Vespa 300 GTS HPE

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Data
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Re: Vespa 300 GTS HPE

Post by Data »

abitmad wrote: Sat May 08, 2021 7:56 am
Data wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 11:23 am Congrats for buying one of the best (and most popular) midrange scooters on the market. You won't regret it. I suspect you will grow to love the Vespa more and more. Most folks do after they get one. I got rid of all my big bikes and my 400 Burgman in favour of just owning and riding the Vespa. It's pure joy to ride on short or very long trips and has more than adequate performance. It far out performs my GSX1400's and 1000cc Vstroms, not in outright performance of course, but in lots of other ways and returns 87mpg plus overall. If I don't go over 60mph I can rely on 90-92mpg. But it's real performance is in the way it goes. I repeat...it's a pure joy to ride!

Regarding your toollkit. My GTS 300 is a 2016 70th anniversary model. Even then, they only supplied a very basic toolkit and no seat protector. However, it did come with the rear folding rack, and special paint and badges, with a slightly different finish to the wheels. It also came with the much sought after genuine leather Vespa topcase. These are incredibly expensive to buy at over £350 each, so getting it as part of the new bike deal was quite something. I added the genuine Vespa mid-size screen which the dealer sold me (and fitted for free) at a very special rate since I bought it at the time of buying the new bike. It's a looker alright, but all the GTS bikes are and the HPE's are no exception.

Other things I've added are heated grips and a good front fender extender from ScooterLabs. I also took the precaution of 'rust proofing' the whole bike with Waxoyl. However, I wouild add that this is not a necessity as all the Vespas come with electrophoretic primer which prevents rusting in places you cannot see. Got to say that the finish is really good on the bike and everywhere I checked before rustproofing was fully treated at the factory with the electrophoretic primer.

I expect you'll make up your mind on extra fitments as time goes by. But heated grips can be a really useful addition if you are going to use it in the winter, or even on long rides on a summers evening. The GTS has a 450w alternator so you can fit the heavier duty bike grips if you want, rather than the sometimes feeble scooter grips. But don't get anything that goes over 3.9amps at maximum draw. Scooter grips usually go to 3.2amps and bike grips normally upto 3.9.

Ok so going on a bit too much here. But nice to see another GTS on the site. Well done and don't be a stranger.
Thanks for these details.

Which heated grips did you fit? I do like hgs and always have them fitted to all bikes I've bought if they don't come as standard.

Strangely perhaps, Piaggio don't offer them for Vespas - wish they did - so the only possibility is an aftermarket job. Far as I've found there are two makes that people install on a Ves, Oxford and Koso. Apart from a natural loathing I have for anything Oxford, after having bad experiences of their products in the past, the Koso from what I've seen on YouTube etc. looks a nicer installation as it does not have the unsightly control unit of the Oxford grips. My dealer offered only Oxford when I bought the bike so I declined. Have a pair of battery powered heated gloves but they're not the same. Hgs are a nice feature to have when you don't have the heated gloves with you or the batteries are flat and the weather turns chilly.

Only thing I've fitted so far is a permanent battery flylead for my CTEK smart charger so as to make it easy to connect as I always keep my bikes on charge all the time at home.
Ok I fitted the Oxford 'Adventure' Hotgrips. These have a maximum current draw of 3.9amp with an average draw of 3.6amps. Your Vespa can run these you should find unless the HPE has had it's generator downgraded from 450w or there is some other reason the electrics are already loaded more on the HPE. You could check with your dealer who will normally recommend the 3.2amp Oxford scooter hotgrips. They only do this incase you are only doing short trips in winter and the heavier current draw of the more powerful girps could potentially run the battery down a bit. However, I rarely need them on full power even on a very cold day. Although I did use them at a 70% setting when going to Birmingham from Nth Essex a couple of years ago. It was a winter ride with ice on the roads! I used to avoid Oxford Hotgrips years ago, but the quality of these grips is now outstanding. The intelligent heat controller is brilliant. I didn't even bother to wire directly into the wiring loom like I normally do as there is really no need. Just go straight to the battery as recommended in the fitting instructions. The power supply is fused of course so you don't have to worry. Had mine fitted for over 4 years now with no issues.

The 'Koso' grips are ok and do look maybe a little better without a control box being needed but they are not quite as robust from my examination of them. I've only fitted them once to a Vespa for a customer and they didn't seem that powerful.

In the image below (click on it) you can just see I've mounted the control box on the left 'kneepad' behind the legshield. It's easy to get to and doesn't look bad. I also ran the cables to the grips, avoiding threading them through the handle bar shrouds to allow for an easy route (without stressing the cables). You can actually shorten the amount of cable on show if you wish but as you can see I left mine quite long. It all was very easy to do and it means that the familiar long term issue with many heated grips of broken internal cable due to opening and closing the throttle won't occur. The thing about the GTS range is that everything is easy to get to. You don't usually have to take off loads of plastic as there is very little of that on the bike. Servicing is a dream! With the heated grips, underseat and glovebox storage and a leather topcase, it's a really useful tool all year round.
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Probably not ugly enough for the 'Ugly Bunch'! :lol:

Been riding for 54 years & owned too many bikes to list here...

