Modern Vespa

Picking up where this thread left off: Best place in SoCal to get Vespa tire mounted and balanced?

Did my first tire change with the Rabaconda. It was a Vespa GTS OEM rim with the original 2006 Sava tire that had never been removed before. Everything went great, minus a couple lessons learned.

A couple notes for whoever may use the search function (or a search engine) and find this in the future:

1) For Vespa wheels you'll need the 32-68mm Big Hub adapter.

Bought from Rabaconda: https://us.rabaconda.com/products/universal-big-hub-adapter-32-68mm-for-rabaconda-street-bike-tire-changer?_pos=1&_sid=2a474bc5f&_ss=r



2) A drop center tool would have definitely helped in getting the tire on. You might be able to use a clamp in a pinch, but they're only $8 if you plan ahead.

Didn't have it at the time, but buying this from Amazon now: https://amzn.to/3R1fuoJ

3) My tire valve stem tool is tiny so I lost it a couple times lol. There are bigger ones, but, I like the small one because it just fits in the tiny little Vespa wheel.

My solution is to just buy an extra so I'll keep one in my air tools drawer, one with my Rabaconda kit itself. $3. This is what I use: https://amzn.to/3Z158Hc

4) Replace your valve stem every time you change the tire - you want a 0.453" diameter valve stem, probably in the shortest size you can get.

These are pretty short: https://amzn.to/47W4W05

5) Getting the bead to seat after replacing the tire was a bitch until I walked away and came across this video by Mitch:

Basically you take a ratchet strap around the outside circumference of the tire, hook it to itself, tighten the shit out of it, and get to inflating.

Without this, holding 80-100 psi of inflation forever I could never get the bead to seat. Using Mitch's trick, it went pop pop in maybe 20 seconds at most. Mitch is the most underrated Vespa how-to content creator on the internets.

Now we need to talk about balancing...

For balancing, you have a couple options.


1) Believe all the mechanics who don't have balancers that can handle little Vespa wheels so they just tell you "you don't need to balance a wheel that small"

This is pretty easy. I wouldn't do it.

2) Get the Marc Parnes balancer. It's not cheap though, however it's been the same price for like 500 years, so we need to give Marc credit both for making the damn thing as well as for keeping the price inflation-proof.

http://www.marcparnes.com/Vespa_Scooter_Wheel_Balancer.htm




Side note: I'm going to dick around with the big hub adapter kit (since I already have it), maybe a Black Widow Pro $50 motorcycle wheel balancer, and see if it's possible to use the hub kit when the $50 balancer to get any kind of accurate consistent balancing...

Maybe, maybe not, but I already have the stuff and don't feel like spending the $105 if I don't have to, so, we'll see..

Lastly, if anyone does want to buy a Rabaconda down the road, I can hook up a small discrete discount for MV'ers located in the USA.

In the future I should be able to extend this to Canada and Europe, but, one thing at a time.

A little over two years ago, I started using Bead Don tire bead lubricant when installing new tires. Tire installation is much easier, and seating the bead is *MUCH* easier, as it just slides on.

It also seals the bead against small leaks. Good stuff, and a little dab'll do you.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0859NX2Y5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Good to know, thank you. The reviews for it on Amazon look really good.

I'm just using the Rabaconda-branded paste now, not enough experience to give a fair judgement on if it's good or bad.

Excellent thread thank you Adri!

Years ago when restoring a 1975 Ducati on a budget I took great pride in putting on a new rear tire and not having to buy a new tube.

Stupid to not just put a new tube on it while I had it apart I realize but proud that I could change the tire without damaging the tube.

I am going to have to up my game here. The last time I got a new rear tire on my Liberty 150 I took it to the shop to have it mounted.

Yet once again I was disappointed in the quality of the work as they did not balance the tire and it was horrendously expensive. It didn't leak and it works but for the price it should have at least included balancing whether it needs it or not.

I am to the point where I hate to let anybody work on anything of mine and I just don't have the time or money or space to do everything myself. I have a couple of scooter projects and a jeep project that stay on the back burner while I completely renovate a house.

Sigh.

Nicely done, thanks for the info.

Just paid $240 for a rear City Grip 2, parts, labor, mount & balance, reset ASR, tax
I probably could have saved a few bucks by bringing in my rear wheel but it was a worthwhile luxury this time.

1. Thread bookmarked in "scooter stuff" folder. Just above the Jenna Jameson collection.

2. Discrete discount? Allow myself to introduce.....myself. <3

Thumbs Up on the Marc Parnes Balancer. I acquired this last year when I bought My Rabaconda. I'm using it on an ABBA wheel stand. Marc's parts are excellent and well thought out for anyone who likes working with high quality tools.

Another tip on seating the bead:

If you didn't already do this, next time try removing the core from the new valve stem before inflating the tire. This allows a really strong initial burst of air to get things started.

I have also found it helpful to bounce the tire/wheel on the ground a few times all the way around its circumference, to get the bead partially seated inside the rim...I have never needed to use the ratchet strap method, but maybe I've just been lucky.

