Modern Vespa

Hello there. I just purchased a garage kept 2012 stunning midnight blue GTS 300ie with 500 miles from original owner in absolutely IMMACULATE condition and with tons of Vespa genuine options (crash guards, windshield, rear helmet carrier and luggage racks). Pretty happy with it however I suspect that sitting so long in the original owners garage has some things that definitely need to be done. Right now it's missing occasionally and the exhaust smells odd. I did drain 99% of the old gas out and when out and got 93 octane non-ethanol racing fuel at $7/gallon which I use in my other bikes, mowers, and any small motor devices that might sit around for a spell.

I thought that the spark plug might have been fouled fouled (factory NGK CR8EKB) so I went and bought one at the local auto parts store to avoid all the NGK fakes on Amazon etc.. I put in the owner's manual recommendation of an NGK R8EB which is a standard plug as I wait for my iridiums to arrive and no changes in the performance. Actually every once in a while, the "check engine light" will come on when it's sputtering but seems to go off fairly soon as the engine starts running better on it's own, but running consistently well is not something that I've been able to get it to do (only had it a couple days now). Next things I'm going to look at is the fuel and air filters to see if either of those are problematic.

Anyone have any ideas that might help to get it back to the original running condition?

Thanks!

Give it an "Italian tune-up" - have a hard, fast 50-mile ride round some twisties (if you can find some in Florida).

Thank you for your suggestion! I'm going to put some "Heet" in the fuel tank tomorrow and give it that Italian Tune Up.

Appreciate it

is it missing when idling or also when riding?

battery health?

fuel injector need cleaning?

idle bypass need cleaning?

but as Jim says, give it a good thrash for a 100kms and see if it clears up

Thanks for your input!

Battery is fine. It will idle a bit but sometimes will die out. With only 500 miles, I'm guessing this is a situation with some bad fuel/water still in the system. Tomorrow I'm going to put some Heet in the tank as others have done and give it that Italian Tune. I'll post my results.

Thanks again!!

Sea Foam in the tank works well.

So would a shot of acetone, but why would you want to induce a mixture of pale oil -a similar light form of diesel fuel, naphtha and more alcohol - which is what Seafoam consists of- into the system that was designed for 2 stroke marine engines? Best thing would be to ride it good as JimC suggested. Barring that, give the throttle body and bypass a healthy spray of carb cleaner.

Bad fuel still in the evap system? Mine (2022) ran like that even after a 600 mile three day run with higher speeds. Disconnected the system and runs fine now.

The best thing you can do is to stop sticking magic gas and mechanic in a bottle potions in the tank. Check to see if you do still have an entire air filter. Leave the fuel filter alone. Go to a busy name brand gas station in a place where people have nice cars and fill the tank with premium pump gas. Don't top it off. Don't put crap that's not gasoline in the tank. Then ride it. Repeat as needed. You have no idea what all these potions, at a concentration that is usually much higher than is in a car, are doing to the fuel pump, fuel hoses or the rest of the fuel system. But you do know that the people who made the bike didn't put a chapter in the owner's manual called, "magic things to put in the tank." What you will find, if you follow motor vehicle forums, is the people who do all this "extra" stuff always seem to have problems they attribute to bad gas.
If you do notice a difference with an iridium plug, you have a very active imagination. Iridium plugs last longer, they don't make it faster.

Obviously dependable combustion is a priority, so once that's settled, my #1 imperative is to do a complete brake fluid flush and bleed. #2 is a coolant flush.

Enjoy that great bike!

Tires and belt...

Oh yes, but first let's ensure it'll run smoothly, otherwise throwing money at it willy-nilly is not wise.

