Modern Vespa

coming up on 6000 miles, I was going to do the service at my dealer where I bought it, but he told no need to change the belt or the rollers on it, and then I asked how many 500 had they done the 6000 mile before mine and he said none, so I guess mine was going to be the first, no thanks,,,, so I called Oakland Rockridge and they have done enough for me to feel comfortable enough for them to do a great job, my ? Is, should I get the j costa installed while they have it opened up and if so how much should I pay is it worth it?? Well I have to take it in Monday so any feedback would be great.. Thanks guys.........: )

How much do they want to charge you to install the new variator?

It should be nothing extra for installing the J Costa - they have to dismantle that far to change the belt and rollers (for they should be changed at the 6000 mile service on the 500). Take them some chocolate biscuits (cookies?) and that should sort it.

A dealer tells you the truth(saving you $) but you reject it. What is your scooter doing now that it wasn't doing prior ?

we in the states still seem to have different mileage dates for service...

jimc's are different than ours, edit...though perhaps ours will change soon to be on the same time-line as in europe...

if so, i hope we get the cheaper price on belts and such that they got last year


g

I'm not rejecting the idea of saving money, I just want pieco of mind that at 8000 or even 7000 or anything that belt won't break and I'm somewhere stranded because that dealer didn't feel I needed, so who's assed out waiting to be towed not the dealer,, me,, and what does jimc 500 differ from mine their the same machine, so shouldn't they get the same kinda of service, at 6000 everything should be changed, this isn't the first time my dealer has gave me some wrong answers, this is the same guy that told me I needed brakes at 3000 miles, and then marked up the price by double and told me it would be at the least 2 hours in labor, and also tried to charge me over 220 dollars for the first 600 mile. So that's why I'm going somewhere else with more experience.

I've had three belts give out before 8000 miles on my X9 500 - and 8000 miles was the change point. Piaggio have wisely made the new 6000 mile service interval the right time to change the belt, regardless of condition.

If you don't have it changed, then look out each day for the tell-tale wisps of Kevlar coming from the transmission vent - luckily I caught all mine in time.

If you are confident enough, don't change it (but buy a spare!) and change it when it does start to go, and please let us know the mileage! I'd be delighted to find it was 15,000 miles.

The 250 is the only one where the belt-change interval is 12,000 miles. They were always good for almost 16,000 on the X9s.

thanks jimc , it's going in Monday and if I can afford the j costa I'll order it if not oh well it can wait till summer

Did my 6k on my 250 about 1k ago and it was their first, but I trust my mechanic. He went right to the web site and went step by step. Even told me I'd be needing brake pads soon. The price: $162.43

I was quoted about 350 out the door including brakes if they thought I'd need them

You should be able to easily see if the pads are near to needing to be changed. As long as there is more than 2mm of 'meat' left on the pads you are good for a few hundred miles more, perhaps thousands, depending on the ride and riding style. A mirror and a torch can be useful here...

And pads are 'consumables', so no warranty issues if you DIY, even here.

what did that include?

g

everything that is needed on the 6000 mile list in the back of the book including brakes if needed

This thread had me thinking, so I went to my dealer and asked about service intervals. He stated, " they look at the belts and roller automatically at 6000 miles and then decide whether they warrant replacing."

The other item that was brought to my attention was the service intervals in general. My wife's 500 and my 500 have manuals that state 3000 miles between servicing. The Vespa manager says the new ones are on 2000 mile intervals and could not explain why our manuals state something different?

Any new owners with 2000 mile service intervals?

Redsparky, there seems to be an inconsistency between the manual and the warrantee booklet.

The manual shows 3,000 mile intervals between scheduled servicing (pages 166-170). The warranty booklet suggests 3,000 mile intervals for 2-strokes, and 2,000 mile intervals for 4-strokes, but it only specifies oil and filter servicing at those intervals.

In the manual, when talking about oil changes (page 112) it says: "The frequency of oil change envisaged by scheduled servicing is defined in accordance with the total oil content in the engine and the average consumption measured using standardized methods. To prevent problems occurring, you are advised to check the oil level more frequently than suggested in the Scheduled Servicing Chart ..." (sounds like their lawyers wrote this).

My take on this is that oil and filter checks/changes should be done every 2,000 miles, and the rest of the suggested maintenance in the manual according to the timetable there.

Disclaimer: I'm one of the more mechanically inept on this board; others might be better able to edify, based on their more extensive riding experienced.

Jack

The owners manuals are correct for the newer bikes, and have been superseded for the older ones. The warranty/service history booklet has always been generic, even with the new versions of any bike.

2T bikes, 2000 mile services.
4T bikes with carbs, 4000 mile services except for Honda Foresight engined machines, which are 2000 miles as they have no oil filter.
4T Fuel Injected models are all 6000 mile service intervals. The intermediate ones 'suggested' are checks only, and of course you do this yourself at much more frequent intervals.

Unfortunately, the dealers here in Australia all insist on the old 5000 km (3000 mile) service interval.

I queried the service interval with my dealer, and he insisted it was 5000 km. I decided to call all the scooter shops in a three hour radius, and they all concurred. They said they hadn't heard of any changes to the service interval, and stated that the 5000 km services were required for the warranty.

It's not enough of an issue for me to fight about it and get the local scooter shop offside. Especially since I can't point to any official Piaggio notification about the change.

Have you shown them your owners manual?

Wayne B

And how much do they charge for checking your oil level and brake-pad wear? As it takes one minute max to do the lot, I'd be interested what the interpolated hourly rate was...

The 250 manual (or at least the one that I have) states that the services are at 5000km intervals. I'll be finding out very soon when my scooter goes in for its 5000km service.

They have a standard "service fee" of AU$100, but I'll probably argue the point if they try to charge that.

Just passed 5000 miles on my 250. Did the 3000 mile check myself and regularily check my oil level and other visual checks...loose bolts and stuff.

So far the only think I have had to replace is the rear tire. Had a problem with the wheel lock but that seems to have gone away.

Will be scheduling the 6000 mile service in a month or so and will report back on that.

It states this:
AFTER 5,000 KM, 15,000 KM, 25,000 KM, 35000 KM,
45,000 KM, 55,000 KM, 65,000 KM, 75,000 KM
Engine oil - level check/ top-up
Brake pads - check condition and wear

So just a check! This is not a service required for warranty.

You're right. I think I might have to argue the point with the dealer when the scooter hits 5000km. I just don't want to get him off-side, because the next closest dealer is more than two hours away, and they also insist on the 5000km service interval anyway.

I'll also try to contact Piaggio Australia and see what they say.