Modern Vespa

I suppose this post would be better suited to Vespas that have left the house... Oh well already done

Looks like a blast - and both scoots have side stands - they look badass!

no worries, just keep on posting!!

Spot on. Also steel profile! brackets and safety wire all fittings. Drilling nuts/bolts is a pita but it does stay on. I´ve raced single cilinder vibrators, euh.. motorbikes.

I love my sidestand! I have that fitted in addition to centerstand. I modified the sidestand a bit, to make it stop further forward; more tension on the spring; and a bit more lean for stability and that extra gangster lean!

What did you do exactly? I stopped using mine because of the less than ideal stability

I ground away material from the forward stop, which is part of the main bracket; so that when the stand is in the down position it is at a steeper forward angle. Most of the sidestands are almost vertical when the stand is down. I also drilled a new hole in the bracket for the spring, further away from the left side; so the spring has more tension when the stand is down & up. Made the spring mount on stand a bit deeper, and added a 1/4" rubber pad between stand bracket and floorboard on the outer edge.

I still use the center stand most of the time, but its nice to have the sidestand option.

I think this may be a Rally type stand, which is a bit shorter than a Pseries version. I have not measured to compare.

My friend's birgundy P with un-modified sidestand tips over from time to time. Lean on it wrong and that sidestand flips right up!

I did the same thing on my side stand FM. Ground some of the stop down to make it extend a bit more. And I might even do a bit more....

Thanks guys! I got some work to do on mine

I have two different side stands ive acquired randomly. The one thats on the left, leaves very little lean, and the one that is on the right, leaves a comfortable amount of lean. I only use them on my race scooters, theyre so much easier to take on and off before/after track days. Any other scooter i keep the center stand.

Got a picture of the R/H side stand? Sounds like a good thing.

These are all I could find on my phone, I can try to take better ones next time im in my garage. These were when I first got the scooter how it was, the side stand was used in conjunction with the center stand, but were two separate parts. I just use it on its own now.

Thanks! Looks fairly compact at the top end. I imagine you'd scrape the selector box (and the funky Utah cover!) before you'd scrape that. I have mine on the left along with the centre stand, and it definitely scrapes if I'm trying hard.

Oh I take them off when I'm at the track. But if I'm riding the race scooters normally (or mildly aggressively) around town, they don't scrape. They both do sit up tight along the floorboard.

On mine I ovaled out the mounting holes, to move the stand further inward; so it sticks out less. I dont really ride that aggressively (anymore) to worry about scraping; but more clearance is always better.

With your holes ovaled do they creep at all or just stay where you tighten them up?

It's not moved a Millimeter since install. Solid as a rock. Sidestand bracket is sandwiched between floorboard above and centerstand below, so I'm sure that helps keep it in position. I only ovaled the sidestand, the centerstand brackets are untouched.

Today was more Lammy fun while I wait for the GL's new top end, crank, etc. to arrive.

I added rubber buffers onto the silencer mount, along with rebuilding the front brakes on the Lammy, which were pretty much useless even by my low personal standards. When I opened it up, I found that one of the shoes was completely frozen on the pin. I'm not sure how it worked even as little as it did.

Got it all cleaned up, rust-free, grease where there should be grease and no grease where there shouldn't be. I also greased the front bearings while I was at it, so while I have a new (to me) front disc coming in the not-too-distant future, I'm still good for more riding in the meantime.

I also scored a deal on some tubeless rims with reasonable tires on them from a buddy, but of course I don't have those yet, so I'm still rolling on tubes for the time being.

My buddy finally turned 50. We rode to one of our favorite sushi places in Westlake Village. He was having a bad helmet hair day. Apparently I don't suffer from that so much.

I have the worst of both worlds. What little hair I have is usually helmet hair. Go figure.

I had grocery store sushi for dinner, which I seriously hope was not as good as yours.

Ours was pricey but excellent! After a bad oyster situation last year my wife said not to eat dodgey seafood. She said I have too much work on the house to finish and can't afford to loose me. 🤣

I read you swapped your PWK28 for a bigger carb, but I thought it would be nice to share my set up :
Keihin 28, 52/JJK (2nd groove from top)/145, Casalambretta air filter, SIP clubman.

And the crankcase / cylinder were slightly opened up

Just contributing for contents sake…I daily ride a Vespa everyday, usually this one.

That's almost the same jetting as I had with the PWK28. What's your top end? I'm running a Quattrini TV210 with the Gori clubman.

I didn't get the best measure when I did the latest GSF Dyno, but will re-run it this weekend as I get the carb dialed in a little better. Going up to the 34 took peak horsepower up nicely from 19 to 22 before the exhaust started falling off. Assuming that's now back under control, I can get back to my go-fast adventures.

That's a full on "Vespas that have left the house" item! Great to see a daily user. Love seeing vintage scoots used as mules, especially through Brooklyn. A pic of your scoot out front of Peter Luger would be cool. My other fav is Katz's Deli. 😉

It was my set up for a Quattrini TV210, SIP crankshaft 58x116, port timing unmodified, 1,3mm squish, transfert opened … can't you see the pictures I posted in my previous message ?

Channeling some Vader vibes…

I still miss him. 99% if what I do with scooters was inspired by his confidence that I could.

He was a good egg.

