Modern Vespa

Just bought a new 300HPE and cannot open the glove-box! Handbook doesn't help.. any ideas? I've tried pushing, tapping, pressing..nothing!

With the ignition on, pressing in on the key will release the glove box. Push hard and quickly straight forward.

Grouper!



Wow... nice fish!

Vespa latches can get stuck if there's too much in a compartment. The latch for the glovebox is just under the bag hook (top-center of the door).

Try pressing in on that area while also pressing the key into the slot. If that doesn't work, you can try going all Space Odyssey and banging it like Homer bangs a TV. If that doesn't work, you can get in from behind the Piaggio badge on the front of the legshield, but that's a whole project.

There is an easier way. My husbands glovebox won't unlatch even though it's empty. Something is out of alignment and we haven't had the energy to take it all apart to see what's up. You can access it through the left kneepad cover and release it with a finger.

There's also the rubber band issue. The latch release mechanism needs a rubber band to hold it in position or it goes to the wrong side of the latch. The rubber band on my GTS broke early on and I just couldn't wrap my head around what people were saying. MVer Berto pointed me to the right direction in a video that made it all make sense.

GT 200 with stuck glovebox

(mechanism is the same on the GTS as it was on the GT 200)

That rubber band is the goofiest thing I have ever seen in my life. Why they don't fit it with a permanent spring is impossible to understand. I would think it's a joke if I didn't know it's true. Shame on Piaggio.

Is that really the way they still do it?

In a weird way, I like the elastic band. It's cheap, simple and effective. One of those quirks that make these machines unique. You need to know how to treat them right!

I have not opened mine up but I have seen it in one of robots videos. He says that's the way they do it, so I guess you can take that to the bank. Yes it might be quaint and unique, but it also is not an easy task to get to it for the uninitiated.

Is the dealer far away? I mean, given this is a new HPE, don't you just go back and get the dealer to make it right? I'm not really sure what you mean by this. The rubber band is behind the glovebox and most owners will never see it or even know its there.

And if you're the type to remove the glovebox and do your own repairs then the elastic band is easy to install (as shown in Mitch's video). You just need to know it's there, otherwise you get to do the job twice.

You're right. All I'm saying is that since rubber degrades over time, it WILL fail. Someone who isn't good with maintenance will have a hard time getting to it. A simple spring would solve this issue, and it would never have to get fixed.

The HPE is a bit different to older GTS for glovebox / seat release.

As Grouper says, the key must be beyond the "steering lock" > "off" positions (going clockwise).

The HPE key has two further positions from "off"
> the next one permits the glovebox and seat latches (these don't work in "off")
> the last is the ignition / engine "on"

Of course, if the glovebox still won't open in these two, see the fixes above.

Rubber band is only needed during assembly or refitting clove box. That's why it doesn't need a spring.

Thanks Partanen, I didn't know that.

I wonder if Piaggio have an OEM stock number for a replacement rubber band?

Probably so... for $10.

I've just had this issue and read everything posted here about this issue with none of them working for me. I have now replaced the rubber and wanted to put a spring in instead but couldn't work out where I'd attach it. It was good to read just now that the rubber is only needed when refitting the glovebox though.

I own a Series One Sei Giorni. You can't access it from the top left cover as the access hole in the HPE is too small.

Access from the front horn grill was also impossible. I even bought one of those inspection cameras to look where I couldn't see with naked eye.

You can't remove the whole grill as there is a screw inside the actual glove box door.


Here's how I finally succeeded...

Travelled down to Vespa House and saw Frank. Together we ended up opening quite easily.

Being plastic we were able to wedge open the top left-hand corner of the glovebox door. From there we jambed a tool in there to keep a crack open. No damage or scratches this way too.

The advantage in doing this at Vespa House was that he had a Vespa with the glovebox panel off in the shop and we couls see clearly what we wanted to do rather than half guessing. We measured how far in a long, thin screwdriver had to go to reach the mech that opens the glovebox door. Then I using a small torch through the opening I knew exactly where I wanted to go and what I had to release. Put the screwdriver in, gave it a firm twist and the door popped open.

Having now done it once I could do it anywhere in less than a few minutes. When I was fixing the problem with the glovebox completely off, I took some photos. Looking at them just now and knowing what I am looking at now, I think I have found another very quick way to fix.

Look at this picture and you can see the plastic piece that toggles. Simple push it in so that the ignition release will engage it and then push as normal. Silly me.

The red circle is the the release that needs to move for the way I ended up opening. You need to push it down. I twisted the flat head screw driver to achieve this.