Modern Vespa

BRO…..this is so true. Life keeps moving forward …somehow. And NOW?!!!??!!! You've got this crazy awesome shop, while I'm up her just kicking rocks around. I love it! I love seeing the progress for everyone! Lots happening!

Patrick, that garage is huggggggge!
Crazy.

🙂

Dude, you crack me up!!!

tried to take the float out of an et4 carb and ended up with this:


the kajiit parts supply has been contacted for emergency backup

if kajiit is out, I may have one.

Johnnymule hit up the tech line earlier. wheels in motion.

Mr Owens, thanks for the back up! if kajiit well run dry it's nice to know there's another route

Rough day. I had my Spade 150i stolen last April in Prescott. I'd loaned it to a good friend who was working at the VA up there and needed a set of wheels that would fit on the back of the family van.

Today, it popped up on OfferUp in Phoenix, all f'ed up. A friend went and confirmed it was mine, but couldn't find the VIN. He called the police, but they were not able to apprehend the seller (they ran as soon as the cruisers rolled in).

Police couldn't find a VIN either (plate pried off, numbers filed down), but agreed from comparing to prior pics that is was likely my bike. Since it was on a porch, they couldn't impound it and since they couldn't question the "owner", they had to leave it where it was.

The OfferUp user is now gone and so is the bike.

Feck.

Do you still have that og carb? If so what idle jet size is in there? If it's a 48 or 50 could I buy it off you? My vino has a 46 idle jet that is too lean.

AZ, sorry about your scoot getting nicked. On the subject of people stealing sh!t, my daughter got married in South Florida last weekend. We had a great time. Came home to to find out my youngest daughter's car, a 2007 Prius, had the catalytic converter stolen. Gonna run 3gs to get it back right. I'm on the hook for the first $1,000 (deductible). but at least I didn't have a scoot taken.

Az, that's like having it stolen twice. Weasels. But good for you for helping out a brother in time of need.

AZ... What a total bag of suck.



...and the whole cat converter thing. Just crazy. It's epidemic in Houston.

I had my catalytic converter stolen back when I was still in Chicago. Also cost me a grand, and that was ten years ago. Cops were basically, "Yeah. Sucks to be you" when I called to report it.

I think I have a few spare jets. Flying out of country for work Monday, so PM me an address and I'll drop one in the mail Saturday.

bollocks is right.

VBB clutch cover bolt snapped. I was only at about 9 ft lbs ... perfectly well below spec. Usually, when everything is NOT right with the world, it only strips the case threads (and I have to drill and tap up one size bolt.) I hate doing these little guys up - so easy to over-torque.

I even pre-tapped these three case threads. Sigh.

The clutch cover gets torqued to 4.5~6 ft lbs. It's the large rubber O ring that does the sealing, so torquing the screws down harder won't do anything for leaks.

Darn it. I shall write a letter to the publisher then! haha

You're correct. I often forget torque specs and sometimes use this book as a reference for some jobs. I wonder where he got those high numbers from? The Beedspeed chart agrees with you at 4.5 - 6, too.

Most M6 bolts(screws) have a max torque of 10nm...at least for all my KTM dirtbikes that's what the spec is. And that includes for major components such as the disc brake rotors. And newer KTM cast aluminum parts will probably be stronger than older Piaggio cast aluminum.

IF I were smarter, I would print out a list of the right torque values and pin it to my workbench. But that's a big if...

My dumb ass would have been like ok thank you. After they rolled out of eye sight, I would have rolled it off the porch and parked it on the street. Then called number on business card from them and said, it's on the street.

Does title have engine number on it? In Minnesota we track VIN and engine numbers on title.

Lesson learned, next time show up as a potential buyer push onto street to see how it rolls, then call police.

Look on Facebook market place or Craigslist for someone parting one out. Buy a used converter from them?

I looked around, cops looked around. The police said most of them are going out of state, but did not say where. It just knocked me down on the bucks as my oldest daughter's wedding wasn't cheap (not complaining - good time had by all!). So scooter fund is empty after selling the Stella to fund the P200 project. But everyone is healthy and happy, so no worries.

I looked into buying a used cat, but it would have been about the same as the deductible. I guess that's why you buy insurance. Meanwhile, the towing was free to the shop too, and I did not have to do anything but write a check.

First ride in the GS after three years

$267 on rockauto?

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=1398611&cc=1434449&pt=5808&jsn=852

it's like a maiden voyage all over again! did you have a little magnum of champagne to break?

Many won't work but a few months, some not more than a few days. They use cheaper metals. But they will usually last long enough to get thru the emissions test.

Lord, that is a fine looking machine....Kudos, Patrick.

NVR: today I made my bed(s)-


and because it wasn't raining I stole a little sliver from the "summer of citrus" that's still hanging around...


and then I retreated back to the shop to finish up a motor teardown!

learned how road bicycle front hub bearings work. pretty much the same thing as a fork bearing on older models - loose bearings in a race on both sides, with a cone on each side to set tension, and a nut to hold that cone.

my son bought a used road bike but the front wheel had wobble. we'll have it sorted by mid-week with a couple amazon purchases.

Most Excellent! Back in the day all the bearings on a bicycle were that style, including the bottom bracket. Just the proper wrenches and a tube of grease, and you could service the bicycle anywhere....

skateboards too. really miss those clay wheels, not!

Picked up an original SIEM tail light for the Rally.

^^^
Pretty things

Today was cleaning up the workshop and fixing the last of the electrical issues on the white Stella before I list it for sale.

I haven't had to deal with LML electrics for a while, but I'd happily have kept it that way.

Stella kill switch repair is complete. I had to fix a short in the switch itself. Wotta PITA.

Now I just need to sort out the clutch interlock, which is pretty sketchy, and then this thing will be ready to list.

Timings were a little tame so while the engine's out to change the seals, I'm gonna see if I can squeeze a little more hp out of Red.

Chuck it in trash can, I removed all that crap just like a real old school scooter.

Started mapping out the ports on my parmakit to try and get my smallframe back on the road

That'd be my normal stance, too, but this is to sell it, so I'm fixing it instead.