Modern Buddy

So I searched the forums and didn't find much, just filled up my tank for the first time and immediately after the gas gauge stopped working. Is this an easy fix or something I should just have fixed at the dealer? I would be down with tinkering a bit.

PostPosted: Tue Feb 28, 2012 1:31 am

Ive had 2 Stella 2t and 4t and a 05 Bajaj autorickshaw.
I have fine tuned the fuel gauges on all of these vehicles...
And here's how...:
Open the gas cap and you'll see the thin but stiff rod that hold the float just out of site to the rear..
Grap that wire rod with a long handled needle nose thru the fuel fill opening..
pull it up as much as you can... now take another needlenose and grab the wire close to the rear of the hole ..
Bend that wire rod so it's now curved instead of straight..
if you went one way... remember it and test the fuel gage...
if it's way off then before... bend it back, then the other way.. concave or convex...
all you want to do is move the float really to hit bottom sooner or later depending on which way your gauge need adjusting..
You'll get it... keep bending till your gauge is accurate..
good luck.
_________________
jh

Posted by jimmbomb

thanks! i will try tomorrow!

To be honest I see fixing the gauge as futile. It'll only break again soon anyway!

The Stella has a fuel petcock so I just ride till she starts stalling, open reserve and go find a gas station!

I thought the Stella's logo was a broken fuel gauge...

Lokky wrote:To be honest I see fixing the gauge as futile. It'll only break again soon anyway!

The Stella has a fuel petcock so I just ride till she starts stalling, open reserve and go find a gas station!

^^^^ THIS...It works for me.

viney266 wrote:

Lokky wrote:To be honest I see fixing the gauge as futile. It'll only break again soon anyway!

The Stella has a fuel petcock so I just ride till she starts stalling, open reserve and go find a gas station!

^^^^ THIS...It works for me.

By the way, favorite Stella maneuver: opening the petcock with your foot without letting the bike die!

Just be careful of the site glass for the oil...EASY to break

The crashbar totally gets in the way there so no risk

That's a nice scooter Alex - what year is it?

thanks 2012. almost ran out this morning on the way to work, the reserve just got me to the nearest station whew!

I don't know how long the reserve is on the 4T, but I have gone 30 miles on reserve on a 2T...

Most of my motorcycles have no gas gauge. I prefer it that way, run till it gurgles, switch and get gas. Unless you are in the boonies there are gas stations EVERYwhere these days. At least on the East coast.

I like gauges.

Thank you, please drive thru.

I like gauges too..
if it quit working all together..
its probably a loose wire somewhere.
start by looking under your seat.
you'll see a thick black wire being held down by a tab of metal against the black plastic.
try and move that wire under the tab. if you cannot.. the wire is pinched.. and that could be the break in the electrical connection.
if its loose under there ... maybe the float fell off the stiff wire inside the tank..
is the gauge reading MT all the time? or full?
good luck....

empty all the time

honestly, scooters run so far on so little gas. I live in the city so I fill to the top once every two weeks, or more if I go a distance. Since it's my daily rider I don't have too much of a problem remembering how much I've ridden her.
I guess it's more difficult for people who ride them sporadically and live in the burbs...

If the scooter comes with a gas gauge I would like it to work somewhat whether I "need it" or not. Why is this so difficult?

If you bought a brand new car and the fuel gauge didn't work would you say, "I don't need it, it has an idiot light for when I'm low on fuel"?

My P doesn't have one because they didn't come with one and I'm fine with that too.

lempira wrote: If you bought a brand new car and the fuel gauge didn't work would you say, "I don't need it, it has an idiot light for when I'm low on fuel"?

Then again if you bought a new car you probably would not have bought an Indian clone of an old Italian car which was known for its issues before shitty Indian parts quality was added to the mix~

Then again if you bought a new car you probably would not have bought an Indian clone of an old Italian car which was known for its issues before shitty Indian parts quality was added to the mix~

Umm...the Stella is based the P or PX. Unquestionably the most reliable scooters of all the "vintage" vespas.

I didn't realize that a functioning fuel gauge was modern technology. I believe the first functioning fuel gauge in an auto was in 1915.

alexandercase wrote:empty all the time

it could be a pinched wire under the tab,
could be the sending unit went bad..
could be the float and or float hanger fell of the sending unit arm..
could be wire came off in the headset (dash guage)..
if you aint too handy... id say,
take it back to a dealer and take advantage of your 2 year warranty.
good luck...

Stitch wrote:I thought the Stella's logo was a broken fuel gauge...

