Modern Vespa

Man, if I'd only known this existed sooner. https://www.lambrettaspares.com/spares/vespa-tools/whale-timing-tool,-for-largeframe-and-small-frame-vespa/mbv2530.html

Sure, it's not absolutely necessary but, I'm a sucker for shiny precision tools.

Yeah, the whale showed up on here a few months ago and it went straight onto my Tool Wish List.

Received a text from my wife a few minutes ago: Looks like my Stella project motor is here thanks to SoCalGuy Mike closing the transaction and shipping it to me.

Let the go-fast part ordering & dremeling begin!

You're only human...

after a very hot day, the heavy rain in the evening is a prove that life is fair 8)

have a nice day to you all and cheer

pretty, pretty happy! Finally finished the COMPLETE re-wire of my scoot after we replaced the engine over the winter. Took forever, I hate when life gets in the way. Really finished all the good stuff Thursday. But then a whole new issue popped up. Scoot ran great for 5 minutes then just died! checked all the important wires, everything looked good. Pushed it back home, all up hill. Started out a new Friday morning and saw the CDI wiring was off. Plugged that back in, vroom vroom good to go! Set out to do some chores, ran great for 20 mintutes, then died again. checked the CDI, plugged in this time. Started, ran for 100 yards- died. Started again, jumped on, went 100 yards, died. It really felt like I was out of fuel. Check the cap, even tried running with it open a bit, yup died after 100 yards. Still felt like a fuel issue not electrical.
I was three miles from home, I made it 100 yards at a time! Too frustrated when i got there to investigate.
Saturday morning, checked spark- all good.
Drained the tank (only 4 months old). Filter looked good, tank clean inside. Took all the jets out, blew them out, blew out the fuel line (4 months old and correct length). After a few seconds it looked like some junk blew out from the line.
Hooked it all back up, let it idle in the driveway for a good 15 minutes. Shut it off for a half hour and repeated. Once I was satified took a lap around the block, no 4th gear! Ugh! But that was easy, new cables had stretched for the selector, easy fix.

Rode around in close to home Sunday. all seemed good. Got out Monday for 20 minutes, all good. today one hour, all good!

Finally I can say I;m done chasing problems, until the next one

New motor, new cables, new wiring, whats left? Front end in my guess.

Thus your warning on the addictiveness of tuning?

I'm happy... I had an awesome Easter at home...

I got to catch up with Ginchi & Rolf for the day....
I got to go to Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach, & even get to chat to plus a photo with that bald ir fulla... Kelly Slater...

Ohh... While I was with Ginchi & Rolf ... Well... We managed to get Speedys motor back in, hooked up ... & I got to ride around th yard!! Who cares if there was no oil in it for the test... I GOT TO RIDE SPEEDY FINALLY!

Awesome few days!

Tonight I gave the 2007 Zip its FIRST oil change... Yip, th Zip finally did 2000km (1000km of it a few weeks ago), time for a service!

Finally got a really good wire crimper, some quality terminals, and proper housings.

Yah, you try it thinking, "ok just this one time" and before you know it you're hooked. Stay strong.

"I could go back to straight stock anytime I want..."

Lemme just un-Dremel these cases...

I'm constantly holding myself back from doing more on the smallie. It runs really nice and does everything I want, even on hills. But still I couldn't pass up that Zirri pipe on Facebook last week.....

On the P I have been inching forward with baby steps, but with the light knock not really resolved I don't feel like I can call it done. It's not dangerous, the plug is totally black and it's all at lighter loads, but it is wrong and I can't really ignore it.

Is it timing, maybe?

Next time you pull the plug, check for any evidence of pitting on the piston crown, too.

Timing is at 18 degrees, I even ran that variable CDI at later timing yet, no difference. Signs point to compression or breathing.

Yesterday we met up at Hooligans HQ to do some engine work on my P. It was a busy day!

First I put on a stock P seat. I didn't care for the seat that came with it, and now my P125X looks stock again, and finally put on my rack.

After riding a P200 for the first time yesterday I can not wait for more power. Only Vespa scooters I've ridden are my own (P125X) and a 1967 GT with a kitted 177cc motor.


Also took off the 20/20 carb and will be replacing it with a 24/24 carb

Decided to go with the DR180 cylinder and piston kit. As you can see, it is muuuuuch bigger than the stock piston. What you can't see on the piston is the deep grooves that developed as a result of the clutch side seal going catastrophic and being sucked into the cylinder. It was a bummer, but we were able to rebuild the engine after it happened and it became quite the reliable machine.

Put on the new piston as well as the new cylinder and head as well as an SR Race exhaust from Scooter Mercato.



Once we get back to work on it, I will post more pictures.


I am learning a lot from the wealth of knowledge that is brimming with the members of my club as well as from this forum. I gain a lot of personal happiness and satisfaction from working on my scooter.

I couldn't do this without the guidance and help from Burl, I would be totally fuckin lost to be honest! He is a great mentor and teacher!