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Data
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Re: Vespa 300 GTS HPE

Post by Data »

Stibbs wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 2:46 pm Smeg,

For an extra 6mph? I wouldn’t bother. However, I’ve not ridden the GTS so that may be a deal breaker.
I tend to agree with you Stibbs. What with average speed cameras on the motorways and dual carriageways etc etc it's not a priority for most I'm guessing.
Probably not ugly enough for the 'Ugly Bunch'! :lol:

Been riding for 54 years & owned too many bikes to list here...

abitmad
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Re: Vespa 300 GTS HPE

Post by abitmad »

The other thing I've added is a mirror stem mount for my Beeline nav device, which you have to buy as an extra. Already had the Beeline on my Triumph, using the bar mount that comes with the unit, but nowhere easy to fit that on the Ves with its shrouded bars. At first I tried utilising the existing bar mount on the left grip as far in to the right as possible but it was not a satisfactory answer as it restricted hand placement on the grip uncomfortably. The mirror stem mount works fine and with the phone charged off the USB socket in the glove box, all is good.

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Re: Vespa 300 GTS HPE

Post by Data »

The mirror mount is a good solution. That's what I do and I too use the USB port in the glove box to power it. I use a cheap mirror stem mount for my phone but I really must invest in a proper more robust phone mount that fixes to the mirror stem bolt. My cheap mount twizzles around at speed and reading Android Auto upside down has sent me to Australia by mistake! I thought I was using a lot of fuel that day!! :lol:
Probably not ugly enough for the 'Ugly Bunch'! :lol:

Been riding for 54 years & owned too many bikes to list here...

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Re: Vespa 300 GTS HPE

Post by smeghead »

Talking for fuel, I had a little bimble around yesterday, only around 30 miles but I'd not been on the GTS for a few weeks so it was nice. I filled up and worked out that that tank had done very slightly over 90 mpg. Considering I'm no lightweight and there's a massive Faco twin screen on it, I reckon that's good going.

abitmad
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Re: Vespa 300 GTS HPE

Post by abitmad »

Data wrote: Sun May 09, 2021 7:06 am The mirror mount is a good solution. That's what I do and I too use the USB port in the glove box to power it. I use a cheap mirror stem mount for my phone but I really must invest in a proper more robust phone mount that fixes to the mirror stem bolt. My cheap mount twizzles around at speed and reading Android Auto upside down has sent me to Australia by mistake! I thought I was using a lot of fuel that day!! :lol:
I don't have the phone on the stem, I have the Beeline there. This is a small circular unit which shows turn-by-turn arrow directions, not a full nav map. It looks neat and unobtrusive on the bike and also avoids the potential for the bike's vibes to damage the phone on the bars or mirror stem etc.

It connects to the phone by Bluetooth whilst the phone stays somewhere safe, could be in your pocket, but within range and ideally, for longer journeys, where it can be on charge. On the Ves the ideal place is in the glove box where it can access the USB socket. The Beeline device has its own internal battery and has to be charged separately, most do it at home. It's not meant to be charged on the go so no trailing wires required. Its battery is claimed to last for around 30 hours.

However it's not as good as a full nav on a phone or a dedicated nav unit as there is no map and no audio instructions. The trade-off is the small neat appearance, it's waterproof, has no unsightly hanging cables and avoids exposing your phone to weather, vibes, etc. It is though quite dear at £149 and the mirror stem mount is extra.

https://beeline.co/pages/beeline-moto

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Re: Vespa 300 GTS HPE

Post by Red Dog »

They're all at it.


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abitmad
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Re: Vespa 300 GTS HPE

Post by abitmad »

Sagalout wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 5:24 am How's oil consumption I read some new hpe engines using bit of oil
I've just passed 1,000 miles and checked the oil today. It's right on the max mark. It was changed at the first service at about 600m so appears to have used none in the 400m since, unless they overfilled at the service. Dealer is reliable so that is probably unlikely.

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Re: Vespa 300 GTS HPE

Post by Data »

Hi abitmad, great, it's going good. Little tip...always check the oil level when you get it back from a dealer, no matter how good the dealer is. It's so easy to overfill these babies and I see it all the time on my friend bikes. Glad you like it.
Probably not ugly enough for the 'Ugly Bunch'! :lol:

Been riding for 54 years & owned too many bikes to list here...

abitmad
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Re: Vespa 300 GTS HPE

Post by abitmad »

Data wrote: Thu Jun 17, 2021 5:07 am Hi abitmad, great, it's going good. Little tip...always check the oil level when you get it back from a dealer, no matter how good the dealer is. It's so easy to overfill these babies and I see it all the time on my friend bikes. Glad you like it.
Good tip thanks, will do in future. The filler cap was very tight, couldn't undo it with my fingers and not helped by its awkward location. Had to use an adjustable spanner on the long flats of the cap, very gently as it is plastic, to slacken it. Did it up just lightly finger tight so shouldn't have that difficulty again.

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