Modern Vespa

Dearest Cheapskates, i know that you're dedicated in not spending one dime more than you need to and you also think that anybody is capable of working on a motorized vehicle, be it two wheels or four. but i'd like to take this moment to remind you that what we do as mechanics is a specialized skill that takes years of training, a massive investment in tools, equipment and a metric ass ton of hands on learning. remember that you get what you pay for and that quality work does not come cheap. so, you can play the short game or the long game on this one. pony up a little more dough on the front end and get more use from your vehicle or you squeeze that nickel till the buffalo shits and wind up seeing my shining face, and you don't want that. because i'm the bad news department.

Dearest Hack ass mechanics, i hope you all die in a tire fire. somebody should take away all your tools and you should be forced into hard labor of breaking rocks or counting rice or some shit.

ANYWAY...

some joker JB welded the damn drive boss and outer 1/2 pulley to the crank on this motor. something easily solved with a few fairly inexpensive parts.

hackasaurous wrecks from planet hackulon, i'm sharpening my picks and pry bars. i'm coming for you cheeze dick low rent turds. people deserve better. if you can't, then don't. if you can, do it right and do it right the first time.

so, in short, this is how $250 turns into $1800 about six or eight weeks later.

/end rant

-g

Sadly the 'I can do that myself' attitude of inept individuals is found in all aspects of life. Imagine buying a house from someone, believing they had the talents of a qualified electrician or plumber, completely screws up the wiring and plumbing system in their home with potential fatal consequences for the new owner.

Experience and knowledge and applying correct techniques can only be gained with time served people of their trade like you greasy.

At least people who botch their home mechanicing, however frustrating it is to professionals like you who have to put it right, is a useful revenue stream. The resulting bill will hopefully serve as a deterrent for these idiots not to attempt it again.

For my part, i affirm that during the warranty period (three years) "i have" to go to an authorized mechanic but ... I do it willingly because I see the professionalism with which he works and i know that what I pay more then returns to me in terms of vehicle reliability and safety.
So this excellent business card invites me to continue even after the end of the warranty period; I do some small thing, such as periodic checks of tire levels and pressure, basic maintenance during the winter stop period, such as keeping the front tires raised to avoid deformations or keeping the battery charged.
I support what the greasy mechanic says, it can be fun (and expensive) to play as a DIY mechanic but also dangerous ...
Finally, the invitation to let everyone do their job (as long as they know how to do it) is crucial; i'm sorry that Greasy is pissed off because he has to remedy the damage done by others but unfortunately to be a mechanic it can happen to run into trouble caused by others.
PS: the description with a rich phrasebook of colorful terms is very exhaustive, the Italian translation renders the richness of the meanings only partial...it is an appreciation and not a criticism.

What a dog-in-the-manger attitude!

I've always done my own work, made a few mistakes and learned in the process. I had my GS150 for 12 years and got 120,000 miles out of it, doing all my own work but with no training as a mechanic. I have installed Malossi V4 kits three times with no problems, just working from the manual. I enjoy fiddling with my scooters, always trying to tweak it a bit here or there.

I also have no training in electronics, but I built my whole HiFi system from circuits in magazines around 1972 and still enjoy listening to it every day. It has been almost trouble free for 48 years and the sound puts a lot of commercial outfits to shame.

My car is another matter. 8)

Mike, of course there are a few exceptions but most DIY mechanics mess up otherwise there wouldn't be all these professional mechanics. There are limits to everything.
For example, when I restored some vintage motorcycles I took the engine to a specialist, what the heck I would have been able to do it too, I have worked on RR and Perkins industrial engines but the small engines with many small pipes, cables and other details require a continuous mental exercise, they look the same but no ... a small difference can lead to a malfunction that drives you crazy.
I also understand Greasy's piss ... Imagine doing it for work and finding that it is not the wear but the incompetence that is causing the failure.
Ah! I don't get my hands on the car at all except the usual controls and the Fiat are not very complicated.

In my the near 50 years as a motor tech a significant amount of my work was putting right the damage done by home mechanics, who thought they new what to do! This applied to both cars and motorcycles/scooters. Whether it was jacking up the car on a drive shaft, breaking the drive shaft and the gearbox housing in the process, or fitting a new cam belt and destroying the engine, it's all been seen by me. Then there was the guy who drilled dozens of holes in his rear swing arm on his Kawasaki 900 to "lighten" the bike, without realising the swing arm would break and kill him and probably others around him too. Yes, this did happen but no one was killed fortunately. The cost to these folks has been enormous. Much better to pay less and get the job done properly. Trust me.

Of course, this in no way precludes anyone from learning properly how to do a job on their car or bike, or getting the proper tools to do the job. You don't have to be a technician or motor engineer to do these things. But there are in reality fewer people that do take the time to research and prepare properly for the job in hand. Mike Holland is probably not the rule but the exception in my experience. But if you do prepare properly, much fun can be had and lots of satisfaction.

I suspect some of the issue is that budding home mechanics don't always trust dealers or have a good one nearby.

Oh, and just to be clear, this was not a DIY or a budding home mechanic or a "solid" from a friend "who works on their own stuff".

Oh, no no no. This was done by a "professional" mechanic, who owns a business and that was paid for this repair.

Ignorant means you didn't know any better; stupid means you know better but went on ahead anyway.

You wanna buy some tools and tackle a job yourself in the garage? That's awesome. You break it you that's on you, and it's your time and dime to fix it or have it fixed.

