Modern Vespa

I had to make the comments for the photos shorter due to limited space allowed for file comments. If anyone needs more information, I will be more than happy to help.

I just wanted to start by saying that this is the way I changed my variator weights. For your own peace of mind you should torque all nuts to the specified values as listed in the manual.

Now I did not do this as I do not have a torque wrench. For those of you who do not have a torque wrench I will describe how I did my nuts and bolts up with my impact wrench.

Great write up! Awesome post and a real nice addition to the info on the forum! Good pics and definitely makes me feel ready to put on the variator wgts myself!

Thanks for the write-up, Redfone. It's always good to get a real-world report, especially where the manual is not quite perfect.

awesome! another one for the Technical Report page.

nice write up! ::Sticky:: anyone??

Nice one Redfone. Definitely sticky worthy..

Bookmarked.

Wayne B

You can do it this way, tightening with an impact tool, but it is hurting my engineers hart to see it done. It's fine as long as you are aware of what you are doing but as an universal wow you must use a variator locking device of some sort and a torque wrench because:

If you change some of the parts, even the just nut (which you should do according to the manual?), you can't trust any position marks any more.

Too tight->crank threads gone, too loose-> variator falls off.

So if you like to have the biggest possible certainty, get a torque wrench, you'll need it anyhow. Use your impact wrench only for opening nuts.

The rear nut is however a different beast which requires a torque wrench which will "click" in opening direction, mine doesn´t.

Thanks Redfone for the info. Great pics and instructions. Can't wait to see your edits. I was going to get an Electric 1/2 impact today . They are $40.00 off at Harbor Freight / coupon today. Kinda got lost on the part where you set the parking brake and you said something stripped off the rear. I like your technique of marking the threads with ink.

Super Job

Awesome write up.

What is the use of variator weights and the point in changing their weight??

DavidHerring

I had to remove the part about the twisting to try to tidy up the comments. Basically what happend is at the end of the drive shaft there was a hex head that you could fit a 10 mm socket on to.

The manual suggests using a 21mm offset ring spanner on the clutch nut and a 10mm socket on the drive shaft hex head. You are to use the smaller 10mm hex head to stop the drive shaft from spinning when you undo the 21mm clutch nut.

The clutch nut was on so tight that I ended up twisting the hex head right off the drive shaft.

If you have a look at the fourth photo you can see the end of my drive shaft does not look too good. It should look like the picture below.

The weights are a key componenet of the automatic transition. Centrifical force causes the weights to change the effective diameter of the belt pulleys. As the diameter changes it is like changing the gear the bike is in. Over time the weights will wear impacting the performance of the transmission. Using weights of different mass will change the power for acceleration but also change the mpg. Heavier weights essentially have the bike running in a lower gear. I had mine changed along with the belt as part of 6000 mile service. They still looked good, but while the bike is apart it is not a significant thing to do. If they wear out between services then it is a big labor cost to get the transmission apart to change them.

If you want to experiment back and forth with weights either have a big pocket book to pay the labor or study this great post on how.

Ok, so the weights do normally wear out..would they be changed during a stock 6k service or something added on if needed so I should be sure to ask about that additional fee when checking for what shop I get my service done at?

You say heavier weights make the bike run in lower gear...is that more power at the low speeds or more power at high speeds?

And confirm heavier weights would lower your MPG, correct?

The standard weights are 'scheduled' to be changed or to last until your 12K service along with your belt change. But it is probably wise to do like Fuzzy and have them changed at 6 to be safe.

As I understand it(which is saying much ), the variator wgts(heavier that is), will increase your low to midrange torque and have a slight effect on top speed and mpg.

In other words, you should get more acceleration, smoother transitions, and basically drop a few mpgs and a few mphs.

I am ordering the tool from my Piaggio dealer tomorrow. It's only $115.00, and you get another tool for the tool box Would have ordered it yesterday but left the check book at home by mistake, DOH
I figure it this way, the tool is cheaper than paying someone to do the job once.

Wayne B

Redfone,

Thanks for the edits, I got my impact wrench and love it. I don't see how I ever got by without one. I'm practicing on my VW bus lug nuts. I've been using regular sockets, but I'm going to get the proper impact ones. And maybe a torque wrench.

I hope that the stripped shaft isn't a major problem for you.

Thanks again , Dave

Dave,

Is the impact wrench you have 12v? A very useful tool to have in the shed. They can undo some pretty tight nuts. I have used mine to undo car shocks, truck wheel nuts ect..

The other day I used it to undo a 32mm nut that was absolutely not going anywhere with a breaker bar. The 12v impact wrench cracked it in 4 hits. So much easier.

Redfone,

No , I have 1/2 Chicago impact with a cord for plugging in the wall. I'm a little leary of the torque it has for the bike, so I'm searching for a 3/8's Im-pact. All of the ones that I see have a battery pack, and my past experiance with those is they go bad if they are not regularly used. I don't want to get a compressor and hoses and air gun. The cost will probably lean toward the 3/8's battery pack. Sure will be convenient, and safer. I've used large impacts before up to 1in. drive on diesel trucks, you have to watch out with the powerful ones. My 1/2 Impact amazes me at how powerful it is. I keeping my eye out for a sale on one of those bike stands to raise the bike for working on.

Dave