Month: February 2007

GTS exhaust gasket: A dealer’s view

We got a great email the other day from Victor Voris regarding the GTS exhaust gasket and some of the other issues we’ve been talking about. Victor’s been running Big People Scooters in Seattle since 1989, and was one of America’s most respected Vespa experts during Piaggio’s absence. When Piaggio returned to the U.S., Victor’s Vespa of Seattle was among the first dealerships to open, and one of very few to be run by someone with extensive scooter experience. Since then, both shops have flourished. I respect his opinion greatly, and like others, he feels modern scooter repair is best-left to a factory-trained technician:

There has been a lot of miscommunication and misinformation about the GT/GTS exhaust gasket and packing problems. The first thing to know about the problem is that you are NEVER to take the pipe apart. in all Piaggio shop manuals, as well as at any factory school, you are clearly told this. The reason that the pipe has this graphite one-time-use packing is that the header pipe is made of a different metal than the rest of the exhaust (I believe the header pipe is titanium). Because there is a joint there, and a clamp that can come loose, the torque on the bolt is to be checked as part of the routine service, as it can loosen over time.
In our shop we have seen exhaust systems come in that the customer has beaten apart, which will never go back together and seal, even with a new packing installed. It is by no means a design problem, any problems are coming from incorrect maintenance or repair. PiaggioUSA requires that their dealers have factory trained staff and offers training to their dealers free of charge. It is unfortunate that not every Vespa shop in the country has only factory trained technicians working on their scooters, but that is the case. There are countless other things that home-repair people and non-certified shops are doing that can cause huge damage to a modern Vespa motor. A common mistake we see all the time in the shop is the re-use of the one-time nut on the variator. If this nut fails, one of the many things that can happen is damage to the crankshaft, and installing a new crank is not fun for anyone. All of the factory shop manuals and workshop manuals are posted on Modern Vespa , and anyone working on their scooter at home should download these and read them. I am planning to offer tech classes at Amerivespa this year, and am trying to get Piaggio to send a technical representative as well.

It’s common in scootering (especially on the internet) for a scooterist (often me) to insist he knows more about scooters than the people who make and sell them. Sometimes they (I) do, but there are certain people I’d never dare argue with, and Victor is one of those people. I do, however, look forward to rebuttals.

sctrcst

The vowel-less sctrcst.com (assumedly pronounced “scootercast”) is a new scooter podcast by Dave in (?) Colorado. I haven’t listened yet, but it sounds promising and I’ll by syncing it to the ol’ iPod tonight. Looks like the current episode is mostly about Cincinnati, with a little support from the 2strokebuzz news network.

15 (cold) days left in CWC

After a trip to sunny St. Lucia, then the harsh reality of a houseful of burst pipes, and at least one weird email threat, Ryan has updated the Cold Weather Challenge page. Minnesotans hold the top four spaces, the contest ends on February 28, 2007. 2strokebuzz, and our new secret (for now) site, will also be kicking in a few prizes.

C3 on ScooterScoop

Steve got a better look at the Yamaha C3 than we did. Apparently it’s not a Vino engine, Yamaha has engineered it to be even slower and more fuel efficient than a Vino. I also forgot to mention that the legshield turns with the wheel, which is weird. Steve points out that it has a bit in common with the Honda Ruckus. I’m not sure where Steve got his 117mpg figure, but if that’s true, I dub thee, C3, “the Yamaha Ruckelshaus” in honor of the first head of the EPA.

The MP3: A revelation

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Ryan’s manicured finger demonstrates the override switch.

Seeing the Piaggio MP3 in person, and a short demonstration from a Piaggio representative, answered a lot of questions about the scooter, and warranted a separate post.

Since the first leaked footage of the MP3, I’ve been pointing out that the machine does not, in fact, balance on three wheels like a tricycle, eliminating the need to put your feet down at lights. If the dual front wheels tilt, I assumed, then (unless the parking brake was activated), the machine could easily fall over on its side. Technically, I was right, and the Piaggio representative pointed out a few marks where it had been dropped a couple times at the Minneapolis show.

