Modern Vespa

Hey everyone, it's been a few years. I searched but couldn't find anything, hoping for some guidance.

My front brake lever is stuck. Is there a short list as to why the lever wouldn't be able to be pulled? It feels like it has a lock through it or something. The bike sat for about 6 weeks during quarantine, but that's not the longest I've gone without riding before. I've had a modern since 2009 and I've never encountered this issue. Hoping it's something I can take care of myself.

Thanks!

There was a recall on the brakes of some models. Call your dealer.

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/recalls/piaggio-recalls-vespa-gtv-300-gts-300-and-gts-300-hpe-scooters-121719.html

Maybe there's more than one brake recall, but I thought the recall was for opposite problem - brake line has no pressure and lever easily pulls back all the way to handlebar?

In this case, I would think maybe a dirty / binding piston in the caliper. Or maybe the lever end is dirty and stuck.

I agree it seems odd for a fairly new bike that hasn't sat for that long Does your bIke spend a lot of time near the ocean or outdoors (where rust may be becoming an issue)?

I would flush out old brake fluid and re bleed system with new fluid and see if that works. After that if you can still pull brake lever all the way in....you need a new master cylinder.

I apologize I read your post wrong.... I would take off your caliper and use a c clamp and force the piston back in. Then reattach the brake caliper and see if that works.

I recently put some aftermarket black levers on a GTS . On fitting and first pull everything appeared fine. Then noticed rear wheel was locked on, even though brake lever was in the returned position!!!!Turned out that the lever was just slightly different shape, and when pulled it was depressing the brake plunger, but was too large and not allowing the plunger to release.Therefore every time I pulled the lever it was just increasing the pressure.I ending up removing the levers and grinding a small bit off the offending areas and checking clearance with feeler gauges These were levers that had cost approx £55 from SIP. Might help someone..

Stopping in an update.

Bled the lines and we're good as new. Shop said it could be the ABS pump so ill have to keep an eye on it. There was a second scoot waiting for the abs fix as well. Hopefully we're in the clear. Thanks everyone!

Were you charged for the repairs or did Vespa dealership acknowledge this to be a problem and fixed it gratis?

I have the same problem, yet both front and rear levers are locked at releases position during the ride. I'm lucky to still be alive. Local dealer said it is the ABS control unit that has broken down and locked up the oil flow from the master cylinder to the ABS pump, the valve won't open and the oil won't pass through the ABS pump, therefore the levers can't be depressed. Before it totally breaks down I have experience many times with a single lever locked, mostly rear, and the dealer told me is the safety lock from the ASR system. I studied about the ABS and ASR system of the bike after the accident and understand totally now that it has nothing to do with the ASR. It's solely the ABS control unit error. While a safety device can easily kill the driver when it breaks down, the fail safe practice should be disabling the ABS system but not the braking system. Even if you get a new parts and fix the bike the problem is still there. I emailed Vespa company and still no reply.

My dealer told me the same thing. He said it might be the ABS system itself. I'm wondering if there's a way to disable the ABS in order to make sure an accident doesn't happen. My brake lever froze before i hit the road, i cant imagine if that happened while i was riding.

My dealer told me it's caused by the failure of the ABS Control Unit. The only way to disable it is to replace it with a functioning one and ask other maintenance shop to disable it as they are the dealer they won't make any non-original change to the bike.

Hi Everyone, My 2018 Gts 300 also has this issue.

The front brake lever is locked after speed up to 5km/h and ABS light off.
The issue is quite consistent every time i started engine.

I also checked with local vespa dealer, they also said it cannot be repair and needed to replace a whole new ABS system... The replacement charge is also high...

Per your guys said, i dont think it is a isolate case since we did not have any accident of the bike, and should be related to Vespa design or quality issue.

https://motospia.it/vespa-300-richiamo-negli-usa-per-problemi-ai-freni/

13 December 2019
"The NHTSA (the US road safety agency) has published a warning just issued by Piaggio Group Americas for a brake problem that could occur on the Vespa 300. To be precise, the models concerned are the 2019 Vespa GTS 300. , the 2019 Vespa GTV 300 and the 2020 version Vespa GTS 300 HPE, already on sale in the USA. According to Piaggio, all 1,328 units produced between October 2018 and September 2019 and sold in the United States are affected.
Piaggio claims that the galvanizing of the brake system hose terminals has not been done correctly and therefore may not meet the required specifications. This can lead to the release of hydrogen in the braking circuit and consequently to the loss of braking efficiency.

The problem has been reported on vehicles that have been kept stationary for an extended period of time. On these vehicles, the driver finds it necessary to pull the lever harder than necessary to obtain the desired braking power. This loss of braking efficiency is a safety hazard and could lead to accidents in the most extreme cases. Especially in the fast sections.

The problem was reported by dealers and investigated by Piaggio. The recall campaign is already underway in the US.

There, owners are invited to make an appointment with their Piaggio dealer who will install the new front and rear brake fittings and also carry out a complete cleaning of the brake system free of charge."

I think this is the opposite problem to what is being described in this thread? The recall was first soft and ineffective brakes, but the problem these posters mention is if their brakes locking up!

What if it was related to that problem? I read about brake locks in the article.

Very interesting as I have exactly the same issue but with the rear brake. Cant pull the lever anymore after the ABS kicked in. GTS 300, 2018 seems to have a general ABS problem. Super dangerous!

Anybody else out there with the same issues?

