Modern Vespa

So my little Vespa came with a rear rack as part of its kit. I thought it's pretty cool that it has those springs that kept it folded up. That is, until I tried to use the rack.

What's up with that? It looks really cool and I LOVE the chrome, but I can't really think of a way to actually make use of it. I suppose if I have a small but relatively heavy box of items it might work well but that seem to be less useful than, say, a top box. And it cost USD 170 on eBay (more elsewhere)!

It was supposed to have a little black c-shaped clip that holds it in the up or down positions.

cable ties for everything! LOL

Get a piece of velcro to keep it down when you're using it.

... or this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Vespa-LX-GT-Luggage-Rack-Clamp_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ65Q3a12Q7c66Q3a2Q7c39Q3a1Q7c72Q3a1199Q7c293Q3a2Q7c294Q3a50QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem3ef3dda3e9QQitemZ270379361257QQptZOtherQ5fVehicleQ5fParts

Sorry, off topic, but I have to say... I think this is my favorite LX setup. What a beautiful looking bike.

The color of the body and the seat.
The stand.
The screen.
The rack.

This is my FAV.

Zip ties are your friend!!!!
Or U bolt.

You can also reverse the spring if you want to keep it down permanently.

I use a hose clamp and leave it down all the time. It looks great that way

to.

Paul

Thanks for all the replies, guys! My little Vespa is a used one so I guess the previous owner must have lost that clamp, or that it didn't come as standard here in NZ...

I like the velcro idea!

Thanks OnePrairiePiston, she's a real little beauty isn't she! Truth is, I didn't change anything. She's a stock "LXV" setup which, while based on the LX model, has a different dash, high/low-beam switch and indicator switch.

Here's how the dashboard look like. All that chrome got me really excited I also like the way they use "0" to represent empty and "4/4" to represent full gas tank.

Popped by the scooter shop today to ask about the rear rack and the C-clip thing; it appears that the LXV scoots doesn't have that clip as standard, but the GTS/GTV scoots does. The two racks are slightly different. While I can still purchase that C-clip to hold the rack in the "down" position, there's nowhere for the clip to catch on while it's in the "up" position. I decided against it as I didn't want to pay NZD 15 for a piece of plastic... I'll go for the velcro suggestion

I've also been warned about keeping the rack constantly in the "down" position as well. The shop said that the springs on the rack have been known to break on racks that are held constantly in the "down" position. For what it's worth.

That's a beauty. Post more pics!

I still think the LXV is the best looking 'modern' Vespa. You did well to find a used one, you don't see too many on the market. It's a keeper. 8)

Lovely scoot!

As far as the springs breaking, I honestly don't see that as a problem. Most people have it strapped either up or down all the time, even when the springs are fine. And for people who do have a case on it, it really doesn't matter.

You might consider a canvas case on there. They're generally a lot cheaper than the hard plastic ones, and pretty easy to remove. I've got one from SX Appeal (Motorsport Scooters), and I love it. Just zip tie the rack open, zip tie the bag to it, and I'm all ready to go. Prima (Scooterworks) also makes an extremely similar bag.

If you're gonna go the super simple route, just get yourself a pack of misc. bungee cords or a bungee net, and you can stick just about anything on that rack.

It's a real cutie-cupcake...love the handlebar treatment on the LXV 8)

*I'm gently nudging my dad towards an LXV - he wanted my S but I told him go get your own*

Thank you! yes she's a real head-turner. I have this thing for retro-looking small-frame scooters of any brand, and of course the LXVs are by faaaaaaaaaaaar the best-looking of them all (in my humble opinion). Pity they cost twice as much as the competition!

More pictures to follow

Thanks for that suggestion. I think a sports utility bag with bungee cords/net should do the trick!

You can never have too many Vespas I find the S quite attractive too.

I'm a bit of a 70s fan so the S won it for me in the showroom. I really like the LXV but what killed it (apart from EUR700 on top of the price) was the colours available - Siena and Portofino are nice enough but not for me really, if you could get that grey here in Europe I may just have spent the extra. I'm well happy with the S anyway 8)

True, I want more Vespas. At least one more

It took me a while but I've finally bought some velcro tape and it works like a charm.

Such a pretty scooter, glad the velcro worked out for you.

Nice scooter!
If you decide to 'upgrade' keep your eyes open for a salvage LX150 engine; swapping it into your LXV isn't too hard to do:
Converting LX50 to LX150 MISSION ACCOMPliSHED w/ PICS!!!!!


Harvey

I'd love to "upgrade" considering the LXV150 was never imported into New Zealand. That would have been my first choice of ride. I'm mechanically challenged however so will probably never attempt this myself... interesting thread however! Thanks for the link.

Rather than start a new thread, I guess this is a good place to put my report.

I installed a Faco rear rack on my LX 150 yesterday afternoon. It did not include a C-Clamp, and I didn't feel like zip-tying it down. So instead, I reversed the springs.

I'll try and post pictures later today, but it was relatively straightforward. The hardest part is getting the hinge-bar loose, because there were these clamped-on stoppers that kept the springs from sliding left-right. They weren't welded into place, but it was fairly difficult to get one loose enough to slide 3" to the side, and even harder getting it to slide back into place, especially because I was worried about it getting so loose that it would just fall off. I settled on using a pair of very narrow pliers (fishing-hook removal ones from my tacklebox) to widen the gap a little, then "walking" it sideways. It scratched the chrome on the hinge-bar, but not in any terrible way.

Once that was done, the bar popped out, and I was able to re-do the springs. You end up having to swap which sides the springs are on and rotate them around, but it's possible to make it so the springs are most "relaxed" in the rack-down position and tensioned appropriately in the rack-up position. There's enough tension in them in the rack-down position that the rack stays open even if you go over a bump with nothing sitting on it.

Mounted a milk crate on it for the time being, my wife has put the kiebash on any other bling. I need to figure out a good way to easily mount and dismount the crate, I'm thinking about using accessory straps from my backpacking gear. The bungie cord works okay, but is pretty hard to thread through the walls of the crate, especially under tension.

Err, just thought I'll add to the thread with a photo of the first ever product to have the privilege of being bungee-corded to my lil' ol'Vespa's rear rack

Just yesterday, I installed a small GIVI topcase to my rear carrier and decided to reverse the springs to keep the rack in the down position (more-or-less permanently) since that is what the topcase base fastens to. It was kind of a PIA to reverse the springs, but am glad I did. Now I won't have to worry about the springs fatiguing or eventually breaking. If I were to remove the topcase and not use it, I'd probably turn the springs around again, and just use velcro or whatever to keep the rack down when I wanted to use it to carry something.