Modern Vespa

You, sir, have the patience of Job. I don't have the knowledge or the stones to attempt such a thing. Good man.

*audible chuckle*

Let's have a round of applause for Chandler, folks! He'll be here all week. Tip your moderators. Try the ham!

Unless you are uniquely talented, you have to be a really bad painter for awhile before becoming an ok painter. No way around making mistakes until you figure it out and get better.

Got both scoots running finally. With lights.
Rebuilt the oil pump on Bear. I have next to no turns on the idle screw though. Dunno why. Didn't change out the throttle cable so it shouldn't have changed. Once the rain stops I'm gonna take her out and see if the oil leak is fixed and then I'll worry about the cable. Also put some yellow film on the headlight to make it look even cooler.

Bluey finally got her lights sorted. Still dunno what was up with it but they work. All of em and the horn so we'll take that win. Speedo cable installed and working as well. Time for some heat cycles on the Pinasco 177 now then tune the carb up.

Now I just need nicer weather to get out on them.

DOH !
Swapped the DR for a cast iron Malossi and figured the jetting in the 24/24, which I had cleaned, that's on the LML would be close. But no. Spent a stupid amount of time trying to transition from idle. Almost got to the point of thinking electrically but I hadn't touched anything there. You know.....
Then it dawned on me: the SPACO has the fine thread screw.
The difference between the two kits is quite noticeable.

Friday, those scoots look Friday Night.
Just fantastic.

what's the story on 73, FridayMatinee??

Just my favorite number is all. Was my ice hockey number 27 years ago when I played as well. Always liked how it looked.


And thanks Senor Birbs!

Bear and Blue lookin sharp!

I noticed immediately that 73+27 = 100, so you got that going for you.

I just figured you were a ham radio operator. I'm sure there are some here.

73 de Dale, N0XAS

That made me think. My birthdate is 21. 7x3=21 might be something there….


Other wise I wish there was a cooler reason.

Your former foster bike looks good naked! Gross? Maybe!

Thats a beautiful naked bear

Had a bit of an issue last night...

Attempting to remove the spark plug from the Lammy to replace a failed CHT sender.

Not sure how the plug was so locked in there, but it was.

I pulled the head and welded a bolt into the plug to try and remove it. All that got me was a twisted off bolt head.

So I took my dremel with a grinder bit and started grinding the inside of the plug until I got to the threads. Lots of grind-inspect-grind more. Lots.

I cut slots in the top of the plug so I could get a screw driver on it and eventually, the steel was weakened enough I was able to just back it out like nothin'.

The threads seem to be all there, but a bit gummed up, so I'm off to the auto parts store this morning to get a thread chaser the the plug threads. Assuming that works, I'll put the whole thing back together and move on to the next task.

The next task being sorting out why I have evidence of detonation when the motor has almost never exhibited signs of overheating. I say "almost" because during Lammy Jammy, I had a series of struggles with the carb boot getting hot enough that the carb kept popping off (it was about 98F at the time), causing the motor to then run down. I limped about half a mile to the next stopping point by putting the carb on, getting up to speed, and having the carb pop off by about third gear, then coasting to a stop and repeating.

Last weekend, I had it out in 95-97 degree heat and ran it pretty hard, but the since-removed under-plug CHT never showed temps about 280...before it failed...

So I also drilled and tapped the head for an M10 CHT sender, which I prefer anyway, and I'm going to weld an AFR bung into the exhaust today so I can definitively see what's up with the carb setup.

Soo...I've had better times in the workshop, but it could have been (and may still be if I have to buy a new head) worse.

I can't believe the threads from the head didn't come with it. That was one stuck mother! Did you use any antiseize? I hate the stuff at work but my boss recently got some copper paste style and that stuff works really well.

I can't figure out why it was so seized in there. Maybe a bit of swarf from some dremeling to get the CHT sensor on got into the threads.

In any case, it's now fixed. Ran a thread chaser through it and new plug went in with only slightly more than average resistance. Staying tight though, and that's what I really care about.

I also added the AFR bung and am sorting out the screw-in CHT sensor mount now.

A mechanic I knew years back corrected me on using regular silver anti-seize when installing a O2 sensor. He said the same goes for spark plugs in that silver stuff is not conductive enough and to always use the copper based product on the threads. I work on many cars around here (my stuff and my kids cars), and Iridium spark plugs are usually installed. I figure I won't be removing them for 50,000 miles at least and the copper stuff has always worked well, no problems on removal.

If that detonation is jetting, something is at least 10% under.
If a mechanical problem, it's always the head
If ignition, it's way off.
It will go better once you find it, so there is that.

Today I had some lathe work to do so while I was at it I repurposed some aluminum into a new flap handle button for the Cessna 180. Last flight on short final the old plastic one popped off and disappeared behind me. Been on there since 1969.

I'll be a little surprised if it's jetting, but will be testing tomorrow. That's still my #1 suspect.

Squish is 1.5mm, motor has been running strong, and unless the stator slipped, I'm confident I set timing correctly (but will be checking it, too).

Bike is back together, just letting RTV cure overnight.

Head issues are usually more to do with the diameter being different to the bore, not centered correctly or wrong squish angle for the piston/fuel.

Engines run backwards, so timing always feels wrong.

Jetting is most likely. What carb is it?

The head and cylinder are the ones that came with the cylinder (Quattrini M210-TV), so I hope they're correct.

