Modern Vespa

Another year, another bump...

I still haven't got around to firing up this scooter yet. For some reason i haven't been too motivated to finish up a few details on it...such as the wiring. All i need to do is buy a battery for it, then i can build a battery tray, wire in a relay and fuses, and hook up the ignition switch wires. It would literally be a one day job, but i've just been unmotivated to by a single flippin battery! I must be lazy or something.

BUT, i did install a LED inside my taillight. I used an off the shelf trucker light (that i bought from Six-States). I figure if the light can handle the riggers of being on a semi-trailer, then it can surely work on the back of a Vespa.

I simply gutted out the stock taillight housing enough to just barely fit in the LED. Then i gooped in a bunch of epoxy. Yes it looks ghetto, but once the lens is back on, it hides a multiple of sins. The bonus about using a "trucker" light is that they are pretty darn bright, which is always good thing when it comes to being seen on a moto.

Do you need the wiring connected to start it? Surely just hearing it running will give you the motivation to get it finished so you can impress your neighbours with impromptu wheelies.

Yes, i just need to finish up some wiring. Since i installed a variable Vape DC i need to move around a few wires and then add in a relay and some fuses...which i have had for at least a year all waiting to for me to install. For some reason i haven't been motivated to finish up the last little bit. It probably has to do with working on multiple other scooter projects that i'm trying to knock out...which is no excuse. I just need to pony up and buy a little Li-ion battery and spend the day or two to button it up.

hey! I demand royalties! that is my trademarked excuse!

all kidding aside, I love the tail light mod. if I wasn't fully AC on the PK I'd totally do the same.

Proof that i am really that close to finishing up the scooter. The stator and rectifier have been all wired up for the past year. I've also had the fuse/relay block fixings for the past year as well. I just need to buy a battery...so that i can fab a battery tray. Once the tray is built and positioned on the frame then i know where i can mount the fuse block...then i can finish the wiring. I'm also thinking about going back and installing an in-line flashing brake line module. Simply because i don't want to get rear ended by a car. I have them installed in all my other PX scooters and they do their job very well.

I finished welding up a battery tray this evening. I made two battery trays. One for my Allstate 200 and one for this scooter. I ordered some aluminum spacers from Mcmaster and they arrived this afternoon.

I also removed my Grimeca disc brake kit (it's going on my Allstate 200) and installed a LML Stella hydro brake. I couldn't find the LML's little metal retaining tab that compresses the little black rubber speedo cable doughnut, so i welded up extra material around that area so that i could use a PX/Grimeca retaining tab. I didn't take any pics of the welding process, but here's a couple of what the final product looks like. The paint was dry enough that i fitted the caliper carrier this evening.

...and the propriety LML speedo cable retaining tab decided to grace me with its presence today. Turned out it was in a transparent peanut butter container...with "PK 125 parts" clearly written on the lid. Except the container was hiding out underneath the Allstate 200 project and not the PK project. I spent a lot of time looking for this part, both in my shop and online. I also spent even more time welding extra material onto the LML caliper carrier in order to utilize a PX retaining tab.

I was looking around for some 12 volt SMD LED lights in my shop today AND i came across a brake light strobe module that i forgot i had! I've been wanting to install one, so it was definitely a good excuse to wire it up this evening.

This is the module that i have. Supposedly it's designed for incandescent lights and not LED, but since my LED has a high enough power, it works just fine. I also called the manufacturer today and the guy said it will work fine with my LED. https://www.signaldynamics.com/01001

This is the one that's recommended for LED https://www.signaldynamics.com/01004

Anyhow, i couldn't quite fit the module under my modified taillight housing, so i had to sand down the aluminum cased module a little bit. I mixed up some epoxy and stuck it to the PK's plastic taillight housing. A couple crimps and a smidge of solder and everything got buttoned back up about an hour ago.

Also a glamour shot of my new to me 1986 "vintage" Oregon license plate (if you can call 86 vintage). I found it on ebay and got it registered to this 1986 PK. I'm a HUGE anorak when it comes to license plates. The carpet has to match it the drapes when it comes to license plates on ALL my old vehicles (both 2 and 4 wheels)! As far as i'm concerned, a period correct license plate is the pièce de résistance.

While i've been waiting for a few parts to show up for my rusty VB1 project, i FINALLY got around to finishing up the wiring on my PK. The scooter started out life as AC so i had to do a bit of wire swapping in order for it to work with my DC system. The accessories that i have on the scooter are-
-22 watt main LED headlight
-26 watt LED legshield spotlight
-40 watt grip heaters
-3 watt? LED taillight
-30 watt? horn
-incandescent turn signal lights

The horn and turn signals are rarely used, so those won't use up that many watts.

