Modern Vespa

Hi all - what an incredible, massive, and civil forum this is! Just found it yesterday and have been lurking all over the place.

I really must ask about the Piaggio Fly 150 - which is my first scooter, which I've had for 3 summers now.

I have had SO many problems with it, largely with flooding, with it being finnicky (sp?) on chillier mornings (ie where it dies out far too easily), and with other glitchy attitude problems.

I would hate to think that this is normal for a Fly, because there would be many aggravated scooterers out there!! But really, has there been a history of this bike having troubles in its earlier years? (I'm only at 2800 km).

Sigh. I think I want to trade it for something else already... but don't know if I should give up on it yet! Plus, I am SO not handy with tools and instructions...

Can anyone shed some light? Please??

Is the evap system still connected? If it is, remove it or get it removed ASAP!
Lots of info here if you do a search.

At least part of the problem could be the idle speed.

This post has easy-to-follow instructions on how to adjust it: Fly 150 wants to die when idle

Heh - ya, tweaking the idle speed is the *one* thing that I know how to do by myself! I do have it turned up some, maybe a bit too much(?) at this point, so that it won't splutter out... How much is too much though?

Holy cow - you're not kidding! Hmm, I will check into that right away. Thanks a bunch for the tip.

Before I can get my bike to the shop, though, any recommendations? It's basically dead in my garage in a puddle of gas... how sad

Many say that the idle speed is correctly set when the rear tire just barely spins (or doesn't spin at all) when the scooter is on the center stand. Personally, I have my LX150 (same as the Fly underneath the skin) set where it idles best, and my rear tire spins a bit. Go figure.

That said, it sounds like there's something up with the way your carburetor is adjusted/set. Your local preferred Piaggio service center or independent mechanic should be able to get it dialed in to where the engine runs like a top.

Don't give up on it yet!

I got my 2008 Fly 150 a year ago excactly. I have 2000 miles on it.
The only problem I had was a clogged idle jet at about 500 miles.
It would not start and if it would it would die at a light.

If you can list your problems and a little detail maybe the mambers here can help you.
I read this forum every day and there are lots of friendly people who can help you out.

Some of the things I do for my scoot is put it on the trickle charger every weekend to charge up the battery.
When my fuel light comes on I only put in 1.25 gallons.
The tank can overflow and cause problems.
When starting give it just a little twist to start.
I use the highest octane fuel in the US.
Park it inside my garage.

Woooh.... That sounds like a little more than an adjustment issue as I had previously suspected. Clearly something is very wrong. Gas shouldn't be on the floor.

Do you have any gas-powered appliances in your garage like a hot water heater or clothes washer/dryer? If so, well...

Nope, don't worry! Nothing's in there but 'typical' garage-type junk! Thanks though.

Ya, I thought it was a bit much to have gas spurting out!
Ugh - I need to bug the hubbie for another ride to work tomorrow - again. This happens FAR too often... and I keep bringing it in to the shop to be looked at... and it's fine for awhile again, and then acts up again!!

Stinking Fly. Doesn't respond to swearing either.

Ya, I'll have to try to be more specific. Yep, Check for all those things except high octane fuel.

But really, would a Vespa or a Honda (for example) be this picky...? I'm just wondering.

Been there done that. Auto-stopcock failure! Had a manual stopcock put on. Funny thing though, after I switched over to non ethanol gasoline the problem went away. The auto-stopcock works again but I still use the manual stopcock for overnight.

heh heh!! "Auto-stopcock" !!
Oh wait, you're not British... Which is to say that I love British people very much in general, but they do say amusing things, yarp?
So, erm, what is this Auto-stopcock of which you speak...?

Update - So now I just got back from seeing if I could start my lovely fly again. No, it would not.
So I checked the charge on it, because very often it is too low. It indeed was too low again, which is weird because I took it out for a nice long ride on Monday, and rode it to work fine today, but now it's dead again!

Stinking effing Fly.

Recommend:
New battery.
Remove EVAP system.
Adjust the valve clearances (I bet they are too tight).

Barring anything out of the ordinary, that should sort it.

I wonder if the puddle of gas might also be related to a dirt/fouled air filter. If the scooter has been laid on it's side, or over-filled, gas can seep into the air filter. I'd suggest removing the air filter, cleaning it, re-oiling it (which is easy with air filter oil spray) and see if that makes a difference. If you haven't done it in a while (>1 year) then it is probably due to be cleaned anyway.

Thanks a ton, everyone, for your good ideas.

You've had some very good suggestions here and I have nothing to add in that regard, because I'm still learning myself....however, I can say don't give up on your Fly! It's a wonderful bike and a joy to ride. I'm about 900 miles in on my '08 Fly 150 and the only problem I've had is a dead gas gauge (bad Fuel Sending Unit replaced under warranty by the dealer). Follow the suggestions posted by our resident experts here and your Fly will be humming along in no time!

Actually, I did manage to get the bike going so swung by my friendly neighbourhood shop.

It was a bit flooded, but everything else mainly ok. Guy told me that scooters can be very touchy with quick changes in temperature, i.e. sitting all day in a nice cool parking garage and then going out into a very hot summer day to scoot around.

Hm! I didn't realize! I thought it was just my bike, but sounds like it's not... Alrighty then.