Modern Vespa

So I'm driving on the freeway and I notice that my ride is a little wobbly all of a sudden. A short time later when I stopped I realized I now have some play in my handlebars that I don't believe was there before. My neighbor is a motorcycle mechanic who has helped me change tires and belts before, so I'm wondering if there is something specific that could be tightened to fix this problem, or is something going out that needs to be replaced? Anyone had this problem before? It's an mp3 400 with about 4500 miles on it. I'm not sure if it's still under warranty or not. I think I'm either close to having it a year or slightly over.

Thanks ahead of time for you help!

When my husband noticed some wobbling in his Burgman 650, it was because his front tire was really low. If I were you I would check that first. Just a thought......

doubt its the fornt tires, it probably is the bolt that holds the handle bars on the steering stem. You have to remove the covers in the middle of you handle bars to get at the cinch bolt. there is also a grooved area on the stem that the bolt goes by. Don't over tighten as it will crush the stem because the stem is hollow. If you are unsure of doing this take it to the dealer and it should only take them a few min to tighten and realign the handle bars for you. Just give them a call and see if they can do it if you drop by at a time thats good for them.

no, there is actually play in the handlebars, but I did a search after posting...like an idiot...lol....and found advice given to someone else with a similar problem. It seems easy enough to adjust. I'm just wondering what would cause it to suddenly become loose. I didn't torq the handle bars in any way. It appartently happened while riding.

quick question you said you have a 400 but under your avatar you have a 250 listed. did you have a 250 and then get a 400?

Yes, I forgot to change my Avatar...been too busy riding...lol

ah that looks better

here is a pic of what the handle bar bolt looks like

Thank you for the picture. If posted before, I missed it. That a 500, right? I feel like Brendan Frazier in "Blast from the Past" when he said, "Ah! Now I understand," in reference to watching (and understanding) a baseball game.

Can one drop a bolt of the appropriate diameter into the tube, then cinch it down as tight as they want?

"He must!"

If you overtighten, you can deform the tube.

"If you overtighten, you can deform the tube."

But if you have a big, fat bolt "of the appropriate diameter" stuffed inside the tube, it may not deform.

I know of one fixed by having a piece machined to go inside then tightening against it. The problem was created trailering with tie downs to the handle bars.

such a simple solution and I look right past that. doh. I would thing a long snug fitting bolt should do nicely to strengthen the whole tube length . Now to size and source, finigal and finagal, tweek and un tweek, bitch and scream till I get er just right. Thanks YaYa and volosong

Duh! Sorry, I misread Volosong's post.

The bolt diameter would have to be EXACTLY right or the tube will be deformed when tightened against the bolt This is why the mechanic had a piece machined. Not a big cost to determine the internal diameter of the tube and have a piece made with the same diameter minus a few thouandths of an inch in the outer dimension. Have it made with a shoulder that won't go inside the steering tube.

Wonder if anyone at Piaggio is paying attention to all their screw-ups that get noticed and solved on these boards. You know, hugger, air cleaner, tail lights, seat, steering tube, waterproofing switches, mirror extensions. Did I mention SEAT??

no not the dreaded SEAT, you mean it is not good. Maybe we all just have soft cheeks and need to get a hard ass and all will be good.

The seats are just fine when you get some leg-room with highway pegs.

and raise the front but a 13mm nut on the 3 bolts

In my case, only needed with a 150... tyre. Riding Jess's 500, with highway pegs fitted - it was murder with his Bill Mayer seat, but effing lovely with the stock seat and no extra lift at the front - and that's with the pegs in the centre hole, to avoid most scrapings...

what did you not like about the Bill Mayer seat?

Not too soft, too wide and hanging over. Need to spread the load across my wide butt.

My highway pegs help, a backrest helps but still could use better seat.

As for the original post, I've read other similar threads regarding handle bars getting loose. I have a theory about why this might happen to some folks after a while.

Since we're able to push our bikes around when they're parked, I think we can easily apply too much torque to the bars as we man-handle these things, while unseated, into or out of their parking spaces from a dead stop. This may not be much of an issue if you do it once in a while, but being creatures of habit this can be a very bad repetitive action on the long term.

Speaking for myself, I move my bike from it's parking spot, get my gear on and go in exactly the same way every time. That goes for my parking and dismount routine as well.

I noticed this very early on and I always give the bike a little roll before turning the bars one way or another. The 500 is especially heavy, notice how hard it is to turn the front wheels from a dead stop. Even a small amount of pre-roll dramatically decreases the turning resistance. Just a theory...

Dan-