Modern Vespa

I recently came into possession of a rebuilt vespa tx200. Seems very clean with lots of receipts for parts from the restoration. Everything on it seems great however there's one thing that's giving me quite a bit of concern and that's the handling or balance of it when driving at any speed. It lists very hard to the right when I lift my hands from the bar.

I know the vespa isn't the most balanced of 2 wheeled vehicles, and I have others that do the same that can normally be corrected by counter balancing on the seat a bit. But this seems extreme.

So far I've checked the below.

SIP tubeless rims seem fine.
Brand new contitwist tires
Tire pressure tested at different psi's
No play in front or back wheel or bearings.
New shocks were installed on it
Front wheel seems to be sitting aligned ok.

Not sure about the back alignment of the frame which has me worrying it might be twisted

Is there anything else I can check before pulling the front forks out and checking they aren't bent?
Hard to tell from the photos if things are out of alignment or not but running out of ideas.

Moved to NSM.

Swap in some new swing arm bushings and see if that helps. If not the frame could be twisted.

It appears that the rear wheel is canted to the right. I would guess that something is twisted in the swing arm. New bushings might help, as above.

Rear tyre is definitely tilted. Look at the dust coverage. More sidewall on the left.

I had that problem, it was the swing arm bushes

I was really hoping someone was going to say an oil change would fix

Thanks for feedback. Will make a start there with the swing arm and see if it helps.

You know... I have wondered if there wasn't some tilt built in to accommodate the fact that the bike balances slightly to the left. If the tires were perfectly in line with the frame the bike would always want to turn left when going straight.

Swing arm bushing, had the same issue.

Definitely not.

Quick update, finally got around to changing the bushings out with BGM ones but made very little to no difference. out of ideas at this point.

Took it for a long drive and while its not ideal, it still feels safe enough and I can quickly adapt to the balance. will just take a bit of getting used to.

Thanks for help

The only thing I can think of is the front fork being slightly bent. The frame front end could be slightly bent also.

Only way to really check is by dropping the fork and/or lasers. A few have done this but not me, so my advice may be worthless

Has the scooter been in an accident or hit a curb or pothole? That could tweak the fork. Just grasping at straws ...

I've literally only got the thing so my first ride out on it that was further than the end of the street was yesterday.

Was a fresh rebuild by someone else so still sussing out its quirks.

I agree that dropping the forks and getting lasers involved is uneconomical at this point.

It has a long drive from Belfast to Gijon soon so we will see what it's made of!

Hopefully I'll not be on looking for some good Spanish recovery companies

Maybe you just need more time on it? If you follow a Vespa you will see they lean. I find it awkward to take my hands off the grips and stay balanced to the left. It tends to stand back up and turn right. Or it at least feels that way. I've seen videos of people standing up on them but it always seems they are going quite fast and maybe the wind stabilizes them at speed.
Good luck on your trip !

My P200 track bike had a fairly severe bent frame from it pulling double duty racing in both the scooter class and the very rough and tumble supermoto class. The vespa frame definitely wasn't designed for tabletop jumps. But even as bent as the rear portion of my frame was, it still handled VERY predictably on the tarmac. I think i'd be focusing my investigation at a possible bent fork.

I test rode a P200 many moons ago, and it pulled hard to the right.

I told the owner about it pulling. His response:

Really?! I haven't noticed (yeah, right). Well, I did hit a rock a while ago. I'll have to look at it....

He called me to drop the price by 1/2 when I was driving back home with another scooter. Thanks, but no thanks...

I don't think it should feel so off. They are not the most balanced bikes but it shouldn't feel so wrong. After looking at the fork you can check the frame with with a laser level, string, measuring tape, etc. I haven't done it, but I know others have. There are know measurements you can check it against. Vespas can get pretty battered looking and still generally roll in a straight line.

Another thought if you haven't spent a lot of time on Vespas is to have someone ride it who has. Also, worn shock bushings can make it feel squirrely.

If you have access to even a cheap laser level, you can check if the frame is straight.

Take the seat off and make sure the center seam at the seat post and front of the tank cavity align with the center of the fork.

Hi,

I'd have a look at this little guy at the top of the rear shock while you are at it:

https://www.sip-scootershop.com/en/product/rubber-buffer-piaggio-shock-absorber-rear-top-060536-for-vespa-50-125-pv-et3-125-vna-ts-150-vba-t4-160-gs-180-ss-rally-px80-200-pe-lusso-98-my-t5_60535000?usrc=Centre%20Stand%2C%20Brake%20Pedal

If it looks deformed (squished) and/or rock hard (perished) nows the time to replace it.

Chur

My upper buffer was punched halfway through the frame (which was also cracked and split open) that caused the buffer to be torque off to an obscene angle. The scooter's handling was still very predictable.

I was going to suggest the Clauss Studios upper shock mount, but it's not listed on their site. Anyone know if it's out of production?

Sadly, it is no longer made.

That's a bummer.

I could not find one last summer already... I had the same issue, hopefully the upper point into the chassis was intact

What tyre pressures are you using?
You mentioned changing pressure, but not what pressure.
I use 18 fr , 36 rr, but that's on 8".

Change front tyre for spare, could be a bent rim

Steering bearings? My current PX did this when i first got it. Veered to the left and tram lined on rutted roads, changed steering bearings as it was veering all over the place. That spanish scoot is pushing over 35 years old and probably needs a complete refurbishment of bearings, seals, brakes etc. If its anything like my imported 38 year old Spanish motovespa PK75, then its due a complete overhaul.