Modern Vespa

Now that we finally have some warm weather up here on the cool side of Oregon, it's time to start working on the Allstate again. The next phase is to get some of the bits and pieces ready for paint. I sanded the bare metal on the fender with 80 grit and the blue top coat with 320. I sprayed two coats of epoxy primer over everything. I'll let it set up for a couple of days before i spread on some body filler. I have plenty of primer surfacer, but don't think i have enough of the blue color to spray the fuel tank, fender, both headset tubes, fork, and brake master cylinder.

While the primer is still setting up a little bit longer, it was time to work on the headset. The Allstate's stamped steel 2 piece headset is pretty small, so fitting everything in there can be a tight fit.

I got a SIP digital speedometer, but shifter roller (on the sifter tube) fouls out against the back side of it. Ray8 sent me one of his custom designed short shift rollers that is specifically designed for an Allstate with a split headset a 4 speed transmission (such as a PX engine swap). Thank you for the roller Ray!!!

I had a extra shifter tube that had a damaged ear on the shift roller, so i didn't feel bad about modifying it whatsoever.

Ray and i discussed that brazing his roller on the tube would be much more aesthetically pleasing than welding, so that was what i was planning doing...until i didn't. Turns out that welding was WAY faster than brazing, so that's what i did.

With Ray's shift roller installed, it juuuust barely clears the back of the SIP speedo!...maybe by .5mm? I'd say that's a success.

And now that the roller is sorted, it was time to take a closer look at the brake master cylinder. I spent some time trying to figure out possible routings for the hydro brake line. It will be a tight fit, but it should work. I'm also wanting to install a LED light in there, and i think i will have just enough room to do so.

That's odd that your shifter rubbed, mine fine on both my 59 and 62 Allstates. Does give you a reason to use that Ray8 design though!

I freehand-welded mine

As I mentioned, this version is not a "short shifter" like those from SIP. The diameter the cables ride on is close the original rocker on those guys. Numbers will line up, shifting will feel much better, but the lever at 4th will be facing the street.

I've been riding with those for 2+ years. Only issue is keeping fingers on the clutch in 4th on long rides. I have a new version that's a short shifter and preserves the original rocker, but I haven't installed it. I'm not using the nylon bushings, btw. The circlip (if you have it) holds the tube in position very well, and the bushing rub makes rotation not as smooth. Also removed the top hats. Ferrules should snug very nicely in those sockets. Same for the throttle.

Take a look at the pic. Looks like there might be rubbing on that SIP speedo when the cables are installed. Much more clearance with the stock speedo

I knocked out a fun little project today. It took a little bit of out of the box thinking to come up with an idea, but i'm pleased with the result.

The story is that i mounted a stem mount Lucas light on my legshield (in order to hide some damage). The wires come out through the backside of the light's stem (backside of the legshield), and i didn't want them to be visible to wherever (and however) the 12 volt power wire will be running to.

I ended up using flexible stainless conduit tubing, one 7/16"x20 bolt, and two aluminum spacers you're make it happen. I had to drill through the lower portion of the steering neck. Aesthetically i would have drilled the hole up higher, but the steering fork could potential rub through the wires at some point in the future, so drill low is what i did.

It looks a little bit too blingy for me, but i think once the scooter is all assembled that it won't look out of place.

Using the same concept at the stem on the back of the Lucas light, i started out with a longer 7/16"x20 hex head bolt. I shorted the bolt then drilled a 1/4" hole through the length of it. After that i found another aluminum spacer in my shop and drilled and tapped that to 7/16"x20 as well. I finagle the bolt inside frame and through the steering neck. I used the threaded aluminum spacer to keep that bolt in place.

I think the conduit idea might work out pretty darn well in the long run. There's currently enough stainless steel on the scooter already that it should blend in.

That is some fine work and it looks fantastic! Good thinking out of the box

I got a couple layers of body filler on my front fender two days ago. Yesterday afternoon i sanded it down to an acceptable result. I WAS planning on squirting about 3 heavy coats of primer surfacer on the fender today, BUT i at the last moment yesterday afternoon i decided to check how well the fork aligned with the rear rim. Beforehand I knew exactly what both the results and full ramifications were going to be, so i didn't want to check...whatsoever...but i did.

