Less than two hours ago, a stop along the road on the way home from work, the freshly fixed Vespa under the post-sunset glow.
Operator error. Me. The cause of the recent mechanical failures of the scooter. Turns out there is a screw that holds the plug wire into the boot of the plug wire and unless you tighten it the wire will come lose. Go figure.
I saw the wire disconnected and interpreted “must have burnt off”. That’s what it would have been on my ’62 Ford Falcon. And there’s the problem — my mechanical skills are a bit dated. Add to that a level of mechanical inattention and assumption and it’s no wonder I missed the screw thing.
Sincere apologies to any of you Vespa owners or thinking of being a Vespa owners — no inherent flaw in the machine as long as you put it together right.
As I think of it, operator error is far more prevalent in my life than design flaws. But that’s water under the bridge. I’m just happy to have the scooter back on the road and able to take advantage of this fine spring weather. Special thanks to Craig, Josh and the rest of the gang at Kissell Motorsports for not laughing when I came in to get the scooter!
Steve:
I don’t think you are alone. I have never seen spark plug boot screws before either. Must be an Italian thing.
Just remember they are laughing WITH you, not AT you
at least you can ride
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
Spark plug boot screws! Who would’ve thought….
Beautiful photo.
Steve that is a beautiful picture. I have to say if it was my Vespa it would have been in the shop too.
Must be an Italian thing…FIAT
Fix It Again Tony…
Obviously, it was not the owner that had a screw loose!
Don’t feel bad. I spent the entire day yesterday, untill 10 PM doing a bike (farkle) job that should have taken 1 hour, 2 at the most.
Same thing happened to me within the first few months of owning my GTS.
The other strange issue that left me stranded was the valve stem insert came loose and let all the air out of the back tire…
bobskoot: I found out this evening from Poppawheelie at Pistons and Pints that the Vespa plug wire setup shows up in some European motorcycles. The local Vespa technician further clarified how it all worked.
So I’ve learned a lesson.
RichardM: I”m wondering what else on the scooter isn’t as it seems…
Dar: Sometimes the shop is the right place to go.
Bryce Lee: Definite knowledge gap on my part. But I am trained now and ready for the next sparkplug event.
Poppawheelie: I have a nice picture of what i think you constructed on your new Harley. I’ll post a picture of it on my Facebook page with the other Piston and Pints pictures.
Don’t beat yourself up too much Steve, this kind of thing happens! I bet you won’t let it happen again, it’s one way to learn.
I tend to learn the hard way on mechanical tasks….must to the cost of my wallet and knuckles.
Oh, and that’s a great photo!
dom
Most problems on stuff is usually simple. Glad it was minor.
Charlie6: Reading your adventure to Alaska I believe nothing fazes you — not tire failures in the snow, losing your wallet and iPhone, nothing.
I do feel I should be more mechanically adept when it comes to the scooter. Whenever I think of the kind of rider I aspire to be I think of your approach and skills.
I have a long way to go…
kz1000st: Minor indeed. And a learning opportunity to boot!