Modern Vespa

For the third time my petrol has been stolen from my beloved LX125! I'm getting so fed up of having to have the fuel tap replaced, that I've decided to sell her and trade it in for another model where the fuel line is not so easily accessible. Any suggestions on what I should get?

Honda SH125? Maybe a new LX125ie? At least they have a fuel pump and an injector. Scootech in Roman Rd have a load of the new efi ones, you'd have to pull the bucket and see.

If you have a full licence, a GTS might be a good bet.

Ricky, I'd be pretty damn pissed off too if I were you. I'm sorry to hear that you're going through that again.

Sorry to hear that Ricky! Can't believe someone would be willing to cause so much damage for a gallon of gas! Good luck finding a new scoot. Perhaps before you sell the LX you can install a car battery in the pet carrier and electrify the fuel line

WTF?? Messing with someone's scooter in order to nick what, a gallon of fuel? That's one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard! That's like trying to get milk from a mouse to pour on your Corn Flakes...

Well, given the price of petrol in the UK, it's not a small economic loss either.
Cost of petrol
Cost of replacing fuel line or plug..

Man, and thought NY was dangerous.
You have way more thieves and rowdies in London judging by the posts, that like to mess with scoots!

Man, sorry to hear. ON a serious note, whichever scooter you get, install a Scorpio alarm (or equivalant) so if anyone touches your scooter, they'll have to go deaf while trying to steal gas. I bought my scorpio off ebay for $200 - was easy to install and has shake and proximity sensors, which really give me peace of mind.

The perps who nick the petrol are usually under-age pikeys who would not be allowed to buy petrol even if they had any money. It'll be poured straight into some other nicked scooter.

Rickeydean - consider mounting some metal 'armour' under the scoot to make the theft much more problematic.

My mechanic told me that the fuel line on the GTS 250 is under the seat,
So I imagine that the GTS 125 can't be much different.

Maybe someone can confirm this for you.

Wow, selling petrol to pikeys is prohibited in the UK? You blokes must really have it out for them...

thats bizarre, sorry to hear man

I always wondered how Pikey was spelled...

Are you disrespecting my family?
Are you saying my mom's a Pikey?

Nobody under the age of 16 may buy petrol in the UK. The fact that these perps were probably pikeys is irrelevant to that.

So, how about a fake fuel line hooked up to a 2l bottle of petrol/sugar mix?

Now that's good thinking!

You might try something to thwart the fuel theft. You might be able to wrap the fuel system kevlar tape, and then wrap it with duct tape. It will be a miserable time trying to cut it.

Can you get video of the perpetrators in the act?

they don't usually cut the line, they rip it out at the fuel tap. unfortunately, there's not much that can be done to prevent that. and once your scooter becomes a known target, they'll usually be back. armouring the scooter might simply inspire them to vandalize it when they find they can't get to the fuel. though i do think the petrol/sugar idea is a stroke of genius.

the OP has already had a couple of suggestions for models that are more difficult to nick fuel from - it's never been a problem in my GT200 either (though I've probably just jinxed myself). i think what you need to do now is spend a happy afternoon going to scooter dealerships, explaining the problem, and having a look at some different models.

Brilliant! Twisted, evil and absolutely brilliant ... do it Ricky!!!

Sweet revenge!

LOL that's punny! I like the electrified scoot idea too, the thieves would surely make a shocking discovery. I've been thinking of doing the same to my scoot as an anti-theft mechanism.

As already noted
Pissed off thief = kicked in scoot.

Sugar will make the motor run better...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MythBusters_%282004_season%29#Car_Capers

How much is Petrol in the UK that it gets stolen?

It is kids that steal it, kids who would not be allowed to buy petrol in the UK because of their age. It has almost nothing to do with cost.

The average price in my area is £1.06/L (about $6.60/gallon). As Jim has noted, however, petrol thieves are usually not taking it because it's expensive, but because they are too young to buy it legally.

edit: great minds think alike. i see Wonder has got there 0.2 seconds before me

http://www.petrolprices.com/

So up to GBP1.17 per litre. That's USD7.26 per US gallon

That's so funny, I tried to steal some gas/Petrol when I was a kid and swallowed it. I was very sick for days and I was vomiting for hours, when my dad found out he gave me a spanking and some milk.

Well she's all fixed now! AGAIN! I think I'll chain a rottweiler to it and not feed him for a couple of days. Although I'm sure the RSPCA and/or PETA would have something to say about that.

I like JimC's idea. You know that they say..."Necessity is the mother of invention." Perhaps this is my chance to make millions creating a fuel line lock. I'm sure it will sell like hotcakes in the UK.

good luck with your latest fix.... i hope the local yoof have picked another target and moved on. in the meantime, i'm looking forward to seeing your london version of the trunk monkey - maybe the 'fuel tap ferret'? i'm envisioning something tiny and vicious that will curl up under the lower panels and take off the arm of anybody that attempts to mess with the fuel tap.

Good news Ricky, glad you're back on the road.

Best ever occurs when they steal 2stroke gas to use for their 4stroke scoots

I saw this and then googled "sugar in gas tank" and found this...

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1587/does-putting-sugar-in-the-gas-tank-wreck-a-cars-engine

so which is it???