Modern Vespa

I am looking for pictures or video of the GT windscreen install. I'm not sure in which order the two conical inserts should be placed; from the diagram it looks as though the smaller conical installs first.

Also, if anyone has a video of the install I would like to see it before I begin. I have used the search and also looked through the Wiki, but no luck. Perhaps I am using the wrong syntax to search for the thread, so if anyone has a link it would be greatly appreciated!

I installed mine last winter, and I remember finding a couple of good threads describing the process....I'll see if I can find them.

I can't find exactly what I'm looking for. At one time, Windbreaker posted the Italian instructions translated to English. Which one are you installing?

Instructions for Mounting The Flyscreen on Vespa GT and GTS

here's Faco hardware.

Vespa

oops! Just realized two cones would be Vespa/Piaggio, so...

This is very helpful! Thanks so much!

Yes, it is the Vespa tall windscreen. Thank you so much for the photo of the hardware!

Oh. I see from your photo and Stanny's thread I have the two conical inserts in the wrong order. I'll get those changed this morning!

I have everything in the right order, but now another question. The bolt at the end, when I hand tighten, it only screws in half way. Do I need to go ahead and screw the bolt in all the way or do I leave it as is?

Re Hex bolts: Nope, when I did the install, I wrench tightened those babies, otherwise the vibration tends to loosen 'em. They don't screw in all the way, but they need to be pretty tight.

I had pics of the process, but they were lost when my laptop's hard drive died after New Years'.

What you need to do is hand tighten, then put on the windscreen, bolted loosely, making sure it's level around the light, THEN you tighten the bracket bolts before you finally tighten the windscreen bolts with a hex wrench (the IKEA ones fit in there perfectly)

Okay, I'll tighten the hex bolts all the way down before install. I was not sure if they grabbed on to something when they were installed or if I needed to tighten them completely before the install.

Thank you so much for the help! I'm sorry you lost pictures of your process. It's a lot of work getting the process photographed and I would love to see the process step-by-step.

No, don't tighten the hex bolts down until the inserts are all the way in the holes. Then you tighten them down. If you do it the other way, they won't go in the holes all the way.

Okay, I'm trying to visualize this process. How will I access the bolts once they are inserted inside the handle bars?

I wanted to try this today, but with the scoot outside and dodging showers I never got a chance. Tomorrow is another day.

I appreciate all the help you guys have offered!

No need to OVERtighten the large hex nuts...as others have said, just make sure they are all the way into the holes.

THEN, make them just "medium" tight so the brackets feel to be in there pretty solid (and don't pull out easily). You can always tighten the nuts more later if you need to, but overtightening them may just mash/deform/crack that nylon "wedge" bushing, and you can really crank that those nuts down with the leverage a wrench gives you -- avoid that. Err on the side of not tight enough rather than TOO tight.

So it's a good general rule not to tighten anything too much, just enough.

For example, when I tighten a radiator hose clamp down, I tighten it just enough to stop the hose from leaking, a hair more, but not any further, because if the hose leaks I can always tighten it even more (I have "headroom" to do that). Tightening it as tight as you can right up front might cut/damage the hose and there's no need for that...especially when there are no torque-wrench specs for radiator hose clamps -- or the 2 large windshield hex nuts -- because items like these are tightened by "feel" (which comes only from experience).

So don't be a "gorilla" mechanic and overtighten anything!

Good luck...

P.S. After you install it take the wrench with you next time you take the scooter out. Keep an eye on the tightness of the windsheld nuts (as you drive along vibrations may or may not loosen things) and if you need to tighten it a bit more, you'll have the wrench with you to do so. I carried my wrench a day or two until I was sure the 2 nuts were properly tightened...didn't NEED the wrench but had it with me temporarily just in case.

When you tighten the hex nuts, the bolt on the end of the insert pushes and compresses the black nylon piece that sits in between. You don't need any access to them after they have been tightened. When you loosen the hex nut to remove the windshield, just turn the hex nut the other way and it will back off the nut that's on the other end of the insert and the black nylon insert will un-compress and allow the inserts to come out. It's easy once you've done it one time. As Cloudcroft said, you don't have to tighten down that hard........Just enough so it doesn't come out of the holes.

Oh, I'm not talking about the hex nuts, I'm asking if the hex bolt is screwed all the way into the bracket before I insert it into the handlebars. Thanks!

If you mean the two SMALL hex bolts the are at the end of the brackets and go into the mounting hole first (and then bottom-out in the hole), YES, you tighten them as far as they will go (but just snugly) onto the bracket ends before inserting the brackets into the hole. It's the outside large nuts that you need to "adjust" tightness-wise.

If you want, you can put some blue Loctite on their threads before you screw them. Not necessary, but since they will be out of sight and inaccessible, you could use Loctite (BLUE, not RED) just as a "backup."

Thank you for the visualization. I think I will be able to do this installation!

Okay, I believe I am on the same page now. Yes, I was talking about the two small hex bolts. I will be getting my Blue Loctite out of the toolbox! Thanks!

You're welcome.

Just a dab of Loctite on the small hex bolt threads will do ya!

Happy wrenching (literally)...

Thank you for the flowers, but it was actually my wife Salima Draghetta who posted (and translated!) the instructions.

The translation and edits were very helpful! Thanks to Salima for getting those posted.

Well, I put off mounting my new tall windscreen until the 90/100 degree afternoons became a thing of the past. This week has been 80s and finally lows in the 50s so it's time.

I have another question before removing the original windscreen and replacing it with the tall windscreen. Do I remove the screen from the brackets before I remove it from the scooter or can I leave the screen attached to the brackets? Also, does this apply the same for mounting the tall windscreen?

I'd remove the windscreen from the brackets first. It's possible to crack the screen if you happen to slip and one of the brackets is on and one is off. Put all your little bits into a zip-lock baggie that you can then tape to the windscreen so you have all the stuff you need for the next summer season.

I simply remove the whole affair as one piece. None of the screens I have/had are fragile enough to break taking them off as a single unit. I just wrap in a plastic garbage bag and hang from the rafters in the garage complete. I've done it a dozen times so far. This way I'm also never confused about which piece goes where and how.

Welcome to MV, and multiple opinions!

LOL...I expect multiple opinions. The opinions allow me to make an informed decision so it's all good.

SUCCESS!!! Many thanks to those who offered help and/or advice on this thread. After getting my brackets put together over the summer, I waited until we were past the 90/100 degree weather of summer. The temps finally broke this past week and so it was time to remove the short windscreen and get the new tall windscreen in place. I think the hardest part to the whole procedure was getting the rubber grommets mounted onto the windscreen, but I did finally get them worked through.

This morning I went out, removed the short windscreen, then mounted the tall windscreen. Easy as that, but it's a confidence booster when you do things on your own regardless of degree of difficulty. I did leave the screen in place during both procedures, with no problem. My biggest concern was being able to mount the windscreen after the brackets were in place because of the wind blowing through today.