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I completed my first oil change on the Vespa GTV-300 yesterday. It was a sunny day and it warmed up. There will not be many more of these days left this year before I have to store the Vespa. So even though the Vespa did not require an oil change at the moment, it is suggested that one be done just before storing the bike.

I will still ride it, but I do not expect to put on many kilometers (perhaps less than a thousand before garage).

Everything about the oil change went as planned (A Simple Oil Change) except for the following:

  1. Oil is really oily! I had put a towel under the bike and wrapped it around the centre stand so that any oil dripping would not go onto the driveway. This was wise and it almost worked. I think next time I will ask a friend or my wife to help and hold the funnel while I tip the bike over to drain out all of the oil.  Moving the funnel with one hand while tipping the bike with the other led to a few drips onto the pavement on the side. Additionally, the old oil filter decide to roll out of my hands and onto the driveway while I removed it with one hand while holding the filter with the other. Lesson Learned Baring teeth smile.
  2. I have decided that I am not a fan of the dip stick measuring tool to let me know when the oil is full. It is confusing and I screwed it in and out many times until I had a warm and fuzzy feeling that I had put in sufficient oil without over filling. I put in about one and a bit more than one-third of a liter bottle. I hope it is not too much since they say it requires 1.3 liters.
  3. I also changed the small filter in the oil plug and put the old one in a bag to be cleaned and re-used for the next oil change. I intend to rotate these and clean them properly at my neighbours workplace.

On a positive note, the LiquiVac worked amazing and sucked most of the oil into a clean container. Today I intend to bring the oil to my Honda Car dealer to dispose of properly.

Well, this is yet another new experience and I am slowly gaining some confidence and will eventually become a Vespa Mechanic (small steps at a time).