Modern Vespa

Many years after my first legit vintage scoot I'm back in the game. Much to my dismay my entry back in was sold as a quick and easy project turned a little harder. The whole no spark plug caused corrosion in the cylinder which caused slop in the fly side bearing which sounded bad crunchy.

Pulling everything down a tiny lil woodruff key fell out of an already enlarged slot in the crank, a new and correct key fits much nicer but the crank is still mushroomed. In your experiences, would this be a reason to dump the crank? Attached a picture, you may be able to see?

Also, I have a spare VSE case that I plan to also stock build but has one scar in rotary pad. Will this cause running issues? (Will attach picture in 2nd post)

Thanks for the help 🤙

Rotary pad on VSE case

The crank, I don't know about. Someone smarter than me will come along and give a proper assessment. As far as the rotary pad goes, I have seen a hella of a lot worse.

Doing some research on reed valve has brought up some awful gruesome pad carnage so I assume this is of no concern. But, my expertise is in the over the road Diesel engines and such so I'm with you and will let someone much smarter than me assess it.

you can fix the rotary pad with JBWeld. Search here for "rotary pad repair." I fixed one that looked a hell of a lot worse than that on my VBB. Previous Owner had managed to drop a screw in it while running, as best I could tell.

As to the crank and bearings...you have to replace the bearings in any case for anything beyond just bare minimum "get it running." as long as you're doing, the crank isn't that much more for the peace of mind.

Welcome and good luck!

Also, these things don't really become money pits until you start getting into the Go Fast Parts game.

And let's see some pictures of the bike as a whole! We love pictures around here

Thanks Chandlerman! Wasn't sure if this was even bad enough to waste time with JB weld, will search and get it patched up. But you are right, these are not huge money pits compared to many hobbies.

I will order a new crank then, leaning that way to begin with for like you said peace of mind. Mercato has them listed for a measly $149. Well worth doing it right.

Again thanks for the reply, love the MV community and here is the obligatory pictures! This is right after it got home from its previous home, a chicken house.

Nothing like a chicken house find. I myself am not knowledgeable with 2 stroke engines but I do know keyways need to sit tight , but I suppose there may be a way of repairing.

you can repair the keyway with JBWeld. On the flywheel side, it's just a locator for timing. The taper of the crank is what holds the flywheel in place.

The thing about the crank is that if the main bearing was damaged by weather exposure, then you can reasonably assume the crank web bearing was, too.

Looking at that picture, it seems like the fork is maybe bent. Maybe get one that's more the profile so we can see for sure.

Completely agree, as crunchy as the main bearing is surely an others in the chamber are cooked. Key way is least of my worries!

But why ya gotta make my heart drop like that?! Kinding of course! I will get it out of the shop tomorrow and snap a better picture. Hope it's not tweaked but will let you determine it.

Thanks again fellas

For now this is another picture I have of it. Not profile but close-ish-ish?

To insure reliability, get the new crank. Ride hard, sleep well probably.

To have the best chance of getting away with using it, first get it checked for runout(straightness) and if OK, get a metric thread file and fit the nut nicely before assembly. Sometimes the old parts can be better than some aftermarket parts.

Easy, eh?

Replacing the crank is of course the best fix, but I'm here to tell you JB on the keyway works perfectly.

Crank Fix. **Done!

Too easy! Thanks for the tip, don't want to gak threads on a brand new crank!

Ok Chandlerman, will this picture get you a better view of the fork? Floor board is level to the ground. Bike is tucked in a corner of the shop and I'm down with a case of lazy this morning.

Sorry, I wasn't clear. By ' getting away with using it ', I meant the old 'mushroomed' crank.
If your new one needs thread file(~$12bux) send it back & ask for a better brand.

BTW, do you live in Boggy Creek ?
I had to google that , I was clueless about your location

Welcome and gongrats on your new "money pit"
Fork looks fine to me...

huh, you sure?
I thought the top & bottom were more parallel???
But I have no P here to check.

Ah I see! Thought maybe you had issues with new ones needing a little love to the threads. But I live in Texarkana which is 20 miles north of Boggy creak which is actually a tiny town called Fouke Ar where the legendary Boggy Creek Monster lurks, apparently. The Town that dreaded sundown is a B-movie about the phantom killer that terrorized Texarkana in the 50's.

I did catch the Boggy Creek Monster one time, but it ended up stealing my Bicycle (Proof in the picture!)

"new crank" , me

You ARE new again, so welcome & nice explain, tnx.

And thank you for the welcome back, good to be back in the Vespa community. Its really like no other and so filled with people who will give you the shirt off their back.

Still digging through the P200 getting a good list of parts together and we will say, ScooterMercato will be very happy!

But, still concerned with the fork. Chandler has gotten me scared and run off. Anyone have input?

Do have a before and after cleaning for my fellow picture people

I didn't run off, I just actually went out to the garage for a little while this afternoon. That will be the subject of its own little thread, or maybe just a post in Today, I...

That fork looks fine in profile, so it could just have been that first picture. Maybe shoot another one at some point when it's parked on pavement. Take one of it with the front straight head-on, too. It could be bent sideways, too. That can happen if it gets hit hard while parked.

Shall do and thank you for taking the time to respond. Will be ordering everything for the engine soon and once built will get some better pictures. Now get off MV and go stab a P200 lump in that Electric scoot of yours !