Modern Vespa

Hi All,

I installed an Audicator on my LX-150 today and thought I'd share the experience with you.

Here is the Audicator in the package:



First I removed the Piaggio badge as shown here:





Then I removed the horn cover screw with a Philips screwdriver:



Then I slid up and removed the horn cover:





Next. I removed the mirrors. You will need a 17mm wrench for this:







Be careful not to lose the washers from the mirror stalks. I used a magnet to lift them out.



Then I took out the front headset screw. This is the lower screw. The upper one is for headlight adjustment.



After that, the rear screws:



Don't get the screws mixed up. The rear ones are blunt-ended, front pointed, and the horn cover screw has a built on washer.



Following a tip from Copper Dolphin in LX150 Turn signal Euro Mod + buzzers. I made a tool to release the tabs inside the headset by the brake levers. He used an offset screwdriver, but since I didn't have one, I ground an old allen wrench to release them.





Here is the opened-up headset:



I located this unused connector. The pink wire is connected to the left turn signal and the blue/white striped one is connected to the right turn signal:



I put this bracket on the back of the Audicator:



Here is the position where I snapped the bracket over the handlebars:



And here it is snapped on:



I rotated it up and out of the way. Here the speaker faces up and toward the rider:



Here is another shot from further back:



I made these jumpers using 18 gauge wire and the female bullet connectors furnished:



I pushed these jumpers into the connector located earlier. I couldn't match color, so I put the black jumper into the blue/white lead and the red jumper into the pink:



Next, I crimped the male bullet connectors onto the blue and yellow Audicator wires and plugged them into the appropriate female bullets. The blue goes to the left (pink with red jumper) and the yellow goes to the right (blue/white with black jumper):





Here, I located the brake light wire I was going to connect to. I found that the right one had a little more slack and decided to use that one. Be sure to cut the wire with the stripe, not the solid white one. The solid one is hot and the striped one is switched by the brake lever switch.



After cutting the wire I stripped and twisted the wires back together and crimped a female bullet connector onto them.



I messed up the crimp-on male bullet connector that I used on the red Audicator wire and had to cut off the insulation to open it back up and crimp it on. No problem, though, since everything will be taped up. Then I plugged the red wire into the brake light connector.



The ground wire needed to be extended to get down inside the legshield so I added a piece of wire to it and pushed it down beside the speedometer cable:





I connected the other end to the horn mount screw.



The reason you don't see the horn is I had previously installed a Stebel Magnum:



I went back and taped all the connections and zip-tied the wires in place:







Something else you might want to do while you have the headset open is install a headlight modulator. Here's my Kisan (Also installed previously. It's plug & play, super easy install):



All that's left now is to reverse the disassembly procedure to put everything back together. When starting the screws back into the plastic it is a good idea to turn them backwards until you feel them "click." Then you can run them back into the original threads.

Another trick from Copper Dolphin was to use an allen wrench to replace the mirror washers:





Well, that's pretty much it. I hope some of you find my lengthy post useful.

Wow!! Thoroughly fantastic description of the intstallation. My guess is it took you the better part of a day to do this and take all the photos and post them here. Thanks for your time.

Can you review of the audicator?
Thx.
Miguel

I like this step by step stuff. I think I can do this?
Where can you buy one of these things?

ps, I love your nails

I got mine directly from Audicator:

In the USA:

http://www.aerostich.com/turn-signal-reminder.html

Elsewhere:

http://audicator.com/

edited 910/1/12 to change US URL
Aerostich doesn't use the term "Audicator" but Silver Streak assures us it is the genuine article.
Audicator direct from the UK maker

I'll try to do a review in a few days after I have used it a while, but just in testing it in my workshop I think I'll really like it.

Great write-up, Danny.

I love mine... it has probably saved my skin more than once, and it's a helluva lot less annoying than than those Radio Shack beepers that make you sound like a garbage truck!

Thanks, Dave. Actually my decision to buy one was on your and DougL's recommendation in Recommendations please?. I had the RadShack beeper and it was really getting annoying. (took it out before taking pics) I really think I'm going to like the features of the Audicator, like not beeping until after 10 flashes, not beeping at all while the brakes are on, being able to reset it by applying the brakes, and the increasing volume when it does start beeping.

Nice write up. That may give me an extra push to get one. I love the features of the audicator, price not so much.

Looking forward for your on road review.

Danny, that's an excellent write up - when you have time would consider copying and pasting the original into a Wiki article?

I was going to suggest the same thing, that was an awesome post Danny, great work.

Outstanding!

Does anyone know if the install on a GT200 would be the same as this one?

Done!

Good article and photography. One tip I learned from an old and wise mechanic...When working with crimp-on connectors, if you make the stripped area of wire that you are about to crimp twice as long, then fold the stripped area of the wire back in half against itself, then roll it before crimping you'll have a more reliable connection. If there is some tension or vibration on the crimped connector, the wire will have less tendency to pull out as you'll have twice as much bare wire pinched at the crimp.