I have the same problem. For a couple of mornings the lever would be stuck but high pressure released it and it was fine the rest of the day. This morning it was stuck and would not release. The lever moves a short distance and then stops dead. No braking on the rear wheel.

My scoot is also a 2018 GTS300. It has been totally reliable until now. I have Frando calippers fitted, but I am certain they are not the cause.

I'll get it picked up by an agent/workshop next week.

Fortunately I have a spare GTS300.

I've occasionally considered getting an old just so i can equip it for off road. Step 1 tires. Step 2 crash bars. Step 3 snorkle and lift exhaust for creek crossing. Step 4 ignore everyone telling me to get a bike designed for the job

If you really need to convert a scooter into an enduro, do it with high wheels.

Yup. Could do 13inch easily, more would be a problem (unless i went low profile rubber)

"The problem has been reported on vehicles that have been kept stationary for an extended period of time. On these vehicles, the driver finds it necessary to pull the lever harder than necessary to obtain the desired braking power."

Yes but the issue can cause softer brakes early on then becoming harder & or locked brakes as "gassing" inside the system becomes more prevalent. It's a known issue that has occured on some other bikes and cars too.

It is a problem related to short brake circuits and with small pipes and pumps, the brake fluid wears out more quickly and so does the linings.
Often my service shop changes the o-rings of the circuit (and brake fluid) and fixes the problem.

Yes, this never goes well! Totally buggers the transmission including varistor & clutch due to the water & grit. Have seen this more than once when standard scooters have been used in this way. The trannies are too open to water & muck compared to an off roader bike.Just depends how much money you want to waste...lol.

Well i did kill a bearing in my Supertech recently by abusing it in the bush 🤷‍♂️

Not much sympathy for my problem here. I gather the fix will be a new ABS control unit, AU$1199 at SIP and AU$917 at Scooter Center. Hope the local agents can get it cheaper, and I hope there is one in Australia, otherwise postage from Europe will take 2 month or more.

Have a happy new year.

Mike

Always sympathetic Mike to anyone with an issue. Hoping you can get it at the right price. Just make sure to only use a new unit. Have had some horror stories over here about second hand units. Good luck!

In mid December i had a new helmet sent from the Netherlands and it took 1 week.

Not as crazy as 18 months ago

Five bikes in my garage. Two under 6k km. Not a single one with ABS. This is why.

Is just disabling the system not an option?

adri, abs issues are extremely rare. It saves lives. I've had abs on the last 5 bikes that I've owned. Covered very big mileages without a single issue. Been riding 52 years and only needed abs once in that time but without it I would probably have died 8 years ago. It works! Worrying about if it's going to fail is not something you need to do.

I agree, it saves lives. I wrote an article and made a video on why it will become mandatory in more and more places in the next several years. I did the research. But I wouldn't call them extremely rare. In this one thread we have 3 people reporting issues so far.

And then there's the fact that there were enough people experiencing other brake issues on these bikes that Piaggio had to issue a recall.

Saves lives? Absolutely.
Extremely rare? Lol!

Nothing to do with ABS. It was a manufacturing issue with the brake lines

"was an incorrect galvanization process of the brake pipe terminals on the new Zinc-Nickle brake lines. The protective zinc/nickel layer used for surface treatment of the brake pipe terminals were found to have an incorrect plating process, this incorrect treatment allows hydrogen to remain inside the surface during the treatment process that releases in the brake fluid causing hydrogen to release inside of the braking system."

Ah ok, oopsie. Read it at 4am last night. Too excited for 2021 to be over I guess haha.

ABS pumps themselves rarely fail. It can of course happen. But as steelbytes says, the issues we are talking about here are not the actual abs pumps at fault par se. All to do with the coatings on the brake hose connections causing a reaction and influencing gassing and corrosion in the system.

I just had a phone call from the Scooter Central mechanic, and he reports that the problem is the ABS control unit. It is expensive, but fortunately the Australian agents have one, and I should have my scooter back next week.

I bought this GTS because I had had three expensive problems with my 2015 model, and didn't trust it anymore. I had the ECU fail twice and the sprag clutch once. I hope this one isn't starting to behave the same way - it has been totally reliable up 'till now.

My 2020 GTS HPE with 1700 mi started with periodic front brake cylinder lock up, which clear up after hard lever pull after rolling, but now is constantly locked up (but no abs error light on) Dealer is picking it up tomorrow…this is really dangerous as I have no front brake at all…dh

hope you're still under warranty or part of the recall, amigo. otherwise that's a spendy fix.

Update on GTS300 ABS issue…mine was locked up on the rear brake master cylinder (sorry said front previously).. at dealer waiting for reply from Piaggio for possible cost sharing… parts not available in US or Italy…maybe after Thanksgiving…may be a bigger issue than they (Piaggio) thought….. dang it, only Vespa that had a safety issue out of 6 previous ones..

Update Number 2.. dealer picked up bike, and reviewed with Piaggio rep, and they replaced the ABS module (took couple months to get the parts), and now it is operating perfectly…Bet there are more out there… dh

So it is the same problem as I had. Pity about the wait for parts. Hope they can sort out the expense so that you are not out of pocket for anything.

I have the same problem on my 2020. Warranty expired in Aug. I'm really hoping Vespa will put out a recall on this as it's a serious safety issue.

My dealer is kind of far away and last time I spoke with them they did not have the part and said it was about 6 weeks out and very expensive.