Modern Vespa

Found an interesting project, hope the price is good. $750 for a 1981 P125 Vespa with a P200 motor with some extras. Plus a new battery and new tires, plus a lot of goodies. The electrical wiring is a bit of a mess from a theft attempt, and it will need a new cowl. It doesn't run, wiring, but has good compression and sounds good on kickover. One owner too! Good deal?







My other completed motorcycle projects:
https://advrider.com/f/threads/next-up-a-96-bmw-r1100r.1333994/
https://advrider.com/f/threads/r1200clc-project-yeah-i-know-corny-name-night-dragon.1250105/
https://advrider.com/f/threads/1981-yamaha-xs400-scramblerized-eventually.1092208/

My plan is to get it running for a few months, ride it around, then tear it down and restore it over the winter.

Last edited by JimVonBaden on Thu Dec 31, 2020 1:01 pm; edited 1 time in total

I have no idea about if it's a deal... but the $750 as proportion of likely total cost of the project makes me think good deal. It's a solid starting point for something epic.

Just crying out to be a cut-down street racer...

Decent deal for sure.


Shoot I'd almost buy it just for the engine at that price...

Last edited by Birdsnest on Mon May 06, 2019 5:03 pm; edited 1 time in total

Seems like potential

Thanks guys. My goal is to start and ride it ASAP when I get it home. Should be a fun little project bike.

Hi Jim, welcome to Modern Vespa!
Your new scoot seems like a good deal to me. I spend quiet a bit of time over at advrider hanging out in the threads that involve the "orange" colored bikes. I haven't ever had an itch to do any motorcycle projects, but if it involves an old Vespa, well game on!

Same user name over there? I am a, um, prolific poster there, particularly in G-Spot.

Looks good. Shame the leg shield and neck are messed up. But I'm sure you'll turn it into something interesting from your other projects.

I'm watching!

Thanks! Fortunately the horn cover will help after I stitch up the hole the thieves made in it, and the leg cover should present no real issues. I just can't decide what color to paint it. I like seafoam green and white, but not sure. Lots of time to research it.

Yes, same name...and an actual avatar as well! Maybe someday i'll get around to bringing my avatar over to MV, i think it would be most fitting. I was a loooong time lurker here at MV since day one that it was created, but since i didn't have a computer of my own, i never bother to join up. Over at advrider, i never knew that it existed until about 4 years ago. I was out trail riding with one of my friends, and he told me about the site. I usually hang out either in Thumpers or Orange Crush. All my bikes are orange. It makes it a little easier to swap parts around (and color coordinate my riding gear) if all my motos are the same brand.

LONG Friday drive down to Charlottesville to pick it up. Only about 250 miles, but took all day!

The little BMW took it in stride and still got 27 MPG unloaded, and 23 MPG loaded.





Got it home and took some baseline photos.




























Need to figure out what goes here, other than the horn and the horn cast cover:


























Came with some extras:










What is this rack worth?


I think I have a problem:

Anyone have a photo or a diagram on how these wires fit in the junction box?

Robot has a video.

https://youtu.be/0fTgQy_2wFE?t=2162

Had to do a double take and make sure which forum I was on. Use to you on ADV Rider.

Shameless pic of other power toys

Cool, thanks!

Yeah, pretty prolific over there.

Missed a couple:




I no longer have the Mercedes.

What size are the connectors here?


Not standard blade connectors.

Finally sold my last project, so have room to start on this one.

Removed the leg protector trim and banged the parts back close to original. Looks a bit better. Put blade connectors on the wires, only to realize that the OEM connectors are smaller than standard, so I ordered new ones in the right size.

Before:



After:





Ready to make a substantial order for parts. Any recommendations?

Check out ScooterMercato - super easy ordering from them, and customer service is excellent.

As far as consumables - Center rubber mat. Carb rebuild kit, Air baffle, Oil & Fuel line, whatever various clips, nuts, bolts, rubber, oh yeah, tires and tubes, etc, etc.

Thanks for the pictures! I'll be following

Awesome, thanks! ScooterMercato has already been in contact with me. The web site looks pretty good, and prices reasonable.

Put a little work into the scooter trying to get it to fire briefly, before I tear it down.






Carb needs work for sure.

But, no spark, despite power being where it should be according to the diagram.

I had to first put the junction box together. The green and black wires to the kill switch were initially missing. The green totally crumbled apart from what I can only assume a combination of shorting and corrosion.









Ideas?

Also, looks like I will need a new headset.

It lives, and runs pretty good.

Turns out the old CDI was bad. The PO had a spare in the box that was falling apart, but I tried it anyhow, and it started right up.





You can see the ground wire is holding by a thread! (Nearly literally!)



Carb doesn't look good, but it sure works OK.

Glad to see you got it running!

