Modern Vespa

Hi. Noob here and brand new Vespa owner who took transmission cover off last night due to locked up rear wheel...found melted ALU remains all over The clutch bell. Seems like my clutch insides have been destroyed. Is this a common problem? Any tips much appreciated! Does everything need replacing?


Melted et2 clutch


Last edited by AJC SWEDEN on Sat, 09 Sep 2023 16:48:10 +0000; edited 2 times

You need to take it apart and post more picks in order to make a proper assessment. The powder looks white which means it is oxidized as this has been going on for a while. Also, if the powder got migrated onto the clutch shoe surface, they would slip and no longer work. Get the pics up.

Thanks for The feedback...Will post more pics later today. Just bought this vespa and this meltdown was preceded by a high reving and burnt metall smell...The powder and lumps are silver so guessing melted aluminium. Smoke came out The cvt cover round opening that has a plastic cover.

I'm guessing the clutch is completely fried under there - as in no clutch shoe material left. But you will know as soon as you take it apart.

Tanks...how does The variator side look to you...any visable damage that you can see from this photo? Or is this how The outside should look?

No, after 20 years, most of them don't come apart. That clutch bell is shot, by the way.

Thanks for your reply....guess nothing for it but replace entire clutch and entire variator units including all wheels and parts. Will order immediately....could The cause be that The previous owner mixed 2 stroke oil directly in ti the fuel tank as the oil tank leaks?

Heres what The inside looks like

Is the back wheel spinning now?

Hi...rear wheel now moves but not finished yet putting it all back together. Purchased new clutch and variator and in progress with The inställning.

Anyone know if The two clutch pully discs can be removed or not? Tried pulling them off but appear to be fixed in place..

Yes they come apart. You should be able to twist the outer one off, but why bother - you should buy a whole new clutch and pitch the one you have because it was not properly maintained.

Thanks for The speedy reply....already purchased a new clutch and variator which need to be installed...Just wanted to get The pully discs off to examine and clean up before reinstalling them.

Update: Nope, NO amount of twisting turning or pulling gets The pulley off The spline. Sprayed with cleaner and gentle tappning with hammar doesnt seem to help either.

1.You can try to hold the rear brake on with a zip tie… twisting the pulley remains clockwise/anti-clockwise to get it to free up.

2.If you're binning it anyway, you can cut a slot in the pulley with an angle grinder… get a screwdriver into the slot… and hit it with a hammer one way, then the other to try to get it to free up (as if trying to spin the rear wheel one way, then the other).

3.Heating them (but not the centre shaft) might help get things moving.

4.Of course a massage from an air hammer would help but you might not have one.

5.Swear lots. It helps a lots when you're pi$$ed off, a you might find the gift of desperation to get it off.

You could cobble together a pulling tool of sorts with a bit of metal and bolts… but the shaft splines might suffer if it's properly melted on there though.

Reinstalling The cvt cover now and fully cleaned up The inside removing all shards of aluminium...think i reinstalled The bendix in The right place...what do The experts think about my renovation? Will this get me by?









Last edited by AJC SWEDEN on Sat, 16 Sep 2023 17:06:39 +0000; edited 1 time

Looks good.

I had a failure of sorts… was not happy with any metal shavings on the oil belt, so I replaced it. Full and proper clean of the whole thing for my own piece of mind. 👍

Cheers Oscar....seems very similar to my situation...yes those shards of metal got everywhere but i was very careful and think I removed at least 99% of them before reinstalling