Modern Vespa

VESPA AND LML STATOR VALUES

HOW TO TEST USING A MULTI METER


I found this here - http://www.louthscooterists.co.uk/index.php/tech-help/did-you-know/

Put another washer under the points screw so that there are two...it helps to stop the screw wrecking the setting as you tighten it down.

another trick is to set it too big on purpose so that the last bit of tweaking of the screw brings it to the setting.

oooooorr Using a larger feeler gage blade on purpose can also work..as you remove it can flick back to 0.3 you need

It can be arse..and is part of "doing your time" as a scooterist

By far the best way Ive found is to smash up and old flywheel so you have just the cone .....that gives you all the room in the world to do the setting...you can even hold the points with your hands as you tighten down

Then put you good flywheel on..and keep the cone as part of your toolkit. Nice

Good luck

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On my last ride, I noticed the ground wire had broken off the CDI. I had actually fixed this once before. Seems all the old copper turns to dust after awhile. The bike ran OK and a quick check on line confirmed that the ground wire is redundant. Being anal and all, I had to fix it anyway. Replacement CDI's are pretty cheap but I decided to see what I could do.

I took a Dremel and started digging into the potting material on the CDI. About 1/4' down, I found the end of the wire and carved the plastic and insulation out from around it. I then soldered a new ground wire to it and filled the cavity with 5 minute epoxy.



Hard to see in the picture but I try to use tin plated copper wire. It is alot more durable than standard copper wire and really resists corrosion alot better. Here in Florida its easy to find because its the standard for marine applications (at least on decent boats). If your going through the trouble of replacing the green wire of death or other parts of the scooter, look for tin-plated stranded wire. Costs more but it's better to do it right the first time.

Chuck

Great idea, use just the hub w/cam to get easy access to set your points!

If you don't have an old flywheel to sacrifice, this might help. I ground the profile of my feeler gauge blades so they would snake thru the slot and still fit between the points. Spec for my Primavera is .35 - .45 mm so I used the .30 & .10 blades.

I have an electric winch attached to a rafter. I have used mainly solid eye bolts for the engine area, and rope, ratchet straps, or lash straps at the handlebars. Before electric, a simple come-along (cable puller). Both points tied to winch hook.

I've had the best luck at the front using lash straps or rope around the handlebars for leveling. With limited ceiling height, even an arms length off the ground would work okay, and not drop test the whole shebang as severely. It is nice to stand up or sit in a chair for some tasks. The scoot being free to move aggravates some people who've tried it.

I also use it for removing and installing engines. Winches with cordless remotes are nice.

Both devices have stern warnings against use as lifting devices. Use at your own risk.


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If you are using a used piston, the pin is probably hanging up on the opening of the hole in the piston. I always deburr the pin hole in the piston prior to installing or removing the pin. You can use a sharp knife or deburring tool to make a little chamfer on the wrist pin hole in the piston. It will make installation and subsequent removal alot easier. The edges of the hole tend to get pushed over a bit during use.

Chuck

I freakin HATE dealing with the pinch bold while replacing/reconnecting throttle cable. trying to keep the cable taut while trying to figure out a way to tighten the bolt in that annoying little cage. Rarely got it tight enough, and if I did it took FOREVER.

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to be honest, i only use a Degree wheel these days to check port timings.

for ignition, it's just set a TDC mark on the case and flywheel and whip out the timing light.

no real math involved, honestly.

step one- rotate one way til you hit piston stop. make a mark on the case and a mark on the flywheel.

step two- spin the flywheel the other way till it hits the stop again. make a mark on the flywheel wherever the mark from step 1 is on the case.

step three- take a piece of paper, and make a mark on the edge. line this mark up with one of the marks on the edge of the flywheel. curl the paper along the edge of the flywheel, and make a mark on the paper where it hits the other mark.

step four- fold the paper in half, lining up the two marks.

step five- line up the two marks on the paper and the two marks on the flywheel. transfer the fold point from the paper to the flywheel.

now, when this middle mark on the flywheel lines up with the make on the case, you are at TDC. you can then use an adjustable timing wheel to dial in the timing, or a fabric tape measure around the outer edge to make a timing mark ( divide the circumference by 360 and multiply that by the number of degrees)

or, if you only have a piece of paper, fold it corner to corner. now it's a 45 degree wedge. fold it again. now it is 22 .5 degrees. this wedge can be used to set most timing, as the majority of vespas use a timing of 22 degrees +/- 1 degree.

You only need one strap... I've trailered mine thousands of k's and never had an issue. It relies on having a solid location for the front wheel like you have there, and pulling it forward slightly. I put a strap over, wrap it around the seat post and down the opposite side, then tighten it up, compressing the rear suspension. It pushes the front suspension down to a degree as well, until there is very little movement at the headset at all. The tighter the straps are, the less chafing you'll have if you can only tie them close to the scooter.

get several wide hose clamps.

put them around the new bushing, to compress it.

put it in freezer overnight.

remove from freezer, remove hose clamps.

slide in hole.

wait for the rubber to warm up and return to the normal shape.

the hose clamps make the rubber bushing smaller, and freezing it overnight makes it stay in this smaller shape until it returns to room temperature and the rubber returns to it's pre-compressed shape.

I like redundancy

a GS 150 engine is a unique animal; it is widemount engine derived. unlike other widemounts, it has four cylinder studs like latter 125/150 engines instead of the 3 earlier engines have. these are in the same pattern as the later 125/150, and is why the M1XL can be grafted on, although it is far from a bolt on.

the GS160/SS180 engines are pups from the same litter and have many swapable/interchangeable parts as they basically use the same casings. the are largeframe engine derived.


the GS160/SS180 stud pattern is the same as the later Rally/P200 engines, although piston ported instead of rotary. it's why the P200 is a wonky engine, in some ways. it was basically a Sprint V engine with a SS/GS top end grafted on with a different stroke and a third port added in place of the old piston ported inlet.

if any top end were to be able to be swapped into a GS160/SS case, it'd be a cylinder inducted reed for a p200. however, the case would need to be bored or the cylinder turned down as the hole the spighot goes into is slightly smaller, like a Rally 180 VS the 200 engines.

as far as piston swaps, there were in the 60's and are available again 180 bore pistons to fit a GS crank. these have a different wrist pin diamiter. the GS shares the diameter with the other 125/150cc scooters, while the SS uses the larger diameter wrist pin the later Rally/P200 engines have. people have also welded up the third transfer port o na P20 piston and run these on an SS rod to get around 220cc.

the GS160/SS engines have a number of small differences like different crank taper diamiters and such that make a crank swap and some of the other things you mention troublesome. (GS160 ignition won't fit SS crank) swapping a SS rod onto GS crank webs used to be the go-to for performance, although that has changed as the theories regarding crankcase volume have evolved.

the exhaust is easy ,as these have stubs that screw in like the Rally/P200 engines, although smaller diamter than a P, conversion screw in stubs are available to use P200 exhausts. this is easy, as the exuahst stub is in the same place and alignment as the P200 engine.

i could go on, but that's some basics. if you need to know any more background, let me know.

really, all i'd recommend on a GS 160 unless you are an engine building geek is a 180 bore piston for a GS crank, and a re-jet to SS180 spec.

If you want to tie down gear tot the floor between your legs, Loop head dynabolts to suit an 8mm holes are perfect as replacements for the floor bolts that secure the centre stand. They have a m6 thread, same as original.

Removing smeared aluminum piston from the bore - nikasil

Nice tip Falcon.

Yes this does work. Takes plenty of time and patience. I worked on my jug for three nights. But I was happy with the results