Robot Discusses OIL CONSUMPTION on the Vespa GTS HPE

Oil Reminder Sticker (ST107): www.scooterwest.com/check-oil...
Oil Pan w/ Sight Glass: www.scooterwest.com/black-sig...
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Thanks for watching!

[@rickmanley767]

Having to check your oil that often is ridiculous. I’m glad I saw this video.

[@deea2680]

Yes me too I agree, how often do you recommend checking for rust? I really wanted to buy one of these, but both items I have mentioned are so important to me I am afraid that is not going to happen until these issues are solved. You mentioned oil usage is more on this series of engine, did the other engines not get ridden so fast or whilst cold?

[@xuankhoanguyen4135]

Hello there Vespa GTS HPE owner in Vietnam here. Regularly checking in the oil and I saw that 500km will consume somehow 100ml oil. Pretty weird since my friend with a 300 Quasar Model doesnt has that much of consumption. But in Vietnam, dealer suggest we change the oil at 3000km, so no big deal for the lost amount of oil. So in our community, some of us attempt to change the Cylinder to Mallosi cylinder upgrade kit, and oil consumption is not a thing anymore. Also some went to the service agency n change the Cylinder oil rings n things seem to be better. Wonder if HPE require to burn more oil than Quasar… really tough to get. Btw we all use Ipone Katana JASO MA2, API SN. 100%synth. Cheer on ya Robot!!!

[@BrendaEM]

It seems that the HPE was a disimproved engine. Americans needed more displacement for highway use; what Vespa sent was a difficult to high-maintenance engine that not only burns too much oil, but makes it difficult to even check the oil, as well.

[@billhuber2221]

I am consuming 250 ml every other fuel fill up. No highway country roads 30 to 45 miles per hour. Piaggio should do recall to add sight glass. As minimum. What is cause of consumption ring piston clearance or ring design? Fill stick access is poor as well.

[@enigmaphuket7656]

The first 5000km I added a total of 450ml of oil. After the 5000km service I drove an extra 1500km and checked every 500km oil. Doesn't use any oil at all now. So very satisfied. Small update Had the 10000 Km service done today. Didn't have to add any oil for the last 5000km. And use the Vespa daily, always let it run for a while before driving away. The first 1000 Km I ran this Vespa as the manual prescribes. So quietly run in did not go above the specified speed. The throttle only used 80% and the engine was never heavily loaded.

[@OldassBoomer]

I had very similar results with my Sei Giorni.

[@johnmarley6695]

Great videos, as always. No bullshit, just excellent advice.

[@peterhobbs7609]

Great video Robot, you are a real Vespa champion,, thanks for these

[@marcoajo3498]

Your videos are fantastic and I always watch them with interest (greetings from Sardinia Italy) Ajo!

[@danjanellepeterson3178]

Great video Robot. Thanks for your heart to teach about all the details, and thanks specifically for addressing this issue. Was a bit worried when I noticed my 300 HPE was consuming a bit more oil than expected. Saw the video on the sight glass oil pan and knew it was a must have. I live in Portland and have the honor of Vespa Portland as my dealer. Andrew is such a great help. They are the ones who put the sight glass oil pan on. Such a supportive community between them and your commitment to educating through KZbin. Thanks.

[@VespaMotorsport]

Great to hear! We ❤️ Vespa Portland!

[@attilas7480]

@@VespaMotorsport Dear Robot! I hope u can help me with my oil related problem. I have a brand new 2023 gts 300 super, having only approx.130 miles on the clock. Sometimes when the bike is on idle, or rolling on idle it stops suddenly with a slight banging sound, and the oil light comes on. I checked the oil and the level is allright. When i start it again, the light disappears and it works nicely. The problem is, I live in Central Europe and it would be a bit diffucult to bring it to your workshop, but I am a big fan of your workmanship.:(. Have you ever encountered this kind of problem before? Best, Attila

[@jeffreypickering8789]

Thanks much Robot! 2020 GTS in shop now because of oil consumption. Will call them tomorrow with your wise words. Shooda watched your vids first!!

