an uncredited-but-frightening photo, posted on ScooterScene
The UK Scooter-Scene forum is reporting a possible safety issue regarding a Vespa GTS250 exhaust gasket. According to the post, some GTS250 riders are reporting the gasket degrades over time and can fail, releasing excessive heat that can damage the rear brake hydraulic pipe, throttle cable, or gas line, causing a loss of brakes, locked-up throttle, or even the risk of a gas fire or explosion. Piaggio UK has been notified of the problem, and is looking into it. It’s unclear how common the problem is, or if it’s an issue with all GTS250s internationally. It could even be a hoax or a freak occurence, but until more information surfaces, GTS250 riders may want to keep an eye on their pipes and look for signs of damage (louder pipe, excessive heat), and also make sure they’re properly registered with your dealer in case there’s a recall. Thanks for the tip, Nitro.
http://www.ModernVespa.com has two threads where this is discussed at length with some pictures, discussion of the causeof the problem, and ideas for damage control, etc. If you are a GTS250ie owner, and you haven’t already seen this information, here are the thread URLs.
http://www.modernvespa.com/forum/topic4020.html
http://www.modernvespa.com/forum/topic4643.html
I read about this in a local paper. Naturally, the article made reference to Audrey Hepburn.
It’s also worth pointing out that in the last 3 years, Piaggio USA has not issued one recall, call-back, tech-bulletin, or problem notice about ANY of the scoots we carry. EXTREME HUBRIS! Sell, sell, sell… and f… the end user… z
I hate to get too righteous or indignant about it, not knowing for sure how severe or widespread a problem it is AND not owning a GTS, but whether it’s a serious issue or just a hyped-into-false-panic sorta thing, you’d think they would have addressed it officially and issued some sort of statement somewhere. It does amaze me how dealers always seem to hear about anything Piaggio-related at least a week after consumers find out about it, and a month before they update their website. Kymco was wise to post their recall notice on the front page of their site, that inspires more confidence than trying to hide what may be a serious problem (or ignore widespread undeserved PR, if we’re to give them the benefit of the doubt).