Modern Vespa

I just moved from Seattle to Austin. Took 5 days, drove a little Uhaul, 2007 LX150 safely strapped in the truck. I arrived in Austin today; a little damage to the front cowl from rubbing on the strap but otherwise she looks great! (And I have some amusing pictures of the process as well.)

But then... I decide to make sure she starts. The lights all go on no problem, engine starts... but I hear an insane grinding from the rear left hand side. I rev the engine a bit and the bike dies. But after it dies the grinding noise continues for a few seconds.

I tried this several times and got the same result each time. Any suggestions? I'm sorry I'm not explaining this well; I've had this bike almost 3 years but she's been super low maintenance and I've never had to do any serious work. I have no idea where to even start diagnosing the problem!

Also, Austinites - I see there's a dealership on South Lamar? Is that where I should take it to be serviced? I have no way of getting her to the dealership (about 7 miles from where I am now) so if I can at least get the bike started enough to take her there to get checked out that would be fantastic! I don't have a car and am staying with friends while I apartment search and being without transportation will be awfully frustrating.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions; I'm eager to check out my new hometown and I'd like to do it from my beloved Vespa!

Make sure the kick start lever is not partialy depressed. pull it fully upwards.

Was there a lot of gas in the tank during transport? A similar thing happened when I transported my S150 from CT to MA.

Sometimes when transporting scooters, gas will get into the evap hose and although the bike may turn over there may not be enough air to keep it running properly. A simple disconnect of the evap hose solved the problem. If you aren't familiar with doing this you can do a search on MV for evap hose disconnect and you'll find a previous thread and photos, or you can bring it to a dealer and let them do it.

Welcome to Austin!! Sorry that the LX had a bad trip down here. Unfortunately, I have no mechanical expertise or truck, so I am going to go with BigMaroon on this one. However, if the evap hose isn't the issue, you could rent a small truck from u-haul or call ASAP Motorcycle Towing (Mobile phone # (512) 590-0582). It's $60 for 10 miles, which would cover a trip from where you are staying to Vespa Austin.

There is another reliable shop in town, Urban Moto, also on S. Lamar. They sell Genuine and SYM, but will service any scooter. Both the shops in town have friendly owners and diligent mechanics.

Since you are without transportation, check out www.capmetro.org for the bus schedules if you need to go somehwere.

And check out the Austin Scooter Club on the web. http://austin.scootclub.com We are going to Barton Springs this weekend and going on a Trailer Taco trail the next weekend. Hopefully you'll get your scoot up and running soon!

Welcome to Austin! Sorry you are arriving when we seem to be sizzling in an oven non stop. I like the evap/kick start check suggestions as well. Let us know how it turns out.

Welcome to austin. I'll make you an offer. My wife's car has a tow hitch and if you rent a uhaul trailer for around 15-20 dollars I will tow your bike to the dealer of your choice. Or if you call vespa Austin they might come get your scooter for you. I know they have done so for others.
If you rent the trailer make sure you get the ramp trailer it makes life easier.

Oh my goodness. The evap hose! I had problems with that when I first bought the bike... Yes indeed, I went out there and disconnected the hose. Took a few tries but now she's running fine!

I didn't have a ramp to load her in the truck, so we had 3 people lift her in, and on this end we had 2 of us take her out. The evap hose flooding makes perfect sense considering how we got her out of the truck last night!

Thanks for all the advice and words of welcome. I moved here for work and only know a handful of people, so I'll definitely check out some local rides!

Thanks,
Carolyn

Awesome that you got it running.

Alright! Hope you come out for a ride some time!!

Welcome to Austin. Just in time for the heat.

Glad to hear everything is running fine. If you have problems in the future we have a truck and a bike trailer.