Modern Vespa

Do I dare? I'm really quick with the belt change now: "$28.52 | Kevlar GENUINE Scooter V-Belt OEM B015232/1G For PIAGGIO BEVERLY 350 belt size 1094*26*14 "
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mtkWR51

This is for the beater '13 with only 7500 mi… think it's a year past the belt service lol

I buy plenty from Ali but a belt ... too scary for me.

I don't know what an OEM one costs but not sure how comfortable I would feel riding with that belt but who knows?

In the interest of research, please buy it, test it out and let us know the end results!

Thank you for your contribution to the wealth of knowledge here and at the College of Hard Knocks!

approx AUS$100

I would not seek to save money on a belt. The failure mode is too messy and inconvenient, not to mention potentially dangerous. Would sooner dabble in AliExpress brake pads, rotors, and rollers/sliders and in fact have done so, with USUALLY acceptable outcomes. But USUALLY isn't good enough for a belt.

The way I save money on a belt is to run it for 10,000 miles, 8,000 of those miles were at highway speeds at or near 70 mph. When I removed the belt at 10,000 miles I was amazed at how good it looked, No visible deterioration. I plan to run the new belt 15,000 miles before opening it up to have a look!
Tony in Tn
2024 GTS 300 HPE now with 11,000 on the clock, purchased in August '24

belts, brakes and tyres only OEM stuff, you only get one chance when it all goes wrong

HAHA! I think I shall. Only putting on a thou mi or so a year on this thing.

edited to prevent any more whinges about 'politics' - jimc

More and more things are being made in the far east. In the last decade lots of parts manufacturers are sub contracting out to factories there.

A great example is Moog Ball joints. They used to be known for their high quality but in the last ten years the quality has gone way down if one were to believe a lot of the posts on the internet forums.

Even Piaggio/Vespa has been expanding the sourcing of parts from the far east.

I don't have any factual studies to back this up, this is just anecdotal opinion on my part from what I have heard and I have also heard the argument that the major companies like Piaggio set up quality control programs to make sure the parts are high quality.

What I have been hearing is that the neighboring facilities will make the same parts with the same or similar manufacturing methods but without the QC.

I have come to the conclusion that you may get just as good of a quality part by buying the cheap one. You may also get a not very much better part for a lot more money by buying the brand name.

Years ago I knew people that worked at the cannery where they produce the food on the grocery store shelves. Several different brands of mayonnaise and ketchup came from the very same vats at the factory...go ahead and buy the brand name if it makes you feel more comfortable but I always get the cheap generic in a small container to try and if it tastes the same Bob's yer uncle.

edited to prevent any more whinges about 'politics' - jimc

This approach would not be for me. My suspicion is that belts go from fine to not-fine very quickly, or at least more quickly than the frequency with which I'm willing and able to keep opening up the case to check on it.

In other words, spending 50% less on belts by running them twice as far as suggested isn't worth the PITA of a shredded belt even if it only happens 10% of the time.

I'm with you. Trying to save a few bucks on a belt or a tire definitely risks my future. And when something goes bad - it happens very quickly.

y'all play rugby but also afraid of an Ali belt? pops, that's WAY more risky than my China kevlar belt, IMO. Just waiting for the cashback app on the browser to hit 10%+ and then i'm pulling the trigger.

That said, I removed my old '13 belt at ~11K, and it was also barely showing signs of detoriation. It doesn't mean the time wasn't nearly up tho.

THIS! A belt is the last place I'm going to cut corners. If it failed, best case, you're stuck on the side of the road. Worst case, the broken belt tangles itself up under the transmission cover and locks up the rear wheel at highway speed leading to a hard slide.

OEM belt is costing you something like $0.01 per mile.

Not a fat lot for peace of mind.

The reasons for the cheapness of Chinese stuff are many and varied.

Most of those reasons have me steering clear.

A friend ordered a belt from ebay that was the "Discount/direct price" vs. a real belt from the dealer. This was a $35 belt for a Big Ruckus. He broke down 2 days later in the middle of nowhere while on a night ride. Not only did he get stranded from premature belt failure but the broken belt got jammed in the variator causing further problems. Order the correct belt from a real dealer or known supplier.

Save money on bar end mirrors and aesthetic stuff.

If you cheap out on the critical mechanical stuff like brakes, tires, belt, gaskets, etc.....you WILL cry.

Refrain from buying fancy lattes for a week or 2 and get an OEM belt.
I echo armedferret's comments ^^^.....

If it makes it go or stop, stay with quality parts. If you want to save $10 over OEM, buy a Malossi belt from Scooterpartsco.

I drank my daily cortado made on my Alex Duetto IV and giddily tracked my China-belt this morning. And surprise! It's already shipped!