I used two different 20 amp micro relays in my harness. One relay sends power to the headlight, taillight, signals, horn. The other relay sends power to the legshield spotlight and the grip heaters.

I like to use multiple frame grounds on all of my vehicle harnesses. So on the PK, i used no less than 3 welded in stainless steel studs welded to the frame...plus another redundant ground at both the CDI box and a ground attaching up to the lower headset. Greasy headset bearings are NOT good grounds!

It took a little bit of thinking, but i finally figured out how to completely rewire the stock PK's AC headlight switch to exactly how i wanted it to be.

What i wanted was to be able to turn off both my main headlight, taillight, and speedo light on and off separately from the spot light (and located on the left side of the handlebar. When the lights are turned on, the green low beam light illuminates. The legshield spotlight switch is located on the right side of the bar. I bought a brand new 2005 US market turn signal switch because it also has a separate red rocket switch that is an ignition kill switch. Anyhow i repurposed that kill switch as my spotlight switch. When the spotlight is turned on, the blue high beam indicator light illuminates. The spotlight and main lights can be used independently of each other.

The 3 position portion of the main headlight switch got repurposed into the grip heater controller (LOW/OFF/HIGH). All the wires are completely installed for the heaters, but i haven't bought them just yet. It's not a priority for me right now, but when the time comes, i'll probably install the stick on Symtec grip heaters.

That's badass man! Very cool, separate controls on the same switch.

I have to cut an aluminum 1" spacer tube at an angle in order to use it as an adjustable mounting spacer on the legshield. The other half of the angled spacer is located on the inside of the legshield.

The LED headlight is a Baja Designs 22 watt S2 Pro Wide cornering lens . The legshield has a BD Squadron 26 watt Sport with an amber spot lens. I have a handful of other lenses on the shelf, so i might play around with whatever gives me the best beam pattern. The single 22 watt LED headlight provides plenty enough light at 55+ mph at night when the roads are wet (pavement turns a darker black when wet, and when that happens, it absorbs quite a bit of the lumens from a headlight. In the flip side, dry pavement and snow reflect the light, so a headlight will appear to be MUCH brighter).

It sure keeps it sanitary without extra auxiliary switches on the scooter. I've done this exact same setup on 3 other scooters. Each time it's a smidge bit different, but overall the exact same results. Back when they were still available, i bought 3 new 2005 US market PK150 turn signal switches just so that i could use that red rocker switch as a light switch. And yes, i do unsolder the tiny diameter stock wires and resolder back in high quality made in the USA 16 gauge TXL automotive wire in any switch that i repurpose.

It's been a pinch over 3 years, and i FINALLY have the rear tire bolted back up to the hub! It finally seems like i might just be able to ride it around this coming summer. The wire harness is 99.9% competed. Now i'm just trying to decide if i want to run a 12 volt USB or SAE plug inside the glovebox (for charging a phone or GPS).

The Egig Superbanana Touring got installed this evening. I got a 180 degree elbow on top of the carb so that the throttle cable is now pointing at a great angle. The clutch and gear cables are hooked back up. The Trailtech TTO tach is now wrapped around the spark plug wire (and heat shrink over the top of it). I placed an order with SIP for a bunch of random jets, choke linkage bits, and an air filter for my Dellorto phbl 25. Maybe my order will arrive before the weekend?...

I figured out an idea for a choke. Turns out that it will be just about impossible to fit both an air filter and the fuel tap rod at the same time. After staring at the scooter long enough i decided to relocate both the fuel tap rod AND the choke pull. As far as i can tell, this is my only option if i want to have any sort of chance to fit an air filter.

I was hemming and hawing for a bit on this one, but i finally decided to drill an access hole in the frame directly beneath my carb. There are enough dents and dings that are currently on the scooter that the hole mod won't be a big deal to me. What it does do though is that it gives quick easy access to changing the jets!

It was amateur hour in my shop yesterday...

I went to fire up the scooter for the first time in 3~4 years and i couldn't get the engine to rev up...almost as if there was a rag blocking the intake. And yeah, i found a waded up paper towel waaaay down deep in the intake. A fair amount of the paper got sucked into the combustion chamber as well. Hopefully no damage to the piston or rings! Once i fished out the paper, then engine fired right up!


And then i found an oozy oil leak at the rear hub. After remove the rear brake drum i found that the 3 retaining nuts were less than finger tight! And this is why i hate working on long term multiple projects at the same time. Some things that you ("you" as in myself) plan to tighten up at a later point can get forgotten about a year or so later.