Played around with jets today to eliminate a kind of a flat spot I had on mid-range. As it turned out, I needed a smaller main...

were those folding footpegs difficult to install?

No. You just loosen up a bit the center stand bolts, slip in the base rails and tighten up. Then put on the aluminum pegs and secure with the supplied nuts (I changed them to closed inox ones). Adjust the horizontal rod and done. About 10 minutes from start to finish, as long as your stand screws are a bit long...

http://www.sip-scootershop.com/en/products/foot+pegs+fa+for+vespa+50pv_25037100

I started out wanting to drain the oil out of the new motor I bought. Next thing I knew, I built an engine stand.





Makes a world of difference. I have the old oil tank out of the Stella for the autolube, or I may just disable it and use it as the stand's fuel tank.

Nice one, you even have the deluxe metal brackets! Here's a budget model somebody made for a smallie motor:

That's the second iteration. My first one couldn't fit the exhaust because the support on the fly side was just a vertical spar.

I sent a picture of it to SoCalGuy and he asked me if it could fit the exhaust on it to run the motor and next thing I knew, I'd pulled it apart and sorted that out, too.

After all that, though, I did at least get the oil drained.

Wait... you drained the oil we shipped all the way from California?
Next you're going to say you threw away the crusty Rubbermaid container.

Reworked the throttle on the smallie. Replaced the inner with slightly thinner diameter stainless steel gear wire from the local bike shop. Big improvement... buttery smooth now...

Confirmed the odd ball exhaust on one of my P200s is in fact a Big Bear.

Swapped the spare tire into the rotation on the p125, discovered the "kit" on it is actually just a 150 top end, checked it for excess coking, and gave the main jet a peek as it has always smelled/sounded fat(plug was dark too). Turns out it has a 112(!) main in it, which is wayyyy fat for a px150 with a Sito+.

I guess I need to slap a kit on that thing!

Good lord Dave, how do you keep up with all those scooters? I'd be happy with one (a good looking, fine running one).

Also looped around the neighborhood on the Rally 180....for science. And to work on deciding if I will take the Rally or the p125 on a nearly 500 mile rally trip next month.

Dave, Dave, Dave....
taking the easy way out, course of least resistance are you? Why not make it more of a challenge, add a little more interest to 500 miles by doing it on your li?

Seriously, that's a pretty big ride. Prep well & good luck - I vote for the Rally if it's up for it. From where to where is the rally?

Got the electrical done on the rally, then fitted new fuel and oil lines, cleaned, waxed and fitted new cowl rubber.

Didn't want to be accused of riding a bodge so I reused the rivets at the back. Annealed them before bending them straight, and again before reinstalling and it worked.

A well sorted LI should do it, but I have no idea what his is like.

The lammy is a no go. I don't fit on the damn thing and I only have it because I won it in a raffle at the East Coast Classic.

The P125 handles, stops and turns better. The Rally pulls hills a bit better and gets an extra 10-20mpg.

The P has a small charging issue so after a few hundred miles, I lose taillamp and signals. I have a small charger so I can top up the battery at stops.

I will probably take the p.

I'm heading to the Seven Hills scooter club Dogwood Rally in south central Virginia. In a straight line, it's a 100 mile trip, but that means dual highways, and I don't want to deal with 70 mph cars while I am tooling along at 50 loaded with camping gear, extra fuel, and food.

I plan to ride country roads across Loudoun county, fauquier county, out to front royal, down Sky Line Dr for about 75 miles(spotty fuel available) and then loop down out of the mountains to the camp. My route to get there is about 185 miles. There is a long ride on Saturday, and then another 185 home....so probably just under 500 that weekend.

Roughly 13 gallons of fuel, plus a spare quart of Amsoil Dominator.

Packing list, assuming good weather, is a backpack full of clothes, sleeping bag, one man tent, non perishable food for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, water, whiskey, spare gallon of gas on the floor boards, plugs tools etc in the glove box, and a tiny battery charger taped under the seat.

New tires are mounted, exhaust checked for goo, brakes adjusted......oh yeah need to order a proper headlight bulb in the correct wattage....

That thing has wiring issues, needs a barrel, carb rebuild, and will only run 45 with my 250 pound self on it. At six foot one, I hit my knees on tj bars in slow turns. Plus, I trust myself to five a Vespa with a rock and some bubble gum better than a lammy.

A wise man knows his machines - rock on. 8)

Oh yeah, all three P200's are projects. One needs the cases split to fix the kick start, the other is stuck from sitting with bad fuel and having left the exhaust port open for 23 years, and the other is a pile of loose parts.....still not sure which one has priority.....

clean the handlebar, rub rub rub and next thing i know it blink

Whoa brother E... looks great! Now you just have to keep it shiny with weekly rubs. 8)

It does look great! Normally I'm not keen on that look but the finish on that is very impressive. Any more photos Ebeth?

Nice one Ebeth, I got just what you need for that.
Who cares how fast it goes if your bike's not there because somebody stole it!

Received my spark plugs from the UK, within 3 days. NGK Iridium BR9IEX...

since u ask here's the pics Brother M