Modern Vespa

Hi guys, I have always found this the best place to get all sorts of info.
Now I need your help.
I have a VERY steep driveway, about 23 degrees. It slopes down to the road. Today as I was leaving for a ride a very scary incident happened. I throttled on as usual and noticed that the yellow suspension light was still on as I was moving down the driveway. Meaning that the suspension was still locked. Sure enough it wouldn't steer. I saw the letterbox coming right at me!! By this time I was off the concrete and onto our front dirt/rocks/grass bit. I managed to apply the brakes heavily and I slid to a stop at the steepest part, by this time the scooter was at a very odd angle. I quickly decided that it would be a good idea to apply the handbrake, which I did. I ten shut off the engine. I had my phone in my pocket and called my 17 y.o daughter who was the only one home to come and help. Shortly after the nice fellow from across the road came and offered to help. We decided that it would be a good idea to ease off the handbrake and get it back on reasonably level ground. ie; the road. So I started it up and went away no problems.
While I was riding I was thinking what if it happens again? So I decided that I wouldn't lock the suspension at traffic lights until I could get somewhere quiet and test it. I almost had the courage to lock the suspension a a set of traffic lights and locked it. i then chickened out and unlocked it before the light turned green. Immediately after, the red suspension warning light came on. At the next set of lights I quickly shut the engine off and re-started it and the red light went out. Phew.
I've made it home, didn't stop and check whether the suspension would unlock from running.
It's parked, I didn't drop it and I'm physically unhurt.
What I'm asking from you all is: is it operator error OR should I take it to my dealer to have a look at??

I think you must know what you're doing, so of course
take it in and see if they can figure out the issue.
And please tell us what you find out.
Glad you are OK!

I've been thinking about the incident for a while now... and there's a slight chance that I didn't throttle on at the top of the driveway and let it roll down. (As I would with the Vespa).
I can't say for sure but that may explain why the suspension didn't unlock.
Does not explain the red warning light coming on though.

If your bike was moving while the yellow suspension light was still on it means that your suspension mechanism is malfunction , The red warning light will turn on if the hydraulic pressure sensor will sense any pressure changes of the hydraulic mechanism I would first check if there is any issue with the pads that are in use to lock the front and also suggest you to check if you have a leak of hydraulic oil from the suspension mechanism . You may need to dis assemble the front site cover (preferable the right side while your front wheels are turned fully to the left side ) in order to have a good close look.
take a good look at the "T" area ( see attchmnet) .

If you don't throttle the bike, the lock does not release automatically, and you'll essentially be rolling with the wheels locked. One quick blip of the throttle would have unlocked the wheels. Try it in a secure place to experiment.

I have very nearly been caught out by this. I parked for a few minutes at the edge of a steeply cambered road and as I only wanted to creep forward a few yards I released the handbrake and let the mp3 roll. Unfortunately one front wheel dropped into an enormous pothole and as the thing lurched to one side I instinctively turned the bars to compensate.

This is just the wrong thing to do because the effect is the opposite to what you expect. I practically ended up on full lock before grabbing the brakes.

I am now careful to avoid rolling or pushing on anything other than a level surface. It can sometimes be safer to unlock the tilt mechanism and treat it like a normal 2 wheeler.

Regards Roadster

Yes, Yes treat this scoot as a normal 2 wheeler. when you start the bike sit on it and unlock the suspension and to be sure to freely move side to side PRIOR to moving the bike forward. Also don't get in thehabit of trying to lock it at the stop lights this can lead to brain farts later and falling over may occur.

Regards Roadster

Whatever - I find getting practised at all methods works for me.

I suspect the OP in the first instance didn't g.un the throttle to get the unlock to happen, and in the second had too much weight on the feet to allow the saddle switch to work. BTDTGGTS.

I never use the throttle to unlock the suspension. It just seems like an accident waiting to happen. It's too easy to use the little button that locks/unlocks the suspension to NOT use it.

When it comes to the suspension locking mechanism, my wife and I treat the MP3 like a 2 wheeled vehicle. The suspension lock is pretty much just used as a side/center stand when parked. We never roll the throttle without unlocking the suspension first.

edited

[/quote]Yes, Yes treat this scoot as a normal 2 wheeler. when you start the bike sit on it and unlock the suspension and to be sure to freely move side to side PRIOR to moving the bike forward. Also don't get in thehabit of trying to lock it at the stop lights this can lead to brain farts later and falling over may occur.

Regards Roadster[/quote]

+1

Always treat the MP3 as a two wheeler! Much safer that way. I do not lock the suspension unless I am parking the bike. And unlock the suspension manually using the switch before moving.

HI Folks, I just signed up.

