Modern Vespa

I recently purchased a 2009 Vespa GT 200 with ~16k miles. I've had a great time riding it for the 35 miles of ownership….

I was just beginning a ride back from a stop at the beach and I heard an electrical whine maybe coming from the front of the bike. I coasted up a small hill to a stopping and the bike died before I stopped.

There was smoke coming out of the left side (maybe airbox?). When I tried to turn it on again I just heard a click and the oil light came on and remained on.

So far I have checked the oil level, and coolant levels and they were both normal. Next troubleshooting step was to check the spark plug and see if the starter is working. Can't seem to get it out.

Are there any tricks to getting the spark plug out of this tight space before I follow a robot video to remove the engine??

Thanks in advance! [/img]

Some help below

GT 200 Spark Plug Replacement

And video should help also

Before you check for spark, you may want to open up the CVT and take a look at the belt. This is most likely the source of the smoke you mentioned.

Ah okay I'll look at the CVT belt today.

I ended up plugging in a trickle battery charger overnight and was able to get it started for ~5 seconds before it died again. At this point I'm thinking its not the spark plug.

Next on docket will be the CVT belt.
- GT200 CVT belt and rollers replacement.

Seems like an undertaking. wish me luck!

If it started for 5 seconds, it's not the plug. Now you need to look in the direction of fuel delivery - fuel and vacuum lines, fuel pump, intake manifold, carb, etc....

Appreciate it.

I'll post updates once I figure it out or further figure out what it isnt.

so the battery was weak and you charged it and the scooter started.

but you think you have a fuel delivery issue.

and someone thinks the CVT belt.

lets think about this for a min.

I mentioned the CVT just in case the belt was broken and wound up around the variator. After all, he mentioned some smoke. If so, trying to start it then would not be a good idea. If it only runs for 5 second, don't you think it is a fuel delivery issue?

So I took off the CVT cover to inspect the belt.

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Mitch's video is what I followed just to the 6 minute point.

When I pulled the black filter cover area off (where the smoke came from) is pic 1. Seems pretty clogged and filled with debris. The filter essentially disintegrated at some point.

Photo 2 is after I pulled the cover. The belt looks intact and pliable. Not sure this is the issue. Also not sure if it's worth ordering a new belt and rollers? (I saw a kit online somewhere for $175, and I'd need a tool to remove the flywheel)

Thoughts? I picked up some carb cleaner in case a jet is clogged but not gonna lie, stripped 1/4 of the screws on top when I tried to pop the top off.

I'm going to leave the cover off for the evening just in case it's recommended I replace the belt while I'm here.

The belt looks fine from here, but that's just a quick pic from a distance . There are ways to check the health of the belt - look into the WIKI section above. I would start out by looking for cracks in between and on the teeth in the inside of the belt. It would also be nice to know how old it is and miles on it. The smoke you mentioned looks to have come from the CVT air filter that has somewhat perished with parts sucked into the variator area. Minimum maintenance at this point would be blasting out all the dirt and minute pieces of the filter with an air hose. Lacking that, a shop vac and small brushes may suffice. A new air filter should be installed which you could make yourself in a pinch.

I should have mentioned - Do not try to start and run the scoot with the CVT cover off. Again, look into the Wiki for more info.

Unfortunately I don't know when/if the belt was replaced. I'll check for belt health before I close it up.

Curious if the clogged variator area would truly be the cause for my issues.

If not, seems like I need to re-attack the fuel system making sure I have a functioning carburetor.

Certainly looks like the last owner never serviced anything looking at that filter

So smoke was seen and the battery was near discharged. Check the charging circuit, especially any connectors between the stator and the regulator.

why hasn't the air filter been opened and inspected ALREADY.

air filter deterioration and getting sucked in to the carb

This. If the air filter is anything like the CVT filter, you are in for some carb work in the near future. Which you were probably in for anyway. Old scoots need attention when they have been sitting around.

got a new CVT intake filter, air box filter, and battery on the way.

Hopefully spraying some cleaner in will help me out enough once I get everything back together.

Appreciate the feedback and commentary on the thread so far!