BTW, here's a cheap used original lower headset from fleebay with a buy it now price.
I normally don't trust eBay but sometimes you can find some original items if you know what to look for.
Good luck on the project!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/VESPA-P200E-P200-P125X-P125-OEM-HANDLEBARS-HANDLE-BARS/283495654335?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908105057%26meid%3Dfc42867815414cf3b1cbcc72ea0eb61b%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D15%26sd%3D322625880776%26itm%3D283495654335&_trksid=p2481888.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3A618fcd77-8413-11e9-8272-74dbd180864e%7Cparentrq%3A10d3b67716b0aa485f65b488ff8e6920%7Ciid%3A1

Great find, thanks!

Got in my order of parts for the scooter. Let the building begin. I am just doing the minimum to get it ridable for the summer, then complete tear down this winter.







Thank you for shopping at Scooter Mercato.

Order Summary:

182309 Electric, Wiring Harness for Late P 1 $55.00 $55.00
WHEELNUT-KIT 5 Nuts and Washers for Vespa Rims 8mm 2 $1.75 $3.50
149913 Chassis, Aluminum Legshield Trim Large Frame 1 $18.54 $18.54
219110 Chassis, Protection, Rear Frame, VLX 1 $10.97 $10.97
EAE141A Rubber, Grommet Kit, PX 20 Pieces 1 $17.49 $17.49
72339 Suspension, Brake Shoes, Front and Rear, P Series 1 $12.41 $12.41
12N5.5-3B Battery P-series 12N5.5-3B 1 $27.95 $27.95
2790 Chassis, Emblem, Vespa Front, 125 47-57 V.150 55-58 1 $12.00 $12.00
149876 Chassis, Emblem, P Series Horncast Hexagon 1 $1.80 $1.80
181476 Rubber, Bellow, Air Bellow LF 1 $8.84 $8.84
186260 Electric, Switch, Ignition 8 Pole 1 $29.00 $29.00
139829 Chassis, Headset Cover, P Series 3 Holes 1 $22.53 $22.53
CCKP Cable, Complete Cable Kit P Series 1 $31.59 $31.59
574671 Chassis, Grill for PX Horncast 1 $5.14 $5.14
149874 Chassis, Horn Cast, P Series 1 $13.00 $13.00
Subtotal $269.76


And:
199055D Electric, Coil, Ignition CDI, Ducati Blue 1 $38.25 $38.25
Subtotal $38.25

Pulled the tank, stinky gas, not really any rust. I am soaking it now with washers in there, shaking it now and then.



It has the oil tank sort of built in. I removed it and am flushing it with gasoline.


Rodents had taken up residence in the tank hole inside the frame.


I added a new battery.


Replaced the ignition switch.


And fixed the wiring and fed it back down. Very tight.


Keep in mind the bike is just getting prepped to ride for the summer. Then tear it down in winter and fully restore it.

Next, some rubber bits, new tires and tubes, a carb rebuild, and registration.

Seems like you're keeping up the progress. Did you strip the paint around the motor mounts to check if that area is OK? Looks like bondo or welding in the most wrong place but I def could be wrong.

Also, since it was in an accident, did you check to see if the frame is out of alignment? If you don't have one of these, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PQ4PJYC/ref=psdc_553266_t1_B07GHDK6MB, get one. Remove the seat and line up laser from center seat bolt hole to the top of the fork housing. It should point dead center. At the same time, the laser should show you if the legshield is level with the corresponding horizontal line.

Good luck!


Circle are is questionable.

Great getting it running! It's going to be fun to see the transition, after summer of course. But just getting it back on the road is awesome!

It was not in an accident, just stolen then damaged when they couldn't get it running. I will check the fame for true for sure.

As far as I can tell, the repaint is 20 years old, and no bondo, just rust bubbling. I may have a doner frame in any case to steal parts from.

Thanks, that is the plan!

The tank came out great. Almost no rust at all. I wish I had a before photo, but a little rust remover and it is clean!


I changed the spare tire with a new one the PO gave me, new tube too. It was pretty simple, and should be good.





Then I took off the front wheel and took it apart. Not sure this is savable.





The rear looks about the same, so I ordered new wheels and tires, plus tubes and wheel nuts.

those are some crusty rims!

Yeah, the spare is OK, but years outside have ruined the others. The tires are from 2000, and worn out.

Jim - tank really did come out well.
Quascooter did a nice job with vinegar on his.

Really nice job.
Can you detail your method a bit?

Just because I had it on hand, I used straight Simple Green and a handful of 1" washers. I shook the tank a few dozen times and let it sit overnight. I was pretty surprised it came out so clean.

more photos please

Good Job JVB! I think it did better than the vinegar - and the three days! I was going to use some acid, but I've been trying to stay away from the serious etchers. And I didn't have any in the house, so, like you, I used what I had!

Of the tank?
I'll try today.