Modern Vespa

I recently got a frame from a 2004 Bajaj that had a small engine fire and was an insurance write off. Just the frame as everything else had already been cannibalized and then it just sat out in the weather for a couajajple of years. Pretty faded and hazy, but hey, that'll buff right out!

It seems the frame is a LOT stiffer than I am used to, the leg shield corner hardly flexes at all and it has some additional frame bracing that Vespas lack. This particular model doesn't have large openings in the leg shield for turn signals, just 2 holes on each side for surface mounting I guess(they were already gone). The leggy/floor measured 1.1 to 1.2 mm thick at the edge while my AllState was .86 to .96 depending on where I measured.

It turns out that the body is really straight and the original deep red paint is pretty tough and buffs up nicely. And the paint's 99.9% all there on the frame so matching for the headset, cowls & mudguard will be the biggest challenge.

I will probably gather pieces for a Frankenbike and take advantage the no blinkers look. I even found a set of blinkerless cowls that fit right. I need to find a fork, but have a motor I can use.... headset? I have a trap headset that needs some fixing. What else would I need?

I like it mocked up like that Voodoo. So is it one of those Bajaj Chetak 4T frames then? It looks like the "Legend" cowls you have there. I have no idea how similar those Bajaj anti-dive forks are compared to a P series. I though I remember years ago when they first started selling the Chetak, that I read about someone installing the Bajaj anti-dive in a P2 frame as an upgrade? I also remember that those Baja 4T fuel tanks were on the smallish size?

I do like the PK horncast on a largeframe idea...but I'm still kicking myself years later for cutting down a chrome PK50XL horncast that I was going to mount on my P2. It would have looked perfect on my pink PK200.

Like it... and the walker is a handy garage accessory

The walker is brilliant. I'll get one so'z I can use it when I'm all done fartin' around with these things. I hope that's for awhile yet.

Is it for short old people or did you cut the legs down a bit?

Interesting frame. What is it supposed to look like originally? The rear looks a little T5-ish.

Can you tell if its a Chetak frame? Just worked on one and was impressed as well.

If it is a Chetak frame, the front horncast is huge and is held on by the 8 holes in the front legshield. Its all plastic with the turn signals, flasher relay, flasher beeper and horn all mounted to the plastic. The rear turn signals were in the cowls and connected via two wires, not through the pin/ latch setup. Rear cowls had 2 pins, the cowl spring and then the latch to hold it on.

Is that in Greece or WA? Not sure whens the next time i'll be in WA but I'll be sure to reach out to you.

To tell you the truth, I'm still trying to figure out just what it was. Looks like a 2 stroke will bolt in and some references to 2004 Bajaj indicate 2 stroke and others 4 stroke. Did they have both in the same model? I know little about all the different Bajaj models except volcano headset is a tipoff and also a jumbo glove box.

It's not a 4 stroke Legend, although I think wdc got the cowls right:





I did get the bottom half of the headset and it's definitely not the hideous Legend style, it's round. Probably it's a Chetak, this 2004 looks about right:



T5-ish profile for Ginchy


MJR, in the US of A, do you not recognize the messy garage?

Loving the Walker also. Paint looks great. Definitely go with the p/px horncast.. the chetak horncast it's butt ugly while still unique.

Haha damn right they're sturdy! They're meant to carry like 6 people + 2 weeks worth of groceries LOL

Very cool Voodoo. I owned a Bajaj 2002 4t and put over 13K miles on it. There was lots of talk about putting the 4t engine in a 2t but there were size differences and the 4t would not fit into a 2t body. The 4t frame can probably be adapted for a 2d engine though

This will be exciting to see what you do with it. I always loved the tank like quality of my old Bajaj...

How come u always have the best project Brother T that frame of your is super awesome compare to the sprint frame that i just have from a friend

Good luck with the latest chetak and cheer Brother T

nice looking project Voodoo! I think you'll have some fun with this one.

Ginormous seat complements jumbo glove box


Now I see why, ginormous seat is very practical!

Interesting that the headset sits so much higher than a Vespa.

Box front opens down and serves as a bassinet - like bulkhead row on plane.
I suggest installing one of these in there to update it.

Customization suggestions aside - kinda blown away by how well it cleaned up. Great find.

Me too, a couple of hours w/ a cheapo HF orbital buffer and Meguiar's Mirror Glaze fine-cut cleaner(also from HF) and I was amazed at what I was uncovering. But the first part of your post, w h a t ? And what is that gadget and where should I put it?

Maybe you mean my walker. That is a great addition to my toolset, makes handling projects pre motor installation so easy and protects them well also. I can even bungee it down and install the fork. The width of the seat is just right to trap the floor. It has brakes, it folds up for easy storage and it waits for me when I will need it to get myself around - a great legacy from my mom that I thought I'd never use. I highly recommend for Vespa projects!

A little progress and more knowledge about these rugged Indian bikes. It sure seems that ppl that have had a Bajaj seem to love or at least respect them. I'm still trying to puzzle out the 4T vs 2T permutations on these. Did any of these newer Chetaks come w/ 2 stroke motors? Possibly both 2T and 4T into the same frame? So I decided to see if I could fit a P200 motor in there.

I've also been playing with the look of it and decided to swap the trap headset for an older VNA style that is more smooth with the rounded tube extensions and round lite like a stock 2004 Chetak. Also the trap needed repairs and all the internals which I don't have.