[@vk2icj]

Thank you for your honest video

[@goldilocks913]

Thanks Robot, good to know if l upgrade my 2019 300 gts anytime soon 👍

[@Sectionatebeats]

Great advice about starting off slowly. I live right on Route 1, so I tend to gun it to 50 to 60mph right out fo the gate with minimal warm up. I’ve added 1 quart of oil so far since my last oil change in July 2020 (2,400 miles driven). No leaks, bike runs fine, just thirsty for that oil, partly due to my riding style I’m sure.

[@Imightberiding]

That is far too much oil consumption for a new engine. I wouldn't tolerate that. I would be demanding a new engine from Vespa. That sort of consumption should only be expected in an old, tired engine with hundreds of thousands of miles on it. Also, you need to realise that 1 quart is a very large percentage of the total oil capacity of a small 300cc scooter engine. It's bad enough in a car with 5 or 6 quart oil reserves but catastrophic in such a new tiny motor.

[@jr0079]

@@Imightberiding Your right, It sound like quality control issue or defect/design piston rings. That was the same issue with Toyota's. I wouldn't tolerate that for the $$$$ it cost. That why I warm every engine I use the 3 mins rule.

[@jameskrell4392]

I have had two GTS 300's and both have used a little oil, especially in hot weather long rides. I would say around 250 to 300 ml every 6,000 miles. Comparing that to a car I put this down to the motor being highly stressed. I haven't bought an HPE yet but having to check your oil every trip is a pain in the but, especially the way you top up the oil on a HPE. I would definitely instal a sight glass if I had an HPE. My new GTS leaches air from the eyes just like my last one did. I cured that issue by installing tubes in the tyres.

[@MotoRiderGreece]

I own the same scooter. My advice (I have not try it so far but i will ) is to use oil with JASO MB specs and not JASO MA or MA2 as wrongly piaggio advice.It is not a wet clutch scooter. So it doesn't need MA or MA2 oil but MB oil which is full of moly inside for better lubrication. Try it all and give me feedback. You will save your ass.

[@gwynnus]

how would that stop oil consumption though?

[@maskedavenger2578]

Sound advice Robot 👍

[@paulfarmerful]

Might this help to get Piaggio to provide a sight glass?

[@MagixianX1]

2017 150cc Primavera, my low oil light came on round a corner the other day and the engine cut off the moment i stopped. Checked the oil level and it was just on the edge of the dipstick indication. Its only got 4000km on the odometer. The service center here uses Total Racing 4T oil.

[@J.Harry.T]

I have just passed 4000 miles on my year old GTS HPE. It is running like a Swiss watch and oil consumption now appears to be zero.

[@espltdm155]

Thanks robot. I’ve had mine at dealer for five months now to receive a new motor because the motor died from not having enough oil. Luckily it was still under warranty so they’re gonna replace it at no cost. I will definitely be more attentive to oil level once I get it back

[@gtsstang]

Since I use 10W-40 oil instead of 5W-40, my oil consumption is close to zero. 2020 HPE 300 Yacht Club.

[@highlymedicated2438]

For how long?

[@aliyurdakul1]

Better use 5w 50 oil

[@orfeas92]

Very nice video Robot as usual! A lot of new scooter engine burn some oil unfortyantelly. I have one question.. Does all this oil leve harmfull residues inside the head and/or exhaust? After 30.000mi, what will be the condition of the engine?

[@chind69]

Easy to top it off with a 60cc syringe. One shot will take it from the low mark to the high mark.

[@dukeloo]

Did your BV350 consume a lot of oil too?

[@zx2927]

Won't the low oil light, light up if the oil is low? Preventing major damages.

[@BartDavisBigBoysHobbies]

Do the Vespa 150 and Piaggio 150 have the same oil consumption problem?

