Modern Vespa

First off the UFP's from Jeff are probably my most appreciated mod. I couldn't bear to ride without them. Second, they're built like a tank.
I say this so it will be be plain that what follows is NOT a ding in any way shape size or form on Jeff's brackets. They're awesome!

I had an issue a couple of weeks ago where I slid broadside into a high curb. The UFP took the hit and was unfazed. I have no doubt it saved me a lot of scrapes and damage.
Yesterday I noted that UFP peg was mushy when I put my foot on it. I looked and - damn! - the whole floorboard was flexing!
So I get home and go take a look-see. I had thought there was no damage but in fact the rubber stop on the UFP had pushed against the bottom plastic (silver) which as it turns out is not tupperware but a much harder and more rigid plastic. It had cracked almost all the way to the bottom and broken off an internal tab. But - it was *not* IMHO the fault of the UFP. Upon closer examination it was apparent that the flooring was loose from other causes. I took everything off and - aha! - there are 3 sheet metal screws that hold the sub-floorboard under the metal diamondplate. They had come loose and allowed the floorboard to flex. I'm sure this extra flex allowed the UFP to press harder than usual on the plastic tunnel cover and crack it. I checked the other side and found them loose as well but not to the degree of the right side - but enough to flex.
It is my opinion that over time when you put pressure on the footpegs that it will eventually cause the flooring to come loose. That may have repercussions in case of physical contact against the UFP's. I would like to suggest that anyone having UFP's check the flooring periodically to tighten the loose screws and possibly prevent expensive damage to the plastic in case of an impact. Note again - this is not the metal diamondplate - it is the plastic flooring underneath. I dunno about the 250/400 but I bet there's "subflooring" there too.

Positive note; the simple tinnerman nuts will allow the screws to pop out under stress, likely saving real damage otherwise! Glad it all worked out! The nut clips may weaken when this happens, but a heck of alot cheaper to replace.

In fact the top hex screw for the UFP did indeed pop out. I hadn't thought of that - it could have ripped that whole side off if they didn't pop loose. Good point!

Thanks, next time I'm doing my service I'll look into them. It will only take a couple of minutes to check anyway. I love my footpegs to much to let the get damaged.

Cheers,
Tross

Sorry to hear about your difficulty, Bubba. I had already advised people to check the tightness of their UFP screws as the underlying nuts compress, but I never thought about the screws under the floorboard. Tonight I'll add a link to this in the FAQs, and I tahnk you for the excellent tip.

What's your situation now regarding the crack and continued use of the UFP?

I tightened the screws, slapped a piece of duct tape over the crack and almost as good as new. Reason for the tape is I don't want vibration to finish the job and have it fall off. I plan on getting some epoxy this weekend and mending it that way.