You have a $3000 Alex Duetto coffee machine and bought a China-belt to save a few bucks

Interestingly, China tires have largely disappeared from USA due to trade tariffs and ADD, so now Indonesia has penetrated the N. American market. have 10K mi on my Indo tire for the minivan and they've been great. 1/2 the price of Michelins and I will continue to not overpay for Michis. Uhh $80 isn't a few bucks!!!

Gotta save $ on belts so I can pay $20/400g for "locally roasted, small batch" African beans so the Tanzanian farmers get fair wages. Guesss I am Robinhood?

There was a great thread on one of the Maxi-scooter forums, it might have been the burgman one, where someone had ordered the genuine kevlar belt from Aliexpress. It went about as well as many people surmise. And I think I've seen it on other forums too. The Kymco forum, where you will find tales of people making base gaskets out of paper grocery bags, which also goes about how you would expect, likely has the most first person accounts of the results you can look forward to when you install the cheapest belt you can possibly find in your scooter.
Given everybody along the way who is getting paid, the manufacturer, the seller, aliexpress, and whoever ships it to the US and then on to your house, how much do you think it cost to make that $28 belt?
Unless the manufacturer is purchasing Kevlar from Dupont, you're not likely to find Kevlar in the belt. Kevlar is a Dupont trademark. Piaggio doesn't pay Mitsuboshi for Kevlar.
If the picture they use is of the actual product, there's a lot missing. While I don't know for sure, I suspect Mitsuboshi puts their own logo on the belts at the same time they do the rest of the printing, instead of waiting until they are all done and cut. Take a photo when you get it. It will be interesting to see what's printed on the belt.
If this is what you're going to receive, there's a lot wrong with that belt.

"Genuine Kavlor"

And here is the belt Piaggio was shipping in Italy with a date on the label of 6/7/24. See any differences? Look at the two blue lines. I checked other belts for different Piaggio scooters, and they all have the same sort of even line. Some of them do have a blue and orange line, the belt for the bv400 has three grey lines, but they are all evenly applied, and the actual manufacturer, whether it is Mitsuboshi or Dayco, put their name or logo on the belt too. like on this belt.
That appears to be missing on the Aliexpress belt. Also notice how the part number on the belt is different than the Piaggio part number. I'm not sure why, but I first saw them doing this with GTS belts about six or seven years ago. The GTS belt is 82941R, but the belt itself is labeled B013359/1. If you want to buy GTS belt with 82941R on them and a couple of 50 cent NGK plugs, I think you found the guy.

I have 31k on my Continentals on my GTI and if the last 2 sets are any indicator they've got another 20 before i need to order replacements, and another 10 to put them on.

But if you're happy with your cheaping out i certainly wont stop you. Live your life man.

That first picture will definitely NOT be the belt I get. Someone else took a pic of the BV350 belt installed, and it looks like attached. So it seems a knock off of an OE belt, not a knock-off of a "Kevlar" belt, which makes it actually better IMO.

The only thread I was able to find in the burgman forum for a china belt says the poster's scooter went 7000 mi on China belt without a prob:
https://www.burgmanusa.com/threads/24-belt-from-china.135026

If this even makes it to 5K I know it'd cause I went to church on Sunday and prayed really hard. Then again, it's a '13 with only 7500 mi, and I don't think I'll have the bike in '33.

Clutch is internal on a BV350 so no lock up. Ask me how I know. I still agree about going cheap.

How do you know?

So what you're saying is I won't die if the China belt self destructs? Guess I'm full sending.

Crossing the Buckman bridge at 75 MPH, lost power. Don't keep used belts for just in case. They might get mixed up when doing other repairs.

Incredibly, the belts made it across the pacific in only 6 days! And just by looking at it, I'm going to send it back for a refund cause it looks nothing like the real thing lolol. Direct link to the mfg site here:
https://www.aolidabelt.com/portfolio/items/genuine-kevlar-scooter-v-belt-for-piaggio-beverly-350-oem-b015232-1g

MFG's SUPER SKETCH production video on YT here:
Other "Aolida" belts found on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Kevlar-Scooter-152QMI-Long-case-Quality/dp/B0D767LKLR

The Chinese characters underneath the "Kevlar quality" text say "Japanese aramid glue."

^ thanks, I read some Kanji.

I'm more upset they couldn't even get me a GEN-U-WINE Aolida bag, instead I got a generic bag for wholesalers/scooter shops?

You're sending it back?
Aw, shucks.
I'm pretty sure you would have made it all the way down the hill....

it'll be great they said, last long time. cheap. perfect replacement . make you go faster.

aliexpress best around.

If it says Kevlar and doesn't mention DuPont, likely not Kevlar.