fully charged again, i.e. it reads 12.6V at rest a few hours after being charged, you can disconnect the negative terminal and insert an ammeter in series. This should be a couple of days after last being switched on so the immobiliser draws no current, and do NOT turn the scooter on! You should be able to read any current drain. Ideally it should be zero, but a few mA (10 mA or so) is OK.

If there's no current drain, then it can only be that your charging system is faulty - the usual culprit is a failing regulator. If that gives over 14.8V then that can kill batteries, and if it doesn't give more than 13.6V then the battery never gets fully charged and will die sooner rather than later - but that might take some time, not just a month.

Thank you!