BURN!!!!!

Not totally untrue and pretty much accurate, but still burn.

lempira wrote: Umm...the Stella is based the P or PX. Unquestionably the most reliable scooters of all the "vintage" vespas.

Talking about the most reliable "vintage" vespas is like talking about the best-written Adam Sandler movies - sure, one might be better than the other, but they're all, shall we say, deficient.

If you start worrying about how "come on, this isn't hard, I should expect it to work, this is a new scooter" with something as uninteresting as the fuel gauge, you'll drive yourself mad. These things are awesome - I wouldn't ride any twist-and-go scooter as long as I can get one of these - but they simply *aren't* even on the same planet with regard to reliability and build quality as "a brand new car" and you're setting yourself up for a very frustrating ownership experience if you expect it.

That said, I personally haven't had trouble with the fuel gauge - my 2005 2t's gauge works fine, other than being overly pessimistic and showing the tank empty when it still had 30 miles of gas before reserve; and my 2012 4t's gauge seems perfect so far.

Have you encountered the guillotine action the shifter puts on the light and turn signal wiring? The speedo cable rub-through problem? the useless rear brake issue? The neutral and brake light issues? Randomly-breaking clutch cables? the headlamp lens falling off? Out-of-true wheels? Exhausts that fall off? Some or all of these are in your future. You wouldn't take any of those on a new car either, but you're going to take them with a Stella. Either it will burn you up, or you'll enjoy it anyway.

My 2009 has never moved off of "E." I am just glad it has a reserve switch. If it didn't, then we all would really be upset about the workmenship of our fuel guages!!!

Talindsay have you ever owned a P or PX?

On my Atomic Fireball the only working instrumentation I have is the fuel gauge!

However I also keep a little camp-gas bottle full of gas in the glove box, My bike is thirsty with it's 177 kit, Stroker crank and 24/24 so it never hurts to have a extra bit of gas.

I'm on my 3rd Stella and I've had my share of problems, Had the glass fall out of the headlight twice on my Atomic Fireball, After that I put in a Halogen conversion and it's been fine since.

On my latest bike I filed the hole for the headlight wiring and zip tied it to the shifter cables, I don't think it'll cut through this time.

I've yet to have any rear brake problems or exhausts fall off. Since I got all 3 bikes used all 3 bikes have had lumpy wheels from the previous owners curb checking them, I'm kinda used to it by now

Look, we are talking about Italian engineering, as an Italian I am the first to admit that we just can't get our electrics right.

Have you encountered the guillotine action the shifter puts on the light and turn signal wiring? The speedo cable rub-through problem? the useless rear brake issue? The neutral and brake light issues? Randomly-breaking clutch cables? the headlamp lens falling off? Out-of-true wheels? Exhausts that fall off? Some or all of these are in your future. You wouldn't take any of those on a new car either, but you're going to take them with a Stella. Either it will burn you up, or you'll enjoy it anyway.

P/PX Vespa's hardly have any of these issues you mentioned above. Ask someone who has owned a well taken care of P/PX vs a Stella. Has nothing to do with being "Italian" but a lot to do with QUALITY CONTROL!

A P or PX is barely "vintage".

Quit being pompous.

I also like how you have a wasp on your stella. Quit pretending it's a vespa because it isn't. Sorry.

lempira wrote:
A P or PX is barely "vintage".

Newest P200 sold in America would have been what, a 82? That's 30 years. Oldest P-Series would be 77 so 35 years old.

At least in Arizona any vehicle over 25 years old is considered 'Historic' and I've got a friend with a Historic plate on his P200. I'd say anything 25 years old or older is Vintage.

Newest P200 sold in America would have been what, a 82? That's 30 years. Oldest P-Series would be 77 so 35 years old.

At least in Arizona any vehicle over 25 years old is considered 'Historic' and I've got a friend with a Historic plate on his P200. I'd say anything 25 years old or older is Vintage.

I understand, but when you're talking "vintage scooters" a lot of people don't consider them true vintage. it's not like an LI 150!

Last year of the P200 was 81 in the states.

http://scooterlounge.com/vespa/buyers-g ... pa-p.shtml

Edit: Ask Desmolicious what he thinks having owned a newer PX and a Stella. I don't think he held onto the Stella longer than 6 months. He still has his PX. "Italian engineering" seems to work fine on the PX.

what's with all the stellaspeed style aggro???
some people like stella's some don't, some people like p series, some don't, some people think p's are vintage, others think lambrettas are vintage. why does everyone get so god damn defensive about this stuff? how about some friggin comraderie between people who seemingly have similar interests?

also:
ripping on stella owners for not owning an actual vespa is the oldest bit ever. not only that, but it immediately shows the person who opened their mouth to be a pompous prick too invested in what (to mentally healthy people with LIVES) is a HOBBY.

also:
ripping on stella owners for not owning an actual vespa is the oldest bit ever. not only that, but it immediately shows the person who opened their mouth to be a pompous prick too invested in what (to mentally healthy people with LIVES) is a HOBBY.

