Modern Vespa

Hi, I was riding my Vespa 200GT about a month or so ago, and was sitting waiting for a train to go by. I waited 3-5 minutes with the engine running at least and the fan came on. About 30 secs to a minute later, it suddenly died on me. I had to push my newly bought(from a first owner and it's only a year old)Vespa off the road and waited about a minute and tried to start it. It did, but sounded a bit odd to me(maybe my paranoia).
Should I be concerned? I have since ridden it probably 300-400 miles at a guess with no real issues. It only acted like it was going to get hot one other time(fan kicked on)I immediately shut it off and restarted shortly after and it has run with no problems. After reading another persons experience with locking up, I am now concerned I could have a problem that may get worse*could it be running lean or is it normal to get so hot it shuts down within a few minutes on a hot day?*. I am also wondering if the levels are all good...hopefully the dealer can check the levels for me when I visit soon(waiting for a turn signal to fix a bad switch). Thanks for any advice, Sally(I am not mechanically inclined enough to fix it myself)

Mine is hard to restart after I shut it off when it's been running. I have found that if I can park it in the shade, it starts better after being hot. Everyone is going to say, "carburetor." Most likely. But once I get it restarted, it's no problem.

The dealer also told me that I'd always have to turn my throttle 1/2 way to start it. I don't. I just hit the start button and it just starts. Do you have to crank your throttle at all to get it started when it's cold?

You didn't mention if you checked the temperature gauge. It's under the fuel gauge:

jschlarb's GT200L



Generally speaking your temps will stay in by middle mark. The fans normally turn on a little above the half way mark on the gauge. If it strays into the upper third of the temperature range you do have a problem. The other thing to check is the coolant tank. See the big screw on the right hand side of the picture- its on the leg-shield? Undo that (counterclockwise to loosen) and you'll find the coolant reservoir. It has minimum and maximum marks on its neck (I usually stick my pinkie in there and see if it comes out wet)..

If your bike has stalled only once (and isn't overheating) I'd pass it off- perhaps your battery is a little run down and with the fans on the bike just stopped etc. it wasn't getting enough juice. I've had my 250 stall once on stopping, but the bike was canted over a bit (I stopped in mid turn for traffic).


I would encourage you to learn some of the basics of your scooter, you're feel a lot more confident riding it when you know it's in good mechanical shape!
Hope this helps!

Regards
Harvey

Hi, yes, I looked at the temp gauge and if I remember correctly, it was in the 3/4 range when it died. It was a very hot day, in the 90's if I remember it right. I should have just shut it down when I realized there was a super long wait for the train, but I hadn't thought of overheating. I haven't had it overheat since, but one time the fan started, I shut it off immediately(I was idling).
I will check the coolant level, thanks for the info on where it was. I can do minor things with handtools, but am not experienced with mechanicals(I can use saws and power tools on wood for instance). I wish there were short term mechanics classes for scooters, it would be a big help, but you gave me a single lesson already, thanks!
Sally