Modern Vespa

Greetings from Winnipeg - Canada. Just turned 10,000 KM on the 2006 GT and I need to install a new front tire (rear installation completed already). I presume there is a retaining nut underneath that chrome cap at the center of the wheel. Does it just pop off with some gentle prying...? If anyone has any "lessons learned" that they'd like to pass along before I begin, your advice would be gratefully accepted.
Thanks in advance.
Jim

nope just pull the 5 allan bolts

Thanks for the info. That ought to make it a slightly less complicated affair than the rear tire change - at least until "Murphy" rears his head.
Jim

my only other advice it to find a block of wood or something to hold the front of the bike up


you don't want that disk to hit the ground

Murphy will appear when you over torque the bolts and break one. Find the torque spec - they're here somewhere. Tighten them in the same order you would on a car - in a star shape.

Shop manual sez 14.7-18.4 ft.-lbs. for those five allan bolts. Be kind to your threads.

I used a scissors jack from a car with a block of wood on it to jack up the front of Stephanie while she was on her centerstand to get the front wheel off the ground. Art

The foul deed is done. I had a day off today and it took most of the afternoon after several minor visits from Mr. Murphy. But it's done and the GT is sporting a brand new front Pirelli.

I bought a light duty hydraulic jack (on sale no less) and used it to support the scooter to keep the front end elevated enough for easy and safe access. I also checked the balance of the original tire using my new Marc Parnes balancer. It really wasn't very well balanced.

The next huge challenge was breaking the bead. It was like the WWF on the garage floor (with both me and the tire soaked with soapy water) and the tire was winning until I hauled out a huge C-clamp. The new tire went on OK but as I found out when I tried to inflate it - the inside of the valve stem was exposed and I had a heck of a time positioning the inside edge of the tire so that it would take and hold some air. Finally managed to get air into it and to seat the tire. I checked it for leaks in the laundry tub and everything was fine.

Again I used the new balancer and it was just a delight to use. The tire went on OK and I used my "entry level" torque wrench to tighten the Allen bolts.

All in all it was kind of fun, but I sure wish I had an affordable device for breaking the bead. I used three motorcycle tire levers and a bunch of Tropicana orange juice boxes cut up to buffer the levers from the rims. And as I said, a few litres of slippery dish-soapy water.

Most important, thank you all for your help, advice and information. What a team!

Jim

good work thanks for the information. I am looking at tackling this deed in the coming months.