I have mp 400 for a year now and generally dont lock the suspenion.
I treat her like a 2 wheeler. But I noticed when showing it to friends that the lock light seems to get out of synch real easy. ie the light being on when the suspensio is not locked and off when it is.

I just put it down to the character of Italian electrics !


cya !
John

Hang on, I thought that the suspension comes off lock when 1. you unlock it manually with the switch. 2. the revs hit over 2500 and 3. if you go over a certain speed. So is it actually only the revs that count and the speed is just a coincidence? I know the suspension indicator comes on when I get to a certain speed and I am not using the throttle. I also know that the indicator doesn't come on when I am coasting down a hill my revs are low but the speed is still high. Pesonally I rarely use the suspension at a light and I always release it manually. I actually only ever have released the lock manually. I am a little scared that if I tried any other way I would wreck my bike - a little obsesive I realize.

Dale

Hi Orange:
"The red suspension warning light came on"; you mean the Front Suspension Locking System Failure Warning Light - Letter Q Dashboard? If you say yes, then I had almost the same situation as you on my 250. Even though the "yellow" light locking mechanism didnt come off/on. I send to my dealer and they replace a switch (don't know which switch) but it took almost a month to get that part! If your "red suspension lgiht" comes on and off in this few days I suggest to take it to the dealer. Just my 2 cents!

Emepetres... YES. The red suspension failure warning light. Letter Q dashboard. This is not the first time the red light has come on for no reason either but probably the third. I have always been able to cancel it by killing the engine and re-starting it. A bit like re-booting your computer.
Sometimes these things are just TOO complicated.
I need simplicity.

Hi Orange: Then you have the same problem I had. That light would come on and off on me for several days. At first mine was coming on when I started my 250. Later on it will light on when in traffic either at a stop or driving thru traffic. I was afraid if I didnt send it to the dealer it would somehow lock my suspension or worst. So, I decided to send the bike to the dealer (Vespa-Austin) and they said they had to replace a switch. The bad part of it is that they had to order that part and I waited for a month to get my bike back. Hopefully, your dealership has that part on stock. You could asked your dealers to call Vespa of Austin (Texas) and asked for Jimmy (Mechanic) to reference that part number/name. Hope that helps!

I'm always glad to read about failures in case it happens to me. This one has not but I would say I wouldn't start off downhill without unlocking. My bike has always unlocked when I hit the throttle (I usually gun it a bit) and I do lock at traffic lights often because I can't get my feet flat on the ground with my short legs without sliding off the seat.

It sounds to me like you didn't gun the bike enough to get it to unlock and it was coasting down the hill. I don't coast except a very short distance and on level ground but I'll watch for the light malfunction. Thanks.

It is possible to confuse the system by manually unlocking at the same time as twisting the throttle - but all will work fine even though various lights may suggest a problem, and all will return to normal on the next switch-on. Had it twice myself, but only during the 'learning curve'. It should never happen in normal unpanicked operation...

This is the picture of my driveway. In order not to have any untowards incidence, I always unlock the tilting mechanism while the engine is not running,roll it down the driveway and start the bike on the road below. In the early phase of acquiring the bike, the red warning light was on even after the bike is on the go. What I did was I pushed the manual locking button to the right(as if locking the tilt mechanism) while the bike is on the move and the red light will just goes off. Now, there are occations when the red light will come on while on the move, I just do the same thing and the light will go away. Don't know if it will be bad for the bike but after so many months nothing bad happens. So, I guess it should be okay. I remember that after a couple of weeks of getting the bike and when the red light came on, I was like freaking out fearing that the tilting mechanism is giving me trouble. Now, it is okay. I just push the manual button either on the move or at a standstill(relocking again), the red light will go away. Cheers!

I will restate that when/if I get my 400, that after warrenty, I will remove all hardware and wiring dealing with the locking mech. period! Just an injury waiting to happen.

I think you are bonkers, but your choice.

I use my lock most of the time now. There is a learning curve to it's use, and you have to look out for any potholes, sewer lids, truck grooves etc. that could cause problems.
Why pay for technology and not use it. I started out using it only when I had a passenger to hold the bike up at lights. Then I started using it after stopping at a light while solo. I can now pretty much tell by the sound and speed of the bike when to hit the locking switch before stopping. You can actually roll while locked in stop and go traffic if your timing is good.
It took a while ( 6,000 miles on scooter now) but now I use it at least 90 % if the time.
It is also useful when backing into parking places.
You wouldn't buy an automatic transmission then spend all your time shifting gears would you? Oh wait, I drive a smart, so that is not a very good comparison. But you get my drift.

Bought it because of the locking mechanism and paid 1/3 more. Discarding it is like what jimc said, 'Bonkers'. No offence though, its your bike and its your call. Cheers!