r/Vespa

Just wanted to share my Vespa 50 Special. What do you guys think?

Is this scooter influenced the design of the Vespa with the rear mounted engine.

Tl;dr : Customised my GTS 300 Vespa to a one-off Officina 8 GTS Tribute

Removed my registration number details in photos

Photo 1 : Current form, post ceramic coating
Photo 2 : Original form, with mods from original owner
Photo 3 : Halfway to Penang tour, removed all the weird decals, stickers & blue wheels
Photo 4: Dented front shield
Photo 5 - 11 : Current form

Preamble

Sharing my journey, for fun read and should anyone would like to use as reference. I am almost done with the transformation of my Vespa GTS Supersport 300 into one of it’s kind, homage to the Officina 8 edition.

Writing this down on my own, refusing to use Chatgpt, as I feel it less personal. So please excuse my language error and potentially non-cohesive storytelling.

New Bike

I previously owned a Vespa Sprint 150 for 8 years, since 2017, and it has been my daily commuter, with a total milage of around 50,000 km. I’ve experienced some engine issue resulting from the engine fan blowout around year 6, and even after all my efforts to try fix the engine oil loss issue (replaced piston, rebore, new gasket lining etc.), I decided to start start a new chapter.

Now here’s the thing about Vespa in Malaysia, it’s a premium product (price wise, compared with similar engine displacement alternatives), more so for the 300cc variant. Since I already owned the 150, it makes sense to upgrade to the 300, plus I do dream of tour to Thailand and beyond.

I usually prefer to own a brand new bike, less headache with warranty coverage, plus I can be certain if the bike has been taken care properly. That being said, I recalled my mechanic’s remark about the pattern he noticed on the owner of Vespa in Malaysia. Whilst the 150 and below owner will usually use it as daily ride, the 300 variants will usually owned by the wealthier segment that treats it as a collectible, a sort of round-the-park ride every other week. They will own a few other motorcycles, and use them sparingly when they have time. With that in mind, I quickly peruse the used motorcycle section of the web to find my destiny.

Lo and behold, I found myself with quite a number of options. After careful comparison, I was presented with 2 options, one with a lower milage, 4,000km but 2 years ownership without warranty. The other option, which I ultimately went with, came with higher milage at 6,000km, but a shorter ownership at 1 1/2 year, leaving me with 6 months original warranty, a peace in mind that I need should I ever pick a used vehicle. In the end, I got my Vespa GTS 300 Supersport at RM23,000 (~USD5.6k), around RM11k (~USD3k) saving from the original price of RM33,900 (~USD8.3k). With my own Sprint sold at RM6.5k, I only need to fork out around RM17k, cheaper than a new Primavera, which I am very much pleased with (please excuse my mental gymnastics to arrive to that conclusion lol)

The Color Choice Conundrum

My new GTS, being a used bike, doesn’t allow me the option of color. The original bike came in the color of Orange Tramonto, which is not my first choice. I much prefer the gold Verde Ambiozzo, but with the savings I made, it’s a compromise that I can live with (or perhaps a simple color swap, some wrap or other cheap solution)

The Incident

A few accessories upgrades later, I was content with my choice. Went for a long trip to Kuantan, then later Penang, until that fateful day came. I was riding back from office on the highway at night, when a blunt object hit my front shield, resulting in a big dented mark. I could,
a) Go for a repair, which involves hammering the metal surface back, and repainting the panel, or;
b) Take this opportunity to justify for a full color swap.

One month earlier, I saw the announcement on Officina 8 edition. My god that color was lovely, even more so when I get to see it in person. However, they only have a GTV edition for the 300 variant in Malaysia (mind you ours is still stuck at 150 & 300, while the rest of the world moves on to 180
& 310). My issue with GTV is the fully digital screen, which doesn’t sit well for me for a Vespa.

But I have a GTS that I’m happy about, some extra money from the earlier savings, and a big dented mark that need fixing… perhaps I do have a solution?

The Work

I then start digging for more info. I went to the official vespa distributor, as they will have the official color code for after sales service. The final quotation that I got?

RM 1,700 - Full body paint, including the inner part/glovebox areas.
RM 600 - Accessories painting (Metal Grey for side liners, head & tail light liner) (Gold accent for other relevant parts, rims) (matte black for some parts)
RM 600 - Labour cost to fully dismantle the vespa for painting.

The workshop owner gave me the assurance that he will follow closely the Officina 8 GTV as reference, but some areas do require creative improv due to the design differences).

Thus begin my long wait, in total around 2 1/2 months. That’s the only painful part of this journey, that might deter me if I ever feel like doing something similar in the future.

The whole Vespa was basically done in 1 1/2 months, but the workshop owner didn’t take into account the metal accent at the wheel rim, and as there’s a limited machinist that can complete the job, that end up costing me another RM350 & a whole month of waiting.

