Modern Vespa

Forget the old question below. This edits it out, to tell that I finally got around to replacing the pads. It is the two silver bolts that need to come off. The old pads will come out really easy.

Both calipers then need to be pushed in and out of the way to make room for the new, thick pads. I didn't install the pin until I had the calipers back on the rotor, and that pin was the hardest. The H-shaped spring pushes the pads in, which need to be out in order for the holes to align for the pin to go through. Took me a while, and it may be easier to do that part while the caliper is still off the rotor. Does anybody know?

Here is a question, though:
The right pad was down to 1mm, the left one had 2.8mm left. Why is that, and is that an issue?

I'm getting real good now at getting the wheel off and back on. Record time today.

(old post below:)

Has anybody done a thread on this job, with pictures? I can't find one.

My rear pads are due and I haven't done it before on a Vespa, only on cars. Can someone explain how to, with all necessary steps? I'll take pictures when I do mine.

The workshop manual makes it sound like you have to take the caliper apart, while the dealer, where I bought the pads, said all you have to do is "fold open a flap and push them in to fit the new ones" sort of. I could imagine there are just a few more steps...

ive done it too many times.

take your pipe off.

then undo the shock absorber nut and the rest of allen bolts. (i think theyre 6 or 8 mm allen bolts)

theyre all one size anyway....unless theyre torx bolts but...

then grab a cable/zip tie and tie the rear brake hard on..

then pull the small pin out that covers the rear wheel nut and remove the ittle cap.

then undo the 24mm nut thats bolted onto the end of the axle.

then remove the rear swong arm plate thingy.

then theres the rear wheel to remove...

then you can get to the calliper and disc.

remove the calliper. (2 bolts)


then you can pull the pin out and slip the pads out.

its a good idea to put a bit of copper grease on the back of the new brake pads before you install them.


its a right mess about for just the brake pads aint it?

make sure you put the spacer thats after the rear wheel axle nut on before the rear wheel nut.


hope this helps.


if you get stuck. PM me.

cheers,

Ross.

You've got to be joking!!

On my GT, there is a metal rod across the works at the back of the brake assembly, held in place with a wire clip on the inside. Remove the clip, pull out the rod, remove the plate that holds the pads in, and pull the pads out. Repeat in reverse order with the new pads inserted. Just remember which way around the plate goes.

Surely the GTS is the same? I can't believe you have to remove the rear wheel! Have a look at your back brake assembly and check it out.

Anyway, I can remove my whole assembly (except the disk itself) by just loosening the two screws that hold it to the gearbox.

Mike

its an absolute bastard to change the rear brake pads.

i do it this way because the clearance between the rear wheel and the disc isnt enough for me to get the calliper off.

i got taught that this is the way to do it so.

and i dont wanna scratch my fresly painted rims.

theres always a silly order in which you have to do stuff on scoots.

like remove the handlebar fairing, just to take the glovebox door assembly off without scratching the scoot.

its a nightmare but ive got to live with it....

Sorry, please ignore my previous post. You cannot get the pads out or the assembly off while the wheel is in the way.

I have just been replacing the rear axle oil seal on my GT, and finished putting the wheel back and the suspension in place to discover that I couldn't attach the brake assembly. Gotta pull the wheel off again!

Mike

Thanks for getting this started. I take it that the rear wheel needs to come off. Okay.

But then the procedure differs. One school removes the bolts and calipers, the other only pulls out the pin.

My service gal also said that no bolts or calipers need to be removed, just "open this flap" (it looks like a little door that, when opened, would open the view onto the rotor's edge.

So, I open this flap, then remove the clip, then pull the pin, then replace the pads? Can someone confirm this?

If it is the same as the GT, then that is correct.

But I have just been examining my scooter, and I have a brainwave.

It looks as though one could loosen the brake assembly, then undo the six nuts and bolts that hold the brake disk, and the disk will have enough movement for you to get the brake assembly out (I think). OK, so two of the six nuts are partly hidden behind the wheel spokes, and a little difficult to get at, but if it works, you have saved an awful lot of effort.

Give it a try! If it works, you will be famous! If you don't try it, I certainly will the next time I change my brake pads.

Mike

Okay, I looked a bit closer and took some pix.

