Modern Vespa

OK, I love SIP. But sometimes I hate them. I bought a set of "SIP 2.0" aluminum tubeless rims from them last year; they sat in my garage for a while until I got around to buying some Pirelli Angels to mount on them. I took the rims to the local cycle shop for mounting. The shop calls me to tell me that one of the rims won't hold pressure, it's because the idiot who tapped the valve stem hole overshot the mark and there were no threads in hole for the valve stem to grip. Indeed, that looks to be the case. The valve stem comes out with a slight pull. So I had the shop remove the tire, so that I could mount it on some other rim, but they couldn't get the tire of without breaking the internals of the bead, ruining the tire.

So I am out the cost of the rim; the cost of a tire; the costs of mounting; and I have one tire mounted on the other rim rim that doesn't match anything else I have. AA+ repair, yeah.

Look up a timesert, I've used them on aluminum oil pans to form a liquid tight seal.



https://www.timesert.com/

The hell with that hot mess; go Pinasco and never look back.

I'd weld up that messed up hole and redrill and tap another one in a different location. Those tubeless SIP wheels definitely have their place, but I'm still trying to figure out a user friendly scenario to utilize them. That being said, I really liked them A++ on my track bike...everywhere else not so much...more like a C+. I also have a set of the first gen tubeless SIP rims, and they're more like a D.

Agree. I went with Pinasco split rims so I wouldn't have to go to a shop to remove and mount. They are a little thicker than stock rims so require nyloc nuts. Other than that they are great.

I hate throwing out stuff that can be saved. I took the buggered rim to a great local auto parts shop that has a machine shop in the back. The machine shop dude is going to weld up the old valve hole and drill and tap a new one. I'll sand and repaint. It will cost me about $75, cheaper than a new rim from Germany.

I ordered some tire spoons and a new tire and will try to mount the tire myself. I envision failure.

I have two sets of pinasco and one set of SIP tubeless rims. I had SIP install the tires before they shipped them, in part to avoid any issues like that.

One of the pinascos had had a very slow leak for as long as I've owned them, which is close to ten years now. They are, as noted, 8mm thick versus 6mm for a stock rim and the aluminum is relatively soft, leading to excessive wear and ovaling of the mounting holes over time.

I recall a few years back, someone had the FA Italia's and they had pinholes in them that kept them from holding air, too.

QA failures happen. That's life. How the manufacturer or supplier handles it is what I care about.

ive got a pair of the BGM rims from casa, they've been perfect for that last 2 years. I did have casa mount the tires.

I've got these original steel Piaggio split rims that I've used with inner tubes and Michelin tires for years. They perform great and are a breeze to change a tire and tube. I highly recommend this set up.

I love the look of the SIP and BGM rims and would never pay the higher prices for Pinasco, which look too 'fancy' for an old Vespa IMHO. A local chap mounts my tyres for £5 (currently $6 US). Ok, so I'll probably need to cut them off the rim to avoid damage, but at that point they're either worn out or punctured.

I'll trump that with genuine indian made Bajaj split rims still rocking the original tires from 1995


I don't think the tires even wear anymore since they are so hard