Modern Vespa

If it fails again after they try to fix it, they I will consider getting something else - or just because I love the vespa brand so much I may consider just taking it to another shop (the thing I like about the dealer I went to is it's 100% vespa) about 25 miles away that sells vespa and other motorcycles. Thats my next thought if after one more shot these guys can't fix it.

Have you potentially overfilled the tank? By overfilling I mean filling to the brim. I had starting and cut-out issues once on a hot day when the Vespa was new. Turned out it was nothing more than a fuel system that isn't happy with more fuel in the tank than it is designed for.

I have been more cautious since and aside from the occasional check engine light due to rogue pumps failing to cut off fueling in time, there are no more issues.

I don't quite understand all the comments about the quality of Italian manufacturing, as many motorcycles made in Italy are very reliable, for example modern Moto Guzzis.

In my experience the Vespa has been reliable too, ok I can't really extrapolate from a sample of one, but still: no issues for me. The maintenance schedule is somewhat intense, though I knew that beforehand and have no complaints.

There is one difficulty though and it's about motorcycles in general. Solely relying on a shop to keep a motorcycle running is one thing if the bike is rather new. As the value diminishes, spending that kind of money to keep a bike on the road gets quickly uneconomical.

As for the repair department of that Vespa dealer. Well, you seem to have come to some of the same conclusions I have.
In one instance I passed by for the annual inspection (something trivial in New York State) to be told I wouldn't pass it unless I buy a new rear tire.
Bogus af. There was nothing wrong with that tire and it easily had another couple of thousand miles of service life left. Another shop inspected the tire and gave me my annual inspection sticker without trouble.

I had good experiences with Scooter Bottega in Brooklyn, an independent repair shop. It's not far from Manhattan, at the end of Union Street. Robbie, the owner, is a great guy.

I let it sit idleIng in my driveway for 30 minutes - then I took it for a 3 mile drive came back. Let it sit idling for another 10 minutes and it stalled and died again. So I was able to duplicate what happened hopefully if somebody else can do that as well we can get to the bottom of this.

nope

This ^^^

I don't quite understand all the comments about the quality of Italian manufacturing, as many motorcycles made in Italy are very reliable, for example modern Moto Guzzis.

Is it me or is this the most ironic thing you could write in a thread about a GTS breaking down ?

I agree. Three strikes and it's time to get rid for your own peace of mind.

I think it's heat/fuel pump related.

Walking away.

Me too

If it's heat/fuel pump related…….then let's get to the bottom of it then.

I don't know how it works over in the US on grades but In the UK, E10 is standard petrol and is 95 octane with 10% Bioethanol additive and is more environmentally friendly and cheaper per Ltr but is causing a lot of various problems with vehicles and two stroke machinery, E5 is our premium petrol and is 97/98 octane with only 5% Bioethanol additive but also has cleaning additives added for the fuel system, but more expensive per Ltr.
For example of E10 damage, I obtained a 2008 Vespa GTV non runner, had not run for two years, once I got it to fire fuel started leaking from various pipes on examining the pipes they was split and turning to jelly and the fuel filter cracked all over, I had to renew the full fuel system using E10 approved fuel pipe, in the tool box from two years previous was a receipt for E10 fuel, older engines are not coping with the increased 10% bioethanol especially if left for long periods without being run.
Cheers.

Well, you wrote on the same topic in another thread: See: THREE breakdowns in 16 months of ownership. Is this normal? Okay

Speaking of which, Honda announced the Transalp will be back in the US soon. If you've ever travelled outside the US and met other overlanders, you've seen a lot of Transalps. The things run forever, and they're better in the dirt than most of the Adventure Touring bikes out there.

My favorite bike (of dozens I've owned) was a 1990 Transalp. It had a stainless Givi exhaust and large Rifle windshield but other than that (and tires) stock.

When overlanding got popular, about the time the Striking Viking was stuck in an ELN camp, you could just about sell a twenty year old Transalp in the US for what they cost new. It was the first well thought out midsize 2 cylinder Adv. Bike. Honda moved production from Japan, where the US models were made, to Italy and then to Brazil. There was a lot of time spend debating which ones were best.

A fellow named Conchscooter used to ride a Vespa GTS in Key West. He had similar maddening issues and took it a couple times to the dealer in Miami but it kept dying on him. Eventually he took it to a dealer in Daytona Beach and they found something (I can't remember what exactly -- fuel injection body?) was loose, depending on time and temperature too much air leaked in and it died. The tech tightened it up and it ran fine after that. But only after a lot of frustration with service. And he didn't trust the scoot anymore and sold it and got a Triumph Bonneville.

Sometimes it is the little things that make us crazy.

I picked up the bike today at the dealer. There is a brand new (my third in 7200 miles) fuel pump. First one died at 400 miles.......and the replacement has been fine until now.

They told me that the pump is faulty and when the bike gets hot the pump expands and essentially starves the bike of fuel.....but if I let it cool down it starts again just fine. It was obv to me whatever was happening had to do with my bike getting hot, and today was a good test to see if it was indeed something else because I sat in bumper to bumper traffic for two hours with the engine fan coming and and off the entire time.......so i was of course worried the bike was going to die like it did on two occasions over last few weeks.....but it didnt.

