Modern Vespa

This link will take you to my Flickr set with the how I did it. Incredibly simple.
1. Get some lights
2. Get some rubber stoppers and a M12 bolt with nylok nut and a stack of stainless washers (I used 3)
3. Drill a hole
4. Install assembly
5. Connect to power.

This will also work for a Vespa with zero changes.

I will be updating the set to include the rear of the assembly, the dimensions of the stoppers, and the wiring.



Hella Lamp on Jet 200 by SFvsr, on Flickr

Ever notice it's hard to see past your elbows in your rear-view mirrrors? Aftermarket brackets and stems are expensive and long ones are a little hard to come by. I was poking around a building supply junkyard one day and found what I thought would be the perfect answer--an L-shaped piece of steel with holes drilled in almost the exact location I needed for the bolts (just under the handlebars) attaching my P125Xs mirror brackets.

Trouble was........there was only one of them--but how could I go wrong for only $3? Later I found out where to get another identical one for the other mirror--brand new--only $8--at your local garage door opener shop. It's called a J arm. I had to drill the holes just slightly larger to make them fit, and put a color-matched bolt-nut in the extra hole, but from there it was a simple bolt-on mod.

Now my wide body can more safely ride my wide body.

Plus one on this tip. I buy 3 or 4 different color primers for exactly this reason, and switch off on each pass at fixing the places needing more bodywork. I can always tell how deep I am & what needs pushing out a little more.

Nice if you can do all metal and have it look good. If it was beat up w/ lot's of dents & dings, that might be tuff, unless you can do some of the old school work mentioned above.

If not, here's another tip I learned from a pro if you're gonna do any skim coating on the rough areas. I assume you already know NOT to use Bondo, use only a pro grade product that is designed to flex with the sheet metal or you WILL have cracking over time. The little tip is before you apply your skim coat, lightly hammer any shiny bare metal high spots back into the frame( or cowl, etc) slightly so they are no longer 'high'. Now when you sand down your skimcoat, they won't all just reappear.

Before you put the cylinder on it's good to check the ring gap. You do this by inserting the rings into the cylinder. You can use the piston to press them in and make sure they are square to the bore. The Pinasco kit does not come with any recommended guidelines. I used the following rule of thumb:

Compression ring - 0.004" per inch of bore
2nd ring - 0.005" per inch of bore

Just multiply the bore diameter in inches (2.72") by the guideline. For the top ring it works out to around 0.011" and the 2nd ring is about 0.014". The stock ring gap measured around 0.009". I used a small flat file to adjust the gap of the rings. If you want to spend some more time with a file, you can use a round file to round the edges of the ring end that goes against the locating pin in the piston. This is an old racing trick. The idea is to keep the sharp edge of the ring from rubbing against the piston ring pin and working it out of the top of the piston. If that tiny little pin falls out then the ring is free to rotate. Usually it will rotate around until the ends of the ring are inside one of the ports. At this point the ring jams in the port and all hell breaks loose...

The measuring should be done a bit further into the bore than is shown in this picture. Use the piston to even slide the rings in question into bore as is shown in picture. When piston gudgeon pin is 1/2 gone remove piston and measure the ring end gap. Repeat with other ring.

As you all know the bore is tapered a very slight amount from the bottom to the top. This is done so that after a barrel gets up to temp it is a perfect cylinder top to bottom and vice versa.

Here's one that I keep coming back to: Full thread - P200 Performance Build-Up

check the Jet200.com site
look in the vespas section

there should be a set of jets for your carb there
great deal
BGM jets

10 for 15 bucks


if you buy one at a time each costs 4.99 plus shipping


here is a link for the SI carb
http://jet200.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=2135

Hey Lynnb
To improve the holding grip of that choke clip, I marked the choke stem at the point the represented being "full on". I used a Dremel tiny cutting tool and scored a shallow grove (detent) in the stem. This is an awesome improvement.
...

Here's one that I keep coming back to: Full thread - P200 Performance Build-Up

Ground one of the yellows to the frame. Connect the other yellow to a 12v regulator*. Attach the wire out of the regulator to the primary red and the green/white. DON'T mess with any of the wires from the stator at the junction. Only stuff you mess with is on the battery side. Toss that battery in the garbage. And find a sucker who will buy that rectifier/regulator because it is "rare."

There you go Sherlock. It's pretty stupid fucking easy. Send me a Christmas card.

Oh - and don't change the bulbs from the 6v. Leave them and they'll be fine, believe it or not.