Modern Vespa

When I ride for an hour or more the Vespa will crank normally, the light looks bright everything seems normal but the bike will not start???? After waiting an hour to an hour and a half it starts up??? Anyone with any info on this problem would be appreciated

Have you had the spark plugs checked? Mine went down on a long winter ride once, (It just had to be in the cold). Took it in and they told me some of the 250's where having a problem with a "wire" being to short.
Also have you fan checked out, maybe be getting over heated.

Does the fuel pump 'whir' when you turn the ignition on?

When my "wire" was lose would not start.
Had to "tow" (Back of my pick up) to the dealer to get it fixed.
Are you still underwarrenty? will insu. pay for tow?

Which model do you have? We need to know if it's fuel injected.

Another fuel pump problem? The bike restarts after 1.5 hours as the pump has cooled off...

I am out of ideas, but others here have alot more experance. Good luck friend.

I gurantee you it is the fuel pump. I have changed mine for the 2nd time- 09 GTS 250. The fuel pump willnot engage in a restart until it cools down, then will start once it cools. Eventually it will not start.

Swapping th epump out takes time but it is not difficult.
If you are going to change the fuel pump yourself, remember to take the rubber gasket (aroiunf the top of the fuel pump) and install it on the new fuel pump when you are ready to install it.

It happened for the 2nd time. I rode my GTS-300 to the grocery store to grab a few things and it wouldn't 'hot start'. Screwed with it for 1/2 hour hoping it would cool down to no avail. Finally had to call my wife and she picked me up. A few hours later we went back-- started up all as normal.

It seems to be starved for fuel. I released the pressure (vacuum?) in the fuel tank 4-5X thinking this would make a difference; due to traffic noise no way to determine if the fuel pump is even running.

First time this happened, another warm evening, it let me sit in a 2X left turn situation in traffic... idling normally waiting for the light and then just conked out. I had to push it accross 2 lanes of impatient traffic to sit it out.**

** Footnote: I called Roadside Assistance, one of the fringe benefits of buying new) from my Blackberry thinking they might send a mechanic (yeah, right!)... a rolloff driver showed up about 1-1/2 hours later. After we kicked around where to send it (by now it was dark) and considering the cost to store it overnight in a safe area before transporting it would have cost me the $100 they allow + another $120 cash money to deliver to a Vespa dealer during working hours.

Anyway, I'm at the point where I have to do something about it. Dealer wants it for a week to replace the fuel pump (Warranty) but hate to be without it during good weather.

I rule out the EVAP SYSTEM problem, because both times it was 1/2 tank or < of fuel and a couple of days since it had been filled up.

The Vespa dealer says that fuel pumps can be an issue in these.

Too bad, it was a perfect run. Now I have to admit there's a problem.

Usually I stop for fresh produce from a roadside stand on the way home from work... can't do that if I'm going to have to sit for hours!

THOUGHTS?

Please add your fuel pump failure experience to this thread so we can keep track of how many it happens to:
Time to report failing fuel pumps to NHTSA to get a recall? (Post 988091)

And, this is very important, please register it on the NHTSA site as this obviously should be a recall issue but Piaggio will do nothing unless pushed.
Getting a new fuel pump is not going to help if it is not a re-designed unit. If they are going to replace it with a new one of the same type, failure may happen again.

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/

This is a safety issue. As moto riders we are extremely vulnerable to traffic. Being stranded in traffic makes it much worse.

seems like i had the same problem, i was low on oil, added some, waited about 20 minutes and it started right up,

Most likely a fuel pump. Mine failed to start after riding it a while. Once it cooled down for an hour or more it would start again. Once the fuel pump was replaced, it worked fine. A common problem.

It seems to be a common problem with the newer batch of IE model like GTV n GTS. Most of them after riding for some time cnt start the bike and for some. The engine just cut off while riding... Time spent towing the bike and getting stuck in traffic is not riders want something out from thier new bike... So it seems happening in other parts of the world as well...

may be a tight valve, check valve clearance before tearing into the scooter.