Received a call today that Kissell Motorsports put a new fuel pump in my scooter. While the pressure test was ok it was making unusual noises. And on the road it would intermittently fail and no longer make any noise. The technician showed me the old one and it looked pretty grimy. A new fuel pump seems like the best course of action.
The Vespa GTS 250 fuel pump is a known issue and was subject to a recall for a great many scooters. Unfortunately mine was not among them.
I had the scooter die three times on the road due to this problem. They all had the following in common that seemed consistent with fuel pump failure:
- Fuel pump motor did not spin — the usual pressurization when the ignition is switched on was absent.
- The fuel level was low each time the pump failed — from what I’ve read the pumps overheat and the impeller binds causing the motor to quit spinning. After the engine cools the pump began working again but it would only be a matter of time before it would not come back to life.
So the scooter is close to being back on the road. I dropped off my Heidenau K66 LT Snow Tex tires to be mounted which should have me all ready for the rest of the winter riding season. For anyone considering year round riding I can’t stress how nice these tires are for rain, snow, gravel, slush, and plain dry frozen roads. Noticeably better traction in all cases. The only negative is that you lose a bit of responsiveness — the flickable nature of the Vespa is impaired a bit. You get used to it quickly though.
With the fuel pump replaced I’m good for another 25,000 miles or so…
That’s good news Steve though I’ve enjoyed the photos featuring the red vespa.
The Red Vespa. Sounds like a good title for a book. To be perfectly accurate though, it should be The Raspberry Vino. Vespa would never name a color Raspberry. That’s a Yamaha thing!
Sounds like your scoot will be ready soon and more reliable! I look forward to the forthcoming pictures of the scooter amidst a driving snow storm, lightning bolts in the far background and winds blowing the snow flakes horizontally….
Speaking of photos, I just realized I’ve not reviewed the ones you sent me. They sort of got lost in the holiday sloth!
Snow tires should be on tomorrow or Wednesday. We’ll see what kind of photos result after that.
Cooling the fuel pump with fuel never seemed like a good idea to me though just about every manufactuer seems to do it. Especially after they switch to a high pressure pump for fuel injection. (Urals and Airheads have no fuel pump) 😉
The URALs and Airheads rely on gravity don’t they? That requires an even bigger leap of faith. Scientist can’t even detect gravitational waves yet — they remain a scientific mystery. So I’ll stick with the tried and true fuel pump in the tank scenario.
Did they say where the crud came from? If you’re sucking down salt and road grime the next pump’s death is coming quickly.
The technician was perplexed by the crud. Looked like road salt and grime but am not sure how that would get in there unless a vent tube can actually suck up stuff. I do ride in a lot of sloppy stuff. I’ll inquire when I pick it up.
This Monday January 5 is thus far the coldest day of this current winter with the balance of the week expecting to be even colder . Best ensure your ride is up to snuff; the monetary cost won’t be low either however that’s the price we pay for our modes of transport.
Speaking of which the BMW K100 over on the right side of the photoon the lift looks none too
happy.
The Vespa may be ready tomorrow but it’s supposed to snow. Even colder Wednesday. Not sure when I’ll pick it up.
There was another BMW on the other side of the garage equally unhappy — a 70s vintage BMW R75/5. The K Bike was really stripped down. Not sure what was happening with it.
I imagine that the fuel pump is submerged in the fuel tank. I can’t even begin to imagine how to get it in or out of there. Clearly it’s not through the filler hole. That’s a big chunk of machinery.
Here’s hoping it lasts way longer than 25K miles.
You know, I didn’t even ask how they remove it. I read on the ModernVespa site that two guys can remove it in 15 minutes. It does involve disconnecting the shock and swinging the motor down to remove the fuel tank. I don’t want to do that if I don’t have to.
If I get 25K more uninterrupted miles I’ll be happy.
I wouldn’t be happy with 25,000. I’ve yet to understand the low expectations people have with two wheeled vehicles. Honda Gold Wings regularly rack up hundreds of thousands of miles but people with scooters seem to be elated with a mere 60,000 miles. If your car only gave you 27,000 miles on a fuel pump you’d call it a Lemon. It’s not even a piece of rocket science, just an electric motor and impeller. Why is it OK on a scooter or a motorcycle for parts and motors to give up in no time?
The fuel pump on the GTS 250 is a known issue in the Vespa world and Piaggio recalled and replaced a ton of them. Unfortunately I was just a wee bit before the recall but my failure was similar in nature to those in the recall.
When I started riding the Vespa I wasn’t sure how long it would last but knew it would not have the same life span as a big motorcycle, in part due to the fact that it’s engine is often running wide open. And having rear tires wear out at 2K miles gets you used to a more mercurial nature to scooters. You really can’t compare them to a Goldwing or a lot of other machines. All in all, I’m pretty pleased with how the Vespa has held up under the abuse I’ve dished out.
How many miles did your GTS have on it when the fuel pump was replaced?
27K miles. Not sure where that fits in the scheme of a Vespa. On the ModernVespa.com forum I’ve seen a wide range of results from early failures to some (if I remember correctly) lasted until 40K. I know Piaggio had problems with the pump. Hopefully the replacement is new and improved!
keeping the tank topped up should help the pump run cooler
used to run an oil cooler in the return line on a k75 to keep the gas tank cool
in the summer check the hot weather gas temp the vespa pump
may be running WAY TOOO hot
Dave
Good suggestion Dave. I definitely saw an improvement with the tank full as the pump slowly died. The replacement is running fine. Vespa had some manufacturing trouble with the fuel pumps for a couple years. Mine was just before the recall but I wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t have the same problem.