As some of you will know I've had my GTS from new. It performs very well and has been 100% reliable. I carryout all my own servicing to Piaggio recommended standards using oem parts, except for the oil filter which I replace with Hi-flo filters instead of the Piaggio now very poor quality unit which costs a huge amount of money compared to the Hi-flo unit. The Hi-flo unit is also much better quality and carries a TUV rating of the highest order.
Anyhoo...I recently carried out a full service on it to include the usual oil & filter change, air filter, gearbox oil change and included a valve check, coolant change, spark plug clean and re-gap and a full nut and bolt check. Also cleaned the calipers and pads and gave the clutch a good clean out and deglaze of the clutch pads. Scanned the bike for faults but it was all clean. She needed a new front tyre so that was replaced just before the service. The bike goes really well now, not that it didn't before hand but it's just got that bit of extra pep now.
So after covering a few hundred miles I can tell you the bike fuel economy is amazing. It's definitely better than before the service. I run E10 almost exclusively and the bike is returning a consistent 88.6 to 92.4mpg all the time but closer to 92.4 for the majority of riding. The variation is a little dependant on the exact type of riding being done of course, the weather and temperature and the wind, and does include always some minor town/urban work. The majority of riding is on dual carriageways and fast 'A' roads, but also on country roads at between 50-60mph (probably around 45%) and 60-65mph on dual carriageways for most of the rest of the journeys. I don't tend to cruise at 70mph very much these days as I don't need to get anywhere in a hurry. Although I do often hit 70mph when overtaking trucks on dual carriageways or if I just fancy a faster ride. The bike does cruise nicely at 70. I cannot detect any use of oil inbetween services which are at 10,000kms (6250miles).
With regard to E10 fuel, my engine seems to thrive on it and the bike has never ever consistently given such good fuel economy as it does now, even on E5.
So, how are you guys managing with E10 in your bikes?
PS. for those of you with GT/GTS bikes, the valve check on these babies is really easy. You don't need lots of special equipment or lifts. Many of the articles on some Vespa sites can be a bit misleading in that respect making you believe you need to do all sorts of stuff (like removing the silencer) to do a proper job. Just not true. The main thing is to swing the cylinder head upwards so you can get to it more easily as in my picture. That means dropping the rear of the motor downwards. To do that disconnect spark plug lead, and remove a cable clip that holds many of the main electrical cables running around the engine, then disconnect the rear suspension struts and use a scissor jack under the engine support subframe at the front of the motor to lift the front of the motor up a bit making sure you don't jack it up so high the engine subframe pivot brackets come to rest on the front exhaust/downpipe otherwise you can break the manifold studs (sorry no photos of those pivot brackets to show you). To prevent that do it slowly and put a block under the rear tyre to stop the engine swinging down too much. Talk to me anyone that requires further info on that. Oh...and put the bike on a bit of timber of at least 2" in thickness so the bike stands high off the ground for more clearance.
