Modern Vespa

I have a 2002 et4 with 21,000 miles on it (I love the thing and it is my only vehicle) but as of the past several days, all it does is shake VIOLENTLY.

Whenever I come to a stop and need to accelerate, it does, but it will take it ten seconds to get to 10 mph, meanwhile it is shaking violently and barely moving at all. When it hits around 15-20mph, it runs fine, but whenever I hit a light ....... Also, when it is idling, it shakes, but not as violently, and just plain sounds bad.

I did drop it, but that was eight months ago, I have not overfilled it, and I am very very very sad. I am afraid it is dying, and I don't want to hear that...

I do not have any Vespa technicians anywhere near me, and since it is my only vehicle, i can't really go anywhere either. Please help me!

Um, replace the belt and rollers, maybe?

Your rollers no longer 'roll'....

Best guess.....good guess thou....

R

8)

your belt is shot also are your rollers gonna cost ya about 150 bucks or so if you do it yourself to fix it

I am sure all of us on here can walk you throught it

Thanks so much! I'll get working on that right away! Are there any special tools that I will need so that I can go ahead and order them with the rollers and belt? (such as an impact wrench or a variator tool?)

I would love to be walked through it, but are there any threads already that show that process? If not, I'll be happy to take pictures of everything the whole way through.

Thanks again!

You need the variator tool and the clutch holding tool. Impact wrench not needed.

with that many miles the proper thing to do at this point I've found is to perform a major transmission replacement.

Replace the variator with a malossi multivar
New belt.
take the clutch bell off sand down the surface inspect the wear of the pads it may also be time to replace clutch components.
Clean everything. Get all the belt dust out of the case.

If you have the money and want it to accelerate like new or better. Change everything. The stock components are not very heavy duty and are designed to be replaced. Stock Variators collars wear aginst the brass bushing and catch. That can cause vibration and shuttering.

I also have a suspicion that your et4 is probably in need of other services. The fork probably needs to be tightened bearing repacked with grease and alighten nicely. It will help to bring back that even and responsive handling.

Also to be safe I would remove the charcole canister EVAP systm. Dropping the scooter is the same as over filling it.

Your Scooter will last forever if it is properly maintain it. So don't be afraid to invest money in major repairs. If you don't an put things off it will start a chain reaction later on down the road and it will mean the end.

Its important you find some one that can help you service it. Good luck it's always worth fixing it.

-michael JKSC

Thinking that my parts were on their way, I went ahead and started work. What do I need the clutch holder for? I just used two bolts on a metal V, would that have damaged the clutch? Either way, I took it all down, and OHHH MY GOODNESS were my rollers NOT rolling. Several rollers disintegrated, and decided to have my variator for lunch. At near the top of where they can roll, they can come right out of the tracks, as they ate through the sides. I have ordered a new mallosi variator, which I guess I'll get in three weeks, or whenever scooterwest gets the variator tool in. Oh, and as far as special tools, a torque wrench is a must.

When I put the new one in, should I document it with photos and the like?

Thanks for everybody's responses, you guys were dead on!

Mallosi variators are a waist of your money.
I put one on and within 7,000 miles it had
worn out and was wobbling on the brass collar.
I went back to the stock Piaggio variator
( $25.00 used) and got
and extra 8,000 miles and it's still going at 24,899
miles. Stock variator and 14gm weights worked
great together. Also you should modify the air
cooling for the bell housing. Put an air scoop to
get cooling air to the drive belt, GTS did it and
the belts last up to 8,000 miles.
Yardsale