Okay I've fixed a few broken links and added it to the navigation page in accessories...

Well done

Doug

Wonderful post Danny! Just wonderful. I may even be able to do this myself!

really sweet, that is something lots of people ask about, i will be sure to inform my dealer about the post.

I would say it took me a total of 3-4 hours. I think someone could do it in 1 to 1.5 hours knowing which wires to use and not taking pictures. While trying to figure out which brake wire to cut I blew a 7.5 amp fuse and had to hunt for one. I had one in the toolbox of my pickup truck, which was weird, because neither my pickup nor my car use ATC fuses. So, that slowed me down a bit. Then there was the bad crimp, which took a few minutes to fix. All in all, a pretty easy job.

I believe this is the first time I've seen a post being rated as this. I agree with all the others, thank you for the wonderful job in providing excellent quality documentation of the process!

Thanks. I have learned so much from the folks here. I thought I should take a little extra time and document my work in an effort to maybe make it easier for someone else to do the same job.

Payback can be a good thing.

Great job Danny. It looks easy enought for me to try.

PS It's good seeing a wedding band for a change.

Paul

Very good step by step, this will help alot of people do this for their scoot, Highly recommended. !!!

But I do have a question for you, on your left side handlebar cover, there is a round brass looking protrusion sticking out of the plastic, it looks like a peep hole kind of thing. But it also looks like the hole for it was made at the factory. What is that thing????

Excellent post! It looks like the light sensor for a headlight modulator.

Thanks, Paul. Happily married for 40 years.

Correct! One of the last pics shows the Kisan modulator with the sensor wire going off to the right. I didn't like the idea of poking it up through a mirror grommet, so I went ahead and drilled a hole in the headset cover. Works great.

Great job Danny! I signed in just to give you a "thumbs up."

Thanks Danny,

Today I put a Audicator and a Modulator on my 150 Lx using your instructions. All went well and your Pics and instructions made the job fast and easy.


Brian

Great job!

Where did you get that magnetic Italian target decal on the front of your Vespa?

I'm pleased to be of assistance.

The sticker set was from eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320271171793

I ordered 2 of the 4" stickers, but when I received the order (shipped from Greece) there were 2 that are 4", 2 that are 1 1/2", and 4 that measure about 7/8". They cost me £6.60 GBP including shipping, which I think translated to about $10US.

For the magnetic backing:

http://www.magnetking.com/index.html#regularmagnet

$7.00 for a 12 x 24 x .030 sheet of white. A little more for colors. When I got mine last April it was $6.00, so it has gone up a little. It cost me $8.23 for UPS shipping for a total of $14.23, just to give you an idea. I haven't even used half the sheet yet, so if you're careful, it will go a long way.

Great detailed write up!

Does the Audicator mute when pulling the brake lever with this wiring?

Yes. Either brake lever will silence and reset the counter on the Audicator. It will only start beeping when the signal has flashed 10 times without interruption from the brake.
Also, the beeping starts out rather low in volume and increases until the brake is applied or the signal is canceled.
There is also a small beep-boop when you first turn on the signal, which is another feature I like. I don't have to look down at the instruments to make sure the signal is on.
I really love this thing.

Thanks for the answer.
I will try if I can get my generic beeper to mute connecting it to the brake light wire.

How did you know the wire color - codes?
I am trying to install a alarm system but need to know the color codes. The online factory manuel's wiring diagram is not clear enough for me to see.
Can u help me out?
From some projects, and your info, I have the following:
purple wire = Hi
brown wire = Lo
black wire = ground
pink. = left turn
blue/white = right turn

Wow - I love these step-by-step guides with photos you keep posting. Fantastic!

DannyH...thank you for the excellent and informative post. Your attention to detail is amazing. 8)

I have to do this mod on my gals' GT200...when I ride behind her, she is constantly forgeting to cancel her turnsignals. My Sportster' horn gets a lot of use when we go riding

Is the same step by step possible on a GT200 ?
I'd love to have one of these but am such a 'no good' at electrics
It is not sold in Japan (I'll have to order it online from the UK) probably because all the Japanese scooters/bikes already make turning sounds

Great photo sequence Daniel!!

Really pleased to hear that you find our product of value, it was the result of a fair bit of development and we like to think it is a serious potential lifesaver.

I find it hard to believe that people still cobble together annoying buzzer systems that are on all the time to save a very small amount of money when a programmable device like ours is so simple to fit and personalize.

I'm in the process of amending the Audicator.com website so you folks over the pond can order direct from us if you want to.

Hope to see some orders from people buying as Christmas gifts for their friends and relatives.

Have a nice day

Paul James
Audicator Marketing Director

Question: Would this be similar install steps for the LXV 150?
Asking for a friend of mine who has one.

Keith,
Marietta, GA

Generally speaking, it will be the same process as the LX150. Of course there may be some slight wiring differences (consult your electrical schematic) and the LXV150 doesn't have the same type of headset so that part will be different.

-Craig