U mad bro?

JohnKiniston wrote:

lempira wrote:
A P or PX is barely "vintage".

Newest P200 sold in America would have been what, a 82?

PX 150 Vespas were sold in the US until 2005.

you 5 bro?

desmolicious wrote:

JohnKiniston wrote:

lempira wrote:
A P or PX is barely "vintage".

Newest P200 sold in America would have been what, a 82?

PX 150 Vespas were sold in the US until 2005.

Yes, don't you you have an '05? How would you compare your '05 PX to the Stella quality wise? Because after all it's all the same thing right? Lulz

FTR I own both! (vespa and stella)

Edit: Bottom line for me is that it's not the minimalist technology that is the problem with the Stella it's the quality control.

I suppose I wasn't trying to make any statement at all about Italian design or anything - just that these machines are what they are, and with exactly one manufacturer making them, in India off old Italian molds, you will waste a lot of time getting exasperated if you choose to do so. Whether the problem is Italian design or Indian quality control is fairly irrelevant - it's not going to change, and the built machine was already built. There seem to be a lot of issues going on in this thread, I don't give a damn about that. My point is, these things will go wrong with a Stella and you either have to make peace with it, or sell it. I don't care whether or not they go wrong with your specific Vespa, because the discussion is about Stellas.

desmolicious wrote:

JohnKiniston wrote:

lempira wrote:
A P or PX is barely "vintage".

Newest P200 sold in America would have been what, a 82?

PX 150 Vespas were sold in the US until 2005.

But to be fair, Vespas in general weren't available for the entire rest of the 20th century. Any Vespa that is older than an ET-series in the US is effectively vintage. It may ruffle the feathers of those who love to be exclusive and "elite" about their ET3's and what not, but it's the market in the US.

As for Stellas being "low grade", that's a matter of opinion. Sure, they are using ancient technology but as someone who's owned both, they are VERY much alike enough that I wouldn't turn either down. I had my '05 for about 4 years and a rough set of mileage (over 25k of VERY neglected abuse as a daily rider) and it served better than bikes costing 3x as much. And, you are on a forum for Genuine Scooter Company bikes, so there is a predisposition towards the Stella.

And, as a former owner of both, The 32 year old P200e I had wasn't superior in all ways to the Stella in every front. To be realistic the front brake on a P-series is damned weak (although I was able to tune mine to "usable"), the lack of electric start wasn't *too* irritating but it's nice to have, and having a fuel gauge is a nice touch. Also, a new influx of non-rusted, non-beaten chassis is a godsend to an otherwise neglected US market for steel bodied scooters. I say replace the rubber with good quality non-Indian rubber, maintain the bike and keep good quality repair components on it and you'd be hard pressed to find issue.

It's the splitting hairs of fanboyism that is what makes some feel like you're trolling a bit lempira. Either way you slice it, these are P series bikes on 30+ year old technology. It is what it is. I got years of faithful service out of my Stella, and I am looking for another one. My P-series wasn't meant to be due to many life conditions, but it was also a fine bike. But, in my opinion, equal. Not "better". And, if we wanted precision engineering we'd buy Japanese or German. I don't think one person here honestly believes the P-series scooter is the pinnacle of engineering

lempira wrote: Yes, don't you you have an '05? How would you compare your '05 PX to the Stella quality wise? Because after all it's all the same thing right? Lulz

Well sorta, Engine is different in the 05 PX, It's a Rotary valve engine, Stella's have Reeds

I want to say there are some other differences too, I've ridden a couple of the 05 PX's but I cant remember off the top of my head.

desmolicious wrote:

JohnKiniston wrote:

lempira wrote:
A P or PX is barely "vintage".

Newest P200 sold in America would have been what, a 82?

PX 150 Vespas were sold in the US until 2005.

Not exactly, From the Vespa USA Site:

"Having returned to the US in 2000 after exiting the market in 1985 because of new emissions legislation that targeted two stroke engines"

And I believe the return in 2000 was with the 4-Stroke modern Vespa.