[@Imightberiding]

I very much appreciate Robot's videos. This man is a treasure trove of knowledge & information of all things Vespa. This is one time I thought he was too gentle on Vespa as a company & waffled too much on the issue of the new HPE engines burning oil. That is a huge red flag & an indicator of things to come. The longevity & durability of these motors is seriously suspect. As for the absolutely idiotic new design for checking & adding/filling oil, he mentioned it wasn't great but it is completely ridiculous & an extremely ill thought out bad design. Vespa should be ashamed of themselves for continuing to produce & sell this new HPE engine. With modern technology, engineering & the price of these things, surely they can produce a high output, reliable engine that is easy & inexpensive to maintain that also lasts for ever. Vespa has also doubled the maintenance intervals & thus the cost of ownership with these HPE scooters. I wish Robot would take a hard stance on these issues. Perhaps Vespa would take note & even listen to him. Vespa will certainly not be getting my money for a new scooter until they fix these problems. I will continue to buy used. Model years between 2009 - 2019. They started this garbage in 2020.

[@randykaminski6214]

I’m thinking the same.. I have been watching for a used 300 at a good price, and decided to avoid 2020 and newer HPE until I know the problem is fixed. The type of oil consumption that is being observed is over-the-top ridiculous. I read your earlier comment comparing this to a car percentage of oil-good point. I would rather have a scooter that has a little less take-off speed, than consume oil in the miles-per-quart arena.

[@J.Harry.T]

Is the motor filled with fully synthetic oil at the factory? If so will it ‘bed -in’ properly? I understand it is desirable for a small amount of wear to occur In the first few hundred miles (known as ‘running-in’ in the UK). I wonder if the problem is that fully synthetic oil is actually slowing down this process and that ‘running-in’ should be done with a mineral oil, replaced at the first service. Does the high oil consumption eventually improve as the miles increase.? If so this would tend to confirm the theory. JT

[@farnk231]

Which windscreen is installed on this scooter?

[@wl936]

Tank you Robot for the vidéo

[@Now72154]

I own a vespa gts 300 hpe in Viet Nam. For every 1000km , I have to check the oil level and fill up. I never did that when I use vespa gts 150. Don't know why it happens to my 300 hpe.

[@dimitrisg.4504]

I own exactly the same bike, the HPE Yacht Club, same crash bars and the medium windshield on it. I won't say anything about its performance...but as for the oil consumption, I top up 200 ml every 3000 kms, which is normal for me. I do the oil changes every 5000 km and not the 10k the manual ridiculously says... Finally, I check the dipstick once a week. It's a habit for me. Hope this could be helpful.

[@FreakMoPed8]

no oil consumption, no matter how you use the scoot is state of the art in 2019. everything else is a technical fail. no matter what piaggio wants to make the costumers believe or "how pretty" the gts is. all lame and wrong excuses. it's technically easy possible to provide an engine consuming zero oil the 24hp 278cc from 2019 socks oil. the 27hp 279cc honda from 2007 doesn't. see the difference? 😉 or maybe oil consumption = engine dying now was adjusted to the frame rust problem? 😄 😉

[@dimitrisg.4504]

@@FreakMoPed8 I agree

[@woroalspin]

My GTS 125cc consumes 1 liter ( 0.26 Us galon) per 10,000km (6200 mil in Us ) or a lot?

[@Westside7be]

Check the oil every ride? Bulls*! have you seen how they arranged the dip stick? How tight access that area is? And you need a special tool or funnel to fil it up (the funnel making it a very dirty and oily operation for your hands at the end) !!! And when you're finished, it's most annoying to put the dipstick back (which needs to be the exact right way) in. That is if you even manage to do all of this without burning your hands. Bet not a lotta owners will bother. What the hell were they thinking in Pontedera? I hated checking oilon mine and YES, i had noticed it used more than my previous 250 GTS. I did 7300 kms with my yellow HPE and needed to add oil at least four-five times between 1000 kms and 7300kms. I don't think I thermally stressed the engine, just did a regular (but short) highway run with indeed, holding more than 7-8000 revs a minute for longer periods. My finding is that they're just not enough oil in the engine for what it's using between services. the minimum level is just 150 ml away from the max level. And yes, the HPE has fantastic power and I loved the engine for the rest, but was not thrilled by the exhaust rusting after less than 2000 kms, front spring rusting away at 6000 kms (just 1,5 belgian winters) and brakes might have been a little underwhelmed by all that energy

[@jerryx2000]

Did you ever work with 2010 1000cc Triumph motorcycles. Is 400ml oil /1000m a lot?

