Modern Vespa

Having a devil of a time getting the bottom nut off the fork. Any one have any suggestions? I've sprayed about a gallon of penetrating oil on it and it won't budge. The top one came off pretty easily with a hammer and screwdriver, then the washer came out and that second nut is not budging. I bought the tool for it and still not getting any movement.

Was thinking maybe trying to spray it with GooGone Rust remover but I honestly don't see any rust, not that there couldn't be any in the threads that are hidden.

Had to cut that fork nut out. Did find the Vespa taking it's heritage seriously by having 3 wasp nests in the frame!

Evidence of a front end crash, which explains the fork upgrade.

And one more not so great find

Let me ask you this...what do you want to do with the rust in the floor? Do you want it completely gone? If that's the case, then you'll be chasing rust throughout your whole scooter. If it were mine, i would use a wire wheel and a wire brush to get as much of the loose rust out of it. Then pour a bunch of Ospho in it and call it a day. I'd also do two coats of Ospho as well.

Also your centerstand pivot brackets look too far forward? I don't recall them ever being smooshed down over a floorboard rib.

I am in the same boat as you, whodatschrome, Ospho it is. I wire wheeled the rail and used a grinding bit to take away the sharper edges. Under it is a bit rusty too but I can get a smaller brush in there I think to clean it up. Then I'll do the Ospho coat, I gotta use that in the center channel and the horncast as well so may as well make a day of it. Wasn't sure if I'd HAVE to replace that rail. The rust doesn't seem too bad yet so hoping to mitigate it as much as possible.

Here's a better pic of the centerstand attachment does it still look off?

I guess i just don't know. I'm not too familiar with the older VBB style centerstands. The brackets on my 61 Allstate are the "standard" looking ones that don't pinch down on the center support, but then again my Allstate is modified a bit and running on 10" wheels.

Anyone else have thoughts on it?


and here's some pics i just found... Allstate Centerstand Installation

This doesn't look good. A smack to the front end hard enough to bend the fork usually puts the whole geometry of the frame out of whack. You should do some measuring now, rather than be surprised downstream when the scoot doesn't roll straight.

just checked, still straight. Even more so than my old italian bicycles which are notorious for being "close enough".

Dead center straight. And from having lots of years on a bicycle I can be sure the fork channel is still straight too. Which is usually pretty easy to see from a side view. This all checks out. Which is a relief.

Gotta find a new engine while I search for an original piston and cylinder. I'm not in a huge rush for the original engine, since I plan on going with a 177cc upgrade anyways. I have a few months of saving my cripple cash for that though. I wonder if I can get a handicap plate for this lol

Hey FM, yeah, it looks like the center stand mounts are reversed. Here is a pic of my 1962 Allstate center stand when I got it.

I don't have any recent pics but I'll get a couple when I get back home in a week or so.

I took the stand off and can turn the mounts around which keeps them off the rail but then the spring is too short to have any tension at all.

Can someone help me identify where these rubber bits will go? Got a kit from ScootinWest and can't figure out where these would go. I assume the larger 2 are for the junction box? but the other bits I have no clue where they'd go

And I'm looking for the plastic for the tail light, since mine came sans plastic. May have to replace the gasket too as it's pretty dried out and brittle. Been soaking it in silicone over night but it's still just as crispy as it was before hand.

The white one on the left is for the frame were cowl peg enters near the latch. the two middle are for the junction box. The one on the right is for the cowl peg in the back. The other one I'm not sure but maybe for the hook on the frame that the cowl spring hooks on, or maybe buffer for the speedo bracket.

http://www.scootermercato.com/Scooter-Parts/Taillight-Lenses/83044
http://www.scootermercato.com/Scooter-Parts/Taillight-Lenses/83045

Looks like Mercato is out of stock on this piece.
https://www.scooterwest.com/yellow-taillight-lens-083045y.html

Thanks! I don't know how I missed them while searching both sites.

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but that's a VBA tail light, not an Allstate. This crusty one came off my 59 Allstate, although it looks like there is a cross piece missing below the main lens. The "acorn" lens at the top of that VBA taillight is the brake lamp and the lower section is the running light. It looks like both stop and tail lamps are just in the main housing on the Allstate tail light and there is a little window on the bottom to illuminate your license plate.

Yeah I know it's not the original one it came with but it's what I got and judging by the paint fade around the gasket it most likely was swapped out soon after it was bought. So I'm just gonna stick with the one I got for now.

