Modern Vespa

huh, not sure what went wrong with my post.

anyhow, on the P200E I think there is already the needed clearance in clutch cover and case (only have to grind the 125). just make sure you get the right tooth count.

Last edited by oopsclunkthud on Wed, 30 Jun 2021 05:38:21 +0000; edited 1 time

I have often complained that the wiring diagram for my 1980 P200 was too complicated for me. Then a friend showed me this. No more complaints.

I downsized from a 122 main jet to a 120 but I'm still running pretty black. It's dry, not oily. I thinking about going to 118 but worry about running too lean and seizing. Any thoughts?

1980 P200 completely stock 2424/carb.

if it revs out well, don't go leaner. Really hard to judge jetting from the plug.

Hey Luckybear - do you have an aftermarket exhaust installed?

Yes I have SIP 2. I guess I should have mentioned that. The 120 jet runs well but I worry about running too rich. I could go to a 119

OK, cause why I ask is I've got a stock P200 (Ruby) with a 24/24 carb, Performance pipe (SR pipe from "The Market"), and a CHT gauge. I'm running a 55/160 idle with 160/BE3/122 or 124, I can't remember which.

On a run to Yachats I watched The temp climb up to 315 when I was WOT for miles and miles. I stopped and put in a richer jet and the temp stayed at the 300F mark after that.

I'd leave the richer jet in, especially if you don't have a CHT gauge to monitor the heat situation. My 2 cents worth...

Yeah, maybe better Safe Than Sorry so I went back to my 120.

Also, I finally reinstalled my CHT. I was waiting to finding time to run a longer wire up to the head set and set up some sort of mount there but never got around to it so I just stuck in on to the floorboard using double stick tape. I did this on my last scooter and while it's not ideal, it works.

Tomorrow I'm going for a breakfast run with my long term scooter buddy John and my new scooter buddy Justin. New owner We have to go in the morning because afternoons are a little too warm. Mon and Tu we're down to 100 degrees for the High but we'll be back up to 105 plus by Wednesday so we have to ride when we can.


Monday evening garage temperature

I had a very nice run this morning with my buddies using my 120 jet and had no problems. High temp for the day was 312.

TO BLUE OR NOT TO BLUE

Should I put blue loctite on the nyloc nuts on my rear view mirrors?

I have read that it doesn't hurt and I have also read that I absolutely should NOT.

Opinions here?

will not hurt, but don't see the point.

Belt and suspenders

the one benefit I could see would be to stop some rust.

Actually, I am asking because sometimes my Nylok nuts come loose and I have to re-tighten them. I was wondering if Loctite might stop them from working free.

do you have a wave washer on there as well? Always used them with the nyloc

Wave Washer... hadn't thought of that... thanks

Hey Jeff,Feebs has a road 2 and some light porting done by Scott. I’ve put four thousand miles (some of them hard) with 160/BE3/122 with 55/160 idle jet. Scott and I are doing the Yachets run tomorrow hope you can make it up to ride with us sometime 😄

Yes, I'm going to stick with the 120 for now. I don't know what problems I might have by running too rich, but I definitely know what happens if I run too lean.

I am going to be visiting Scott in early Sep but don't think I am going to be able to go for a run. I will let you both know.

Luckybear

Today I went to Rite Aid for a clutch adjustment.

Normally I would just put Spermy on my lift and work from there but for various reasons, my lift isn't readily available right now so I rode down the block to my Rite Aid Pharmacy and pulled up onto their loading dock. No one was around so I was able to quickly make my adjustments and head back home. Piece of cake.

The alternative was to park my scooter on the edge of my pool and work from there but I knew that if I did, Kimono32 would no doubt give me crap and pull up that old pic of me from the last time I did that.

The loading dock was less embarrassing.

When I need to adjust my vehicle headlights I go to my local county truck garage. They have a nice big level cement pad in front of the garage doors. Measure out the distance on the ground mark it with chalk and put a piece of painters tape on a roll up garage door. One of these times I'm going to have to explain myself. I figure its a county garage and I live in the town the garage is in so I practically own part of the building.

I went ahead and replaced my clutch cable today and was surprised to see the damage that has occurred at the lever end of my old one. I only have about 500 miles on this clutch cable so I'm wondering if I installed it wrong since these cables shouldn't fail this quickly.

