Modern Vespa

Hi!

I am new here! I took a look at a few posts over the last week as I have started trying to get acquainted with my Vespa. I used to ride motorcycles and this is my first Vespa ever.

I purchased it at auction knowing it would need some work, it has 16,000 km's, no body damage, and I am eager to be hands on and learn along the way. It was a City impound, and the ignition was punched, no keys (blue or brown) so I figured for not much money out of pocket to start, I would embrace the process and see what I would need to get it running.
I have the registration and I am now the owner of this fun little box of surprises!

I have since taken both front headlights out to access the tab to open the glove box. I was hopeful there would be a spare key in there, no luck.

I then pulled the emergency tab to open the trunk, but that tab was corroded and I managed to pull 4 inches of wire to the front of the glove box. Again, no luck.

I have tried two other ways of opening the trunk, (I know everyone is protective of those methods because of thefts) as well as following along with a suggestion from my local Vespa mechanic (the ignition is punched so I could not try his method), so I have run out of ideas to determine if there is a key somehow locked, forgotten or taped inside the trunk. I wanted to exhaust the status of the trunk before sending the part away to be recoded and get new keys as that alone is a couple hundred dollars and I do not know fully what I am dealign wtih.

With all of that being said, the coolant is empty, and since it was an auction from the City, I have no idea if it was full when it was impounded and evaporated over the summer, or if the empty coolant lead to engine issues, and as a result the owner decided to punch the ignition, ditch the scooter, report it as stolen and obtain the insurance money rather than fixing the blown motor.... I have no idea!!

With all of that being said, Does anyone have any guidance or suggestions for what they would do next?
- Would you jump straight to getting the ignition recoded and new keys?
- Do further assessments to determine if there are major engine issues?

I am at a bit of a loss as to how I could do some of those things since I can not access under the pet carrier, engine, other working parts etc.

Is anyone having positive vibes about my purchase, or could this be a mistake?

Any low cost methods of determining what I may be looking at before I get past the point of no return?

All that being said, I am always happy to learn something new, it is going to be a fun project over the winter and a great opportunity to learn and run things past my dad.

Cocovo

Pardon me…. but what trunk?
The compartment at knee height seems to be open….rather, missing.
And the seat pops open with the press of a button (on my GTS250).
But you have the cockpit(?) opened up.
Im learning my '07 GTS as well….

Trunk, as in under the seat where the "pet carrier" is.
The hinge is where the back of the legs are and it opens from where the brake lights would be, above the license plate.

Again, mine is an '07, but i would guess very similar.
This button engages some solenoid/motor under the seat..

Under the seat on the left side, is the release mechanism. I have not removed it.
I can hear and feel the solenoid and some mechanical action when I press the button

I hope this helps.

He doesnt have a key to do that...

There is no need for key to enable that push button since the ignition switch is at the place it's on the picture.
The battery need of course to be working, but when you see no coolant and other damage on the scooter I not sure if the electric actuator for opening the seat is working

Thank you for your response. I will give this a shot and if I run into a roadblock I will just look to have the ignition sent away to be recoded and new keys made.

I appreciate everyone's help.

If you doesn't have the user manual or the workshop manual you can look if you find it here: https://manuals.wotmeworry.org.uk/Vespa/

It is a 2013 300GTS and mileage is low. The body seems in good condition.
It is not old and seems not worn.
But there is a lot of parts missing, and a lot of work to be done to get it back in decent condition.

Where would I start.
My first question would be: what is the condition of the engine.

I would start by removing the belt cover to get access to the front pulley that is directly linked to the crankshaft.

Youtube movies by robot scooterwest Vespa motorsport are very instructive on how to do that. An example: Put the scooter on the center stand and start the video from 7:20 onwards and get to the condition at 57:56.

The tooling you need is limited. The only problem could be how to block that clutch bell to be able to loosen that nut at the clutch side. You will think of something with a little help of an assistant, no doubt.

If you get there then put a wrench on the nut at the front pulley and turn that nut, and therefore the crankshaft, counterclockwise.
Is the shaft rotating or is it blocked? Do you feel there is compression?

If not blocked and there is compression, then maybe the engine can be saved. If blocked or no compression then you can conclude you will have to replace the engine.

You also might want to drain the oil and run a magnet through it.