Modern Vespa

The M3113905. Scooterpartsco calls it 88cc, but I believe it's actually 80cc.

Well I can only speak for myself and I have to say I don't find it disconcerting or inpertinent to ask how the results of my pictures came to be. If Jet Peddler becomes a better photographer using my tips that would be awesome and the world woud be a better place. Unfortunately that isn't possible for me because of the rules in The Netherlands. If I would make my 50cc go much faster they would ban me from the road or even have it scrapped. My goals is to make it a bit faster so I can keep up with traffic easier but not so fast that it becomes a totally different beast.

I put 9gm WEIGHTS in my LX 150.Same as yours but a 150. It gave me a little more low end high end power. Might want to try that. Works for me and isn't illegal.

I will be swapping out the weights shortly, together with the main jet and I'm gonna put de-restricted CDI in.

Ok I'll bite. What is wrong with using colour correction or photoshopping if it enhances the images? We love the pics!
I only wish I could produce such great images. Please continue Tom!

Judy, I was going over this old thread. So, have you been to Italy yet? A place you haven't been yet how was it be the most beautiful place. LOL.

Today I am going to do a run in order to gather as much data as possible for my long trip next spring.

To be able to drive as much kilometers in the shortest amount of time I will be riding on familiar roads.

The route goes from:

Enschede to Ochtrup to Munster back to Ochtrup to Bad Bentheim and from Bad Bentheim to Ahaus and Enschede.

I think it will be approximately 200 kilometers. My first proper big ride.

Route saturday run by Tom westendorp, on Flickr

Let's see how it goes!

Well. Let's tell the story of my first longer ride.

In the end, I only drove 155 kilometers. It took me, including a fuel stop and drinking a coffee, 3 hours and 45 minutes. Riding time was 3.5 hours.

Things that went well: the bike. This little 50cc engine keeps on purring all day long. It runs great and is a true joy to listen to.

Things that didn't go so well: my clothing. A pair of jeans is way too cold when it is only 12 degrees C outside. I was cold for the entire ride. I contemplated if I should get some rain pants at a bike shop on my way out of town. I thought I didn't need them. Big mistake. Next time I won't leave the house without some proper warm clothing.

The route:
I drove from Enschede to Ochtrup to Steinfurt to Altenberg to Munster. But instead of driving in to the city center and not making a lot of progress I decided to turn around at the golf course.

also the only picture I took during my ride:
Munster by Tom westendorp, on Flickr

With that it was back to Ochtrup and onwards to Bad Bentheim. As stated before I took this route because I know all the roads and don't have to worrie about where I'm going.

From Bad Bentheim it was onwards to Ahaus. I knew it would be close because I left to late and I had other obligations that afternoon instead of going home early I just pushed to see how far I could get. In the end it wasn't the 200 kilometer ride I set out to do but with 155 kilometers it wasn't bad at all.

Great adventure and it is peaking my interest in long distance traveling on a small bike. Now I'm back at looking at GPS systems. I think a Garmin GPSMAPS 64S is on the cards soon......

Thanks for reading!

Well, it's time to get my hands dirty.

Yesterday I ordered:

- main jet 74
- Malossi roller weights 4,7 grams
- a new oil filter
- oil
- spark plug
- valve clearance tool
- other special tools.
- air filter malossi

Maybe I have this saturdy time to wrench on my bike. She is in need of some TLC.

Might ad a Tach while i'm at it.....

Just ordered this orange bad boy.

Well this sucks.

Nail by Tom westendorp, on Flickr

The parts I ordered also haven't arrived. Only the small tachometer. Let's see if I can wire it up today.

Now I'm off to get a tire plug kit.

Well, I think I got lucky.

Nail out of the tire. by Tom westendorp, on Flickr

Fitting the tach proved more of a challenge. I thought that if I would unmount the steering wheel covers I could guide the cable down to spark plug. Turns out I have to disassemble my complete bike. I'm not that keen on tearing the whole bike apart for such a small mod but it will look better if I do it this way and I get the exact result I want. Now I only have to find the time to start this project.

That's an easy one.
The mention of photoshopping is a hot buttom topic in the States and to bring it up is taboo.
Professional photoshopping is an art like plastic surgery, cosmetic dentistry, and photography. At the heart of them lies the principle that the final product will look natural.
Implying otherwise would be either insulting or insensitive to the photographer, the professional who did the photoshopping, and the subject matter.

BTW I love the photographs as well.

Look what I got!

Parts by Tom westendorp, on Flickr

This Saturday there will be some wrenching! Now let's hope the weather will cooperate.

What is this for

That is a tool to adjust the valves.

Well, let's get this thread back on track.

Last week I tried to do all the maintenance myself. Lying on the ground in my garden I tried to disassemble the clutch and the variator. It was impossible. The nuts were previously locked with an impact gun so there was no way I could get them loose.

Only getting the variator open was a one hour job because I did it for the first time. I wasn't impressed with the way the belt looked and I got the feeling the bike hasn't been properly maintained by the previous owner. That feeling was being confirmed when I opened the airbox. The filter in it was absolutely filthy and there was even mud in it! I was flabbergasted by the state of the thing.

