Modern Vespa

From the moment I got on the scooter, it started squeaking on bumps. Not a mildly annoying squeak but a majorly loud and obnoxious squeak which chirps and cries on every single bump and lump in the road ... of which there are many in my part of the world.

We not only have normal, every day (convex and concave) bumps and lumps, potholes & cracks ... but we also have many, "on purpose" speed bumps of varying shapes and sizes.

The noise is coming from the front of the scoot and sounds as though it is inside whatever the thing is called that leads up to the handlebar. I assume it is part of the suspension system from the front wheel but have no idea if I am right or wrong or what to do about it. On a flat surface, no squeak. On bumpy roads the squeaking is really, really LOUD and makes my brand new scooter sound like an old rattletrap!

I'll explain the "other assorted noises" in a bit but first want to get rid of that nasty squeak! Can I get rid of this truly obnoxious noise? Is there somewhere I need to lubricate? Is this horrid noise normal or did I get a special, "Tortola edition LX125"?

The squeek is fron the motor mounts...in the rear....

Tell your dealer, they know about it, can be fixed under warranty.

R

8)

That may well be the source, but the noise is coming from inside the front bit leading up to the handlebar. Does that sound right? Does the sound travel from back to front?

We don't have a dealer here on island and no warranty either. I bought the scoot in St. Maarten and I live in Tortola. How do I fix it? Can I fix it or this a major deal?

The problem is a rubber bit in the rear motor mount linkage.

It can be repaired by removing the linkage, removing the rubber bit(this is the real trick), doing a bit of grinding to reposition the rubber bit, then reassembly....

Dealers have been advised to just replace the mount, more time effective.

This is not a safety issue.

Good luck....

R

8)

Guess I am stuck with it then. I wouldn't have a clue how to go about fixing something like that. How depressing. If this is a known issue, why the hell isn't this looked at and fixed BEFORE they sell it to some unsuspecting soul?

Thanks.

Talk to your far-away dealer about a warranty replacement of the mounts (he just sends the parts), and get your local chap to do the work. IIRC it's all been documented here before as a known problem.

Thanks Jim,

After doing some extensive searching on Google, I discovered this thread from last year https://modernvespa.com/forum/topic14742?postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Apparently, the problem is the "swing arm mount".

I didn't want to write to the dealer before knowing which part needed replacing. I have just now sent off an e:mail to the dealer in St. Maartin. He's not great about returning messages either by phone or mail ... but he usually gets back to me "in a while". Hopefully I can get this sorted out.

Thanks for the help and advise. I have also suggested for the Wiki that "Known Issues" be added for the various models. It would be a really good thing to know what the known issues are BEFORE buying. If I had known about this issue, I could have had them fix it before shipping the scooter.

I'm off today to compete in Rotary sponsored road rally in my cage!

The solution for all those worrying sounds is to fit a PM exhaust. Then you won't hear them.

Mike