Aprilia Sport City 250 review

[klaviator]

Just found the valve adjustment procedure in the Vespa forum including finding TDC. I'm posting the link in case mainly for my own reference but someone else may need it to. http://www.gtsownersclub.co.uk/forum...s+GTS%27#p2284

hexnut, you are correct on the clearances:
Intake - .1mm or .004 in
Exhaust- .15mm or .006 in

[hexnut]

Originally Posted by hexnut

Doesn't it show how to find top dead center?

I believe valve lash is 0.1mm for the intake and 0.15 for the exhaust.

http://www.gtsownersclub.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=257

I was a pretty good mechanic before I got old and feeble

I posted that link in my last post to you..

[klaviator]

Originally Posted by hexnut

I posted that link in my last post to you..

Right after I become a competent mechanic, I plan on learning how to read

[hexnut]

Also most people who don't have an impact gun usually hit the breaker bar with a big mallet to break the nut loose on the CVT cover.

Me personally, I use a 19.2 volt 1/2 inch impact wrench my wife got me for Christmas. they do come in handy.

http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-c...p-00917090000P

[ScootTour]

Originally Posted by klaviator

Not available here in a 15" rear tire. I believe that the Sport City 250 is the only scooter or motorcycle that uses a 130/80-15 tire in this country. About the only tire available in that size is a Sava. My dealer claims that even the Maxxis that came on my scooter is hard to get. If I can't find a 130/90-15 tire that lasts I may try a Metzler 880 140/80-15. It's expensive and wider that the stock tire but someone on the Aprilia forum mounted one on his scooter and it did fit.

I believe I have that Metzler on my rear tire and so far so good, about 1k miles on it.
I had an unrepairable flat the first week I had my bike and the rear tire was finished. I do plan to order well in advance when its time because of availability concerns

[klaviator]

Originally Posted by hexnut

Also most people who don't have an impact gun usually hit the breaker bar with a big mallet to break the nut loose on the CVT cover.

Me personally, I use a 19.2 volt 1/2 inch impact wrench my wife got me for Christmas. they do come in handy.

http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-c...p-00917090000P

I've been thinking of getting an impact wrench so now I have an excuse.

I went and looked at the water pump inspection plug (for TDC). I'll need to get a torx bit to remove it.

Since I have two scooters, I don't even have to drive the cage to go to Harbor Freight

[Süsser Tod]

I have this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Wagan-2257-12V...12v+impact+gun

It's a 12V impact gun. I got it for my GY6 Chinese scoot, as they are known to break belts without warning, and it's the only way to replace the belt on the road. I did try it for maintenance jobs and it works fine, it's perfectly adequate to remove and tighten those nuts. I'd avoid anything battery powered that won't be used often, I don't feel like buying new battery packs every time the darn thing is needed.

[hexnut]

Originally Posted by Süsser Tod

I have this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Wagan-2257-12V...12v+impact+gun

It's a 12V impact gun. I got it for my GY6 Chinese scoot, as they are known to break belts without warning, and it's the only way to replace the belt on the road. I did try it for maintenance jobs and it works fine, it's perfectly adequate to remove and tighten those nuts. I'd avoid anything battery powered that won't be used often, I don't feel like buying new battery packs every time the darn thing is needed.

My 19.2 volt impact wrench uses the same battery pack as my 3/8 drill and my shop light. I have 4 battery packs and two chargers. They are always ready

[klaviator]

I made a trip to harbor Freight this morning and picked up a few toys. Here's the biggest of the toys.



$50 and worth it. It took a fraction of a second to remove that stubborn Driven pulley nut. I did use a high teck tool to hold the rear brake but I'm not sure it was even needed.



After removing the nut and what seemed like a bazillion small bolts, I tried to get the CVT cover off but it was getting stuck on a plastic piece near the top front of the cover. I tried to remove this piece but it was held on by a bolt that turned and turned but would not loosen. I finally resorted to using some pliers to bend (and mangle) the plastic piece to get it out of the way.

It's kind of hard to see but it's just above the fins on the CVT and the right side is bent back.



The CVT cover, bazillion bolts and two washer that fell off but I don't know where they came from.



The CVT, belt and clutch.



the outer part of the clutch.



Close up of the clutch. The shoes all look good.



I also removed the air filter cover. The air filter was falling apart and missing a piece.These are supposed to be reusable but I had replaced this one a around 6,000 miles. I still have the original but may look for an aftermarket filter because this should not happen.

[klaviator]

Now it was time to adjust the valves. With my new socket extension I was easily able to remove the spark plugs. This was necessary to make it easier to turn the engine using the cvt. There is a mark on the Camshaft pulley that makes it easy to find TDC. It was not necessary to use the inspection plug on the water pump as the Vespa forum recommended.

