Modern Vespa

Meg, V oodoo beat me to it. Tim (scooterstuff) from Eugene Oregon is back doing dropbars for a limited time to help pay for a project.

He is is the pre-eminent dropbar welder on the west coast.

look on scoot.net classifieds, he's been there lately.

I've always liked the look of the 50s race seats.. I had one, but theyr'e so thick/tall they make you sit WAY high and way forward.. too bad because on certain small frames they look dope.

I've attached pics of one of my smallframes (so log in to see them). I picked this one up off a furniture dealer who'd picked up a few Vespas in Thailand with the intent of flipping them. Most of the bikes were half-ass restos, but this one was interesting enough for a second look. As far as I can tell, it was never meant to be flipped as a faux resto. The engine and chassis numbers are reasonably close to one another (both begin with 15 and are within 100 units of one another, can't be more sure due to a hole drilled through the fourth digit for some odd reason). The engine ran badly, and a top end pull revealed that the original 90cc had been opened all the way to a V9B 1st overbore. The transfer ports are paper thin at the bottom of the jug and had started burning away. The odometer showed 39,654 kilometers, the cable was gone and the drive was packed with crud, so who knows how many kilometers are really on it. It's been stickerbombed in the inside and outside of the legshield with random stuff; the HKS decals are particularly funny.

The thing that I'm trying to figure out is how it has the engine and VINs of a 1st-series, but it has a large engine door. I cleaned the inside of the chassis when I first pulled the motor and after cleaning out generations of road crud, all I found was old red paint and no evidence of Frankenstein patching. I considered stripping it to bare metal, but I'd hate to wreck the character it has gained over the years. The motor's coming out again for a full rebuild and I've gotten together enough 1-st series engine bits to set it right. Still have some wiring to redo. One of the best bits of the bike was the dew-rag I found in the tool bucket; it has a screamin' eagle on it with the words "Happy Davidson" printed below. If you're gonna bodge, make sure it's in all the details!

I like it. Looks more like a survivor w/ possibly original paint. The rear rack is gloriously huge and looks very useful.

What? from Asia & original paint? You may have found the holy grail Please confirm and more pics ASAP.

The frame & motor numbers will 'correspond' but they aren't intended to match. Go here http://www.scooterhelp.com/serial/ves.serial.numbers.html

PS those bar end hold downs can break the ends off of the cast headsets on these because of the leverage. Best to secure around the 'neck' or as far in close to the headlite as you can.

Its kinda weird.. The engine door and headset look so suspicious.. But its a great bike to start the restoration. Good luck brotha!

If you really want suspicious, the frame is set up for the smaller gas tank / larger toolbox. Working one a friend's GT200 this weekend, but I'm really going to go over this smallie with a fine tooth comb soon. Not sure what's odd about the headset? It has the small round speedometer, stiletto levers and the headlight trim is a clamp-on and looks bit like an add-on accessory.

Good to know it's the same guy cuz he has a good reputation and knows how to do it right from all I've heard. I wasn't sure & hesitated to post it, so thanks!

Considering where you bought it, I would go over it very thoroughly. I would strip the paint as well. I doubt very much that it's original paint. The term preventive maintenance may exist in the Thai vocabulary, but it certainly isn't practiced.

I finally put my new Simonini pipe on & in looks it reminds me of the one above. At $175 it's probably a lot cheaper and won't have the beans that VSP has. But with a PHBL24 & 3 port Sensation top end there's lots of torque & it winds up well too with a modest power goose when it arrives.






Well made, excellent mounts and great sound - not loud but some nice light popcorn when coming off the throttle. Recommend.

Voodoo did you have to "massage" the battery box or is that a drop in? Looks like you have the 70's US battery box like my 74....

Yep, mine's a '74 too. Pretty much drop in, but it was a bit of a squeeze on the battery box corner - you can see where it rubs slightly. I thought about pounding that corner in a little, bit it rides fine w/ no funny noises so I'll probably just leave it alone.

V oodoo,

I may have missed earlier what the rest of your set up for your smallframe? I'm wondering if this would suit my little 70cc kit w/ 19.19 carb. I need to upgrade the pipe and have been thinking just a SIP Road banana or the Polini banana.

I don't want a high pitched screamer but do want some more ooomph!

It's a Primavera 125cc w/ a port matched LML Sensation 3 port top end, so similar to an ET3 now except for the bigger PHBL24 carb.