It's a PWK 28 carb. I'm confident in the main, having walked it down to a 158 (I couldn't find my 160, but the max RPM's jumped from like 8 to 9K with that change and it was the richest that rev'ed out cleanly.

Needle may be the prime suspect. It's a JJH, but at 1.5 clip. That was, like the main, walked down until it didn't stumble in the mid-range.

Idle is about a 50 or 52 (I forget).

I'm going to get some riding video today.

Took a test ride with the AFR and the issue was immediately obvious. The needle diameter is significantly too lean and the idle is a little bit too lean.

At 1/8-1/4 throttle, AFR was showing 16-18 . I'm lucky I didn't do more than spatter the piston and dome, because that's where the throttle spends most of my time on this bike.

Once it warmed up, the idle was at about 15. Since I'm changing things, I'll go one jet richer, especially since it's freakin' stupid-hot out right now.

As to the main, it was actually down under 12.7 when fully revved out at WOT, and 1/2-3/4 throttle was maybe a little rich. I'll go down one jet on the main, but I'm going to leave the needle height & taper alone until I'm happy with the diameter.

I know I shouldn't make three changes at once, but I'm going to make an exception in this case.

Went to go for a ride with Bear and had an air leak. So back inside she goes. Lapped the carb base and replaced the gasket as it was ripped.
Found out also why the slide wouldn't return all the way…. Had the actuating arm installed through the spring somehow. Once I put that right alls well. Kicked her over and returns to idle easily.

No ride as it stormed right when I finished and now I gotta make dinner. Gonna be 100 the next three days so won't be going outside in that nonsense. May go in the pool though.

It was 99 here today. I left Texas to get away from that sort of BS weather.

Still, made my jetting changes on the Lammy:
Main: 160 -> 158
Needle: JJH-1.5 -> JJF-1
Idle: 60-65

Pretty much fixed all my problems (enough). Main is still right at the edge of rich and bogs a little and the AFR drops into the 11's when I whip the throttle open, then settles right at 12.7 on the AFR. I'll try a 155 on it and see what I think.

Needle height could honest be a little leaner, but I don't have any leaner needles in an F diameter (the options get pretty thin on that rich a diameter), so I'll just live with it. It's riding right at 12.7 at half throttle, climbing up to about 13 if it can rev out.

Idle is back down under 14.7, but I think the air screw is working itself out again, so I need to check that, adjust if true, and then see where that gets me.

Overall, though, bike is running much better than it was. The stumbly spots are mostly gone and it pulls like a tractor. I don't have a temp gauge on it right now, but even in today's heat, it never hunted for a second when returning to idle.

I'll have a look in the bore and see how the piston crown looks and if there's any more detonation, but I'm feeling pretty good about it right now.

Even down there, you guys (maybe not you specifically) are more prepared for it. It'll get hot here but not really for this long. By far the hottest summer I've had in my 47 years. We get like 10-15 90°+ days typically. It's been over 90 since early June. I'm dreading August. I get heat exhaustion way too easily for this crap!

At least October is only 2.5 months away

We didn't used to get heat like this here. The past couple summers have been much hotter than normal. I guess I should say they're the New Normal.

I don't like it, but I probably know how to deal with it (basically, avoid it or, if that's not an option, minimize exposure) better than most.

I used to look forward to October when living and working in SE FL for most of my life. By the second week of October it would drop down to 85 degrees on a nice day. After most days above 90 since April, this was considered quite a relief, especially since a lot of the work I did (Plastering) was outside. Upside was most of the jobs were not too far from the ocean, so there usually was some sort of breeze. Downside was 93 degrees with 80% humidity was a heat factor of 122, which was a normal day. 2 gallons of water a day was normal too. Good times.

Refusing to let 99 degrees keep me off the bike, I dropped the Lammy's main to a 155 and took it for a spin. Still rich on the top end until it really gets running, and it leaned out the mid-range a little (which is a good thing) and 1/4-3/8 is still really healthy (like low 13's on the AFR), so I think my diameter is good until other changes are stabilized.

The main is absolutely too rich. The AFR falls down to 12.0 or even into the mid-11's at WOT. I'm going to keep walking it down since I don't want to get surprised by the mid-range leaning out more than I was expecting.

I swapped in a 150 main but haven't test-ridden it yet. I'll be interested to see how much that helps with the bog when I pop the throttle to WOT while riding.

Both the Kyjet modeling tool and doing some basic math of my own predicts I'll ultimately settle at a 145 or maybe 142 main, and possibly going half a clip or clip richer on the needle, but I think I'm finally getting close.

And if it'll run cool and well in hundred degree heat, I figure it'll be pretty much indestructible at sane riding temps.

Be careful riding at 70F or lower, as you'll be running a lean on the main

Good clarification.

Winter setup is different than summer setup. Carb gets re-tuned when (if) fall ever arrives.

There was an inch of ice on the ground when I got my new engine running and now it's 100 degrees

We typically get 26 100+ degree days in a summer but we are going to get more than that in Fresno this year. Our group is riding on Saturday when the predicted temperature is 106 but we're starting at 8:30 and taking only a short 40 mile run with a late breakfast at a local restaurant. We'll be done by Noon so we should be fine

Scored a used AC/DC TIG for 150€ from a welding shop that closed down. Came with two sets of cables (3m & 6m), a 20L argon cylinder and a rolling cart...

Nice score!

Oh yeah! I've completed the set. Inverter MMA (with extra TIG torch), MIG and TIG. Now to practice on aluminum welding...

I really want to get a TIG setup at some point, but for now, I limp along with my spool gun MIG.