Good to hear another endorsement as I'll most likely go that route. Thank you. Valve core was out but still not enough. Did not try or even know about bouncing the tire so I'll try that next time. Kind of curious to see it work to be honest, thank you!

I got DM'd some questions so I figured I would add them:

Q: When I contacted them, they said "won't work". This looks like it works.

A: With the adapter it'll work - but you need the adapter that I mention and link to in the first post in the thread: https://modernvespa.com/forum/post2636530 (see #1 on the first post)

Q: What accessories did you get to start?

A: The hub I mentioned, the grease, the brush for the grease. I did not get a tire bead tool (aka drop center tool), but I should have (see #2 on that thread I made).

Q: How much time did it take to change a tire?

A: Can't say how long it took, and first time is normally not a good indicator. Front wheels are obviously going to be a lot quicker to replace than rear wheel. However the way I see it, I would have to ride my bike to a shop, wait while the shop does all the same work, and ride it back home, so this is definitely faster than all that.

Q: Did it beat you up?

A: No, but I have a table lift which means I can take the wheels off the bike without being all bent over. The Rabaconda itself did not require a lot of effort, which is good.

Q: Knowing what you know now for Vespa wheel, would you buy it again?

A: Yeah. I wish I had bought this years ago because it would have paid for itself, but, better late than never. Its well made and will probably still be worth at least 50% of it's purchase price on the used market if I were to sell it in a few years and get something else.

Dish soap works very well for sealing the bead. You can just rub it around the part of the rim that's still showing, then hit the tire with compressed air. POP.
A trick that works wonders for putting on a new tire in the middle of summer is to let the new tire sit on asphalt for a couple hours and get very warm. They are a lot easier to work with.

and when not in summer, just hitting it with a heat gun on low to medium heat for a lil while achieves similar results.

I saw that rabaconnda tool at this years scootercannonball. was not real impressed with it, They guy who owned it offered it up for anyone to use and everyone struggled with it usually 45 min worth or more. I have seen debinche manually use tire irons and do tires in 20 min.

Thanks Adri! This post is beyond helpful. Im trying to learn to do my own tires too, so this is such a great source of useful info!! Thanks for taking the time to write this all out!!

I just looked at the website for the rabaconda.
Going to stick with my current method:
My workbench has a hole in it.
I pass a threaded rod through that hole, and hold the wheel down with a wooden block.
Then on with the tire irons, etc.

Update: I was hoping that I could use the Rabaconda adapter for the Vespa wheels because it creates an axle that my balancer can work. Unfortunately it doesn't seem too consistent from early testing.

Do any of you big brain smart folks know why this isn't working?

It will balance just fine, but if I take the wheel off the balancer, turn it 180 degrees and put it back on, it's off balance again.

I would love to understand what's going on.

Edit: it's probably because the black turn knobs wouldn't be level on one side versus the other, so every time I remove the wheel and put it back on, they are turned slightly different. Does this sound right?

Looks like I'm making an order with Marc after all?

If the knobs aren't perfectly balanced (and if not intended for balancing functions, they likely aren't) they're likely your primary culprit.

Though that's based solely on critical thinking and absolutely zero personal experience so take it for being worth exactly what you paid to learn it.

Is that a SOLID axle going through the cones? The Rabaconda Wheel adapter will hold the wheel tightly, but what is tensioning those 2 axle cones? Is that a small set screw in the cone? That might be a weak link if the cones are not pressed in snugly and tightened enough, just a guess.
It is possible to get inconsistent results generally speaking. Check to be sure your axle is Level going across the 2 arms and go it it slowly trying to find the "average" of all your results. It's not an exact science based on my experience.

Motovista, armedferret, RobaLatte, Vespian - Thank you gents.

Sounds like there are a few potential issues, so, either way, it's definitely not going to work for me for balancing with any degree of confidence... I'll stick with the tried and true Marc Parnes option for balancing. 45 minutes to me seems crazy... but in a "I blame the teacher, not the student" kind of way. I didn't time it but I just followed the instructions in the book the first time and I believe it took way less than that.

I'll time myself doing it one of the spare Vespa wheels and report back... If you have a system you're happy with, you should definitely save your money! This thing works great but it sure as shit wasn't cheap! lol

Sometimes people forget how much easier things can be if you read the instructions.

if you what the what now?

RTF what?

This is not a "how to", just a super casual recording in my living room while the missus and I watch some college football and I figure out how to use this thing.

Took 15 minutes. Not bad for my second time using it and learning as I go.

Getting that down to around 12-13 minutes should be do-able... once I get some more practice.

I'll do a proper how-to... when I get more practice.

PS: I was concerned breaking the bead would be a PITA, but it was easy peasy

I just checked with amazon and they are out of the "Bead Don" they do have this though offered in the similar items listed below and it looks like it will work. Also it is cheaper. Curious if anyone has any thoughts on this?