Modern Vespa

If you bought a ~10 year old GTS with low mileage but no service history, what would your To-Do List look like?

Change tires, belt, oil, coolant, battery, bleed brakes with new fluid.

Then ride.

I bought a much older GTS with no service history and only 1200 miles for a fraction of the price of a new one.

REPLACE ALL FLUIDS

Brake fluid
Engine oil
Gear oil
Coolant
CHECK TIRES

7 ways to tell if motorcycle/scooter tires need replacing
If you do find you need to replace your tires Mitch has great videos showing you how to do all of that. I just used two of them to learn how to replace my OEM cast alloy Vespa rims with aftermarket MOS Motor forged rims this week. Super easy thanks to his videos.

CHECK AND/OR REPLACE BATTERY

How to test a battery
How to fill, charge, and replace a new motorcycle battery for best lifespan and performance
MAINTENANCE

At this point you're probably going to want to look at your owner's manual, under SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE or PERIODIC MAINTENANCE or whatever Vespa/Piaggio calls it.

Some examples could be:

Replace belt and/or rollers
Valve adjustment

We both forgot to siphon the old gas out.

Just in time for 3 1/2 seasons of great riding.

Pictures?

How low is really low mileage?

Wow, mate you are lucky you have a bunch of people who will share knowledge that sure you could get but the effort would be a bit more than popping on to the forum.
I don't know if chatGPT would be able to answer that question with the same level of detail.
So if you follow the advise given, you are most likely going to have a Vespa running smooth and properly maintained thereafter.

Basically do everything on the list except the valves and spark plug. I replaced the belt on a 10 year old GT200 with 1800 miles on it. It looked fine, and I kept it. I don't trust CVT belts. I was stranded on another scooter in 115 degree heat with no shade or water for several hours once because of a shredded belt.

Why not valves if they are due? Especially given that we don't even know how many miles the bike has?

Also... who said anything about spark plugs?

I would absolutely replace the fuel lines.

2,000. fwiw I said low, not really low.

So far I've just changed the oil and the front shock. Tires look OK.

This is how my list looks currently:
Belt + Sliders
Coolant
Brake fluid
Rear shocks
valve clearance closer to the 3k mark
I hadn't planned on gear oil but I guess that should go on the list too

The GTS high-pressure fuel lines are completely different from the fuel and vacuum lines in the carburetted engines. They last many more years!

Why change the shocks?

They were shot all around. The handling felt really squirrely from the front end, it was a bit scary to ride. I went with a Bitubo in the front and it made a huge difference.
The rears are bottoming out on bumps.

OP said it had low mileage. Valves are a mileage related service, and since this GTS is at least 10 years old, it is not an HPE. Valves on non HPE models do not require service until 12,000 miles. The spark plug is also a maintenance item, but unless there is a problem that could cause damage to the plug, like an overly rich mixture, they are also mileage related. I bought my 10 year old GT with 1800 miles on it, and while I did just about everything else (I did go ahead and wear out the original tires that were in perfect condition) I didn't touch the valves or spark plug till 12,000 miles. All four valves were within spec, though a couple were pretty close to the edge. The plug could probably have been cleaned, regapped, and used for another 12,000 miles.

Engine oil is by far the most critical, but all fluids are important. I probably didn't need to replace my belt, but after having had a belt with only 4000 miles on it fail under dire circumstances, I wasn't going to take a chance.

I would replace the tires if they're ten years old. Check the date codes.

I see San Diego. Sounds like warm and dry.
Any idea how it was stored?

I took a closer look today and they're 2012. They still look really good, no dry rot, plenty of tread but I know they still need to get replaced. bummer.

That's strange for a low mileage Vespa to have shot shocks. But hey, you changing them so all good.

Agreed, shocks should not be worn like that.

Makes you wonder if someone rode the heck out of their Vespa, and then bought a used low mileage cluster on ebay, and swapped that in.

One of my GTS is 17 years old, original socks are still in great shape, only 1,200 miles. Another is 17 years old with 11k miles, still in great shape as well...

1,200 miles per year for ten years = low mileage and due for a valve adjustment

Squirrelly handling could also be tire or tire pressure related.

the rears on my brand new supertech kept bottoming out (so I replaced with SIP).

with a 2nd hand bike some may feel this is worn out but some others may say oem shocks are too soft

It could be that the new owner is unfamiliar with the handling characteristics of a Vespa.

They feel different than a motorcycle.

Bill

Perhaps the OP did not check the shock settings as they come set at the lowest setting. This could cause bottoming out and not a good ride.

The stock rears are adjustable?

This is definitely not my first scooter and the front shock improved the handling a great deal so I am happy with the decision.

Absolutely....depending on your weight, they could potentially be pretty far off.

No big deal on the replacements at this point....there are people who change out the shocks almost immediately after buying new...as long as you're happy!

1,200 miles PER YEAR for ten years = 12,000 miles, and it is due for a valve adjustment. 2,000 miles TOTAL means another 10,000 miles before it is due for a valve adjustment. Valve adjustments are based on mileage, not time. Valves don't wear while the engine is not running. Doing it at 12,000 miles worked fine for me. Mine were still in spec. I'm sure the local Vespa dealer would love for you to bring it in every year and pay $500 for a full service, even if it hasn't been ridden one mile, but I can't believe anyone would actually do that.

I actually do not recommend letting any motor vehicle just sit for years without being touched. Not even a few months. I store most of my 2 wheelers during our long 115 degree F summers, but that doesn't mean they just sit. I drain ALL of the ethanol out of the fuel system and pour in a gallon of TruFuel. It has a 2 year life span. I keep battery maintainers on them. I usually start them up and warm them up every couple of weeks. I move any tire sitting on the floor to a different position. I keep the tires properly inflated. I spin the wheels to keep the brakes from locking up, on bikes with manual transmissions I put them in gear and use the clutch. Things that are designed to be moved need to be moved.

Engines that have sat for a long time without being moved can sometimes have a dropped valve after being started. That's because the valves weren't moved for so long they stuck in the guides. The engine may start and run, but if the valves are tight in the valve guides, one or all, but it's usually just one, may stick open, and get hit by the piston when it comes back up to TDC. A valve adjustment won't fix that. You have to remove the valves and clean the stems, and replace the valve guide seals. Once an engine has run for a couple hundred miles, a dropped valve becomes extremely unlikely.

Correct, but we did not know what the mileage was at the time, so going back with hindsight is a little silly.