I don't have enough time this evening to go into depth on it, but here's one lovely pic of my fender all but ready to be painted, and one pic of the Allstate all jigged. I'll i have to say is that i didn't go to bed happy...

Could you make the aluminum spacer a bit longer. Then cut a well into hex nut side and cover up hex nut when spacer is threaded on? Not sure if aluminium has the strength, could you thread spacer to fit entire length of stud wire comes out of and remove hex nut?

Here's a pic of the Allstate's speedo next to the SIP speedo. It's almost like it's specifically shaped to not be a "Grade A Repair".

I did try to disassemble the SIP speedo, but it appears to be sealed up tight enough that i don't want to risk breaking it.

And pics from a couple days ago when i started to cut and turn the fork so that it lined up with the rear wheel and also matched both rims to be vertically plumb with each other.

I'm no geometrical mathematician, but i'm familiar enough with construction framing and automotive suspension, that i knew all too well from the very beginning that this modification will only get messier (and more disheartening) as i'm going backwards downhill.

Yeah, that means that the shock stem doesn't line up with the upper shock plate anymore.

Yeah, that means that the fender doesn't line up anymore either...as all whatsoever. It looks way worse in person than in my pics.

Stay tuned because there's more heartache to come!

Oh man, brutal...

Baxter would find it. He was a good pig.

lol





(close, his name Bentley)

That's crazy. Why, SIP?

Had big hopes when these first came out.
Then thinking the $$ to set it up with all the sensors, and remembering I don't really look at any of my speedo's

How about spacing it up a bit?
SIP and SpeedoKing have these as well.

https://www.mauropascoli.it/scheda.php?id=TransmissionsGears-and-speedometer-Frame-ring-VESPA-APE-PENTAR-CK0767-1744.jpg

The speedo never worked the whole time i had this Allstate and it didn't bother me too much not having one. The only sensor that i would really like it the CHT gauge. But the Koso CHT probes are only available in a standard spark plug sized ring. No smaller diameter rings are available (if you wanted to install a CHT probe under a cylinder head stud nut).


I CANNOT RECOMMEND THIS SIP SPEEDO FOR A SPLIT HEAD STYLE HEADSET!

Catching up on things and gotta say I'm really sorry to see all the challenges you're going through with the front fork, but it's also been hyper-educational since I've thought about doing that fork mod, but hadn't thought through all those implications.

At least this time it's more straightforward of a fix...just very time consuming. I had planned to have all the bits and pieces painted blue by now, but i'll just have to have a bit more patience and wait a bit longer to get to that stage. I'm not too bummed. I figure i'm just honing my forking skills that much more.

I'm sure hundreds (if not thousands?) of people have swapped PK forks (along with a hydro disc brake) into all sorts of other vintage Vespas, but it makes me wonder what technique they're using, or if they just throw caution to the wind (out of sheer ignorance) and bolting in the aforementioned parts and calling it a day. From what i can tell, Scooter & Service looks to be the only game in town who are creating a fender bulge for their modernized vintage builds (we here also know that Safis creates a very nice bulge for his builds as well). But then there's also lining up the front and rear rims so that they're inline with each other. And the only way to do that is to go after it with straight edged and plumbing sticks.

And if someone were to take on the project for themselves, then the minimum i would do is install brand new engine mounts (so that the engine isn't sagging off to the side), the rear wheel bearing is 100%, that the rear brake drum is true, and to use SIP tubeless rims (or something comparable) to use a straightedge on.

My piece of 2" stainless pipe arrived this evening today from Mcmaster Carr, so i immediately began to make some progress. I cut a piece off the pipe that was about 8" long. After that i sliced it lengthwise. Next i sleeved and massaged it over a piece of 2.5" pipe, then 3" pipe, then finally a 3.5" diameter pipe. Yes i could have simply bought a piece of 3~3.5" stainless pipe, but that would have been a few hundred bucks...or so. My 2"x36" pipe was $48.

I got some headway on the fender this afternoon. I sectioned out the old budge and welded in a new one. My plan is to grind and sand down the welds tomorrow.

