Modern Vespa

Oh, I didn't know that. I had no idea that there was such a difference between 35 and 36 tooth gears. Thank you for the information.

It's not noticeable in a noticeable way. You'll be wondering why all of a sudden the scooter seems to be pulling hills and headwinds easier with the shorter 4th. It's nothing mind blowing whatsoever. It's more of a, "huh…my engine feels stronger from some reason". You also might get another 1~2mph of top speed out of it too.

I feel as though it's well worth the time and $$ to install that short 4th in every 200 (stock or kitted). And if you have a kitted engine that has plenty of torque to to pull the original 35 tooth, then i'd still say install a 36 tooth to shorten the RPM gap between the 3rd and 4th gears, then swap in a 24 tooth clutch cog to slightly lower the RPM at highway speeds (when you're cruising at 65~75+mph).

Oh, so 35 teeth is the stock gearing? I didn't know that… I've never worked with gears before. Now I understand why 36 teeth would be better. When I get back to Fresno, I will certainly look into it. Thank you for the education.

Yes, stock is 35 toofuses on a P200

I wanted to avoid explaining what lead up to my looking into replacement cylinders but now I'm at the point that I have to confess.

A little while ago, I had a hell of a time removing my SIP road 2 exhaust from the exhaust stub on Spermy (1980 P200) but after beating on it long enough it finally broke loose. Unfortunately, instead of slipping off the smooth side of the exhaust stub, it ripped out of the cylinder thereby probably stripping the threads in the cylinder itself. That's why I was asking about replacement cylinders. At the moment, the stub is stuck in the exhaust and I can't get it out. I've been using penetrating oil but since that hasn't worked, I'm thinking of using heat instead.

My question is "Where do I heat?? I would normally just remove the collar and heat the pipe underneath that but the collar is spot welded in place. Should I just heat the collar and let the heat flow through or maybe heat just below the collar? Any other options?

Does anyone have a better idea?

Confession is good for the soul!

I'd put the neck in a vice, heat below the collar till it's close to red hot, then use channel locks to twist the collar back and forth until it comes out.

I want to see inside the cylinder exhaust port to check out the carnage

Oh, and I hear the Malossi Sport 2 is nice.

Good luck!

Thanks for your suggestion Qascooter. I will give that a try tomorrow morning.

GOTCHA YA BASTARD!,

I tried applying heat about half a dozen times but could not get the exhaust stub to budge until I heated the exhaust pipe and then stuffed a rag soaked with cold water into the stub that I finally got it to move about 1/8th inch but even that required using a 14 inch pipe wrench. After that, successive cycles of hot exhaust and cold rag got it out.

Now I have to ask why did the exhaust seize on the stub in the first place and how do I prevent it from happening again? The Road2.0 exhaust was installed probably three or four years ago. Any thoughts?

My guess is you were riding with the stub loose in the cylinder and it was blowing soot/oil on the outside of the stub, which jelled and stuck to the exhaust.

^^^ This!

That makes sense. I see that the stub is supposed to be torqued down to about 50 pounds and I imagine that is to prevent blow by. I will do what I can to see if I can get it that tight.

My immediate concern is preventing it from happening again. I have Polished the exhaust stub and will go in and do the same to the inside of the Exhaust connection. I'm going to use this as an anti-seize lubricant. Does that look like it will prevent this sort of seize from happening again?

I'm sadly no help with that one. I've only ever used high temp red RTV on the threads. Does that mean it's the best, absolutely not! Just what I've used and haven't had a reason to go try anything different.

OK, maybe someone else can weigh in on using anti-seize

Which ever lubricant I use, my next question is about actually installing the exhaust stub. It is supposed to have about 50 pounds of torque but I don't know how to get it that tight in the cylinder. I know there are the two notches at the bottom of the stub and I presume that they are there for the installation, but is there a special tool for that? I know I could use a pipe wrench, but then that would mar the stub and probably affect the seal with the exhaust. Is there another method?

The engine is still in the scooter so access is limited

There is a socket you can buy at Scooter Mercato. I welded up my own from an old socket. You could also use a length of angle or flat bar.

is that 50 ft-lbs or in-lbs?

I use the high temp RTV, snug it down as hard as I can with a large screwdriver across the slot and call it done.

Follow MJRally & OppsClunks advice - can't go wrong!

I'm not as concerned about sealing the cylinder/stub and the stub/exhaust connections as I am about preventing those connections from seizing up in the future. That is what has caused this problem in the first place

Will RTV help prevent that or do I need the anti-seize lubricant?

Oops duplicate post

the RTV will keep the two parts from rusting together, so meets the same goals you were going for with the anti-seize.

Not sure RTV will resist exhaust heat. I would use the Permatex anti-seize lubricant shown earlier

Ok, it sounds like I should use RTV on the threaded portion of the stub and anti-seize on the smooth portion

Any reason that wouldn't work?

I used copper coat or something like it on the threads. My biggest concern was making sure it sealed. Seemed to work well and I didn't have any trouble removing it later when I put the stub in another cylinder.

I wrote earlier about having to beat the hell out of the exhaust to get it out of the cylinder and that in doing so, I stripped the threads either on the cylinder or the exhaust stub. I think I lucked out and ruined the stub which, of course, is much easier to replace.

I'm going to use a new stub with Red RTV and Anti-seize lube and see what happens.

I was ready to install the exhaust stub but since I didn't want to buy an expensive tool for an OTO installation I decided to follow Orwell84's example and build one of my own. My Shop Teacher friend would probably give me a D+ but it did the job for me and it only cost me an old socket and 3 drill bits.

Yes, Orwell84's is much better than mine, but mine worked so who gives a shit!

Test ride tomorrow!

My Stebel Nautilis airhorn has died and I'm looking for a compressor that is compatible with the trumpet. So far, on Amazon,I have not been able to find any compressors that will fit. Does anyone have a source for these?