Modern Vespa

After Installing a new belt on My Vespa GT200, all seemed well, until I got about three miles from home.(this post starts out like a letter to penthouse )

While sitting at a red light I noticed these noises coming from the transmission area. The first is a kind of high speed high pitched rattle or vibration. The second is a louder than normal clunky rattle sound.

I followed the install instructions to a T, torque values etc. But something is amiss.

I posted a video on YouTube so you can listen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKa4BG2hG8c

It was late when I finished last night so I didn't crack it open again. I hope to look at it again this evening, but thought I'd ask for some input. Maybe someone can give me an idea of what to look for.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.[/b]

I just recently completed my belt change, and my scooter also is a little louder than it was before. I posted the same kind of post afterwards too =-) The kind readers of this board advised me that it was pretty normal and would eventually quite down, something about the rollers wearing in and the belt settling in. On the plus side my scooter feels a ton more zippy, and it has quieted down a bit over the last week!

Hope this helps provide some reassurance. If you aren't noticing any performance issues I wouldn't worry too much about it!

jm

While you were in there, did you clean the clutch with brake cleaner? It sounds like it may be slipping. You can still squirt cleaner in there like I mentioned in another thread. Good luck!

I cleaned the surfaces of the pulleys, and blasted the dust out of the clutch assembly with compressed air.

I'll give it a shot of brake cleaner while I'm at home for lunch.

Rarely, a sound like this can occur when the outer clutch pulley half starts to move independently of the rest of the clutch. When you have it apart again, see that the clutch pulley is fixed to the rest of the clutch.

Hey Drew,

Are you saying that the outer pulley may have become separated from the rest? If this was the case would it be repairable or are we talking new clutch?

Everything was running perfectly before I changed the belt. The usual belt slippage/grinding we know and love but nothing else.

OK. So I went home for a few during my lunch break.

I sprayed some brake cleaner into the clutch, and the higher pitched noise, heard in the video, seems to have stopped.

I was noticing what felt like a slight slipping that seemed to be a clutch slip more than a belt slip. I guess. This could have come from the brake cleaner not being fully evaporated I suppose.

The clunk rattle sound is still present.

I think I'm good to go.

I am still curious about what drew was talking about: If it's not fixed to the rest, is it repairable or are we talking 'new clutch"?

Drew?

Cheers

I would try riding it a few days making sure to make your starts a bit more "jackrabbit" style than normal.

This will help get the clutch pads to regain grip on the clutch bell inner surface, but it's something of a crapshoot.

For all my efforts, mine kept on slipping and slipping. Got a new clutch, made sure not make any sissy starts from day one, erring more on the aggressive side, and it hasn't slipped yet. Good luck!

Well, I've been riding and the noises have all vanished, but I'm still getting a bit of a slipping feeling when I accelerate from a dead stop, or even more noticeable when I accelerate from a low speed to a higher one.

I want to clarify that the slipping is not the rough noisy rattling type of slip, but a silent, smooth feeling slip.

You mentioned replacing the clutch solved your problem. Were you having a slipping issue before you changed belts?

I'm hoping my clutch is OK because I wasn't having this issue before changing the belt. I just don't see what could be damaged with the clutch.

Thanks for all the input. Any more insight will be appreciated.