NO don't use heet.

if you want a decent ethanol treatment product use star tron https://www.amazon.com/sspa/click?ie=UTF8&spc=MToyNDA2OTkwODA5NDc0MDQ2OjE3MTk3MDc4NzY6c3BfYXRmOjMwMDE4MDM1NjcyOTUwMjo6MDo6&url=%2FStar-Tron-Enzyme-Fuel-Treatment%2Fdp%2FB00D3IEIY0%2Fref%3Dsr_1_1_sspa%3Fdib%3DeyJ2IjoiMSJ9.lX5DOqm0mxypqn1-OYUG_VtTFloq1VvU7mji7gAdK3eGAa20J-Stg558bIqHS86LIiMfUBgaDzRaHlbarrOUSijNfbCUde3QUtHELnkjuH6I5O-pWQwqpVXYEQnf9bt3mUH4AGkYuuqpRT8KmjZDz8rdWhlhEOlB0SurVMuF4Rg-6j2XBYIWdOLcokG3QK_5LdZU4u_1HYR_6pJa9u4gdslEId981pr6QgSKmZ9_8XuJCVSlfbGc8OYMeODXsrdBh2_7bQa0IZb5hwYou5R5K9h_SSwLX1uAVY7gzRfouKo.mpZgh9eE0zulqV160zVOl8U_bnEIsT1JchkUVL4E3YU%26dib_tag%3Dse%26hvadid%3D583772052681%26hvdev%3Dc%26hvlocphy%3D9013416%26hvnetw%3Dg%26hvqmt%3De%26hvrand%3D12507559604796343366%26hvtargid%3Dkwd-488771565512%26hydadcr%3D6398_13218535%26keywords%3Dstar%2Btron%2Bfuel%2Btreatment%26qid%3D1719707875%26s%3Dautomotive%26sr%3D1-1-spons%26sp_csd%3Dd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY%26psc%3D1

Sheesh, what's with all the cookie garbage? This will suffice:
https://www.amazon.com/Star-Tron-Enzyme-Fuel-Treatment/dp/B00D3IEIY0

But why add anything?

Only 500 miles dang. Owner must've ridden it just a few times before giving up. Looks like it might still be in the break in period. My '12 Gts took some time after I got it to feel smoother.

Make sure the battery is good. When in doubt swap it out, does not cost much.

Congrats on the new beaut, I'm sure you will get it sorted

So your suggestion is to do a 50 mile "Italian tune-up" on 12 year old tires?

Sure - they're not going to explosively decompress. Also - sure, replace them as soon as the bike seems to be viable.

Thanks guys! I'm unlikely to purchase new tires for this even though it only has 500 miles on the Michelins and yes, they are approx 12 years old. Once I have this sorted out, I'm going to sell this one as I actually bought two from the same original owner who bought a 2012/13 300 GTS SUPER SPORT with 900 miles in the same showroom condition. It was kind of a package deal that I really had no issue acquiring. Both are DECKED out with all Vespa options like floor mats, luggage racks, windshields, crash bars, battery tenders installed, all books etc.. They have not even had their 600 mile 1st service yet. But, I like the wicked looked of the matte black finish with special wheels and all the Super Sport badging. I'm keeping that beast and actually struggle with selling the midnight blue, but someone out there is going to be as excited as I was to get them to begin with

I did use a bit of the "Heet" product and it seemed to help a bit, but, now that I'm getting good at siphoning the fuel tank, I'm just going to syphon the current fuel out and use straight 90 Racing Fuel, non-ethanol from a spectacular speciality fuel store blocks from the house, sans the "Heet."

The midnight blue GTS 300ie that we've been talking about has improved as I rode it for about 20-30 mins yesterday and today, the NGK iridiums arrived for both GTSs which I'll install. I dont' expect those to make much of a difference, but who knows.

Once I do get this midnight blue GTS 300ie sorted out, it will go up for sale and someone is going to get an absolutely decked out and fully optioned 500 mi always garaged scooter that is simply MINT, MINT, MINT. In the meantime, I want to thank all of you who have chimed in with a variety of comments and solutions, especially from those who are so optimistic and supportive. That's always appreciated.

More this week after the new NGK iridium and a fresh tank of non-ethanol, high quality fuel.

Another thought:

Ah ha! Fantastic video by Robot! I think you're on to something and I'll be hitting this in the VERY near future!

Thanks for your thoughtfulness! Much appreciated!!