But what I did not know, nor had I ever seen explained, is that the MP3 is actually designed to lock the wheel-tilting mechanism at low speeds and stops. You actually, in most cases, can leave your feet on the floorboards! As you accelerate, the tilt mechanism unlocks, so that once you hit about 15-20mph, the wheels are free to tilt. As you come to a stop, they once again lock into place. A manual override button (photo above) will lock or unlock the wheels when necessary, for instance when parking on a hill, the wheels can be tilted for stability. The centerstand, the representative said, is nearly unnecessary other than for long-term storage.

This was a real revelation, many times I’ve questioned the hype that the MP3 would be a good choice for beginners, because I had no idea the wheel tilt was tied to the speed. I was wrong, it probably would make a beginner feel quite at ease.

That said, under the right conditions, it can still be dropped, at speed or at rest, and it is one giant, heavy machine. The thought of even more electric sensors and gizmos in what already seemed like a ridiculously complicated suspension make me shudder when I think of the expensive repairs for a very minor front-end collision. Electrical failure or a dead battery would seemingly pose some interesting new problems. Looking at the MP3 really drove it home that modern scooters have very little in common with the simple two-stroke Vespas I’m used to, and home maintenance is a thing of the past. The MP3 is just as complicated as a modern car, though–unlike a car–there will be a very small pool of qualified technicians capable of maintaining and repairing it.

On the other hand, it is attractive, well-designed and -built, and it felt amazingly comfortable, so even with its high price tag, it might be a big seller. I am still entirely unqualified to comment on its handling and agility, having never ridden it, but I suspect that will be another revelation. Hopefully, that revelation will come soon.

Chicago International Motorcycle Show 2007

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Ryan dwarfs the Yamaha C3

You’ll hopefully forgive 2strokebuzz if coverage of the 2007 Cycle World International Motorcycle show is a little scaled back this year. The truth is, very little has changed from year to year. Each year there are fewer surprises, less swag, and fewer perks (the bus service to the CTA parking lot was cancelled this year, brrr.), while parking, concessions, and admission (at least seem to) get more expensive. Probably that’s why Triumph didn’t appear for the second year in a row, and why Kymco, CMSI, and Genuine rarely bother with these shows.

On top of that, we had a head start on new 2007 models, thanks to the Milan EIMCA show, and next weekend I’m attending the Indianapolis Dealer Expo (my first trip), which promises to be a bit more exciting. But out of a sense of duty, and because Ryan was driving, I decided to once again trek through the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL, to see what there was to see. Which wasn’t much, really.
Continue reading “Chicago International Motorcycle Show 2007”

News particles, February 10, 2007

More news from the past week:

  • Kymco Canada is teaming up with Motoress to attract more Canadian women to scootering. Both parties seem to think the way to attract women to scootering is to glam it up, which is their prerogative, but that tack seems a little superficial and patronizing to me.
  • A few stories covering Italy’s soccer ban cited the famous May, 2001 incident where Atalanta supporters snuck a Lambretta into the San Siro and dropped it off the balcony onto AC Milan fans. Yeah, that’s not very good security.
  • Scooter backlash and vandalism is out of control at the University of Florida, scooterists blame the lack of scooter-specific parking.
  • Speaking of Florida and smashed scooters, even Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy aren’t safe, their bike was smashed up while they ate (and copiously made out) in a Miami restaurant.

The Chicago Cycle World International Motorcycle Show is this weekend, stories and photos coming soon.

La Vespa se gustan Concha

The Scooter Scoop posted this video with the headline “I Love Baseball,” but I’m pretty sure she’s saying “Vespa,” so I think Steve was joking. The sixties-via-eighties (or is it fifties-via-seventies?) Chroma Key majesty is something to behold. For a moment, I thought it was a “winter” version of my favorite song, but it turns out it’s “Vespa, Vespa,” by Concha Velasco, a Spanish actress who’s starred in over a hundred films and television shows, including two currently in production.

News chunks: February 7, 2007

Here’s what Vina–and R. Kelly–missed while having their appendices removed:

Welcome home, Vina! Now if I could just remember where I put our daughter…