Modern Vespa

Hello M.V.'rs
I picked up this Vespa ET2 pretty cheap. The former owner didn't want to pay his mechanic the $275 diagnosis fee to see what was wrong, He was advised that it would probably need a rebuild.

Well the mechanic was right, there was no compression, I found strange metal pieces down under the Cylinder, I assume a ring failed, or it was sabotaged by someone. I will post photos of the metal I found.

But after I split the case to check for more metal scraps, replace bearings and seals, then top-end will be rebuilt with a DR70cc, Malossi Wild Lion Pipe, Malossi air filter, 17.5mm carb, Polini High-Speed variator kit, Polini belt.

Before Photo's / Then after photo's w/some mods done.

Greetings:

Awesome score on s Sweet Smoker. I predict and wish you a great time with this beautiful scooter.

Nice! I was given (long story) a running ET2 (well, it needed a battery) back in July. It has been a nice Covid toy, and I am about ready to order parts for maintenance. Looking at tires and both drive belts due to age, and an LED headlight. Plus a turn signal switch, that is broken.

Good to see others active with these things.

Last edited by JimR_ATL on Sat Nov 07, 2020 4:50 am; edited 1 time in total

Keep us updated on your progress @JimR_ATL, I'm interested in converting my lights to LED also. Lmk what headlight you go with.

A couple of updated photo's of this project:

I will try to get it running this weekend.

looking good...let me know if you get stuck...

what was the 2t container originally? ...i need to get rid of my cheap plastic bottle....

Thanks
It's a BMG oil can from Scooter Center, I made a big order, so I added this empty can to the order. You might be able to find an empty one at home depot in the paint stuff isle

https://www.scooter-center.com/de/oeldose-leer-bgm-pro-oldie-edition-vintage-blechdose-1000ml-bgm3000ec?number=BGM3000EC

I took the ET2 out for the first test ride tonight. Was surprised how quick it was for a 70cc. Tried not to "gun it" too much Will try and take it easy for the break-in.
-What is a proper break-in period, 100-200 miles?

Rear brake is a little soft will adjust that tomorrow, waiting on a tool to remove the clutch, will then replace the rear contra spring behind the clutch with the blue one that came with the Polini high-speed vario kit. See how that changes the performance. I also have 3 sets of clutch springs that I can test out.

lmk if you have any tips on cvt tuning.

Very similar set-up on my Derbi Atlantis. (same engine, you know) DR70, leo Vince SP3. Don't think I upgraded the variator, but the torque springs and clutch springs have been upgraded. 1500 torque springs, and 2000 clutch spings - I used Malossi so not sure what color that relates to as far as the Polini.

It;s a ripper! No problems keeping up with 125cc scoots.

Once you get a few miles on the cylinder no reason to baby it. Go ahead and hammer it-the rings need to get seated.

Have fun! I'm always keeping my eye out for an ET2 to put my spare cylinder on...the one in the Derbi just keeps going....

Thanks for the reply Dan,
I took your advice to heart tonight, I got off wk early due to a covid scare, (tested neg 😅) I went for a ride, the cylinder had 4-5 miles on it. Did 3-4 easy miles, filled up on fuel. And then let it rip! This bike seems faster than my 80' px125, and my first scoot stella 150. had a p200 for a bit, that was faster. But this bike is very impressive with the 70cc kit. Still need to install Polini rear contra spring, and test out other clutch springs. So I stand to improve the low end take-off a bit with these mods. Which is what I want. I got the bike up to 45mph today, and let off. was thinking...need to check tire pressure..ect before I get it going too fast.

I've always wondered why the European forums berated the DR kit. I've found it to a quality cylinder with more power than I ever expected.

Makes for a great city ride - and at about $100- it's a no brainer.

Just wondering - my Derbi (03 with the Piaggio engine) has a 17.5mm Dellorto as OEM. Does the ET2 use the same carb?

I remember reading on the 'net that Derbi had a higher gear ratio than the Vespa, but IDK. Never had any verification of that. Not really important, but would be interesting to know for sure.

I only have about 15 miles on the DR 70 kit, but It has nice power.

That said, A Malossi 70cc kit is only $40 more, and I imagine you can get more power out of a Malossi kit. If something happens to my DR kit (knock on wood) A Malossi kit will be next.

My ET2 came with a 12mm Dellorto Carb, I installed a 17.5mm BGM carb.

**Installing a Malossi fly clutch this weekend, will see how that improves performance with the Polini Hi-Speed variator kit.

Installed LED: headlight bulbs, taillight, turn signals, and plate lamp, they work nicely and are all much brighter. The turn signals blink a little faster, but that doesn't bother me, brighter all around is a huge improvement.
https://www.superbrightleds.com/

Also a new starter motor the old one didn't want to spin freely I noticed afer getting it off. Now I can start it without putting it up on the center stand and kicking it. https://scooterpartsco.com/vespa/et2

Found these rubber grommets that cover the mirror hole really nicely.

Also added a sticker: https://www.chanceswithwolves.com/ baby!

62 degrees here today

great work!...hey that headlight looks like a euro spec..is that true? ..

if you want the flashers to blink at a slower interval you can install some resistors on the positive and negative blinker wires...

Greetings:

That belt cover in black is particularly attractive, very well done. Didn't you paint your Buzz. side stand?

Thanks Jixaw not sure if its a euro spec, the flasher speed doesn't bother me,

The led headlight bulb I currently have wasn't as bright as I would have liked @ 680 lumens, I'm installing new LED headlight bulbs today, the new "high-beam" H8 bulb is 4000 lumens, and the new H3 "low-beam" led is 400 lumens. Should be a nice upgrade.

Wheelman, thx would be nice to have the kick lever in black also, but paint prob wouldn't last long. I'm painting a z50s tank soon, using a can of 2-part 2k clear coat on that, it's supposed to be really hard and gas resistant, might be a good opportunity to paint and clear coat the kickstart lever @ the same time.

Buzz painted - didn't do the grind-mod yet thou

..need to paint the front chrome fork arm cover also

Greetings:

Actually the polished Al kickstart lever lends a nice contrast. I wouldn't paint it, but that's to your taste. The suspension arm cover is available in black and pretty cheap. Might not be worth the mess of painting yours.

Yours looks a lot nicer than mine.

Oh man, looks like you need some parts

That was an old picture. This is from yesterday. I'm only missing a few plastic pieces and well paint:

nice!...let me know if you need any pieces...i may have something..

can you show us a pic of the exhaust side?...is that a pipe with an expansion chamber?...

Yes it's a Gianelli reverse that tilts out a little more so I think it will clear the plastic skirt if I choose to put it back on. I do have a Yasuni c16 on my SR50 that I may move to the ET2 but that is more inline and will probably mean no plastic skirt so her nickers will be showing like in the picture.

will it hit the now-absent-rear-fender?

I don't know the fender is absent because I don't have one. The interesting thing about the reverse is that the silencer is turned out just a bit so it sits a little farther away from the body. Next time I have the one off of my ET4 I'll see if it clears.