Overall, I’m happy with the result. There’s some imperfection here & there, not factory perfect, but the workshop owner gave his word to fix any issues that I encounter, so kudos to him. My issue is the waiting game should I wish to resend my bike to fix the imperfection. For now I’m more than happy to enjoy my Vespa first, and potentially a trip to Thailand soon.

I just finished coating my Vespa with Gyeon Q2 Matte coating, sent to a detailer for RM400. Photos attached are final outcome in its full glory.

Happy with the result. This should be 1/1 edition of Vespa GTS 300 Supersport Officina 8, or at least until someone else commented that they have done the same thing lol

Completely blacked out and fitted with the short back and a Polini exhaust.

I own a 2022 black vespa sprint 150 that I like but I previously had a primavera and want to go back to that. I was planning on trying to sell my sprint on FB marketplace so in preparation, took it to Vespa BK to get my mirror fixed. I asked about doing a trade in and the sales guy said once my mirror is fixed and I’m back from out of town he’ll let me know what the trade in would look like money-wise.

A crucial part of this story is that when I bought my sprint (from FB marketplace) the dude I bought it from didn’t give me the master key. I messaged him and he is gonna look for it, fingers crossed.

I think I could get at least 4k for the sprint, it’s got some great accessories on it and mileage isn’t bad.

Should I trade it in or try to sell on FB? Pics of my black sprint and the one I’m hopefully getting next :-)

After months (days) of thinking about it, I finally pulled the trigger and ordered a Vespa Sprint S 125 in Verde Ribelle. 🛵

The plan is to spend a lot of time cruising through the beautiful Flemish Ardennes here in Belgium, so I'm trying to get everything right from the start.

Now I'm looking for advice from experienced Vespa riders:

• Helmet: I'm after something that's retro, premium quality, comfortable and quiet. At the moment I'm looking at the Shoei Glamster, Bell Bullitt and Arai Concept-XE, but I'm open to other suggestions.
• Exhaust: I'd like something that gives the Sprint a deeper, more characterful sound, without being obnoxiously loud. Any recommendations? Akrapovič, Malossi, Polini, LeoVince... or should I just keep the stock exhaust?

I'd love to hear what you're using on your Vespa and, if possible, see some photos of your setup.

Looking forward to joining the Vespa community! 💚

Ciao ragazzi avrei bisogno di un consiglio sull'acquisto di una vespa. Ho queste due possibilità, allo stesso prezzo. Volevo sapere visto che non sono molto esperto cosa consigliavate di fare grazie

Long time motorcycle rider first time scooter, new to me 2014 GTV 300ie, needs some work. Need new tires, fix seat, and figure out why the floor mat thing is decaying.

Hi everyone,
I need some help diagnosing my 2001 Vespa ET4 50 4T (ZAPC261).
The scooter sat unused in a garage for 3 years.
The previous owner told me the cylinder and piston were replaced 3 years ago. His son rode it for about 2–3 weeks, then the scooter was parked for the next 3 years.
Original problem
The scooter wouldn’t start.
After taking the engine apart, I found that the camshaft sprocket bolt had come loose, which caused the cam timing to jump.
I reinstalled and tightened the camshaft sprocket, re-timed the engine, adjusted the valve clearances, changed the engine oil and cleaned the oil strainer.
After that, the scooter started immediately and idles perfectly.
Current symptoms
Since it started running again, I now have:
A loud rubbing/grinding noise from the CVT/transmission side (not a squeak or knocking noise).
Strong vibrations throughout the scooter.
The engine revs, but only if I accelerate slowly and progressively.
I rode it for a few meters and it moves, but it clearly lacks power.
What I’ve checked
Removed the CVT cover.
Drive belt looks OK, not cracked and not excessively hard despite sitting for 3 years.
Gearbox oil level is correct.
No broken teeth on the Bendix or the starter ring gear.
However, the Bendix touches the variator starter ring gear, although I don’t think that’s what causes the heavy vibrations.
The clutch bell appears slightly warped, but I’m not completely sure.
The kick starter mechanism is in poor condition. It sometimes stays stuck down, and I can clearly see wear marks inside the CVT cover where the kick starter mechanism has been rubbing.
The rear wheel has a slight amount of play with a small “clunk”.
When I spin the rear wheel by hand, I can hear a rubbing noise, even with the engine off.
My question
What do you think is the most likely cause?
Faulty Bendix?
Variator?
Warped clutch bell?
Gearbox bearing?
Rear wheel bearing?
Final reduction gearbox?
Kick starter mechanism rubbing?
Something else?
I’m attaching photos and videos of the noise.
Any advice from people familiar with Piaggio/Vespa 4T engines would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

How hard is this to remedy? It’s past the first hole. I doubt luck is on my side here. Anyone here do this to themselves and find a solution without removing the cover? Thanks in advance from the noob who wasn’t expecting a dang dipstick to be plastic.

Does anyone know what seems to be the cause of this problem and how to fix it? I take my Primavera out for a ride thrice a month but I start it every two days. Suddenly turned off after a minute with the daily start up earlier and started tweaking.

Haven’t seen any 2T’s are they allowed in the city?