Modern Vespa

I'm thinking of picking up a set of front crash bars for my GTs from the ALLSTYLES website in the UK. I was curious if anyone here has installed them and if so, do you have any pictures to post? I currently have a front rack and rear bars installed as well and think it would make an excellent addition to my Modern GTS.

If you have em, were they a pain in the ass to install them?

And finally, did they fit with the front rack on?

http://www.allstyles-lambretta-vespa.com/acatalog/ET4_ACCESSORIES.html

if you've dropped your bike, have they messed up the body? I noticed in their install section they show them bolted to the frame...

Crash bars have to be bolted to the frame in some fashion, otherwise they won't have enough strength to actually work in a crash.

I know Snapshot05 here has some front crash bars and a front rack on his GTS. They're actually meant for an old P-series, but they're pretty much the same thing, in the same place, with slightly different styling. I've considered the bars you're looking at, but I can't bring myself to drill into the frame to attach things just yet.

Is there a reason you don't want to use the Vespa/Piaggio front crash bars?

Vespa front crash bars? I didn't know they made any for the front end? Which are they? More than just the front guard right? I like the way these site on the front allowing for room to bolt aux lighting if I chose to..

Crash bars have to be bolted to the frame in some fashion, otherwise they won't have enough strength to actually work in a crash.

I mean I know they have to be bolted on I was just referring to the end result of a crash and whether or not they were ripped out of the frame in the front after drilling them in. Curiousity more than anything. wanting to hear about people's experience putting these on as my old Primavera had front crash guards on them and were quite sturdy and sporty looking to boot.

They do make some Vespa legshield crash bars for the GT series, and they pretty much look just like the ones for the LX series, protecting the edges of the legshield. Only difference is in the size how they're mounted. The GT ones don't require drilling into the horncover like the LX ones do, but they do require completely removing the Piaggio badge (unless you can find a way to glue it back on top of the mounting bracket).

I know SIP carries them, but I don't know if they're the original Vespa-branded ones you should be able to get at any dealer, or an aftermarket accessory. They weren't availible here in the US for very long at all, unfortunately. Only certain front racks will work with those bars... nothing that has the hooks to hang on top of the legshield, only the kind that need a bolt through the Piaggio badge area.

With mine you have to remove the glovebox & floor, drill some holes and youve got a sturdy set of front crash bars, they arent as strong as the old Vespa front crash bars, but I trust them. But if your gonna do that, Id suggest installing a Stebel air horn at the same time.

I have the stock front rack that came with the scoot and the bars are from Motorsports.

Good Luck.

Manny

Nice looking Bike Snapshot! Hmm, to drill or not...Decisions decisions, I may have to as the pain in the butt to do it is outweighed by the additional protection and the looks!

I can't however tell if the others from Allstyles will fit with the Vespa OEM front rack installed.. that would be the kicker on theirs..

My old Vespa crash bars saved my bike on more than one occasion. I'd love to have that same confidence again..

No matter which you get, they will only be as strong as the weakest part of the assembly. Personally, I would stick with the Vespa parts but if you do go with a different brand, be sure it is properly secured to the frame and that the pieces used to secure it are strong enough to take the full weight of the scooter in a fall. Otherwise, they are just nice decorations.

Those frontbars are really good! First time I have seen real fronts on a GTS - Most excellent Dude!

I think a load spreading metal strip inside of glovebox area could help if a nasty happened. The area on the floorwell can get bent also but it helps if slightly proud of body itself.

I always run with these on the PX and will consider these on the GTS as they are the single one thing I like more than anything else.

Good job there, thats a really decent retro Mod look on a Modern. Is that a contradiction in terms? Never mind- well done!

Great point. (As an aside the front fender guard is precisely your description " they are just nice". Maybe even dangerous!)

I'd be interested in hearing from GTS owners; What is the best mounting for real protection?

I have been to SIP's website and can't find a darn thing Can anyone help me with a link on the front GTS Vespa bars, because I happen to like them
Thanks.

In the interest of continuing to modify behavior, what made this post earn a thumbs down?

I disagree about the front fender guard. When I bailed off my scooter in December, the front fender took a good whack when it hit the concrete road. No damage at all to the fender but a nice nick and scratch on the chrome.

Can't for the life of me figure out why any of these posts would merit a thumbs down though!

Interesting about the fender guard....was it attached simply to the plastic fender as in the GTS? I've seen fender chrome that had additional support, but mine didn't. It also came loose and damn near ended up falling off. It seems others have reported the same problem, and also reported near accidents.

Always something more to learn! (thanks!)

Yep ... they are attached the same way on the LX. In a high speed situation, I am sure it wouldn't be of much use but in a low speed accident, it did as it was intended. My wheel was turned to the left as I went into the turn and I bailed off to the left. The scooter also fell to the left and the damage to the chrome was right on the front left corner of the fender where it took the impact. It protected my fender and that's all one could ask of it.

Found one reference.... Damn sure looks good!

Well, I've never had a problem with mine. I just went and checked it to see how well it was on and if it needed to be tightened ... but seems fine to me!

One thing I will say about the installation. The guys at the paint shop had a hell of a time getting it on because they all have huge hands ... so I put it on. I put it on when I first got it, so it was no big deal to re-install.

Maybe the ones Jess referred to were put on by ham handed guys who couldn't get their big mitts in there to fit it properly? And maybe they didn't check it periodically to be sure it didn't need tightening?

never had an issue with my front fender bars. Even after going down at 45 mph, the fender bars saved my fender. Knock on wood I dont know of anyone whos fender bars have come loose, scary as funk that would be. But then those roads in SF could prob jar ones filling loose.

Louis, I hooked you up with a thumbs up.

Anyone????

I have one of those front fender thingies with the badge on it. Although I garage my scoot, the front fender thingy is risting badly - my other protective bars aren't...

So I wouldn't recommend it.

Thanks, it seems my karma will haunt me a while.

After reading some old threads I discovered that mine was loose and within a few miles would have been a problem. Thanks to MV I checked the attachment. I really liked the look, but cadet that I can be, I just eliminated the potential problem.

"Saint behind the glass
Watches me while I sleep"

i use threadlock on all/any bolt on accessories i add to my scooter!!