I'm onto the front fork now and was wondering if anyone has any tips on removing a stuck drum?

I have all the screws removed and have tried releasing the brake where the cable would attach and nothing it working. Soaked it in penetrating oil again last night and still won't budge. The rear one came off super easy. This is stumping me though.

Puting in a PX150E engine (shipping to me tomorrow) and upping to 10" wheels so I gotta get the front drum off so I can put the conversion on. Plus there's a ton of rust on the fender and the shocks so I gotta clean them up too while I'm in there. Struggling to remove the drum though.

https://www.harborfreight.com/three-jaw-puller-set-3-pc-63953.html

and that hub will come off in no time.

I was gonna say "heat, PB Blaster, and a hammer."

But if that fails, the gear puller works, too.

minus the heat that was where I was at.... I'll heat it up tonight and try it again and if that fails go with the Harbor medieval contraption route.

Thanks!

PX150E showed up today!

Gonna need a bit of cleaning...

I'm going to need to make my own wiring harness right? Or does someone make something that'll work?
Gonna check compression tomorrow but it felt pretty good pushing on the kickstart lever with my hands.

What should I do about a battery? Is it worth it to put one in? I was planning on using a SIP speedo cause I like having the rpm and cht gauges in one unit. I'm assuming that would need DC? I can't find any info on that though.

Is that a non-EFL selector box on an E-start case?

supposed to be straight. My stella had a bent one as well when I got it. I think the carb cover over time rattles and causes it to bend, cause I replaced both the screw and my carb lid and the hole where the screw sticks out is starting to warp after 2 years.

Is that English? lol what's an EFL?

I figured but wanted to check just in case them crazy Italians did something crazy.

It's a "same same different" transmission that appeared on the later PX models. Lots of the transmission bits are not compatible with the earlier transmission. Including the selector box. I thought all of the selector boxes that had a neutral switch only came on the eariler non-EFL PX's? I could be wrong again though.

Whodat, I worked on E-start motors with old boxes and there's also an EFL selector with a neutral switch (Cosa MK1). It was mix and match mess back then...

Thanks for enlightening me on that Safis. I figured if anyone here would know for sure, you would be the person. Having a PX EFL (not including the 2005 px150) in the US is pretty much down right rare, so information about them can be a bit lacking over here in the States.

Can't wait for an update buddy

Got into the carb last night to remove it for a cleaning. Didn't find any surprises really which was nice and while I was in there I took the cylinder and piston out to check to see what shape that was in...

how do I figure out what type I have? Do I just have to open it up and see?

I can't find any info on the engine VLX1M which mine is stamped as, only can find info for a VLX1T instead. Is the M just cause it was for 'Merica?

And when I went on scooterhelp.com to search the engine info I got no help at all. VLX1M 595853 I guess it's a mystery machine. zoinks.

Engine number is correct. It's VLX1T for the frame and VLX1M for the engine (T: Telaio, M: Motore). Since it's a 6 digit VIN I'd place it around 1997 - 1999. About the gearbox, which probably is an EFL. Take out the selector box and see what spanner fits on the selector rod. If it's a 13mm you have an old box. If it's a 17mm you have an EFL box. If it's an EFL box you have to make sure you have the correct selector box...

Selector box differences...

https://scooterlab.uk/vespa-px-gear-selector-boxes-part-1-workshop/

P.S. spark plug seems wrong (125 & 150 engines need a short plug)

cool, I'll check that tonight when I pull the selector box off to clean it. good lord is that thing D I R T Y.




Side question: I'm not going to use the oil pump, should I just cap the tube that sticks out of the carb box or remove the innards that are inside the carb box? Everything is out and taken apart in there already for cleaning so it'd be easy to just not put that piece back in there. Dunno if that's advisable or not though.

Have you thought about incorperating the auto lube into your Allstate? I'm just throwing it out there.

yes and no.

yes since it already has it on the engine.
no since I doubted a new tank with an oil tank would fit in the frame and figured just bypassing it would be easier. I don't find premixing to be a big deal.

Will a gas/oil tank fit in a VNA frame?

SaFiS I do indeed have the EFL box.

Just pulled it to clean it then double checked the scooterlab site. 17mm spanner and the check mark looking 2nd gear slot and little indent hole.

Does that limit what I can change back there? And if so what kind of options do I have?

Lmao what a hunk of garbage. I'll give you $50.