Modern Vespa

So this '59 GS came into my life and has been collecting dust for the last couple years in my garage. Whatever processing needed to happen apparently did because I got the bug to pull it out and start tinkering.

All I know for sure is my dad had someone paint Sophia Loren on it and put a new seat on her. It has not run in the last 35 years. There is some issue with the clutch cable and how the guy that painted it ran it (or was unable to run it) through the frame. Working towards pulling the handle bars off to see what the deal is with that. It appears the only problem is potentially the outter housing isn't all the way up inside, the inner cable moves freely and is attached at the grip but not the clutch side.

I know someone tried to get it going back in the 90s but if I recall correctly they weren't getting a spark and couldn't figure out why (after reading a bit I found you have to have a battery to get a spark?)

Anyway, I come for advice... should I fiddle with it and see if it can make fire or should I fully dismantle and rebuild the engine, clutch, etc and start from scratch?
Thanks in advance for any help!

Sorry about your loss but cool inheritance. Definitely try to get it running. Do the basics to see if you can get it rideable, but if it's been sitting too long at least you'll know where you stand.

Beautiful vespa you have. I would take the spark plug out and hold the spark plug cable against metal and try kicking it first to fully see if you don't have spark. If you have spark it might just be a bad plug. If you don't have spark you might try checking points and timing

Before wrenching on it, read up on GS's and make sure you know what's what with the engine, whether it's been modified from original, etc.

It's a rare and beautiful scoot. Your father had style. Great memento.

Very nice Scoot there. Is the engine a stock one or has been replaced? If it still spins free and has compression, I would try to clean the carb, check on the electrical (cable/stator/coil...) to fix the issue. I can't tell if your GS is a battery version if it is, you can start from there. Scotterwest has couple different types ranging from $40-$70.

Wow. That's incredible. Your dad sounds like he was a cool cat.

That's a really rare bike; especially in Alaska! Please don't start taking it apart.

The battery assisted spark can be a huge pain in the butt; even for an experienced mechanic. I have that on my GS160. I would suggest replacing the battery before you try much else. But the GS battery is weird, and replacements are expensive. Maybe get a standard 6V motorcycle battery for tinkering.

How does the tank and carb look?

That bike looks STUNNING!!!

Update... engine spins freely, no spark, 92lbs compression (good???) off to buy a battery and see if that makes a difference

92 lbs is on the low end of running. it should start with spark & fuel, but probably not run well.

Pick up some starting fluid and a spark plug, too. That'll let you verify if you have spark and enough compression while removing the carb from the equation for now.

You might want to pour a capful of two stroke oil down into the intake and spin things around a bit to lube it up. Do you know if the gearbox has oil? Check that too. The clutch is probably dry as a bone.

What I'm getting at is: If you do manage to get it started and it jumps into gear you will be sad.

Good point! Put a board under the centerstand so you can easily hoist the rear wheel off the ground before you try to start it.

Thanks for the advice on the getting the rear wheel off the ground. I'm afraid I'm a long way from starting it...

The battery didn't make a difference as far as spark goes. I have power to the two black wires on the engine side and for some reason there is a jumper between those two posts on the battery side. I'm now off to find a shop manual. (No lights/horn/etc)

The battery side

I've been trying to drink from this fire hose of information as fast as I can... so much info out there about these it's hard to know where to start.

Should a fuse go somewhere in there instead of the jumper wire?



Wiring diagram https://www.scooterhelp.com/electrics/wiring/VS5.pdf

Parts book will give you an idea of how everything goes if you need to remove tank and carb. https://www.scooterhelp.com/serial/VS1T_VS5T.parts.html

May need to upgrade to this while you're in there: https://www.scooterwest.com/solid-state-rectifier-gs150-160-018201-ia.html



Before doing anything, do more research and you can start by reading this thread: https://modernvespa.com/forum/topic113392?highlight=150++battery+fuse Maybe GLScoot or someone with on hand knowledge will pop in to assist. Give it a lil time and someone here can help you get that beauty back on the road.

Good luck!

Looks like original wiring with some modern updates.

I can see daylight around those terminals in the junction box picture. Check the bottom right black wire. That's a show stopper.