There is no flap on the rear GTS calipers. There is an open rectangle with both of the pads' blue eyelets looking out like so:



The corresponding brake pads sit in like so and have this size in relation to the eyelets:



Now it becomes clear that the pads can't be exchanged through that rectangle opening. So, my question is, do I have to open any of the hex bolts (the black ones or the silver ones?) to either take the calipers apart or remove the assembly, so that I can replace the pads?

Or do the pads come out from behind the caliper, on the rotor side, sliding out toward the hub, without the need to take the caliper apart or off?

And what about that pin? When does it get pulled out, and how is it released?

That's where I'm at now.

the pin is held in by a tiny little clip. just remove the clip and pull the pin out.

Thanks, Suit Scoot.

You said earlier: Which bolts are you referring to? The black ones or the silver ones (see my picture)?

the two left ones allow you to take the calliper off and the two black ones you need to undo to take the pads out.

hope this helps

Mike Holland just told me the opposite. Now I'm totally confused.
He said to remove the silver bolts, take the caliper assembly off the rotor, take the pads out, put new pads in, push them apart a bit, reinsert the calipers over the disk, install silver bolts.

Is this correct?

I'm confident that, some day, we will have consent on how best to do this

the ones on the calliper split the calliper.

its a really easy job to do.

i check the pads on the rear everytime ive got the back wheel off. which is about once every two months.

And change your gear oil while your there

Page 240 - 242 GTS Workshop Manual

Sorry if I have been confusing you, Moped. I was assuming that the GTS brake setuop is the same as the GT one. I guess it isn't.

My GT workshop manual doesn't mention anything about the rear brakes or replacing the pads. But I gather the GTS manual does describe it. Have you downloaded a copy yet? It is in the technical section.

Mike

Duh, it could have been so easy!

Yes, I have the manual, and I had read it before I knew I had to replace pads. When the job became necessary, I remembered having read something about removing bolts and stuff. What confused me was my dealer's tech who said I don't have to remove any bolts. Maybe it was self-understood for her that the calipers need to be removed first.

Okay, now it is all clear. Thanks all, and sorry for my repeated questions about bolts or not and which and which not.

Valuable tip from the manual, to not remove the pin fully before the calipers are removed. It keeps the pads in place before they safely can come out.

BTW, Mike, you were right, no black bolts to undo. Suit Scoot, you can save yourself some work next time. Just RTFM

Thanks all!

Maybe the simple solution is to replace the pads whenever you replace the rear tyre.
Mike

Every other would still be early, but a good idea to plan it for every two, and hub oil for every one.

Great dealer you got there

BTW, regarding our conversation about Newport Vespa: they let me down as I expected. Oh well, I gave them a fair chance.
Im glad I never gave them a penny.
That New hip manager blew a bunch of smoke around town and all his talk vanished behind it.

BTW, you should really be using about 70% front brake to 30% rear.
Im sure the fronts are easier to replace, so if you get used to braking properly it will be good all around

In all fairness, I'd like to see my comment quoted in full, and not truncated: That out of the way--now that I know how to do it, it has lost its power, and looking at the pads every time I change the rear tire (which, as you will have heard, is needed too often), is not a big deal and easier than doing the front brakes, because there, I'd have to remove the wheel for no other reason. But you are right, if I was braking with too much emphasis on the rear, I need to change that (and have already been doing since I knew my rear pads are low and I'm not quite ready yet to change them).

Im sorry my post came across a bit harsh. It wasn't towards you, its that damn dealer. I wish they would just re-sell the place so everyone in the OC could have a nice place to go.

No worries, Petrol. Check your PM.

Forget the old ingoing question. This edits it out, to tell that I finally got around to replacing the pads. It is the two silver bolts that need to come off. The old pads will come out really easy.

Both calipers then need to be pushed in and out of the way to make room for the new, thick pads. I didn't install the pin until I had the calipers back on the rotor, and that pin was the hardest. The H-shaped spring pushes the pads in, which need to be out in order for the holes to align for the pin to go through. Took me a while, and it may be easier to do that part while the caliper is still off the rotor. Does anybody know?

Here is a question, though:
The right pad was down to 1mm, the left one had 2.8mm left. Why is that, and is that an issue?

I'm getting real good now at getting the wheel off and back on. Record time today.