Modern Vespa

Subject: VLB1T Electrical Questions Quote message
I received two 1967 Vespa VLB1T from my father a while back - they both came out of Vietnam - I had tried to run one of them but one of the electrical wires lit on fire right away. So I have been pulling them apart carefully expecting a 6 Volt Battery System

Catch is it's a 12 Volt system, had lots of masking tape holding connections together and doesn't even come close to any of the electrical diagrams I have been able to find.

So far I have brought it back to the Junction box and am awaiting tools to pull the Flywheel cover - question is there any way to tell what stator is inside the bike without opening it up

What is the large round box beside the junction box over the fly wheel some sort of starter coil? It's not on any of the diagrams

I already picked up a VLB1T 12 Volt new harness which will hopefully be correct and I have been running pull wires as I have gone through the bike ?

Is it worth trying to repair the electrical as it is or should I try to bring it closer to one of the drawings I see online? if so which is my best bet to upgrade it too ? keep the vlb1T system - do a hybrid or??

Can I safely install LED signal lights or is this a mistake?

Sorry if there are newb questions - I'm kinda winging it and really can't afford to take it in to a proper shop (they wanted $90 per hour at the only bike shop to repair it)

Here is a link to the blog I started - my dad has a third Vespa so we are trying to share info as much as we can
http://sprint150vespa.blogspot.ca/

Cheers & Thank you in advance!

"they both came out of Vietnam"


I am just the messenger.

Vietnam "restored" scooters...often known as Vietbodge can be a nightmare. It is highly possible that the electrical wiring is the least of your concerns. These scooters have the potential to be life threatening if ridden.

Sorry but I can not and will not offer advice on how to get one running.

Please read the following links, I'm sure others will chime in

http://www.rovers-usa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1938

http://www.thevespawizard.com.au/Asian%20Imports.htm

http://www.vtscoot.com/infobase/ib-09.html

Do you like to suffer? Do you have a lot of money?

Should have let it burned.

Really, the electricial is the least of your problems there.

I would not suggest riding those bikes.

Aww that's cruel...but I would have enjoyed the video!

Interesting, just means I'll likely have to put more coin into it - such is life -my dad is the one that paid for them so I really don't have much money personally invested in them anyway. I'll have to take a closer look at the issues on those sites and likely a full breakdown of the bike. I have spent lots of time in Asia so I can't say I am suprised. Sadly, my father on the other hand figured they where cherry bikes and paid full price for them - thanks for the heads up!

Cheers!
Steve

The guys that responded before me (Scooteraton, Nigel, Gick) were on their best behavior when they replied to your post. You may think they were being cruel, but actually are very concerned with your well being as I am .So, I'll be blunt: Do not put another dime into the scoots, do not ride them. Park them some where and ignore them. Do some research on Vietnam scoots. I'd wish you good luck, but not on those scooters.

I've seen them used as decorations in boutique shops before, so maybe you can sell them as inoperable decorations. That would be the only way I could sell something like that without loosing sleep. And even then, I would disable them well so no one would be tempted to ride them. Might get ya started on some coin for a decent P series. Good luck !

Not sure that's such a good idea. If you haven't invested into them yet,
and you are interested in riding a vintage scooter, you will spend more on
these than a good one will cost. Plus, if in the end you decide you want to sell
them( after you have invested into them) you will probably loose money.
Unless you don't tell the next guy where they originated. And, that's
not too cool.


They potentially have more problems than you can imagine.


Scooters for sale
http://scoot.net/classifieds/?cat=scootersforsale




Rob

Couple of nice bikes there.

Appreciate what your saying but there really is no way that I will just leave the bikes in my garage to rust, because there are lots of poor quality bikes out of Vietnam. I have also read of a few that turned out to be in good condition, and buying in North America certainly doesn't guarentee that the sellers are being honest or using quality parts either.

No matter what happens they are not being sold- So in my mind the only option is to open them up, strip em down and have a proper look. I've read through several forums now and yes obviously there are lots of shitty bikes out there but there are also lots of decent ones from Vietnam as well. Then I will make a decision. On the positive note I do have access the three VLB1T's so worst case scenario I use the best of each to make one good one.

Just my thoughts, I don't mean to offend here, but look at it from my perspective. Would you make a decision based on poor odds & a few posts from an internet forum and decided that your family wasted a fair mount of money or would you take a look to see what your really deailing with and make an educated decision?

Do what you want, we will still give you advice and tech info, but expect some really steep bills.
The worst thing is that you will spend $10k on a bike that will only be worth a fraction of that.
Just dont get your expectations too high and you should do ok, maybe.

Fair enough, and thank you

LOL this shit is hysterical.

All of you are noble for trying to steer him clear of burning money on these shit heaps. He declined, so let him waste his money and possibly incur bodily injury from riding one of the bodges.

Don't come back here crying when you have wasted $5k and still have a piece of shit in your garage.