Motor no fit without some tweaking.

this is a good one but I'm sorta craving weird Bajaj cowls or reverse P cowls

I used to have a pair of the 4T Chetak cowls on my P2. They looked more "sporty" than the standard P cowls. I also had the Chetak glovebox on my P as well. It was much larger than the Piaggio one.

sigh , five years later and this new thread : Stella 4t swap finally has me reactivating my own old 4T conversion project. Good timing too, I was wondering what I ought to build next.

It's alive! The motor is finally in and it fired up with very little fuss - I even rigged up the solenoid and started it w/ a battery. Getting the motor to fit in that tight pocket was a fair challenge, the 4t motor has a smaller main pivot mount diameter and uses a smaller thru bolt, the size a small frame uses.

Now I'm getting a modified P200 fork fitted that was set up with an old VBA mudguard that I considered using as well as a VBA headset. It just didn't look right so now I will try a trap headset if I can find all the needed pieces and get it to work. There must be a hundred small 'adaptations'* to work out when you are building a Frankenbike with parts from three different makes.

* AmeriBodge! But at least the frame is from only ONE bike!

I applaud your work sir! I don't see any bodgery because your work is solid and you've made this scoot better. Can't wait for the ride report. Digging your ingenuity.

Hey, thanks Rob! I'm making slow progress here, cables and wires all run and routed to where they go at the bottom. I just got the wiring all hooked up at the motor and have 12V and kill wire working up at the top of the fork, so now time to do the headset. Also I've been thinking about how to hook up a stock autolube tank and I think I may have gotten lucky here.

That plug lead connection looks the stuff of nightmares 🤣🤣

Bravo for tackling such a complex meshing of various setups. I'm in awe!

Ouch, busted! The brass spade connector is legit original proper plug connection, but that original rubber boot has def seen better days! Thanks for the heads up.

I've got a good story about that original plug connector.

One fine day I was blasting up to Yachats and heading down a long straightaway to Washburn campground and the scooters kinda sputtered and died.

I immediately was on the clutch and put it in neutral and coasted down the side of the road to the campground entrance. no cell phone service, and the campground was closed.

I took a deep breath and started inspecting...
Kicks over - compression good
Gas - good
Spark - WTF? The wire was just sitting on the plug!

I got out the pliers on my Leatherman and gave it a little crimp, put it back on, and motored in up to Yachats.

When I got home, I promptly changed out that original plug connector and cap!

I am a BIG fan of the brass fork spark plug connectors 3 out of 4 of mine have them only my P200 has one more chronologically correct.

I totally agree and have converted a few bikes from more modern socket connectors back to this trusted solution. It's the special strong springy brass alloy that was used in the originals - I've seen obvious copies that are just too soft.

Interesting tangent here, but I just couldn't let it go when this traditional and simple part was questioned but it is so elegantly perfect for its important job.

They are great, but I find it difficult to get ones that stay on. I really like the rubber boot that keeps the cooling air from escaping too soon. They're very low profile, which helps the plug not get bent (seen this a number of times with a higher plug cap hitting the cowl over a really big bump or pothole).

Huh, that seems odd, I wonder if you've only found repops. The old originals have unusually strong springy action so that when bent into the right position you have to snap it on to the plug terminal, but I doubt it would ever randomly just fall off.

SNAP!

Meanwhile, small opportunity for sexy upgrade using something I made some years ago from a design I found online and have been wanting to try when I found the rest of the pieces and an auto lube setup to fit the cover.

Making good progress on getting wiring done for 12V regulated AC and a simple DC section for the electric start. I'll probably just trickle charge the battery and dodge a recharging circuit for now, I've probably started it a hundred times by now and the battery ain't tired yet, plus it kick starts easily if needed.

Still need to hook up & adjust gear cables and front brake but did rear brake & clutch cable so I could finish up wiring. Had to do rear brake so I can test brake light, and clutch so I can test electric start/clutch safety interlock like the PXs have. The 'harness' was pretty much built in the bike starting w/ 4 wires to the headset - ground, reg AC, kill and tail light - then added wire by wire as needed.

Also got my autolube tank sorted but not yet tested. I abandoned the PK manifold solution for a simpler steel ribbed flex hose from some old appliance (hair dryer to head bubble connection I think?) that I squashed into an oval in my vise so the gas tank slips in snug but not too tight. Looking forward to testing that.

Great solution on the oil tank filler and I love the sight window idea.

It's looking good Terry! I appreciate all of your creativity to make it happen.

The rear brake light switch looks like something off of a KLR 650. Have you thought about just bypassing the whole clutch interlock system? I've done that on all the PX's that roll into my shop. It definitely thins down the harness, and for me, less wires means less potential future headaches.

And i really like the oil tank filler hose. Normally that would be installed between a dishwasher and a sink's garbage disposer unit! Will the current location of the filler inlet be in the way of the seat's rubber buffers (when the seat is down)?

Yeah, didn't really NEED clutch interlock, but I just rehabbed a PX200 in Greece that had it and I liked it, so just one more wire to run and I got to use that cool switch!

This is so very cool 😎

That rubber slit used to house a chunk of foam that was used as an air filter, if I recall correctly.

Thanks for the explanation Scott, that makes sense and how very convenient for future 2T auto lube conversions! to Bajaj for this and some other unique features that I'm appreciating like the perfectly positioned mounting hole for a lifting eye and the locking curry hook in addition to the tank like construction.

It's nearly ready to road test. I got the cables done and the wiring all works as planned. Just a few small things left and we'll see if it runs as well on the road as it does on the center stand.

Oooh I like the trapezoid! You might need a McGyver award here you seem to be one of the most inventive guys here and do it with class no bodgery even when it's not as it was. So good

Awesome job! That lifting eye is really convenient. This scoot kicks ass!