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Blame it on the tough economic times, I stupidly decided to put very old fuel in the Vespa and now won't idle. Sometimes hesitates when I "give it gas", usually when I get going from a stop position. When cruising there's no problem. Idles a bit better with the choke but eventually the scooter dies. I checked the jets and they were clean, and fuel pours into the carburettor. First I thought that since the old fuel was mixed with good fuel there wouldn't be a problem, then I thought that the bad fuel will eventually burn out and the problem would go away. Not so.
What do y'all think??
Thanks!!
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Put fresh gas in it. If the problem goes away, then lesson learned. If it doesn't go away, you might have a coincidental issue.
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Motorsport Scooters wrote:
Put fresh gas in it. If the problem goes away, then lesson learned. If it doesn't go away, you might have a coincidental issue.
I done did. First I siphoned out most of the bad fuel and then I put in some of the best gas money can buy. I think you are right, might be something else. I learned my lesson.
Now I'll show your post to my wife so she'll stop giving me the "stink eye" and thinking that I am a cheap bastard, she has not said it, but I know she's thinking it...
Thanks!
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I do the same thing, but I mix a little into each fresh tank. It's more about not letting things go to waste than saving money.
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Molto Verboso
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I get this problem and clean the jets with air. I then clean the air cleaner with air. Put it back together and re-adjust the carb settings. I also change the spark plug. You can't always see all the particles in the jets. Get yourself some keyboard air cleaner from your office supply store if you don't have an air compressor.
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SteveinSac wrote:
I get this problem and clean the jets with air. I then clean the air cleaner with air. Put it back together and re-adjust the carb settings. I also change the spark plug. You can't always see all the particles in the jets. Get yourself some keyboard air cleaner from your office supply store if you don't have an air compressor.
Thanks Steve, I'll try that. How often do you get this problem?
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Molto Verboso
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It has happened to me a couple of times last fall. Here's a link that has also helped me out along with some friends here on MV. http://www.vespamaintenance.com/fuel/carbrebuild/index.html
It's just one of those things that come up once in a while.

Another thing you might want to look at is the condition of your gas tank. One of my P's had what looked like silt in the corners of the the ridges at the bottom of the tank. This sediment was actually hard. I took a wooden stick and dislodged some of it and it broke up into small pieces. I thought oh great now look what I've done so I continued to break up the pieces using the stick and a plastic flashlight (just in case I dropped it- you don't want any sparks). After everything was broken up into small pieces I used an aquarium air hose and started syphoning or vacuuming up all the pieces until it was clean. I dumped the fuel back into the tank a couple of times so I could get all the pieces vacuumed up. This stuff sank so I could re-use the gas being careful not to dump all of it back in along with the sediment. It took me about 1.5hrs to complete and the tank came out perfectly clean. Now if your tank is in bad condition I would take it out and take it to a radiator shop to have it cleaned out.

Yeah the carbs on these will need attention from time to time but once you learn how to tinker with it, it becomes a breeze.
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steve, you are a genius!!
I did the air cleaning bit and changed the spark plug, now the P is idling beautifully. I still get a litlle hesitation when I give it gas but not as bad as before.
The tank looks fine, I don't see any crap in it.
Besides getting rid of my mullet style toupee, joining MV is the best thing I've done.
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Molto Verboso
2007 GT200 1979 P200E 1980 P200E 2011 Triumph America
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Thanks but I can't really take all the credit. MV and it's members are essential for people like myself. I can follow directions pretty well but even having a manual such as Haynes just isn't enough. It feels good though when you can help pass along the info. It's all good.
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