[@jbrianharris]

What are the symptoms of low oil? Will the oil light come on? Does wrench light come on? I recently ran my Supertec low oil and the throttle cut to half speed...waiting to hear outcome. Im sick at myself for this. Does warranty cover a situation like this? 11:38

[@richguzman7205]

I love mine (2022 300HPE) , but it has overheated and left me stranded for a couple hours on 4 occasions . At some times the internal fan cycles a lot , has anyone had the same problem ?

[@rtcivic]

My sprint iget is also consuming oil is this normal?

[@RICHOCHANGO]

Robot does not compute bullshit 👍

[@randykaminski6214]

Any improvements to this issue in recent years?

[@10melah5]

The Stella Autotragic has to be disassembled to check the oil plus the valve cover gaskets leak like the Valdez. It can always be worse

[@daveypoo514]

Is Vespa planning on improving this in the 2022 models?

[@enginerke742]

is it Piaggio X10 there?

[@kevinell6605]

Completely....I agree with not stressing the motor for the first few minutes, let it warm up first.

[@forrysc]

I was over a half quart low after 1500 miles on my HPE. I was pretty good checking it at first then let it ride. Mistake. Now I check it weekly.

[@melasurej]

... the oil consumption is mostly related to the driving style.... whereas extreme oil consumption ( more than 1 liter/1000 miles) always has a mechanical cause

[@oliverj6484]

Can I use a different oil brand than the one my dealer used for the 1st service to top off?

[@lomate1963]

Yes 👍🏻

[@adamcurtin3410]

No no no, I have never disagreed with any information you have put out Robot, but (ideally) you NEVER want fuel with ANY ethanol in any single cylinder injected engine ever. Ethanol free 90 every time if you could with a Vespa. See ProjectFarm’s videos on Seafoam and ethanol free fuel vs EVERY other fuel/additive. Nothing ever beats ethanol free fuel. I was a huge fan /advocate of ethanol when I was studying technical physics and mechanical engineering, but now that I’ve had my own single cylinder combustion engine I tech myself, I don’t know why we are still pushing low mileage gunky fuel in this country. Piaggio certainly is not developing or testing their engines for vegetable fuels. Excellent informative video as always and thank you legends. PS “my Mexico GTS?”???!!!

[@DoRC]

HPE Heavy Petroleum Expeller

[@DoRC]

@@dimitrisg.4504 I meant the oil

[@rtcivic]

My 2023 gts super sports suprisingly doesnt consume oil

[@yannrio3661]

I broke already two engine of this vespa 300 gas and run out of oil after 1300 miles and second time after 800 miles when vespa say 2000 miles

[@quickbooksguy1]

I've heard you talk about this oil consumption on previous videos, and I remember you stating that it is also similar to the higher oil consumption found with GTS's with Malossi top ends. I have a full Malossi top end, and I too have noticed the higher oil consumption. But, only when I rode the scooter before letting the engine come up to full operating temperature. I can only give my experience. So, with that said, if I start my scooter and let it come up to full operating temperature before I ride it, I do not experience the higher oil consumption. No idea if this applies to the HPE, but it may be worth testing.

[@jessman1004]

I use 10 W60 eni Piaggio high Performance oil. Oil consumption is ZERO.