So I think they got it and we're all good!!

PS- I really dig your youtube channel

Sounds good. My fuel pump died on me. Caused intermittent no start issues. Once it cooled I could get it running. Eventually though it was done. It was replaced and never had that problem again. But I suppose you can get two bum pumps. I had two bad voltage regulators in a row on my car.

Thanks for the comments on the YouTube channel. I bet you're looking at the W650!

The second fuel pump died after 7000 miles…

I love your W650 but I am so used to the ease and nimbleness of my Vespa

And I love the fact that they seem to be replacing the failed fuel pump with exactly the same fuel pump.

Which I think is pretty normal. They didn't know it was faulty.

Would you like to buy a parrot?

Yes, and I would teach it to say - If you are replacing the failed fuel pump with another fuel pump that is exactly the same as the first don't act surprised when that fails also.

Seeing as this is a well known issue you'd think that they would consider using a different make of fuel pump ?

Too easy ?

Norwegian Blue?

"Yes this is a known issue." is unfortunately too common said by several manufacturers when speaking to their dealers (and sometimes end users as well).

And sometimes it goes two steps. Didn't they issue a recall to replace tens of millions of Takata air bags just to, a few years later, say the replacements were also faulty and have to replace tens of millions of them again?

Derp derp lol

I hear ya, and I understand where you're coming from. The fuel pump issue is just a thing that's been happening with the brand. They fixed it and hopefully we are good to go now. When I was riding home I sat in bumper to bumper almost at a standstill traffic in the heat in NYC for TWO HOURS and the fan kept coming on and off......so I was basically idling for 5 miles (two hours 5 miles) and bike did fine......What was happening last few weeks was it would just die definitely in these conidtions so whatever is happening seems to be resolved.

Yeah, I hear ya about the reliability etc etc but I am a sucker for the brand.

While my bike was in the shop I have been researching the following rides. I have always been a scooter guy, never a motorcycle guy - but at almost 49 I think I am due for a midlife crisis .

BMW 400GT

Moto Guzzi V9 Bobber

Triumph Bonneville

Triumph Trident 660

I'm 58.

I ride a very unreliable BMW. A Kymco Downtown and next year I'm buying a Honda.

I've had two Moto Guzzi's and neither moved me.

The Dealer and Manufacturer is consciously trying to fix your bike the cheapest way possible and pat you on the head while having it's fingers crossed that you don't come back while not addressing the problem.

They are not your friend. If they were they would have addressed the real issue and not perpetuated the problem by repeating the previous fix with exactly the same part.

It's a fuel pump issue. They replaced the fuel pump. I am not suggesting they are my friend, but what else are they supposed to do? Let's say I go somewhere else, wouldnt they do the same thing? I will gladly take it to another shop, but what do you suggest the "Real Issue" is?

Dude, whether it's illegal or not in your state I'd be filtering for sure.

I absolutely do that.......but i was pretty much testing out my bike to make sure it got super hot etc for a long time to see if it died again since that is the actual problem I was having........So I decided to sit and go slow......Today, that's a different story.

I think that the problem arises when a decision has been made by the Manufacturer that actually perpetuates the problem and doesn't resolve it.

If the Germans* or the Japanese were involved a totally different new and improved fuel pump from another company would be sourced to resolve the failures to ensure that it doesn't happen again.

In this case exactly the same part with exactly the same part number that will probably fail in exactly the same way is used to fix it and you are a good example of how that doesn't work.

Different countries of origin have different ways of responding to warranty issues and this particular brand is one of the most complacent.

*Look at the way that BMW are jumping on an issue that isn't even safety or reliability related. It's chalk and cheese.

Whatever happens next I wish you the best of luck.

I had the opportunity to ride a Moto Guzzi V9 Roamer for a couple of days a while ago. I was really impressed by the bike and I enjoyed the ride. I think the ergonomics of the Roamer and the Bobber are a little different, but I believe the mechanicals are the same. It really excelled at the countryside riding I like to do.

I love countryside too, but my needs are in and out of NYC so I need something to zip around the nyc streets as well as up to my home 25 miles away.

A rather degenerate oversimplification. What is more likely is that the OEM parts fail early at a rate that - for whatever reason - Piaggio finds acceptable.

Whether customers find that rate acceptable...well, my guess is that the number of people like RocklandDad to whom failure happens twice is again acceptably small, and the number of people to whom failure happens three times and burn down the Vespa shop in fury is also acceptable.

And here she is, https://powersports.honda.com/motorcycle/adventure/transalp

Not a bad looking little bike, nice to hear it's reliable and capable as well

I mean I got 7000 stress free miles out of the fuel pump! Let's hope this one sticks around for a lot longer

Get a petition going (or whatever works in NYC) to allow lane-splitting and filtering.

In standstill traffic 5 miles should take a maximum of 20 minutes.

And any color you like, as long as it's black...

We already do that -- it's not like New Yorkers worry too much about legalities -- unless we ride big motorcycles that are far too wide to slice through NYC traffic.