Then, I couldn't figure out where to stick the feeler gauge to measure the clearance. I have never had that problem before. I tried and tried but couldn't get even my thinest feeler in anywhere. Maybe all the valves tightened way up?? So I double checked TDC. Then I just loosened one the the adjusters until I could figure out where the feeler needed to go. There's a trick to it and it's hard to describe but after that it was easy. I don't know the original gap on one intake valve since I loosened it but the other one was slightly tight and the two exhaust valves were right on.

Valve adjustment done, it was time to check the belt. It looked good with a slight amount of wear. The new belt measured 21mm and the old one was 20-20.5 mm. Since it was such a hassle to remove the CVT cover I decided to go ahead and replace it although I'm sure this one would last at leat a few thousand more miles.

I tried using the tool I used on my Kymco to hold the CVT but it wouldn't work. I guess I'll need to buy another tool to continue. Motion Pro has a tool that should work and it's around $25. I'm hoping the Kymco Dealer has one in stock.

After two days of working on the Aprilia, I'm glad it only needs a major service every 12,500 miles because it's a PITA. My Kymco is MUCH easier to work on.

More to come when I get the tool I need.

[hexnut]

May the force be with you..

[lechib]

Klaviator,
You mentioned about "Motion Pro" tool. What is it and how it is used in this job. Thanks

[klaviator]

Originally Posted by lechib

Klaviator,
You mentioned about "Motion Pro" tool. What is it and how it is used in this job. Thanks

I don't know what it is called but when I get it I'll post a a pic of it and show how it is used. It is used to hold the CVT so the CVT nut can be removed and then later reinstalled. I might be able to remove the nut without it just by using the impact wrench but tightening it back to 55 ft-lbs might not be possible without it.

It's not an Aprilia specific tool and could probably be used on most scooters.

[klaviator]

I went to the local Kymco/Vespa/ Piaggio dealer here in Huntsville and picked up a few things.

The is the Motion Pro Tool I was looking for:



I talked to the Vespa mechanic since I didn't see how this worked. He said he just adjusts it to fit between the vanes on the Variator. I had heard that this is a good way to break some vanes but he said it always works for him.

So I decided to give it a try. I thought I took a pic of the tool in position but I guess I didn't. Anyway, the variator nut came right off with no problems using this tool and my impact wrench. The vanes on the Aprilia variator are pretty sturdy and this does not put that much pressure on them.

Here's a pic with the outer part of the Variator removed.

Old sliding blocks:



And new sliding blocks. They slip right on and off. No special tools required



the other part of the variator with new rollers installed.



The old rollers and sliding blocks were still in good shape. Replacing them at 6250 miles as the service manual called for would have been a complete waste of time. When installing the new rollers, note the orientation of the old rollers and install the new ones the same way.

New belt installed and variator reinstalled. I used the Motion pro clutch tool to hold the variator and torqued it to 55 ft-lbs. When Holding the new and old belts side by side I could not detect any difference in width but the micrometer did show a difference of around .5mm. I'm sure this belt would have lasted several thousand more miles.

Reinstalling the CVT cover and driven pulley nut. I bungeed the rear brake lever again and stuck this piece of wood behind the rear wheel to keep it from moving. The specs call for 40 ft-lbs but the best I could get was 38. At 40 ft-lbs the wheel would spin. Oh well, 38 will have to do.



I almost forgot. Reinstalling the CVT cover was a real PITA and took around an hour to do

to do this right, the air filter assembly and a plastic place should be removed. The problem was that I could only remove 2 out of three bolts required to do this. All of these bolts had nuts on the other side that were not secured so the just spun. I could only access two of these nuts. Getting to the third would have required some major removing a bunch of more parts. Removing two of the bolts allowed me to move the Air filter base far enough to get the CVT cover on.

Then, when I tried to reinstall the Air filter assembly, the bolts would not go in because the holes no longer lined up. At this point I was getting pissed. I have never really cared for the looks of the Big Ruckus but about now it was starting to look pretty good. Dealing with all the bodywork is what made this job such a PITA. Everything else is relatively simple if you have the right tools.

Anyway, I eventually got everything back together with only three left over parts.



The big bolt is for the air filter assembly and the other two I have no idea. I may use a drill to elongate the hole in the plastic air filter assembly so I can install the bolt but I doubt it is really needed.

One more thing. The dealer did have an air filter for my Aprilia since the Piaggio 250 has the same filter. I put some No Toil filter oil on it and installed it. It already has some small cracks developing. I wonder if it's the No Toil filter oil? I've been using it for years on my dual sport and dirt bikes with no problems

I took it for a short spin around the parking lot and everything seemed OK. I'll do a longer test ride tomorrow.

[steveb126]

Great post on the maintenance klaviator. I like it when people post this stuff, not as pretty as your ride report but very useful.

Been looking at scooters really hard. Probably going to end up with one before a dual sport, partly due to your RR . Looking at the new pcx150, a Kymco super 8 150 (new) and several used models. Found a used People S 250 for a reasonable price. May even settle for an agility 125 but I think I prefer a big wheel scooter.