[@deltajjj]

Why not have a glass visual. Most of my other rides have them. Oil level shows so easy!🤓

[@godetsper]

hi do i have to run my new hpe 300 in?,,,

[@Westside7be]

Of course you do. But this ain't a T34 tank. Just run it gently the first 500 miles and don't highway it, max it or excessively load the engine before it has had its first 600 mile (or 1000 kms) engine oil change and rear hub oil change. And as always, don't stress it when the engine is cold

[@aliyurdakul1]

Run it like you stole when engine is warm. The problem is ppl ride when brrak in to gently you have to run it like you stole it then engine breaks good in!!!

[@thomaslemay8817]

Someone, anyone make a low oil sensor that's easy to install include a starter cut relay so it can't be started unless it has enough oil in the motor.

[@adamcurtin3410]

Done. You replace the oil pan with one with a site-glass. Available in black from Scooter-Center in Deutschland.

[@adamcurtin3410]

Not an engine cut off (you already have an oil emergency indicator light, though it may be too late if this comes on), but you could check this ANY time.

[@GIGABACHI]

Sorry, guy, there's no money to be made on making your scooter last as long as possible... (Vespa saying that, probably). 🙄😒👎

[@thomaslemay8817]

@@adamcurtin3410 no the site glass requires action by the operator it wouldn't solve the problem, it would help .

[@tallecabody9166]

oil is top part of the scooter

[@shteviemac8310]

That's very very unimpressive, my friend bought a new hpe 6 months ago and has had loads of trouble with her. Brakes not up to scrarch and always scared of the oil level. After seeing the hassle he's had i defo wouldn't bother

[@stevemiller7433]

My cheap Royal Enfield 500 has a sight glass. It cost far less than a GTS 300HPE

[@jeeves6490]

Oil is the least of your problems. Maybe dental work, replacing fillings? Nothing wrong with the thumper, it's the real 'retro' experience.

[@xericos]

I always warmed up the engine and yet I broke, it treats well, but every 1000 km it ended

[@pleasedontwatchthese9593]

My engine burns a lot of oil, but then again its a 2 stroke

[@elentinoflex6932]

who.first time you said bullsh...🤣

[@JohnMooreVlogs]

My guess is, like with a lot of high revving 4 cycle engines, the PCV system is responsible for the oil consumption.

[@GIGABACHI]

Not to mention the horrible things it does to your intake tract (varnish, deposits, pinging, knocking, lowers fuel octane and a bunch of other nasty stuff).

[@aliyurdakul1]

No its the piston rings why its using oil.

[@kengerard1540]

I guess you have no experience with British motorcycles?

[@GIGABACHI]

🤣👍

[@deea2680]

Yawn!!!!!!!!!!!

[@Mike_M_Smith]

I checked the oil on my air cooled Porsche 911 each gas fill up.

[@deea2680]

What is your point?

[@Mike_M_Smith]

@@deea2680 air cooled engine burn oil.

[@rhapsodyofice8184]

Check the oil every ride? Thats really irresponsible from Vespa

[@GIGABACHI]

DISCLAIMER: I have no clue what oil type/weight VESPA calls for. 2:41 I hate to break it to you, BUT, modern cars and trucks, SPECIALLY the turbo or supercharged ones do tend to EAT(burn) a lot of engine oil. And the OEM's do not tell you this(there's no money to be made on long lasting vehicles), so when your modern $10K engine on your $35K car/truck eats itself inside out or grenades, it's ON YOU, 'cause you couldn't bother to check the owner's manual or pay attention to any of the "idiot lights" warning you of low oil level. Specially with all the crazy watery weights like 0W-20 & 0W-16(mostly on N/A engines) used in the name of "better gas mileage". Pick one: Proper lubrication/longer engine life or negligible higher fuel economy. Can't have both, even with pure synthetic. Who ever tells you otherwise it's laying to your face.

[@vartzel]

700ml consumption in 2500 kms!!! Such a bad motor...

[@Designer_Opine]

Said it before, saying it again; robot is a national treasure. This clip is Designer approved ✅ 🛵❤️🤖

[@libertiner1380]

No modern motorcycle engine today consumes oil, unless it is broken in someway