Any thoughts?

It looks like it was dragging on the edge of something before going into the cable housing.

Or maybe the cable housing has a burr in it?

Or maybe the cable has too much slack in the tunnel and is causing excessive pull being required, and the cable itself was weak to start with?

Hmmmm..... A mystery....

sometimes the barrel actually turns sideways in the hole, and then rather than being able to pivot/rotate it is stuck in one direction

The type of clutch cable you had is less good and this happens. Regular lubrication helps.

This type of cable with the two part nipple doesn't break at the lever. Just breaks elsewhere.
https://www.sip-scootershop.com/en/product/cable-clutch-rms_94010000

I had one snap at the engine adjuster last week. In a traffic jam. Wasn't far home so, after the embarrassment, rode without clutch. Unpleasant but necessary.

I'll have to check for rough spots around the lever. Maybe that's what's is creating the friction. The orientation of the barrel is correct. In any case, I'll pump in a bunch more grease.

The way I see it Jack 221, the nipple on the SIP cable you refer to, won't fit in the hole in the lever. Am I missing something?

yeah that pear shaped end fits in a special barrel that it slips down into (not in the picture)

I packed the lever assembly with grease and will examine it more closely later on. I also double clamped the lower end of the clutch cable. Thanks to someone here (I can't find the post) for that suggestion. Great Idea.

For the first time, I am not cutting the cable short. I can't solder worth shit so it always flys apart and is a real pain in the ass to deal with. I've rolled the excess cable into a tight loop but I'm wondering if anyone ever has any trouble doing it that way.

a bernzo torch to heat the cable with some standard solder works million times better than trying to do it with a solder iron which will never get it hot enough.

Cut it and put shrink tubing on the end

did that on my kid's bike

Spermy is on his way to the VCoA Vintage Vespa Days event in Los Gatos

Wooohoooo! Have a great trip LuckyBear! I'm envious....

Well, the first day of Vintage Vespa Days was pretty good. The ride over was uneventful but then Spermy embarrassed me by failing to start. When ether failed to do the trick I wound up pushing him up a slight hill in the hotel parking lot, coasting down and I got him started that way. Probably driving over the 150 miles with gas sloshing probably bunged up the carburator. No problems the rest of the day.

There are supposed to be 70+ people registered but I've only seen about half of them. There was a large group that went out at 10 am and came trickling back in throughout the afternoon.

At 3pm about a dozen of us went for a 25 mile ride that began and ended at the Los Gatos Lodge. It was a little fast for my taste but then my riding style has been described a "Old Man Wimpy" so I'm not really the one to judge. It was fun though.

Some people rode 6 miles into Campbell for dinner but I passed on that one.


The blue scooter is a raffle prize

Before the ride

Had to stop for road work

After the ride

yes they can flood out when trailered, you did well by using the bump start. have fun!!

On Saturday about three dozen of us left Los Gatos Lodge for a 25 mile run through the foothills to the Byington Vinyard and Winery where we spent the day There was wine, of course, as well as a great BBQ and the Concourse d'elegance. The best of show winner was a 1946 scooter that is reported to be the oldest still-running Vespa in the United States. Lots of beautiful scooters... so Spermy stayed discretely in the background


Between 35 and 40 of us

Byington Vinyard & Winery... Great place!









Oldest Vespa in US. No kickstands in those days



Spermy stayed in the background


Last edited by Fatbear5 on Wed, 11 Aug 2021 17:45:19 +0000; edited 2 times

Thanks for the photos!! Lovely.

Looks like I've got the same problem now that I'm back home in Fresno... except I've got no slopes. What's a good way to clear this kind of flood?

same as usual - spark plug out, hold open the throttle, make sure the fuel tap is closed and kick for a long time. eventually when you get bored, put the plug back in and kick without turning on the fuel but with throttle wide open. hold it wide open as it splutters and decides to come to life. once it is running normal then you can open the fuel.....

i perfected this art on my Lambretta

I'll give it a shot... tomorrow. It's 12:30 and 102 degrees and I won't be doing any riding today. Tomorrow will be fine.

Yes not at 102 degrees you may pass out