Modern Vespa

Have you ever had a problem with the GTS not wanting to downshift into neutral when you come to a stop? Just this morning, mine seemed to auto-downshift only to maybe second gear when I came to a stop. I can stop, but the scooter vibrates and wants to go, so I have to keep the brakes applied. It is not smooth initially when I do go until I get the RPMs up enough. It seems to handle itself normally once I am moving at higher speeds.

My last drive belt change was probably 6-7,000 miles ago, and the moto shop would have also replaced the belts and rollers at that time.

Thanks in advance for any insights you may provide!

There are some super technical types in this group (not me). They will diagnosis this in an instant. My limited understanding indicates it has to do something with the belt and rollers. I would think your local reliable shop could also jump on this situitation. My GTS 300 is a 2013 - I may stop using the break - but I do not need to keep it applied. The scoot stops moving.

Good luck, nothing money can't fix.

Bob Copeland

I'm not a technical type, either, Bob. Good thoughts and I appreciate the well wishes!

I just spoke with the service department at the moto shop. The service manager thinks it may be a clutch issue. They're going to take a look at it for me.

I had a similar problem with my MP3 250 which meant I couldn't use the tilt lock because the revs wouldn't drop low enough, in my case it was a dodgy voltage regulator

Good to know, Fleece. Thanks. I'll keep this in mind when I'm speaking with the guys at the moto shop.

If the idle is too high the clutch won't release. There are no "gears" as such.

I believe the belt life is only around 6000 miles, so it's due a change.

Rather than physical gears, the belt moves up and down a cone.

The belt is effectively the gearbox as well as transferring power to the wheels.

This should be an easy fix, and most transmission parts are cheap and easy to access.

Likely something in the clutch. Whatever the issue is, try not to ride it until you get it fixed. If it's in the transmission, it can get a lot worse fast.

Even on my HPE with only 10k kilometers, if you hold the rear brake at a traffic light, the bike will shudder slightly. I just use the front brake when stopped.

When you do a belt replacement, be sure to have the bell housing roughened with a sanding drum to remove glazing.

+ make sure your killswitch still works before you need to find out in a hurry if it works.

Engine loading when rear brake lever engaged

Happened on my Kymco LIKE200I one morning....a clutch spring had failed.
Seems you would have noticed if your idle was too high, yes?

O.S.

Jake, your description of what is happening in the CVT is more simple to grasp and to the point anything I have come across so far. Thanks for that. And I know from experience that you're right about the lifespan of the belt. I don't have the best track record in this regard.

Thankfully, my idle seems normal at the time being.

Good advice. I usually commute to work but took today off. Tomorrow I plan to ride straight to the moto shop to drop it off.

Good thoughts. I'll ask the moto shop if they typically address the bell housing when they switch in a new belt.

True! I don't want to find out the hard way!

Thanks for the link. I had never noticed the different sounds when the GTS is operating normally, but will have to give it a try.

You and the service manager at the moto shop seem to be on the same page. He also thinks it's a clutch issue. I am not noticing any difference in the idle so far.

Probably a broken spring on one of the clutch shoes…

Simple fix?

A little more involved than the belt change you just did. If one is gone, the others are probably close behind. https://scooterpartsco.com/300-piaggio-c-801_836/piaggio-clutch-for-vespa-aprilia-piaggio-250300-cm274703-p-1219.html

once you find out exactly what went wrong, please be sure to post

No, not a simple fix.
In fact it is a simple fix but it needs a lot of disassembly to get to the inside of the clutch.

Did you have the issue from one moment to the next one? No problem at all until at a given point in time? If that is the case it points to something that changed all of a sudden, like a spring in the clutch that broke.

Do you also experience the problem when you start up the scooter? Or does that go smoothly?

$60 for a replacement clutch assembly is a simple fix.

It'll take a shop way more than half an hour of shop time (at roughly $120/hr) to dig around in, fish out, order, and replace one or more clutch springs in the old clutch. And the repair with a new part will have a very high degree of certainty that it'll work.

You can easily do the work on the old clutch assembly on YOUR time at your convenience and have a spare clutch.

Where are you finding this? The hack shop here gets $160/hour. The Piaggio dealer is at $250 an hour. The Triumph dealer is at $350 an hour.

I was being generous. I honestly don't know my local shop's hourly rate. So far, I haven't had reason to use them except for tire mounting.

$250 an hour?! You must be kidding, right?

If a job is more than a few hours, it would probably be cheaper to fly a mechanic over from Piaggio, Italy!

What are your prices like in the Netherlands? In England I think my main dealer is around £50 plus VAT (£60 total) per hour - 70€ / $76 USD.