Here'a a link to the pipe & it's listed only for 125 motors, but likely because the exhaust port is higher up on those. So... could probably be fitted w/ a bit of tweaking but I dunno how well it would work on your 70cc motor as it is an expansion chamber & may be calibrated for 125-133cc to work best.

http://www.scootermercato.com/Scooter-Parts/Simonini/SIM40308

dig yer pipe voodoo.. I like the carbon can..

Thanks V, yeah, and notice the can is big too! Damn near as big as the expansion chamber, I think that's why it's so 'quiet'.

Self clearancing, no problem! 8)

Nice exhaust Voodoo!

Careful on them left handers, I've ground a bit off the can when 'getting your lean on'! I like the curly expansion chambers but it doesn't fit my scoot without hacking out the glove box.

pacrat if ya go the SIP road banana they make two versions, same goes with the Polini snail (125cc and 50cc).

we have new pipes for all the smallies in our garage now, but that pipe has me intrigued. Saved the link for future use. We have wanted a odd ball pipe but it will have to wait now.

Small Engine Big Attitude

Beauty Oink!

When I got the bike, it had sat for ? years. I did the acetone and nuts and bolts shake at that time. Seemed to get the bigger bits but after the bike sat again for a year, some more intense treatment was necessary. Definitely don't want rusty crud in my carb.

Couldn't get a good pic of the inside.

Used undiluted muriatic acid. Filled tank about 1/3 full
Poured in nuts and bolts.

Shook for ten minutes.

Let tank sit for 5 minutes and rotated. repeated until all sides of tank had time to soak.

Shook again.

Added some water with the hose.

Turned tank out and flush/drained.

After a minute or two, added a few tablespoons of baking soda.

Filled tank about 1/3 with baking soda/water mix.

Shake

empty

repeat.


Final rinse, I used about 1/2 cup of baking soda plus water let tank sit in several positions again,

Rinse thoroughly.

Blow out excess water with air gun.


Douse inside of tank with WD, both to discourage corrosion, and to displace any water left behind.


I know this has been talked about on other forums, just though maybe somebody may find it useful here.

Little better than the nuts and bolts is a length of chain.
Easier to fish out

This is brilliant.

@ GT, nice job on that extra bung on the bottom of your tank. What's the story?
Nice write up on tank cleaning too - Thanks! Love those that work hard and keep on going!

Here's another one I just came across old pics of

[quote="V oodoo"]@ GT, nice job on that extra bung on the bottom of your tank. What's the story?
Nice write up on tank cleaning too - Thanks!


My bike came with that fancy extra bunghole. It sat in the back of an unnamed local dealer for a long time. So long that he has no idea either

Never thought of that. The nuts and bolts are a pain in the arse to remove. Great tip!

Smallframe with small engine door. Original paintjob.

out cruising!

A few small frames in the pictures. We just decided to clean the garage out and they spilled out onto the back porch. Hope everyone is doing well. Just did another SIP order. The ET3 is running and is FAST. I am honestly scared to see how fast it will go. It shifts like a dream and I feel like a goof with that big seat but it is nice with the two of us on it. It for sure has the power to get us around town no problem.

A few months ago we decided to try to sell my 64 smallframe and thin out some of our scoots. I live in a Townhome and don't have a garage so it used to live in our basement with our dogs. We sold a 2012 Buddy Italia and put the Smallframe on consignment.

Well, after a change of heart we decided to get it back.

It was running rough and not shifting right when we tried to sell it. Let's see if we can get it repaired.

Just added this Vespa ETS to LA familia.

Nice one TV! Love an ets

My 50s with pinaco 102 and faco banana.Bare metal with clear primer and clearcoat.
I had it like this for a year,and now i m going to restore it.

Nice, what are your plans for it. Decide on a color? Or do you keep changing it like I do?

Can t decide yet.I want something special. I like the verde alga but i have never seen it on a vespa,only a photo in google.

I like the bare metal Panos.. say hi to Terry... if you're THE Panos that is!

Here's a smallie case for all you two headed monsters out there!

What?

How does that transfer power to the clutch(es)?

It looks like the 2 small primary cogs would drive the main primary/clutch..

And in case 2 isn't enough.. Here's a tripple dinger!

^ That triple's a hoot... bet cooling's an issue though, especially the bottom cylinder.