Modern Vespa

That looks straighter than it probably came from the factory

That's awesome your able to get some work done while the weather is cool!

Got a chance to sneak the boat out for some scallops with my neighbor. The boat was full of ashes from the recent fires. Gave it a good scrub when we were done. Water was 57 degrees. Nice calm and clear conditions for the ride over to Santa Cruz Island and back. Water viz was only 30 ft. but plenty for what I was doing. Got my limit of 10 and had a buddy over for scallop ceviche!

Straight is the only standard I can work toward. No guidelines for factory lumpy. Still it won't be dead straight. Which is fine.

The work lights are enough to keep the panel warm enough for the filler to kick. It's been in the low 30's and I've been sanding with the longboard in a t-shirt. Garage door wide open. Way better than doing this in the summer. Paint seems to work better for me when it's cold and dry. Humidity can make paint do funny things.

She's tight!

Fingers crossed it's good this time!

Then don't mess around with it anymore, get it in the scoot, pronto!

I mean.

Pressure testing always seems tedious, but rewarding when you eventually get a good result. A guy at work who used to be a motorcycle mechanic seemed to find it amusing that I pressure test Vespa cases. Actually, he seems to find the whole idea of tuned Vespas amusing.

Probably because it *is* amusing.

Finding a leak is completely worth the hassle and rewarding indeed. It means dodging hours of jetting with shitty running engine and possibly a melted piston in the end. Getting the engine airtight is like the climax of the process.

100% agree.

Knowing the motor is airtight closes off SO MANY dead ends for troubleshooting any performance issues. I think about how many top ends I destroyed and hours I wasted chasing issues that were, in hindsight, obviously air leaks, and just have to shake my head.

Found out yesterday that my plans for this week are out the window and I'll be working out of town instead.

Today, I took my annoyance out on the Indian.

The rear axle has put up a formidable defence against disassembly by obstinately refusing to slide through the wheel bearings. Normally, I'm all for non-destructive solutions, but in light of recent events, all bets were off. First, I found a replacement rear axle online. Then, I grabbed the death wheel.

Rear wheel is now off. I was able to knock the axle and the bearing it was seized in out afterwards. For still having colloidal grease in there, the axle was pretty rotten, which explains why it wouldn't move.

I had ordered an EBR triple tree with a tapered bearing conversion last week. I was thinking of buying new shocks and fork legs after the holiday, but I need to save the pesos for a different project now.

Yes!! Another win for the death blade. Very satisfying. 😊

It truly is amusing…but so much fun. These scooters can look like shiny toys, not much different in some ways than smaller plastic versions at first glance. The look a Harley rider gave at the light me when I kept up was priceless.

I'm all for pressure testing on the bench when rebuilding an engine. It's also easy enough to do with the engine in the frame. Just because it started off leak free doesn't mean it will stay that way. When you find yourself in an endless jetting loop, hunting idle, overheating…saves a lot a time and frustration.

My two/three hours of scootertime over the weekend was spent chasing a binding flywheel. I thought that the stator screws were the offending party. 14mm flat heads. So I drove up the hardware store and got some M5 x 12mm

Was still binding. :-/
*scratched head*
*Tilted head*

Finally realized it was a case bolt. smh
I had used the wrong bolt just below the jug and it was sitting a few mm proud. Ffff... eh... sorted and all is well after wasting the entire morning chasing my own mistakes.

Hamstrung in Houston.

Been there, done that!

Had a problem with my visor….

That sucks! My pinlock no longer lets a good seal to the visor, so it will get fogging inside the ponlock and take forever to clear.

It's such a personal and specific choice that I can't really ask Santa for a new helmet, tho.

the good thing is I'm already eyeballing buying a replacement helmet. the age is sketchy at 7-8 years now. i'm sure i could just get a visor and pinlock but it's time anyway. until I do - no pinlock.

fogging inside the pinlock is worse than not having one.

Few more parts arrived today from Dieci Pollici for my PK project. Thankfully postage costs are now reasonable for Greece...

Ohhh, I like the seat!

Does it have a dedicated thread?

Can't say the same for Finland. Almost 48eur regardless if it is just one intake manifold or full medium sized box of parts...

I had to contact them before the order cause there was no option for Greece anymore. Last time I had checked was before COVID starting at 80€ for a package under 1kg and going up depending the weight. I paid 15€ for this package with the seat being the heaviest…

Short of, I'll start a more detailed thread when I begin the restoration…

It's getting crowded

Thanks.