An incredible human being. After I sold the Rally while caring for my wife during her surgeries and chemo treatments, he would check up on us weekly. During this time I also went thru back operation and he would always call just to joke around to keep our spirits up. I miss him terribly like I would a brother.

Yesterday, later in the day, the surgeon's office called to tell me they had a cancellation and I could move my surgery date up by more than three weeks. Can't wait to get this over with - the last 2 years have been rough, but the 2 month has been truly awful. My son moved back home to help, but it's hard for me to ask someone else to do something for you, even my son.

Hang in there man. I know back stuff is no bueno. I had two cervical discs fused and a spacer inserted in 2022. It made a huge difference long term, but was a hell of a climb back with PT and the muscles reworking the body's architecture back there. I will eventually have to get spacers inserted down in L1, L2… which I am told is an even longer recovery. All that to say, I really hope it helps. The burden of daily pain and limited mobility is a fucking drag. Godspeed to you good sir and fast healing.

Thank you, Birds. My L5-S1 disc has been operated on twice. There is not much left of it and arthritis has set in. The surgeon I have now said it should had been fused on second surgery. Now the disc above it, (L4-L5) has herniated badly and is hammering my spinal chord. I am so thankful that I can even get this operation at all because the doc told me it's this or a wheelchair a few years down the line when all the nerves get choked off. or torn up. Yeah, recovery is going to be many months, but I have family around to help pick up the slack - more to be thankful for.

We're all a mess eh? Arthritis in the spine friggin sucks. Everything involved with my spine is a mess. Arthritis, scoliosis, bulging discs, degenerative disc disease. I feel your pain my man. Hope the surgery helps!

Yeah, FM, all part of Plastering for 47 years and doing a whole lot of side work as well. And then there is all the stuff I should not have been doing, especially for the last few years. I though after I retired, I would take it easier, but it just made me want to do more. Can't blame anyone else for my own stupidity.

I consider my self fortunate that my back is still hanging in there. I tweaked my lower back a couple times working on my scoots down on the floor and that was enough to inspire me to build my lift.

In happier news, did some more fine-tuning on the Lammy and I think that other than maaaaaaybe taking another look at the transition from diameter to taper, I'm pretty damn happy with it.

I think the GSF Dyno is a little bit high, possibly some clutch slip, but it definitely has solid power all they through the rev range and sounds effing amazing. I'll have to get out and capture some video tomorrow.

I'm curious how this GSF dyno calculator works. I've never touched it but looks interesting

There was a thread a few years back about it on here. Once you get the hang of it, it's pretty easy to use.

Helps to have a smooth, level, straight, and empty stretch of road you can use consistently, too.

Lemme know if you want any help getting it going. It's like twenty years old, so even finding it can be tricky.

Finally converted my last Vermont registered scoot to a WA state title. Ever since Vermont closed their out of state loophole I've figured it was only a matter of time until they stop renewing existing registrations or other states stop honoring them.

I always have anxiety going to the DOL since I always get the runaround with vintage vehicles. Yesterday was a breeze; no lines and I was out in 20 minutes.

What's really funny to me is that despite the horrific reputation, I've never had anyone at the DMV/DOL/DOT/DOWhatever be anything but incredibly helpful and pleasant to me, and that's despite (or maybe because) I inevitably show up with the weirdest problems (i.e. requires a supervisor's help), but I always try to be friendly and as prepared as I can be, so maybe that's my secret.

I blame the portrayal of the DMV in movies and on TV for setting negative expectations, but have no evidence to support that theory other than that's the only place I have ever seen DMV employees behave the way that everyone seems to expect them to behave.

Anyways...back to the scooter stuff...

Yesterday was a frustrating-but-productive day in the workshop.

First thing in the morning, I forgot that the flywheel nut on a Lammy is lefthand thread, then grabbed a breaker bar when it didn't come loose. Luckily, the steel of the crank is harder than the steel of the nut (by design, I hope), so I only killed the nut. So the Lammy is sidelined until the new flywheel nut arrives.

Having crossed off all the Lammy work for the day, I got on to sorting out the ignition on my mint green Stella so I can get it sold off to some hopefully-happy new owner. It lost spark at Band Camp this year and has been sitting waiting for some attention for almost three months now.

It's been out in the carport, so when I went to roll it into the workshop, Travis Barker immediately ran over and peed on the front wheel. Thanks, Travis. So I inserted "hose off all parts at or below dog dick height" right at the top of the task list, before "wheel it into the workshop."

I had a pile of unknown-status stators, CDI's, and flywheels, so I started working on a possible combination and coming up empty. I finally pulled the stator and flywheel off my VBB's OG motor (PX cone crank).

Installed that and it started first kick. Rode it around a bit, determined the clutch need adjustment, adjusted it, then rode it around some more. I think I'm going to drop the main a couple points, but other than that, it's good to go. I'd forgotten how smooth and float-y the Stella's ride is, or maybe it's just that I'm using rubber rather than urethane engine buffers. More like that LX I worked on this spring than any of my other bikes. Almost no road feel, but also minimal bumps and vibration.

I still need to fix the right rear turn signal and flush the front brake fluid before I list it, but at a fire sale price, it'll be a heck of a deal for someone who doesn't mind ugly-if-it-works. Hell, even the fuel gauge seems to be working, and I don't recall it working previously.

And I had some interesting-ish (in a / way) Boo-Badge adventures, too, but I'll update the thread for those so they can stay part of that worklog.