Modern Vespa

how do you adjust the rear break on S150? I just changed my rear tire and still have some shoe left so i think i just need to adjust it.

On the left side of the rear wheel you will see the brake actuation lever and two nuts where the threaded end of the cable goes through the lever. The nut on the side toward the front of the scooter is a lock nut, and the one toward the rear (the odd-shaped one) is the adjuster. Using two 10mm open-end wrenches, hold the adjuster nut while you loosen the lock nut and back it off a few turns. Then tighten the adjuster nut until the lever at the handlebars feels right, then re-tighten the lock nut. If you went too far, you'll hear the brake shoes rubbing when you spin the rear wheel.

That's all there is to it!

If you get it too tight, the rear hub will also be hot enough to burn your fingertips after riding for a few moments.

And we know this how?

thanks for the info, i am learning lots on this site.....Im trying to do some of the basic things on my own. I have 6500 miles on my scoot and I think I have room for adjustment before I actually need to replace the shoes. I average about 125 miles a week so it wont be long, any suggestions on where to get break shoes and how to change them would help.

You're probably a long ways away from needing new shoes (I've got almost 11,000 miles on my LX and mine still have plenty of lining left), but you can get new ones either from a local dealer or a number of net-friendly parts suppliers, such as Motorsport Scooters, who happen to sponsor this site and have a convenient ad at the bottom of this page.

Changing the shoes is pretty simple once you've got the wheel off (which you've apparently done already). Just fold the two shoes toward each other (toward you as you face the assembly) to loosen the tension on the springs, and everything will pull right off. Put a little bit of grease on the cam that operates the brake and reassemble by putting on the springs first, folding enough to ease the tension on the springs a bit, and work them back on over the pivot pin and cam. You may have to do a little cussin' and pryin', as the springs are quite stiff, but it's pretty straightforward and obvious how to do it.