My neighbor tells me that he chased some kids away who were messing around with my scoot. The next time I went to use it I had trouble getting my key in and when I finally did it wouldn't start.
I had the wheel lock engaged but when I got to it the wheel would turn, not all the way to the right but turn about 45 degrees. The handle bars and front wheel were no longer aligned. Also when I turn the key it doesn't snap into place like it should.
How's your insurance?
Looks like you'll have to haul it to the dealer.
Sounds like these "kids" tried to jack your scoot by hotwiring it, then just tried to steal it by forcing the wheel to unlock. Sounds like they damaged the ignition, but more severely may have bent your front fork and done some other damage along the way.
Eric // LA Scooter Meetup Group // Stella 4T // Vespa LX // Vespa LXS // Honda Helix // some, uh, projects…
I doubt they bent your fork, take off the front cover and you will see that the headset is just attached to a shaft by a bolt. I found this out when I went down back in November. I thought I was totally screwed with a bent fork. The dealer showed me how the head set was attached, loosen the bolt, align it back up and tighten it back up.
I don't think the fork is bent because after seeing that it was misaligned I twisted it back to center not percise but it won't start so it doesn't matter right now. I am just pissed because we've only had it a week and already some *$%&#@*$s messed it up. We had a Kymco People 250 last year that was stolen. Sometimes makes me hate my neighborhood.
Holy cow – that’s no good, sounds like the kids have you pegged for a target, lucky you have neighbors watching out for you.
Hope everything goes back together right, and it sounds like you need a large lock as well!
rajron wrote:Hope everything goes back together right, and it sounds like you need a large lock as well!
And possibly a scooter alarm.
[EDIT, added info...]
This is a lock someone posted about over on Modern Vespa (Poster is Belgian so pls. excuse his use of "steering wheel" in place of "handlebars" ). See original post for pics.
LX125 wrote:This is a lock that connects the steeringwheel with the bodywork so the steeringwheel can't move.
There's a bracket that can be fixed under the seat and and holds the lock when not in use.
A little pin goes into the steeringwheel and connects to the lock.
I secure my scooter to the fence at work with a great big "Fuhgedaboutit" lock & chain from Kryptonite for a theft deterrent. Using a simple grey & black motorcycle cover keeps dirty idle no-good-nik hands off my precious shiny new scooter. Good luck with everything, and perhaps invest in a cattle prod for herding the neighborhood "kids" in the right direction!
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