Modern Vespa

Now that's funny. I guess you could push your bike up the block to the next franchise Piaggio dealer and tell them how badly you were treated when you told the technician how to do his job. People in the Service Department love customers who come in complaining about every other place they've taken every bike they've ever owned for service.

As far as a clutch spring compression tool, there are a couple of different options. You want to make sure to get one that fits the larger clutches. They are about $45 or so.

Always interesting to get your take on how to treat paying customers. Thanks for the feedback.

I legit snort laughed at this.

Well, the only thing keeping me from getting the transmission back together and riding the thing around now, is getting that clutch nut torqued back to 60 pounds, which has become the main, and only, remaining glitch in being able to finish this up.

No matter what I do, the clutch assembly will start to spin as the torque wrench is applied to the nut at the higher numbers, though being a click type of wrench, I don't know how close it is getting to 60 before things go awry.

I don't dare just get the nut as tight as I can and call it good enough. I want it to be spec'd where it's supposed to be.

My impact wrench is great for removing the nut, but it's way too powerful to be used putting it back on, as it can hammer things at 250 pounds of torque, and as far as I know, there's no way to adjust it down.

I'll update the situation if I can resolve this.

I know that folks are hanging on with bated breath as I fumble through this little repair project....(place 'roll eyes' emoji here).

A strap wrench might prove useful, and not very expensive.

I'd give it a couple seconds blap with the impact.
Just watch how much it turns the nut.
If it goes ~10-20 degrees you're fine.
If it spins around, well, that was a bad idea.

I had considered that, and I'm on my way to the hardware store now to see if I can find a stickier rubber mat to maybe help hold the clutch down enough to get the torque I need on it.

I'm taking the clutch assembly with me to the store to help the guys (girls?) there visualize what I'm trying to do with it.

I'll check out a strap wrench while there too.

where are you pulling that 60 number from?

I was under the impression that it was lower than that-- 45~50, are you sure that you're not conflating parts or NM for lb/ft?

either way, red loctite.

I usually just throw a drop of loctite and give it a brrp with the impact set to stun

Both the variator assembly nut and the clutch assembly nut should be torqued to 60 foot pounds according to Robot's video, which is about 45 Newton Meters.

I didn't use loctite on either nuts, but will definitely use it next time, however, both nuts are now on there with the correct 60 pounds of torque.

I got lucky in my trip to the hardware store this afternoon, and bought a rather large strap wrench that allowed Trixie to hold the clutch assembly secure enough to keep it from turning on the bench while I went all Neanderthal with my torque wrench and heard that coveted 'click' as 60 pounds was FINALLY reached.

That particular 'click' cost me $34 to get, but that strap wrench will almost certainly come in handy for any future GTS tranny teardowns.

Are the clutch and variator nuts on these machines prone to loosening up without loctite applied to their threads, even when properly torqued?

I haven't mounted the clutch assembly to the bike yet, and could re-loosen the nut, loctite it, then re-torque it I guess.

I haven't torqued the variator nut yet, and could still loctite it without a problem.

I can only speak for the variator nuts, with a "no".

45nm = 33ftlbs <-- think you want this one
60ftlbs = 81nm

I wonder why Robot said 45nm equalled 60 lbs?

Oh, well, I put them at 60 pounds, and I know that's correct.

45 lb/ft is about 60 nm

CAUTION: Clutch driven shaft nut coming loose GTS300/250

Yes, but 60 lb/ft is not 45nm.

As Robot was about to torque the variator bolt at 60 lb/ft, he said (paraphrasing) "or 45 nm"...though while he was about to torque the clutch shaft nut afterward, he clarified that he may not have stated the nm number correctly for the variator nut.

This is what confused me about the correct torque values for these nuts for a bit.

I did torque both the variator and clutch assembly nuts at 60 lb/ft, and will torque the smaller clutch shaft nut at 45 lb/ft.

which is why I gave you a snip from the manual

I was suggesting he got it backwards (in answer to your query). Regardless, I suggest you look up torque spec instead of relying on videos.

well, at this point it'll either come loose or it won't.

ship it!

i'd say you've gone above and beyond. it's tight!! get out there and ride

All my nuts are tight....and so are my Vespa's.

If it's incorrectly torqued (which it's not) and blows up as a result, that's the way it goes.

60 ft/lbs, 60 ft/lbs, 45 ft/lbs.

It's not just any video, it's by one of the most experienced Vespa/Piaggio mechanics in the US.

who is human

Moniker aside.

the difference of your over torque is probably a few degrees of rotation. it's gonna work out.

This is actually a really common mistake when juggling torque specs. Swapping the units or converting backwards is easy to do, and a mistake that I've made myself more than once.

No he's not...he says he's 'Robot'.

Because there were no "witness" marks on the nut and body.

It's good to mark with a sharpie beforehand to get back where you started.

Well, it appears that I may have my Vespa back, and although they MAY prove to be premature, I will cheerfully accept congratulations on my (hopeful) victory over the unfortunate and untimely total discombobulation of my GTS's drive belt and my trials, tribulations, aggravations, and expense in correcting the matter.

Late this afternoon, I 'buttoned up' the drive case, lowered and then pushed my Vespa off of the lift table that's been it's home for just about the entire past month, started it's motor, and when I rotated the throttle, it smoothly and quietly engaged that new belt and was rolling out of our driveway and down the street.

As the clutch engaged, it seemed to do so smoother than it did before the belt gave out. I suppose all those new bits, rollers, perfect new belt on perfect pulleys should make a noticable improvement in things.

I rode it around our neighborhood for the better part of a mile, then a short stretch of the main road that passes behind our house at a speed of up to fifty mph, and it performed perfectly. For this short trial run, I tossed caution to the wind, and didn't wear a helmet or earplugs so that I could hear if anything weird was going on down there in centrifugal transmission voodoo-land, but it continued to operate silently and smoothly.

Tomorrow morning, I'll take another, longer shakedown ride and see how things go, but miracle of miracles, I may have fixed my scooter...thanks to all the help, advice, and encouragement from the MV peanut gallery and Robot's excellent service and repair videos.

Next up, will be the 6000 mile valve clearance check (engine has 6200 miles on it) and a new air filter.

Congratulations! That should give you a great feeling of accomplishment!
Motor on!

I'm sensing another 3-page thread on the horizon

Yes, a valve clearance check procedure 'performed' by me will be fraught with potential entertainment.

Also, that was the first time I used the word 'fraught' in a forum post....anywhere.

I knew that GED would come in handy one day.

I guess you missed the video where every part going to Texas was maliciously teabagged first.

Ok, I think that I can officially declare my formerly broken GTS 'fixed'.

I took off on it early this morning at a bit before sunrise and rode it fifty miles up to Deadwood for a coffee and a HUGE cinnamon roll with way too much cream cheese frosting shoveled atop it. I swear it was as large as an equally steaming Custer State Park Bison poo-pile though undoubtedly with a thousand times more carbohydrates than buffalo crap has....not that I would know such things, mind you.

It was cold as a bee-otch on the ride up to Deadwood on those Black Hills backroads, and I nigh-on froze my hands, but downright pleasant on the return ride after the sun made it high enough to make a difference.

The GTS ran like a champ, and gave me a great ride back home, running along at from 55-65 mph on the speedo for the up-and-back 100 mile ride.

This morning's glamour shot...

Well done. Everybody likes a happy ending.

Amen!

It's been so long that I had forgotten what one was like...but that's a thread for another day...or perhaps not.

300 miles now on the new belt, everything seems normal so far.