Wow, just wow on that fit up.
Whodat - loving all this.
Jealous.
Impressed.
Remarkable craftsmanship.

I'm with you Charlieman - JohnnyG is seriously talented. I'm in awe.

some call it craftsmanship, some call it talent, more accurately it might just be my OCD.




thank you for the compliments though guys!

I got the fender ground down and sanded today. I also two coats of epoxy primer on it, but i forgot to take pics. My plan is to spread on a couple thin layers of body filler on tomorrow afternoon.

That's looking good!

I'm curious why you went with stainless when the rest of that fender is mild steel, though. (Like...I don't know the answer here, so need to be educated enough to have an opinion )

That's a great question there Chandler. I originally chose stainless because that's what i had laying around in my shop...so it wasn't really a choice. What i really like about the stainless is that since the front mudguards are so prone to paint chipping, a little bit of stainless sectioned in will help keep the rust at bay in that particular area. The other thing i like about it it that the stainless is less ductile than mild steel, so the bulge will be less prone to bending or denting. That and since stainless isn't magnetic (depending upon which stainless alloy it is), refrigerator magnets won't stick to my bulge.

I got two thin layers of body filler applied (over the top of the epoxy primer) on the fender. I got it sanded down and feathered out quite nicely. After that i squirted one more coat of epoxy primer over the whole fender. My plan tomorrow is to shoot about 3 coats of primer surfacer over fender.

Hahahahaha
Uh huh.

Your fender skills are getting honed!
My takeaway:
- align first.
- weld up fork in position
- work mid guard bludgeoned last to ensure it's where it needs to be.

In truth - my scoot has the front shock at an angle to the swing arm.
It's probably - in part - why I had to renew the swing arm bushing.

And the shock…

I really wanted to keep the stock mud guard.
It was a shoe horning process.
I'm hindsight - it was a trade off.

Works fine - but not durable.
Vs the bulged mud guard.
Everything aligned.

Really nice work John.
Totally impressed.
Great primer for me.

I've spent most of my life trying to make my bulge magnetic.

Thanks for the explanation! Makes perfect sense. And it's looking awesome. Keep up the good work.

Enthralling is a synonym for magnetic

so many puns

CHT, and maybe a fuel gauge?
That would come in handy here

I tweaked a 10mm sensor to fit under the lower right nut washer. Worked ok as an insurance policy, just not responsive enough for jetting.

Btw I meant "why, SIP?" as in "why do that, SIP?"

I've been working on the fender and a few other headset bits so i've been laying low here on the forum.

After a couple layers of epoxy primer i sprayed on 4 heavy coats of primer surfacer (PPG K36). I had an old half pint of K201 hardener on the shelf that i wasn't sure if it was still good or not. After talking to the guy at the paint store, he was all but positive that it was. But just to be sure i sprayed out a couple coats on a test panel to make sure. Something you should never hear or every say in the painting business, but I guess i got lucky that the hardener was still good.

After the primer surfacer i did a light guide coat in just the areas i had body filler on. After sanding it all smooth i sprayed another 2 coats of epoxy primer. Early this morning a 6:13am i did a quick sand with 400 grit to knock down any orange peal in the epoxy, then sprayed two coats of a primer sealer. Then it was off to church to celebrate their 150 year anniversary. The smaller rural churches are the best since they really know how to celebrate...with a HUGE potluck lunch! My stomach called it quits after one heaping plate of food...so i only went back for 3rds this time...something to be said about gluttony.

After church i raced back home to squirt 3 heavy coats of PPG DCC Concept single stage paint on most of the parts (except for the headset. It's not ready just yet). PPG is nixing their whole DCC paint line, so i'm guess i'm lucky that i got a half pint mixed up at the paint store...for $97. The half pint of hardener was also about $100. It seems like a lot of money, but $200 to finish a long term paint project doesn't sound so bad.

The 3 wet coats of blue paint went on with no problems. There's some slight orange peal on the fender, so i'll plan to sand it down a little bit with 1500 grit and squirt one more coat on it tomorrow afternoon.


*the reason i went with a PPG DCC single stage is because that's what the scooter was painted with many years ago.

Turned out nice

Nothing like having three platefuls when your already full after one!

It looks fantastic! Great job!