Today I put the CVT cover back on and replaced the air filter and intake filter. The air filter didn't have too much debris in it which was surprising.

I watched a robot video earlier and now am suspecting that maybe the idle jet within the carb is my issue.

After I put the cover back on and I started the scooter again. It started pretty hard and only kept running if I had the throttle open a bit. Once I let go of the throttle it died. When it was running, it seemed like it was running kind of hard? Not sure what the deal was with that, maybe it's just cold of maybe it has to do with the carb. Uncertain.

Hopefully a carb rebuild will do the trick. (New battery in route as well)

Sure sounds like a idle jet that is clogged. easy way out is to remove the carb, take off the bowl and blast out the idle jet. The best way would be to strip it completely down and soak it in a sonic cleaner and replace all the rubber bits upon reassembly. Plenty of Vids on YT on how to proceed. Some tips: Count the turns in on the idle mixture screw so you can put it back in the same place. and check every hose and the rubber intake while the carb is off.

Ended up replacing the carb. I pulled the original carb and noticed a few of the screw heads were nicely pre-stripped so I wound up picking up a new one.

I ended up replacing it tonight as well as the spark plug and fuel line. (That spark plug is a PITA to remove and install).

Now when I put the key in the ignition I wasn't getting any lights. As in nothing would light up. My old battery was plugged in to a trickle charger when I was doing the replacement and showed 12V so I put it back in. (The new one is normalizing after pouring the acid in). So I began down an electrical rabbit hole. I assumed as I was doing all this work in the engine compartment I could have juggled something lose which would cause me to not get any juice. Reading some posts on here I wondered if the solenoid was my problem now. So I unplugged it, and my lights came. Plugged it back in to try and crank it again and everything shut back off.

Lucky me.

So with the new carb in, new spark plug in, new battery charging, and a solenoid on the way. I may be able to ride before thanksgiving.

I appreciate the help and insight along the way.

If the lights went out when you plugged in the relay, then I reckon two things are going on:
1 - the old battery is truly fucked.
2 - the starter relay has fused its contacts - not unusual, it can particularly happen when a battery starts to give out. It goes like this:

Duff battery. Try to start, starter relay makes contact, current surge makes the battery voltage drop below the hold-in threshold. Relay drops out, voltage rises rapidly, relay makes again, rinse and repeat. You now have a buzzer - but the contacts are arcing all the time, heat up and get dirty making the problem worse and eventually fuse.

I've had a few in my time.

Ah interesting. Hopefully the new battery and starter relay can resolve the issue. I really want to get some miles on my scooter soon.

It's no fun discovering all these issues one by one.

Got everything back in. Took it for a test drive and the engine sounded great. I was able to increase the RPMs without issue however, it seemed like there was no bite. I wasn't really accelerating. I took it a few houses down and turned around because it felt wrong.

I heard a whining noise again similar to when I broke down the first time.

I'm wondering if the original issue truly was something with my clutch/CVT/????

I'm a bit disappointed that I'm seemingly back to square one. Well at least it runs again.

Any additional ideas?

Thanks again

EDIT - I'm wondering if maybe the clutch got too lose when I took the CVT cover off and that is causing my whine and slow acceleration…

I am curious now based on the whining noise and lack of acceleration, combined with a debris filled CVT intake, something got in the rollers and that could still be the case of my original issue.

Would installing new rollers/belt/variator kit help?

https://www.scooterwest.com/deluxe-belt-variator-clutch-overhaul-kit-vespa-gt-200.html

Looking at the above for reference.

As you don't know when those were changed out last, best to do it now. That kit is fine - you might find you need to file out the bottom hole of the variator holder to get it to fit, but it's what I use.

SHE LIVES!!

Finally got it going this morning.

I ended up replacing the CVT belt and rollers, greased up the bearings and the o-rings/nuts that came in the scooter west kit.

Overall I have replaced/cleaned:
- carb
- spark plug
- fuel line and filter
- coolant line hose clamp
- battery
- oil change and filter
- CVT belt
- starter relay
- air box filter and cvt intake filter

Only thing left is to look into a small coolant leak that drips a little after riding…

Thank all for the help! jimc, Tierney, @Old as dirt, flybynight