October 21st, 2017 was in fact the First Tech/Barbeque day for the Ottawa Valley SC (Scooter Club) and there was a great turn out of ten members. Jeff Schneider led a group of Vespa riders from Ottawa near Walkley road to our home in Russell.  They certainly opened the neighbors eyes as they screamed down our street sounding like, well…. a gang of Vespa’s (much less scarier than a gang of Harleys).

There was sufficient food for everyone and I believe it was well received and enjoyed by all who attended.

The menu:

• Barbecued and Smoked Greek Chicken Brochette served with Tzatziki Sauce
• Grilled Hamburgers
• Smoked Buffalo Wings
• Potato Salad
• Coleslaw
• Caribbean Rice, Ham and Pineapple Salad
• Ice Cold Coke, Ginger ale and water
• Cookies for Desert

The Tech:

The Vespa:

A cute little silver-gray GTS 250 named Huxley driven by Julie 🙂

The Tech:

1. Replace the belt with a Molossi Belt (down load specs:  belt_list_2015_7)
2. Replace the rollers with Dr. Pulley Sliding Rollers  (See Video below on the advantages of the Doctor Pulley rollers versus the standard round rollers)
3. Clean Inside the Transmission

We replaced the belt and rollers twice. The first time I wasn’t paying attention and we did not put the rollers and pulleys in properly so the rollers rattled. However, within minutes we re-opened the transmission and did it correctly. The good part of this mistake was that Jeff Schneider who was helping was able to open and replace the parts in ten Fiminutes and I am now certain that all the attendees could now change their rollers and belt without any issues.

The Costs

I think it was huge success and I received many thanks for our hospitality from the members that attended. Hopefully we will do it again next spring.

The cost of doing this job at the Ottawa Official Vespa dealer (Wheelsport) is $ 398.00 including parts, labor and tax.

The parts if ordered from Scooter PartsCo cost:

• Molossi Belt $ 66.00 USD
• Dr. Pulley Rollers (slider weights) $ 30.00
• Dr. Pulley Slides $ 10.00

Total in USD = $ 106.00 which with delivery is about $ 132.00 CAD and is only worth it if you have a delivery address just south of the border like I do.

You can also get the standard belt and rollers for about $ 140.00 Canadian.

Final Comment

Conclusion, I think it is important that scooter and motorcycle riders join together to help each other in areas of maintenance and repair in order to first reduce the overall cost of ownership and second to gain a better understanding of the type of maintenance required and the importance of performing the maintenance on a regular basis.

Pictures:

Dr. Pulley Rollers: