Vespa - why don't they undercoat??!

[Stig / Major Tom]

That front seam is the first to go - spreading rust across the belly.
Never understood why Vespa never applied any undercoating to this, or any, areas.
VW used to apply a thick coat in the vulnerable areas - like below the doors....then it is painted over when the body is sprayed. All but invisible afterwards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSAZsZhb8rM

Stig

[Iahawk]

wow, that's bad! Now we know the downside of having your unibody structure made from metal. I bet Neil would see a lot more Vespas rusting than would Ruffus!

[Neil955i]

wow, that's bad! Now we know the downside of having your unibody structure made from metal. I bet Neil would see a lot more Vespas rusting than would Ruffus!

You're not wrong Hawk, we see some real "rat bikes" over here after a few winters.  Vespas tend to be bought by enthusiasts though and as such, I can't recall seeing any rust buckets.  Maybe they only get taken out in dry weather?  (Much like my 13 year-old Triumph!)

[Ruffus]

As Neil says, this Piaggio scoots are mostly taken for a sunny tour.
On the other hand if I want smtg reliable and sturdy I would buy a Kymco product. This engineers know what they do.

[randyo]

That front seam is the first to go - spreading rust across the belly.
Never understood why Vespa never applied any undercoating to this, or any, areas.
VW used to apply a thick coat in the vulnerable areas - like below the doors....then it is painted over when the body is sprayed. All but invisible afterwards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSAZsZhb8rM

Stig

I always thought the older VWs were dipped in a paint bath instead of spray, I seem to remember a short video segment in a VW commercial.

I made the mistake of riding my V-Strom in the winter without the protection of ACF50 and contracted the green cancer of the wire harness, an eekspensive part to replace $1k in parts

The Nissan Frontier I bought last fall, musta came from outside the northeast. 135k not a spot of rust, I had it undercoated, the demise of my Silverado 249k I drove to the scrapyard in perfect running order last month, was a crusty frame that I had already replaced a cross member.