Modern Vespa

The saga continues. No, I am not going to be looking for another more reliable scooter just yet, considering this is my commuter bike to and from NYC this just can't happen again and needs to be resolved. I have one important question.

600 miles in, my bike died, about a month after ownership and I was told it was the fuel pump issue that is common.

7100 miles bike just died on Wednesday (super hot day) All of a sudden starts to slow down and that's it. Won't start again. About 30 minutes in, it does start after cool down though. I still wanted it to get looked at. They picked it up.

48 hours later, after a thorough looking at all the connectors , valves etc etc I was told that the bike is perfect. He said they went through everything. They reset ECU and said alls good. He assured me we are good to go.

I was riding from Brooklyn NY to Rockland County NY which is a hairy ride. I was about 60-90 minutes in when the SAME EXACT THING that happened on Wednesday happened again. I called the shop, obviously incredibly upset. He told me to let the bike cool down. He was confident it would start again after cool and said putting gas in it which was my plan anyway would help. He started at this time talking about the fuel pump. Keep in mind when in the shop they did let it run for an hour trying to duplicate the issue, but it didn't happen. Alls good.

So my question is if they went through everything so thoroughly, and let's say it is the fuel pump. Why didn't they notice it when going through everything? Now that he is talking about it being the pump - is there a way that we can prove that's what it is??? I don't want to replace it if it's just a guess…….they guessed ECU obv that was incorrect.

So frustrating - maybe I should take it to a new shop.

It would be pretty hard to tell if a fuel pump has issues when it's working. I'm not sure what pressure a fuel injected Vespa fuel pump works at. My scant knowledge of cars tells me an auto fuel pump throws 80 psi.

I had a fuel pump go on a car one day and the tech explained to me that there was a relay that shut off the ignition if pressure wasn't met. If your pump is making pressure to start cold the dealer would have no reason to put a pressure gauge on it to check. Especially since the pump may be giving out when hot.

You can only chase so many gremlins. If he checked everything, no matter how obscure, the repair bill would resemble the National debt.

Fuel pumps going bad are not unheard of with these scooters. Steve Williams had to replace his after many miles. It wasn't on the recall list for his type so its demise was a surprise. His pictures of the pump when it was pulled showed a fearsome "Glob" of crud surrounding the inlet.

Never underestimate the power of ethanol to crap up a system.

I guess what I don't want to happen though is being told it's the fuel pump, just like I was told it was the ECU and then what happens twice this week happens again…….I want my fuel pump to be replaced with certainty not with a guess.

Hey we go again. Ethanol has been in gasoline for a long time. Many manufacturers dragged their feet to build their vehicles to resist the effects of alcohol in gasoline, but if you have an automobile built after 2001, you are golden. As far as I know, HD was the last among the motorcycle companies to change over.
The real fact of the matter is the Piaggio group using less than stellar electronics. Not that they were ever noted for top drawer stuff, but farming out fuel pumps, switches, etc ..to an outside source year after year to build junk for a premium brand to save a few bucks is shameful.
Let the flaming begin.....

Again, RD, I am really sorry you have to go thru this. As far as the shop goes, I don't know if the shop has a way to test for the fuel pump. but keep posting.

I guess they just know. Sure, I will keep posting. Why not? It's not like I can comfortably be out riding.

Well it is a common problem, so it not a giant leap to figure out. But, I just want you to keep posting so we are kept in the loop and maybe can help out.

Will do. I am just waiting to hear back from the dealership and just going short distances at the moment. I will keep everything in this thread ……. No need for 3……. - thx man.