After changing the air filter the bike was feeling much more alive. but also didn't run as well as it used to do. I thought it had to do with the valves needing adjustment. At the traffic light, the bike wouldn't idle and even die.

Last week I had no time to get it to a proper workshop but this morning I did.

Let's say I wasn't expecting what I found.

The variator belt was completely worn.

Maintenance by Tom westendorp, on Flickr

Maintenance by Tom westendorp, on Flickr

The variator and clutch were really filthy, I don't think anyone ever touched them. So I cleaned it all with brake cleaner, a rag, and an air pistol.

That made thing look a lot better. I also changed the oil and finally, it was time for my biggest surprise: the spark plug.

Maintenance by Tom westendorp, on Flickr

Maintenance by Tom westendorp, on Flickr

It was completely shattered. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

After fitting the new spark plug it was time to start the bike up.

What an amazing difference. It idle's well, it pulls hard and it sounds much much better.

I also hit the clutch with some sandpaper so it doesn't slip anymore.

I really feel I have a new bike. The only downside to the whole operation is that I stripped the thread for a variator bolt.

Maintenance by Tom westendorp, on Flickr

The bolt is pretty secure so I will keep an eye on it.

Man I am enjoying riding my "new" bike and knowing that everything is in good shape.

Next stop: derestricting the beast.

But first a week holiday away from Valentina.

I will shoot some pictures on Sicily of some nice Vespa's.

What I thought appeared to be true. I have a new bike. It runs so smooth right now. What a joy!

How many km's do you have on the scooter now?

9.800 kilometers already. Rode it 2.700 kilometers during my short period of ownership.

Well, this morning the fun stopped. Yesterday evening I took the bike for a ride and all was well. This morning however, only a kilomter from home the bike failed. It suddenly made a terrible noise and I have the feeling that something came loose in the variator or somewhere else in the drivetrain.

took my Volkswagen up! to work and will investigate tomorrow.

To be continued.

I'm betting your variator nut came loose. Same thing happened to my wife's Fly 50...terrible grinding noise...but fortunately only 50 feet from my driveway. Odds are the plastic fan might be a bit chewed up, but still useable while a replacement is on order.

How did you secure the variator nut? I use a drop of Locktite and torque the nut to 40 ft lbs.

:/

Nice that you went to Germany! I will take my little Vespa LX50 to Germany as well! After that I'll head to Kolding, Denmark. All in the summer!

Well, I think I got lucky. The variator nut came loose and completely shredded the Variator cooling fan.

A new fan was only 5 euro's and I used blue Loctite to lock the variator nut. Torqued it to spec so all should be well.

The only thing I learned and not so happy about is that I am missing a bolt in the variator housing. The thread was damaged but I thought it would hold. Unfortunately it is also the nut in the very front, so locking the variator became a lot harder. Does anyone know if I can let it out or should I get it fixed?

I very much sympathize with your 'bad' surprises.

If you are confident the variator nut was torqued to spec I would not worry about it.

If it's just one missing cover bolt it should be just fine. But the next time you plan to remove the variator cover I would recommend purchasing a Helicoil kit to repair the threads. Fingers crossed that your variator screw is well secured and the cover will not need to be removed for a few thousand kilometers.

Took her for a 2 hour test drive this afternoon. It runned like a champ! Now let's see how that variator cover holds up.

So this happened!

Congrats! That's quite an achievement on a 50 cc scooter!!

In all honesty I didn't drive them all myself. Only 3.000 to date.

I want to derestrict my CDI unit to extract a bit more power from my bike. Unfortenatly my bike doesn't have the CDI unit in the front of the bike but in the engine compartment. When it sits at the front of the bike you can get a Malossi replacement but for the CDI unit I have there doesn't seem to be a alternative availlable.

Does anyone have any tips how to derestrict the 58120r CDI from Piaggio? I can't find it anywhere.

This is wat the CDI looks like:

Your Sprint 50 has a separate ignition coil and CDI. That part is the ignition coil. The CDI is located remotely and can be replaced by the unrestricted Malossi product.

My wife's 2014 Fly 50 is the same. I bought the Malossi CDI with the intention of replacing it when I installed the Malossi 80cc kit, but I ended up skipping that step since the scooter ran so well.

I still think you should go with the 80cc kit. There's no way for anybody to tell that the kit was installed without removing the plastic covers from the engine. And legally any derestricting you do to the vehicle is illegal. Otherwise they would not have restricted it in the first place.

The CDI cost more than half the price of the cylinder kit. The CDI improvement will barely be noticeable. The cylinder kit will make you smile every day.

I guess I wasn't the only one to to take a lengthy sabbatical.

Anyone heard from Petrolhead Tom lately?

Used to love his ride reports, And his wonderful photographs!

Three weeks and no replies...

I'm guessing no one has a clue what has become of the Dutch Warrior?

Anyone?