If you run out of gas, it's like an Amazing Race roadblock: "In for a hike; or in for a push".
- In in for a hike, the Vespa rider must first park the bike as securely as possible and then go on foot looking for a suitable gasoline container and a gas station. Once there, the rider must fill the container with gasoline, then return on foot to the scooter and refuel, before continuing on her way.
- In in for a push, the Vespa rider must push the 300+lb bike to the nearest gas station and refuel before continuing on her way.
- The last rider to complete this leg of the trip, may be eliminated.
Running out of juice is a whole other level of embarrassment.
I've got two scoots, man! And one of them (my first love, my Vespa LX 150) has now been diagnosed (by me, resident mechanic) with a case of dead battery. The new scoot, my GTS 300 i.e. Super, has a battery that seems fine, but who knows what happens in a battery? It's literally and figuratively a black box!
So here's my devious plan: buy a new battery for the GTS which should do the trick nicely for the foreseeable future, and drop the current GTS battery into the LX 150. I just need to check the specs on the LX, but I'm almost 100% sure that the swap will be just fine.
While I'm doing transplants, I'm going to move the Stebel air horn and the Admore brake light and turn signal unit from the LX to the GTS. No one who has responded to my ad seems to care about my mods anyway.
Move the heated grips you say? No thanks. I still have the OEM grips, but it would be such a chore that I think I'll pass.
There's a fresh Vespa GTS modification that's also in the works. I ordered the parts from ScooterWest.com and I opted for cheap shipping but, bless their hearts, ScooterWest upgraded to UPS shipping for free. Ordered on a Monday afternoon, shipped from San Diego, and delivered in Montreal on Wednesday. Two days!!! Wow that's stellar service!!
I'll have more to say about that farkle-y mod, and as well the addition of twin 12 volt outlets, but why use all my dry powder on one blog post?
I guess, loyal and curious reader, that you'll have to stay tuned!
8 comments:
Actually I know what goes on in a Battery. Of course that's the engineering geek in me. The ex-science teacher in me, the ex scientist in me.
I would be a little worried about switching out the battery, something tells me the smaller 150 may not be able to take a bigger battery but I don't know Vespa's. So be sure to double check that.
David:
I don't think the battery swap will cause any problems as long as you can shoe horn it in there, or shave some of the side walls to make it a bit thinner to fit into the battery container.
You mean . . . you're stripping your LX150? You're gonna put "USED" parts on your New To YOU GTS super ?
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
Rob, I checked online and the OEM battery for the LX 150 and GTS are the same. Just to be on the safe side I'll call my dealer and check with them. I appreciate scientific input. Science wasn't my strong suit.
Now Bob stripping is a strong word. And used is relative.
The Admore unit is $150 before shipping, and LEDs last forever so it's barely used. As for the Stebel Nautilus, that's discontinued. ScooterWest bought out Stebel's remaining inventory and is selling it at US$94 not including shipping.
And I'm frugal. Waste not, want not.
It seems when selling bikes or scooters you never get the value out of your farkles, might as well "re-purpose" them for the GTS.
Trobairitz, I am learning since this is first bike I am selling. The only issue I have is that it's a gorgeous day, I should have ridden my bike in, I'm itching to get going, but my GTS is in pieces in the garage as I work on the transplants. I got running lights installed and tested, and I installed the license plate. I also built a 12 volt terminal strip wiring bridge to make adding farkles more plug and play and minimize wire mess, and started setting up the wiring for the Stebel (more wire, spade connectors, fuse, relay...) and the list goes on. I'm hoping to get it all done by next weekend latest.
I just don't want to ride daily until I've got the safety mods done.
David:
OH NO ! Not Spade Connectors !
I would have SOLDERED them in. I don't like those type of connectors. Much better to have a good, vibration free and non-rust(ing) solid connection.
Just MHO of course but I never use Tap or friction connectors
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
Bob I know that soldered connections won't fail. On the other hand, the automotive industry relies heavily on spade and crimp connections, and I haven't had one fail yet. Besides, that's what's already being used in the Vespa by the manufacturer.
All that soldering in the confines of the Vespa legshield, yuck, yuck, and yuck.
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