I swear there are p200 vespas after 2000, they sold for like a year at 7 grand? am I hallucinating here? I swear there was a special edition one year run and then they canned it. but i'm almost certain it was a p.

JohnKiniston wrote:

desmolicious wrote:

JohnKiniston wrote: Newest P200 sold in America would have been what, a 82?

PX 150 Vespas were sold in the US until 2005.

Not exactly, From the Vespa USA Site:

"Having returned to the US in 2000 after exiting the market in 1985 because of new emissions legislation that targeted two stroke engines"

And I believe the return in 2000 was with the 4-Stroke modern Vespa.

You're correct.

Anyway, I just don't like the "well it's old technology so that's why the muffler welds break, the gas gauge doesn't work, the headlight lens falls off and the blinkers don't work. all old scooters are like that" excuse. The problem isn't "Italian engineering" or "old technology" the problem is purely quality control/quality of parts. The Vespa models of which these Stella's are based on just did not/ do not have the same problems...it's completely false to say otherwise.

I appreciate what Genuine is trying to do by importing these scooters, offering a two year warranty to cover these issues because apparently they don't have any say in the quality control department. I like the electric start, disc brake, 4t (blasphemy I know), and they're fun to ride.

Improve the quality of parts/ quality control, keep the same price point and we have a winner. Genuine is paying for it one way or another, right now it's through warranty costs.

double-o-soul wrote:I swear there are p200 vespas after 2000, they sold for like a year at 7 grand? am I hallucinating here? I swear there was a special edition one year run and then they canned it. but i'm almost certain it was a p.

that was '04/'05 and it was the PX 150 Serie America limited edition.

The what's vintage/what's not/what's "classic"/what's just old, etc. debate is pointless, tired, and a less constructive use of time than picking your bellybutton. It's certainly not the kind of thing we need to have here, especially if people are going to argue about it.

Hello People,

Wow....I just bought my '09 2T a few days ago and joined the forum. All this snarling is a bit unsettling, I hope it's just the weather or something and not the norm? As a new member I was pleased to find a forum focused on Stella scooters, never once considered the Stella's place of origin would be an issue for [some] Vespa enthusiasts. So far I've put less than 100 miles on her but that will change today, it's supposed to be sunny and warm, just right for riding.

Good to be aboard

LL75

larrylarry75 wrote: All this snarling is a bit unsettling, I hope it's just the weather or something and not the norm

Don't stress out about it Larry, People get uh passionate about their bikes at times and things can get heated now and then. What's the quote about opinions and butts? Yeah.

This site has a great user base, Check out topic23098.html for a example.

JohnKiniston wrote:

larrylarry75 wrote: All this snarling is a bit unsettling, I hope it's just the weather or something and not the norm

Don't stress out about it Larry, People get uh passionate about their bikes at times and things can get heated now and then. What's the quote about opinions and butts? Yeah.

This site has a great user base, Check out topic23098.html for a example.

Good to hear, thanks for your comments.

LL75

Yesterday I took off for a sunny ride on my new 2T and stopped to gas up in town, a short distance up the road. The fuel gage was showing nearly empty due to the 101 miles on the clock. I don't recall how much gas it took to fill up, the attendant did the honors but I saw it was close to the top.

I spent the next two or three hours buzzing around the country side, lots of back roads, even a few construction zones all of which made for a good combination of break-in speeds. All-told it was a wonderful afternoon until I noticed the fuel gage was showing empty. Buggers I thought, here comes the first of the issues the guys on MB talked about, the infamous failed fuel gage. No big deal though, I'm OK with messing around with things so I continued on home.

Once I arrived and got the beastie parked in the barn I figured I'd start the repair routine by having a look at the fuel float rod (or wire). Opening the gas cap I was startled to note there was precious little benzino present; in fact I could easily see all the apparatus located in the bottom of the tank. Now having never looked in the tank before I wondered where all the fuel was and even more important what was going on with the troublesome gage.

Then the tiny inkling of an idea began to form in my creaky old brain: start the beast up and have a really up-close look at the gage. Sure enough it registered ever so slightly a tiny bit of fuel in the tank, just what you might expect for the amount present. Hmmm I thought, I wonder if it's really malfunctioning or just indicating what's actually there. Or in this case, not there.

I keep several cans of fuel on hand so I refilled the tank to the top and voila`, the gage showed full. Duh.... I'm not sure what all this means but this had to be the easiest fix for any problem I've yet experienced. I wonder what will happen next? Low air pressure in the tires? Bugs on the paint? Eww...

LL75