Modern Vespa

The holes measure the same from what I can tell. My husband has more knowledge about the engine parts than I do. We got a gasket set. I'm sure more challenges will arise in the rebuild.

I have two internal coil type stator and flywheel sets if you end up in need. From Bluebadge Smallframes.

Ha GT, you need some 10 hole Docs

JK man, I've been down the same path when I first picked up my smallframe. Unbeknownst to me that my fuel tap lever was upside down, so what I thought was reserve was actually off! Toggling the lever back and forth allowed some fuel to the carb but not enough to keep running...so ya bump start on the clutch side.

And ya, I love that PK Nuttmeg!

-As a side note, I just saw that Malossi has just released an all aluminum kit for the smallframes. Looks real good and the transfers are even bigger than the MK2 cast iron cylinder kit that also has been updated. Direct cylinder intake would be my choice. Watch out Polini...

Malossi MHR cylinder kit

I was excited when I saw that kit too. My insider info says it's not as good as the Evo though.. but if I had another smallie to play with I'd get one for kicks.. I'm sure it's better than the old Malossi.. looks good to me..

I wouldn't hesitate to put it in here!

*cut to: gratuitous shots of my V90

That is one mean looking Smallie Vader, you did it up nice! Really like the big wheels.

I am keeping my Primavera bone stock and sticking with the original patina, but that V90 I picked up from MJRally will be a different story.

Thanks Len.. I still need to mount the CHT / EGT I had made up.. then I think I'll be done.. oh that and I wanna put a side stand in addition to the center stand.. oh and I've since put a Piaggio badge on the leggy.. I'm still thinking about putting a V90 script badge that Patrick gave me, but I'm holding off.

I'd love to have a bike w/ Patina like yours.. I hope to find something similar for my next go around.. so much easier to love when it's already got some love taps built in!

killer smallie vader! just as i picture my imaginary smallie build would look like

to bad pre 70s smallie command serious bucks here in indo, due to its rarity..

may i ask what you got in there engine wise?

New legshield/floor just arrived for my Black Friday special V90:

That's rad Len..

Yup, ordered it through Hodgespeed. I had wondered how it would survive the shipping from SIP, but it came without damage and arrived quicker than I thought. This is gonna be fun.

That's dope, man. Are you going to document it? I'd like to see how it goes. Especially how the horn cast is attached.

Yup, I'll be taking some pics as it progresses.

Going to bookmark that thread!

What? You wouldn't even unwrap it for us?

Here's a quick pic showing how you can make a 'better' airfilter for your SHBC19 carb from a largeframe filter.
Fabricate the plate from some aluminum sheet.
Some drilling & plugging required on the filter, grinding optional.

Got encouraged to post a picture on my Vespa here. All original except the crankshaft, gearing and clutch.

Nice one! I'm too tall for the saddle seat, but I like the rack.
What did you do to the gearing, and how does it perform?

Thank you!
I got the 16/68 gearing, original was 18/67 i think. Before i had to switch to third in about 20 km/h, now i can do it at almost 35 km/h. It tops out at about somewhere about 45 km/h, before 35 km/h. It might rev a bit higher now, affect the gear changes as well.

I don't think the Vespa would handle the gearing without the new crank. The Swedish original ones had an really small intake duration. Since my original piston has some scoring on the side i might put on a 75 cc kit, we'll see.

I probably should of gotten this for the 78 that I had the frame restored. heck I probably should of trashed the whole frame, it was pretty bad. now its beautiful and in our living room.

I couldn't help it. It was calling my name.

^^^^^Nice Primmy

Are Euro spec scoots more desirable in the US.?

Well done Vader. I love it!

Cheers Groover

Looks good, MJRally!

Glad to see you worked out your transportation - that looks awesome! Nice find, and from a respectable source no less. Merry Christmas, eh!

Nice one MJR! Is that a ET3?

Rather than wrap presents I took the train downtown and rode it back to my house. In the flats the speedo read 90 kph (55 mph). Does that sound about right for an ET3 with the 135 kit on it?

When you say 135 kit = Malossi and 19mm carb with rotary valve induction?

