The new Vespa named Daisy by my wife was giving her a challenge to get it up and off the center stand every time we would stop. So this morning I installed chrome side stands on the GTS-300 Sport and the GTV-300. Luckily I had found instructions on Scooter West’s website because the ones in the Haynes Manual and in the Vespa Service manual are not only miss-leading but totally CRAP when it talks about side stands. It took me a bit of time to study the installation until the light-bulb went off.

it is actually quite simple and here is my Video to prove it…

 

I received this comment on the YouTube Video and wanted to share it: It’s hard to explain without just plain text, but lets try… look at this picture: http://alturl.com/46dtw  You see 2 springs.. a wide one and a narrow one. Both springs have an S-shape, meaning the hook on the left curls up and the hook on the right curls down. So, the narrow one goes inside the wider one, but you have to twist it so that the hook on the left side curls down, and the hook on the right side curls up. The end result is that both sides have two hooks that are facing: one hook that curls up and one hook that curls down. Why do you put the spring on that way ? well.. Lets say a rock or stick comes underneath your front tire and gets flung against the springs that hold the side stand up with considerable force. If both springs were hooked on in the exact same way (e.g. both hooks curling downwards) then that rock could dislodge both hooks. If both hooks are booked facing each other (e.g. one hook curls upwards and one hook curls downwards) then it can only dislodge one hook.