Modern Vespa

All this while, I've been checking my oil level by:
a) unscrewing and removing the dipstick
b) wiping it clean
c) **reinserting the dipstick all the way (screwing it back in fully)**
d) removing it and noting the oil level.

I recently looked at a motorcycle manual, where the instructions explicitly stated not to screw the dipstick back in before measuring.

It made me wonder if I'd been doing it wrong with my Vespa, unintentionally overmeasuring the oil level. I looked at the Vepsa manual, but it is silent on this issue.

So ... what's the correct technique on the HPE?

You are doing it correctly. It is in my GTS owners manual to check your oil by screwing the dipstick in all the way.

shc: Yep, you're doing it correctly.

Just as an FYI, there is a less-tedious way of keeping tabs on oil level on GTS HPE's, although it does involve changing the oil pan. (Identical to the original, but with a sight-glass installed.)

How much oil should be visible in the sight glass for a normal level? It's this being checked with the GTS on the centerstand?

According to the "robot" youtube half full in the window on the center stand.

My Japanese bikes want the dip stick not screwed in, but my old Ducati and 2020 MotoGuzzi V7 R wants the dipstick screwed in to check. Maybe it's an Italian thing?

According to ScooterWest, a half full sight glass on the center stand equals the max line on the dipstick. If you don't see any oil in the sight glass, you're about 250ml low on oil and should top off.

Check out 25:46 in Robot's video:

Thank you! I somehow missed Robot's video on the oilpan

Thanks!

If a "half full" sightglass = MAX oil level (per the above post) I would recommend that the user consider painting a dot in the centre of the glass to give you a consistent reference mark. (My BMW had similar sight glasses with a reference dot.)

I would suggest the maker/sellers consider this reference mark.

I carry a 200ml bottle of engine oil in a ziplock bag in my cubby.
I also carry a 200ml bottle of undiluted antifreeze in case I must top up the radiator en route (or help out a fellow Vespa rider in the same situation.)

I would still use the dipstick to check my oil level when topping off so, for me, the sight glass would mainly be used as an indicator of when to top off and not as an exact oil measurement. My guess would be that that's why there's no max/min marks on the sight glass.

To your point, though, putting a simple dot on the sight glass with a sharpie could definitely be helpful.

I installed the sight glass oil pan on my 2020 HPE and when the scooter is on the centerstand and the oil level is at the halfway point in the sight glass, my dipstick reading is exactly at the full mark. It does take a few minutes for the oil level in the sight glass to settle. If you check it shortly after running the engine and then immediately add oil to bring it up to the halfway point in the sight glass, you will end up overfilling it. Don't ask me how I know. It is also important for the scooter to be on level ground when it is on the centerstand, but that also goes for using the dipstick.

Not to hijack this thread, but it is related...

I have a 2021 GTS 300 SuperTech, 6 months old, 5000 miles. When it was delivered from the dealer, my mechanic found it was 120ml low. I drove it a little and had its 600 mile service on time. in the intervening miles, I have had to add another half of a liter... 100 & 200 ml at a time. It seems to be getting better, but I'm looking for feedback from other HPE owners about their oil consumption.

BTW, the dipstick all the way in vs. "just the tip" works out either way. If the tip gets wet, then it will be into the hashes if you screw it all the way down.

As a side note, and why it is related to this thread... Piaggio moved the dipstick to the other side of the engine from previous models, and it is at ROYAL PAIN IN THE A$$ to check. Not only is it harder to reach, you have to do hand-limbo to get the stick out of the engine area to read it, plus, re-inserting it is akin to playing "Operation" where it has to follow a very narrow path to get in the right spot. If not, you can easily break the stick off and it falls into the motor/waterpump. Its such a problem that the water pump gaskets are on back order.

In conclusion, (1)it's difficult to check the level and (2) it's using oil much faster than previous models. Double whammy!

Yes HPEs drink oil. There's been plenty of threads about this.

I prefer to have the dipsticks as far away from me and my scooter as I can possibly get them.

Hence the existence of an aftermarket oil pan with that lovely sight glass: Robot mentions the relocated oil cap/dipstick "issue" with the HPE. According to what I've heard, later-model GTS HPEs' oil consumption should noticeably decrease somewhere between 1000-2000 miles; I've only clocked 819 miles on Thelonica so far, and I'm just a bit over 200 miles since her first service, so I'll see how things shake out over the next month or two. I have other words to describe them, but: Roger that.

I concur. But I don't know abut the electric Vespa.

Check when the motor is cold, say before the ride & just unscrew & look
No need to wipe & re-insert, that's just an extra step

^^^^
This, exactly.

My 2022 GTS doesn't seem to use oil. Maybe Vespa has solved the problem. I will continue to check the level often. I have 850 miles but have been taking it kind of easy on her. The highest speed I have gone is an indicated 75 mph even that wasn't for long.

I'm not sure how it is on the non-HPE Vespas, but taking the dipstick out of my GTS 300 HPE is like playing Operation — if you don't take it out at just the right angle, then the oil on the dipstick gets smeared and it's difficult to get an accurate reading.

My 2021 300 oil hasn't needed any topping off. Serviced per the schedule. Just about to hit 2k miles.

It depends much on your riding style. WOT on the highway will consume more oil, taking it easy, less.

Just tried that and there was oil to the top of the hash marks.
Wiped it off and screwed it back in. When I took it back out it showed half way up. Last rode yesterday.

I've considered getting a different color dipstick - seems like it'd at least be easier to read.

I'm approaching 6000 miles, and the oil consumption has improved, but not enough that I can leave my spare liter of oil behind.

In all fairness, I think there is a longer ride-in interval on the HPE, and mine is getting increasingly better performance each week. Fuel mileage is creeping in the right direction, power at the top end is getting better too.

I've done 30,000km and still topping up now and then. Note: I am not saying if its similar or less than how much I'd top it up when new ... haven't get adequate records to answer that theory.