Modern Vespa

I soon wished I hadn't, but I had to replace a leaking valve stem and so broke the bead seal on the rear tyre with ratchet clamps, without removing the wheel.

The valve was an easy replacement, but reseating the bead was a pig as my small hand held compressor clearly doesn't displace enough air volume, and the eccentric valve placement on the rim meant the tyre bead didn't automatically spring beyond it.

I tried a ratchet strap tourniquet. The tyre just buckled every time under the ratchet where the compression was applied.

My first (!) successful method was using a 25g CO2 cartridge and a cobbled together adapter. The lubricated tyre reseated with a BANG!, the adapter simultaneously disintegrating and the cartridge shot across my drive, ricocheting off my neighbours garage wall and about 20 ft in the air….

The valve still leaked. I hadn't sufficiently redressed the valve seat, which had some powdery corrosion. I broke the tyre bead again, with new-found but misplaced confidence, sorted the valve seat, another new valve stem, and …. nothing. The damaged CO2 adapter was beyond hope, and now nothing more than an anecdote.

So I retreated to a mug of tea and YouTube. In its depths I found an old sales/instructional video of a m/c tyre specific product that used a webbing tube around the ratchet strap to prevent it from binding to the tyre. Genius.

Obviously lacking this clever item, I ran duck tape around its circumference, with lateral loops to hold the ratchet strap in place (covering the adhesive, obviously), placed a flexible plastic sheet under the ratchet body, lubricated both the tyre and the strap …
and bingo! The tyre reseated, and happily reinflated, even with the feeble gnats farts from my compressor.

Never again. I'm going to the professionals next time.

Glad you've sorted it!

I've sent you a PM about Brighton Vespa Club, would be great to have you join.

search for colby valve stems

if it's real stubborn some ether and a match works great.

ain't nobody got time for some cockamamie duct tape and ratchet strap rube goldberg nonsense.