I'd say that's pretty close speed wise to that setup, you should top out at 60mph. Out of the box these kits are tuned on the conservative side when bolted directly on but with some mods to the port timings, larger carb and expansion chamber, expect 60mph+.

A stock ET3 will max out in the low 50's mph.

That scoot looks just like Robot's ET3 from Motorsport, have fun MJR rippin' around town.

My 50s with pinasco 102 19/19 carb and faco banana exhaust.

Mr. J that's because it was Robot's!

Ha! I was just chattin' him up on Sunday's Toy Run. Man, don't tell me you guys were there too and I missed ya.

It was a fun ride, besides the majority of moderns, I saw a couple Rally's, a GS150, a handful of smallies, a bunch of P's, a TV200, a Ruckus posse, a CanAm Spyder group and a sweet pedal powered velomobile.

MvR is around the corner, so hopefully we'll catch up there.

I wasn't there, we had a family thing going on. Glad you had fun, gonna have to do that one year.

I've been curious about the various models of the 50cc and checked ScooterHelp to try to figure things out. I know the 50 Special is unique in that has a rectangular headlite and different horncast. I found that it apparently came in three versions: V5A2T - '69-'72, V5B1T - '72-'75 and V5B3T '75-'83. The V5SA1T 50S is listed there from 1963 to 19??. Anybody know the last year they were made?

from ScooterHelp


Regarding the rear badge, this is the badge(top) on my gray '82 50S and I believe it's original. Notice the 'S' is slightly smaller than the numbers and centered vertically. The badge below I picked up somewhere and there's no 'S' - so what model had this one? 50N('63-'71), 50L('66-'70) and/or 50R('69-'83)?



Here's the badge on the brown '81 50S which I got from a Vespa parts shop and it's likely a repop. The 'S' is even smaller and aligned on the bottom. It seems Piaggio wouldn't make it different for no reason.



Finally just out of curiosity, what badge is on the 50 Special? I think I've seen just '50 special' with no 'vespa', but I'm not sure.

Incidentally in my searching I found this German site which also has an English version. Lot's of good info here if you're interested, even a Tips & Tricks section I'm gonna browse through. http://www.vespa-50.com/

I think the 50s was generally produced until 1984, which is about as high a year you'll get returned when you do an engine / chassis search on scooterhelp. But as it says on www.smallframes.com/models/50s, they kept producing only for the Japanese market to around 2000.

The Japanese bikes have engine and chassis numbers which do not come up in any search I can find.

I have read both versions that they either stopped production in '84 then started again for Japan, or kept production going right through.

I was just going to replace some gaskets and seals, and the clutch in my smallframe this morning. These little bits of black material in the clutch cover convinced me to dig a little deeper.

rubber from the kick start bumper.

Ding ding ding!! You are correct! You're a genius Patrick. Don't know if you can see it in the pic, but it's basically gone. Cleaning it out of the gears right now.

Can I get a list and / or advice of the various methods to stop the clutch from rotating while trying to undo the nut? After my "screwdriver incident" when I broke off the tip, I am vary wary of putting anything in there. So far I have;

1. US penny between gear teeth, preferably on a string for safety from dropping.
2. There is a special tool, but I have never seen one for sale.
3. Rope through plug hole. Any pointers on rope type and diameter?
4. Does stopping the flywheel turning also stop the clutch from spinning?
5. I thought I read have the bike in gear with brake on but not sure if that applies to SF

Nylon rope through the plug hole will stop the top end. If your clutch nut is on there really tight, though, you may find that the clutch itself will slip even though the top end is stopped. This means you need to either somehow lock the bottom end or get an impact. This just happened to me. I bought an impact. Done.

Hard to use the rear wheel effectively because the engine is dropped so you can access the nut - and if it's out of the bike the rear wheel is really of no use! Plus, you pulled the brake backing plate to get the clutch cover off, right?

I too have wondered where one buys the clutch holding tool for small frames. The large frame version is available everywhere but doesn't work for smallframe clutches. Maybe SIP? Seriously, I can't even find a picture of what it should look like. I've tried.

Maybe hodge will chime in here that he can get them from SIP. If so, I will take one too!

This is on the scooter centre.com blog