Modern Vespa

Hi all,

Just changed my premix oil to some sort of "premium 2T synthetic" and it seems like the PX is drinking it like cool aid...way faster thant when i was runnign AGIP.
Any idea what causes this? When it runs its not smoky either...at least not after a mile or 2....
all seems normal, except the speed at which it goes throug oil...any ideas?

thanks

ury-

What is your oil consumption per litre of fuel burned? I have used a couple of different manufacturers' synthetic oils, and have noticed no difference in consumption rates. The oil is basically "metered" by a pump, and unless the throttle correlation linkage has recently stuck in the WOT position, one proper oil should flow the same as another.

Is there any evidence of a leak?

Al

youve not been pouring it down the airhole into the frame

Color me confused but since when is a 2005 considered "not so modern"? Methinks a moderator may want to move this thread.

For the sake of grouping here on MV, and only on MV, all shifty Vespas are "Not So Modern", since many of the mechanicals are similar within the shifty family and very different from automatics. Has nothing to do with year of manufacture or "scene" definitions.

There was some logic behind using "Not So Modern" versus "Classic" or "Vintage".

Al

Hello

Using auto lube expect 1 litre to every 5 to 6 tankfuls approx.

Grumpy

thanks all,

is it possible the autolube percentage has somehow shifted to an amount superior to average, thus causing the higher oil consuption?

if someone were to change premix from 2 to, say, 4 % what would feel different about the bike?

Hello

The autolube cannot change its delivery, 4% would make it smoke.

Park the bike on a newspaper and check for a leak.

Grumpy

Many autolubes leak like a mofo if the oil tank is filled up into the neck of the oil filler tube. The joint where the oil tank screws onto the tube is notorious for leaking.

Check this joint. Often it will leak and you won't know except for bad "oil economy" until eventually oil starts seeping through the welds in the floor boards. With nice paint like on a recent PX it may be a long time before that happens, so you won't know without pulling the tank and looking.

Also, cracked sightglass, or leaking seam around sightglass. Also, plastic oil tank itself may be buggered and there is a leak at its midseam.

All of these can lead to a false sense of "I'm burning through oil way too fast"

The only way the autolube would be delivering an increased amount of oil would be, as I said above, if the throttle correlation linkage (can find this in a Haynes or shop manual) has somehow stuck in the full throttle position. Very unlikely. Autolube on the P series Vespa is basically bulletproof.

1. Follow Grumpy's suggestion and check for leaks.

Unless you have been logging miles, fuel and oil consumption carefully, there is no other way to see if the oil consumption rate has increased.

Pre-mix and autolube ratio change impacts are quite different. The former could make you air/fuel mixture change. The latter won't.

Al