Advice on spare tire cover... necessary for protection??

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1.21 Jigawatts!!
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Advice on spare tire cover... necessary for protection??

Post by 1.21 Jigawatts!! »

I hated the gray plastic spare tire cover so much. I read on here that some folks have removed it completely, so I removed it. It looks so much better! But then I read another post that said the cover was there for a reason, to protect battery and some other electronic components. So I decided to paint it black. I bought special for-plastic valspar spray paint, and did a fine job of painting it. Let it dry for 24 hours, then did a test scratch with my fingernail, and the paint scratched off SO EASILY. So I can imagine how that would stand up to road wear, and now I have basically ruined the ugly spare tire cover. Is the cover really necessary? Has anyone else had success painting theirs? I don't really want a showy cover, because I am already gravitating toward the "pee wee's big adventure" look. I would love to hear some opinions/solutions to this problem! Thanks!!
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Dooglas
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Post by Dooglas »

Paint actually takes much longer than 24 hours to reach its full hardness. I've found Krylon Fusion (paint for plastic) to be quite durable.
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slotrod65
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Post by slotrod65 »

I removed my spare and cover and installed a Stebel air horn under there. I have had no issues with the battery or other electronics. My scoot is stored in a wooden floor shed. I guess if stored outside (hopefully) under a cover, you might get issues, but they would probably happen even with the spare and cover there.
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Neurotic-Hapi-Snak
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Post by Neurotic-Hapi-Snak »

I know what post you're talking about, and that is for the Stella Auto, which lack a spare tire. They use the cover to protect the electronics. On the Stella 4T, the spare tire protects the electronics, the only thing that is slightly exposed is the battery, but there's almost no possibility of the battery being damaged without the spare tire cover.
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jimmbomb
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Post by jimmbomb »

you may have had better luck spray painting plastic if you would have sand ed it first to rough up surface up a bit. that gives the paint something to grab onto. Good luck
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Post by misterbrackets »

I painted mine black and decided I still didn't like it. It's been off for about a year. The only drawback I find is the number of people who say : "Wow! Is that a spare tire??" --- Which actually isn't a drawback, just kind of funny how often I get that comment
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Post by 1.21 Jigawatts!! »

I love this forum!! Thanks so much for the replies.

I didn't know at the time that valspar isn't good paint. Lesson learned. I also trashed the cover even further by trying to scrape the paint back off. Apparently it stuck really well to about 30% of the surface area. Yeah.

SO happy to know I can roll without it! I'm tossing it and I'm not looking back. :)
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Elder Scoot
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Post by Elder Scoot »

I removed it and have had no problems with the electronics. The bike looks sharp with its cleaner lines without that thing.
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ScootLemont
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Post by ScootLemont »

I took mine off a couple years ago - no problems

Also.... when painting smooth plastic, it is usually helpful to rough it up slightly with a fine grain sandpaper so the paint can stick.

If you want to take a run at painting your's again, you can use some sandpaper to get as much of your paint off & take another run at it.
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tire cover

Post by moseseatonjr »

Hello All, I'm Moseseatonjr. I own a 2009 Stella 2T. I agree the spare tire cover is UGLY.. Paint is......ok but I have decided to go another route.. I found a fabric I liked and covered it in fabric. I then coated the fabric with several coats of clear lacquer and now I have the coolest tire cover on the planet....why you ask??? only because it's a one off..no one else has one exactly like mine. I would post a picture but I am bloody hopeless with this computer stuff........i'm better with tools....
Last edited by moseseatonjr on Sat Oct 04, 2014 3:13 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Drum Pro
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Post by Drum Pro »

I think I Ebay or some other scooter shops in the UK have ones that are like the one that comes with the bike but with graphics on them but I can't remember what site I was at of the top of my head....
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Clipper
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Post by Clipper »

J33pman
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Post by J33pman »

I bought a stainless steel one off of ebay uk. Looks fantastic. Here's one:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VESPA-PX-T5-L ... 4acf3f95f0
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Wild Handyman
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Post by Wild Handyman »

J33pman wrote:I bought a stainless steel one off of ebay uk. Looks fantastic. Here's one:
Beautiful! What was your final cost shipped to the states?
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Neurotic-Hapi-Snak
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Post by Neurotic-Hapi-Snak »

J33pman wrote:I bought a stainless steel one off of ebay uk. Looks fantastic. Here's one:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VESPA-PX-T5-L ... 4acf3f95f0
If I was to get a spare tire cover, I would buy the black plastic version of this one. But I can't justify spending $16 on a piece of plastic that serves little purpose.
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Post by J33pman »

I think the shipping was about 10 or 15. I thought it was worth it. It really stands out and looks very sharp.
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min2max
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Post by min2max »

J33pman - Can you post a pic of the cover on your scoot? I despise the stock cover!
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Post by J33pman »

Here's a really quick, crappy picture after I wiped the dirt off. Can shows how shiny it is...
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min2max
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Post by min2max »

J33pman wrote:Here's a really quick, crappy picture after I wiped the dirt off. Can shows how shiny it is...
Thanks. Looks awesome!
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I ended up with this...
I ended up with this...
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viney266
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Post by viney266 »

Check Cheeky seats:

http://scooterseatcovers.net/index.php? ... x&cPath=46

They make several different ones.
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