Would like that. Learning a lót from you guys redoing scoots.

Bollox, indeed.

Have to take a detour from painting to repair a box section below the floor edge. I was just going to repair the rusted sections, but that would mean miles of welding under the bus. So all that gooey, rusty crusty will have to come out with a mixture of precise cutting and brute force using whatever tools will fit under there. That's the worst part of restoration. Welding in a clean new piece is much easier.

I will probably paint the rear quarter soonish, then the door jambs after the repairs are made to the box section.

Orwell, I admire your patience and persistence. Kudos!

Now that the wheel is off the Indian and there was a Christmas sale at Treatland, I went ahead and ordered something to continue shaping the project. The assembly arrived while I was working out of town.

As previously stated, the forks were no bueno and repair parts are for this bike are akin to unicorn farts and rocking horse turds. My idea was to restomod the wreck and make it streetable.

So I picked up an EBR tapered bearing fork kit for a Puch Maxi. Machining will be needed, but the key dimensions were close enough.

Measured it up this morning. The EBR steering stem is 213mm long compared to the 180mm Indian stem. Probably just need to extend the threading and part the stem off at the proper length.

The tapered bearing cups have a 30.8mm OD where they fit into the head tube versus the 32.25mm OD of the Indian bearing cups. Those will need to be welded and re-machined, or recreated with appropriate dimensions. I'll mock everything up on the frame to determine the next moves.

It's a bit of effort to get proper hydraulic forks and a disc brake, but it will set things up to better accept supermoto-style rims and tires. There's definitely going to be a "built, not bought" vibe to the finished machine.

Made on other amusing discovery last night while doing some additional research for a Scooter 'Zine article. While Floyd Clymer was the money man behind the '70s Indians, he had partnered with an Italian semi-constructor on the design of these machines: Leopoldo Tartarini, the man behind Italjet. The more I study the motorcycle industry surrounding Bologna, the more intriguing it gets.

While working in Phoenix, I was able to pick up the refurbed Minarelli crankshaft. I could start reassembling the engine now, but I kinda want to clean up the cases more.

I'm loving the effort you're putting into this. Most people wouldn't even attempt it. It's going to be great when it's finished!

I know an old man who likes to scoff at some of my projects. He likes to say silly things, "You'll never get back what you put into it, and that's not including your labor". Then I always have a smart assed comment for him. He laughs. Like the Toecutter said, "It's not for you Bubba, it's for me!".

While doing the annual inspection of the 180 today, I checked to see how easy it will be to slide a scoot inside. Smallframe will be no problem. My GS will fit dimensionally, being careful not to get any scratches. The engine cowl will be off to help with that. I'll physically have to shove the Malaguti in to see if it fits. Its taller at the bars. Otherwise I'm optimistic in flying to a destination with a scoot. I also have a folding ramp on the way. Takes less than 10 minutes to get the door off and the seats out.

That's crazy!! Put "mile high mayhem" on your list of potential destinations. A few of us will be coming up from Texas For that one.

That is so awesome! But you know, you make it up here to the Central Oregon Coast I've got a spare in the garage for you to ride

You're making it so much easier to blast up there in the little plane!

Buddy's stupid Zuma runs again. Wish I could say that it was a fuel problem or an electrical problem, but that would be too easy. It was a fuel leakage problem, a broken gas cap problem, a failed intake manifold problem, a compression problem, a broken harness connectors problem, a bum ignition coil problem, an engine ground problem and a too-many-damn-spiders-in-the-bodywork problem.

Wiring is all cleaned up and I installed the new cooling shrouds. Now to bolt all the Tupperware back on. Then it can leave under it's own power instead of using the assistance of a trebuchet.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/yCCA6hbNu4FbKqbE6

Yes, the video was from last weekend (Indian on the background was moments from losing it's rear wheel), but I spent time today tidying things up, fitting a non-crap battery, reinstalling the tach and temp probes and knocking together a relay solution so that the CDI and kill switch play nice finally.

Finished my 'zine article too, so I'm free to mess with other scooter problems later this week.

Opening paragraph caused a belly laugh

Glad to be of service.

Don't park next to him at a rally, unless you bike needs spiders too.

That video of the Zuma got me all excited, then reality set in. Still waiting for my Yasuni C10 to come in. Ordered it November 6th! 😂 I think the boys in Spain must be in full party mode instead of production.