Long as the frames are ok you can run a new loom. And if the engine is fucked you can transplant another one. Unfortunately the frames are normally fairly bad on nammers. But to strip them and see what your working with. They are often unsafe. Best if luck lad

I don't understand why anybody living in the US would buy a Vespa from Asia. It makes no sense at all. Some of the best, least molested Vespas are already in the US as others have already pointed out, so what's the point of importing from Asia? I see that you've already acquired two at no cost, so maybe just dismantle them as a project to learn about them.

Vespas,Lambrettas, and other older vehicles in the Asian region have endured massive punishment over the course of their lives. Think about Vietnam and the wars it's had and how the scooters have probably been abused.

OP: you say "Some scooters from VN may be bad, but there are some good ones too, maybe I have some of the good ones"

Firstly, the idea that there are any "good" 1960s Vespas that have lived their 50 year lives in VN and now find themselves candy-coated and for sale to foreigners.....is a shaky premise to begin with.

Secondly, you've only described one system on one of the bikes, the electrical. 12v when it shouldn't be 12v, loom, made out of home-made scraps and held together with tape. And the wiring immediately CAUGHT FIRE when you tried to use the machine.

If there is such a thing as a "sound" or "clean" Vietnamese Vespa, we know for a fact that yours are not among that number. The jury is not still out on the subject.

Yep...I tried but it looks like there will be a good show to watch.

stevenjrose you came to a place where people know their shit. They're your scooters you can do whatever you want with them but saying " no way that I will just leave the bikes in my garage to rust, because there are lots of poor quality bikes out of Vietnam." is like saying "yeah...a lot of furnaces are giving off lots of carbon monoxide, and killing people ... called the repair guy and he said it might kill everyone in the house ..but I think that mine might be one of the few good ones so I'm gonna keep using it."


You came to the right place...you got good advice...your choice to ignore it. Best outcome I see after blasting three frames, transplanting etc etc putting $7 to $9 k into it you might...but doubtfully...wind up with a non spec almost rideable sprint with a vin that shows it origin worth at the most $1,000 but which in reality anybody that does any homework would run away from. You'll be lucky to get $200 from someone that wants to put it in a bonfire at a rally

We have seen our share of stupidity here and actually it can often be quite entertaining...my suggestion...don't be stupid and add to our fun.

Brother, if you have 3 VN Vespa Sprints, I would toss them up for a couple hundred dollars each. someone will pick those up for a display item. Heck, even I might buy one and paint it to make it look like an Italian bike for a cool sign outside my shop.

Now with the $1200-1500 dollars in your pocket, get yourself a cool, original paint red Allstate and do a minimal amount of work to get it road worthy. 2000 original mile, original paint bikes are always tops in my book. . . Not to mention they have all the original SIEM and Veglia parts.

I too was skeptical, "How bad can it really be?

I have taken apart a 'asian restoration' engine and it is not a matter of merely using cheap parts. A normal Vespa engine has a thin paper gasket between the case halves because that is all that is needed to get an oil-proof seal. This engine had two thick, sticky plastic gaskets and the mating surfaces looked like they had been 'cleaned up' with a horseshoe rasp. This affected the end play and alignment of the crank, lay, and mainshafts. I assume this was at least partly to blame for the chewed up bearings and twisted crank. There were almost no parts in the engine that I was willing to reuse; just the case-bolts and some other miscellaneous hardware. The rest was put in the parts box I use to build rally trophies.

Just because there's shiny paint on the outside does not necessarily mean there's a bike there worth saving.

Personally..... Strip them.... blast the chassis strip the engine see what you got ya never know what you might find good or bad, yes money will be spent and yes money may be lost but hay it's only money we've probably all spent money on a lottery ticket or raffle.

if you were to pick up 3 barn find wrecks with rotted out chassis and locked up engines nobody would tell you to give up and again you would spend money.

at this stage other than some dollars what do you have to loose ??

Agreed:)

Hey, if you're willing to strip off all the paint and Bondo down to the bare metal "frame"(s) and break down the motor all the way, enough to replace the crank and bearings, that's at least a big step up from riding these things as-is or trying to Ebay them to the next unsuspecting sucker.

Remember when a correct replacement crank won't fit, or if you find several different Vespa frames and scrap metal joined with crappy welds under the paint, you can always just walk away rather than throw good money after bad.

Too much negativity in this thread!

Not every Vietnamese bike is a "death trap". I speak from experience.

Sure, they will have issues but some can be easily fixed. And, yes, certain other things will cost too much time and money.

The poster's effectively been given the scoots. It won't cost anything to strip them down a bit and find out what's really wrong (or what's OK) with them, and he sounds willing to give it a go. He knows the worst-case scenario too.

And, if they are a heap of junk, you can all say I told you so.

I love the "just walk away" button.

i wont said anything more before i see the stripped frame and other pics so until then best wishes for you mate

"should have let it burn"....

That'll buff right out

Yep! It will........See LOL!

a good photo documentation of the blasting and what is discovered, as well as what is found in the engine would be interesting.

We all see the winged and blinged shytepiles for sale but rarely get to see one deconstructed and inspected.