Modern Vespa

Hi, again!

Had my GTS 300 since august '22, and put 12,000 miles on it and just had my first accident. I'm fine, I had all my gear on and it did it's job. I skinned my knee and elbow a little, but i've had worse on a bicycle. No one else was at fault. I just slipped in the mud after the rain yesterday.

But the bike! This is my first time damaging it, and it is my first scooter...so...what now?

I went down on the right side of the bike, there is a big smear of paint gone on the right side, a big dent in the frame right over the gas tank. I totally ruined the plastic silver trim on the right side of the leg shield. It seems like on the right side of the leg shield, the front isn't attached to the part with the glove box anymore, so a clip or a screw came loose inside? I scratched the back of the right mirror and knocked it loose, but i already screwed it back down. I drove the bike home after the accident, and it "felt" fine. My wife drove it this morning, and she said it feels fine too. The check engine light was on for the drive home yesterday, but it went off already. I suspect that was just fuel in the sensor from being on it's side, i've had that from overfilling the tank several times as well.

So, do i need to take it into a mechanic for a once over? What is the minimum cheapest thing i should do the exposed metal where i scraped the paint off? Google seems to think I should sand it, prime it, paint it, and clear coat it...is there a better/easier/cheaper solution? Is there anything not obvious I should be worried about?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Sorry to hear about your down. Glad you're okay.

It sounds like the legshield took a bit of abuse, which is why there is a disconnect with the glovebox. I doubt it's just a missing screw, more likely the panel is bent. But I can't really tell without pictures. (We always want to see pictures).

The legshield trim (the plastic edging) is replaceable. But it's fiddly to fit.

As for the rear cowls and how to protect it from rust, it really depends on the level of damage. Some paint or primer might be appropriate, but you might get away with well-placed stickers if the damage is small enough.

Really, we can't tell without pictures. Did I mention pictures? Heh.

Take some pictures and post them up - this will help a lot for giving advice.

Check fluid levels. I never worried about my scratched cowl. Just left it as is.

The steel legshield IS the frame. If it is bent, most insurance companies will total the bike. You really need to have it evaluated by a pro.

I disagree. It depends on how much damage there is. A bent legshield doesn't necessarily make the bike ride any different, any more than a dented quarter panel in a unibody car would make it undriveable.

The legshield may be part of the frame, but only the center spine actually matters.

I was once explained this:

You have to check if the scooter is still straight. If it is the damage is only cosmetic. You can repair it or not, it is your choice.
If it is not then you have a problem.

To find out if it is straight you need a stretch of dry pavement and a bucket of water. Throw the water on the dry pavement and run the scooter from a distance straight through the spilled water and check the tyre traces you leave on the pavement. There should be only one. If that is the case then it still is straight.

Never tried it myself but makes logic.

I'm wife... He can't take pictures because I took his bike to work today, to test how it was driving. Can't do the wet tire test b/c *everything* is wet right now. We're in CA, and doing some rain...

So, I'm used to riding my Liberty 150 - I don't usually ride his... But it handled well this morning. Engine was running a little rougher than mine, but I think I only noticed it because I was looking for it. It didn't seem to have any steering issues - balance felt good at a stop. (If anything, it was easier to stay balanced with feet up at a stop vs mine...) Brakes were good - I tested them on my painted parking spot, and they gripped fine.

We have a magnet that covers the big scrape - but it's for our kid's school, so I didn't post the pic with it.

Thanks for the pics. There was a comment about glove box not being attached? Can you post a pic of that area? Where there may be a gap between glove box and frame?

I'm about to go into a string of meetings, so I can't take the pic for a couple hours. You can't really see much though - it's maybe 1/4 of a cm out of alignment. If you don't know what you're looking for or aren't trying to pull the bits apart, you wouldn't even notice anything.

Based on the pictures you posted all damage seems cosmetic to me, not structural.

Yeah, that's largely cosmetic. The frame is almost certainly fine. That kind of damage is classic in a low-speed down.

It's up to you as to how much effort you want to put into fixing it. The legshield trim is replaceable, and if there's a small gap between the legshield and the glovebox, you can probably coerce the legshield back into alignment with some wood and a mallet, or even your bare (or gloved) hands.

Agree once i saw the pics. Ratbike!

Long way to go before it would considered a rat bike. Most of my scoots never looked that good!

Is your bike insured enough for a repair by a pro? Things can add up quickly when body work is involved. If not, I documented my '22 Primavera 150' "il Ratto" rebuild in the Projects section. I am a complete amateur with body work. Hopefully that inspires you to work on yours. It sounds like yours is all body work considering it still tracks straight. If you're not a perfectionist and just want a decent ride... You can order some new leg shield trim and a mirror. Color matching may be an issue. Stickers can cover up some of the scrapes. It all depends on how much effort you are willing to expend for your desired results.

I feel your pain. Glad you are OK. I am going through the hassle of getting my Primavera repaired from being knocked over. Best of luck!

So, I wanted to update everyone! We did the wet tire test in a brief moment of dryness. Bike passed, so we declared all the damage as cosmetic.

Today, husband disassembled and primed/painted/clear coated the spots. It wasn't perfect, as it was his first time doing it... But it looks pretty good anyway!

He lost two screws, so I get to go to the hardware store to see if I can find replacements. (Wish me luck...) We also ended up with a couple extras (different sizes from the missing ones!) Based on my experience disassembling and reassembling electronics, the extra screws tell me he put it back together correctly.

Next project... Finding a heat source to release the loctite screw, to replace the breaks