This right here is bordering on criminally negligent. To do this type of ham fisted "repair" and send out the door to an unsuspecting customer and charge them for it? That's down right disgusting.

-g

The guy who did that should be made accountable greasy. Gives pros a bad name.

I had the pleasure of receiving my Honda from some warranty work with a deceptive mistake. The dealer returned my Honda to me with 80% of the splines ground off of the outer drive pulley. It was discovered when I tried to install sliders 1,000 miles later.
I feel for you greasy, 30 years ago i switched from mechanic to machinist because of this and having to deal with customers.

Sheesh, greasy, I started reading and wondered what was messing with your otherwise cheerful attitude. Probably sent more than a couple of us on a quick introspection tour as well.

I expect you often enough see/hear things warranting an eyeroll, but this is impressively bad.

Amateur mechanics is one thing, but when you're working for money...or even pretending you know what to do, you'd damned well better be able to produce. Mistakes happen, you correct them, but one expects a competent result.

One of the many percs in my work is having time to get to know people and have time for casual conversation. It's been an education having chats with tradesmen like plumbers and electricians and hearing all of the innovative ways people try to solve problems. Even simple little things like people wiring household receptacles with flat antenna wire are impressive.

I grew up as a farm kid, which usually breeds stubborn self-sufficiency and a "jack of all trades" lifestyle (for both convenience and economic necessity). Dad was an army mechanic which helped. I appreciate those lessons learned and meager skills I may not have otherwise picked up. I really think, however, independent of training/skill/aptitude, is the ability to know when you're in over your head; to know when to quit or get help. I'm all for somewhat creative approaches to doing a job-we see enough here on MV-but you've gotta know when you've lost your way.....

I guess the advantage of idiots in the world is that they make the competent look like geniuses.

Hack and the Hacktones! Care to share some pics? We all love disaster shots.

Greetings:

Munching the crank splines is frighteningly easy to do on Hondas. If you don't spread the rear sheaves to put slack in the belt, slap the fixed pulley onto the crank and start hammering with a rattle gun, the unaligned splines chew through each other. JB Welding the pulley so mangled onto the crank can last a long time... Like, hours. Not like the time I JB Welded my broken connecting rod. (Just kidding, I didn't do that.) Anyway the "technician" likely thought he could get the customer to ride off with a "fixed" scooter. This would allow time to think up a "New" problem for which to charge upon the customer's return.

Greasy, I suppose you torched the "repair" to burn off the JB and get it apart?

I'm trying to think of any appropriate time for a "professional" mechanic to use JB Weld.
Coming up empty I'm afraid.

I tried to use it once on an exhaust leak on a muffler. Once.
It didn't work, so I replaced the whole works.
It's lessons like this that have resulted in me avoiding "simple fix" remedies and going straight for replacement parts.

Oh, and the house my wife and I currently live in was owned by a hack mechanic. Fortunately we had the home inspected prior to purchase, and we haven't found any additional issues. I think I made a post earlier this year about some under-cabinet kitchen lights I installed to fix/use some hot wires that were dangling. I think the only issue I have left is some double-tapped breakers.... We call the old owner "Homey"; let me know if you get the reference.

And this is why I refuse to work on anyone elses vespa. I get my own crap working through multiple mistakes and expenses because I enjoy learning and doing it myself. Maybe in 20 yrs and another 40 projects I will feel competent, but not for a long time.

My garage is on a busy street and people see me in there all the time working on my vespa and more than I can count on two hands people have stopped by when they saw me in there to ask me to work on their GY6 or vespa. My response is always "I am not a professional mechanic. Absolutely not.. I will not accept the financial or physical liability from doing any work to someone elses vehicle!" and then I immediately refer them to the one vintage vespa shop in Brooklyn. And like clockwork.. their response is always "oh come on.. i'll pay you!" It amazes me how people refuse to accept my honesty, respect for their wallet or their safety.

But there are a lot of people who have no qualms over doing shotty work in order to take peoples money.

I respect you real pros for your talents and also for your ability to deal with a. crap jobs that come in like this one you mention, and b. crap customers who are never satisfied.

I see similar customer types in my actual profession.. I refuse to do post-production work for any "independent filmmakers" or small businesses seeking work through casual outlets because it invariably means: a. they can't afford the work, b. they will be paying by the project, not by the hour, C. they will demand a million revisions beyond what is agreed upon in my contracts written specifically to prevent this, because they think their meager budget demands unlimited work until they are satisfied (which will never be the case).

"Why pay for someone else's mistakes when you can do it yourself and pay for your own."

Anyway, I have some pretty competent handyman and carpenter skills and have done good work on three houses, including some basic plumbing and electrical.

However...

I do know to call in a professional when something is beyond my capability of doing a proper job.

Same is true for my vehicles.

Don't get me started, though, on folks who read a couple of self-help books and think they can be psychotherapists.

Really, how does that make you feel?

Greetings:

Quoth Madison Sully: I got one for you, Sully: Going through Punkin shortly after purchase to see what-all it needed, I noticed the left mirror was a little wonky among other consequences of a garage tipover or two. Inspection revealed the threaded socket in the mirror perch has cracked, and a crescent-shaped piece near the top was missing. Only 2 or 4 intact threads in the bottom secured the mirror - sort of.

As I completed sundry other repairs I decided to wax the mirror stem threads and filled the perch cavity with JB. That way I could ride it while waiting for a replacement mirror perch to arrive. Although the replacement perch did show up a week later, the JB repair was still solid! It even survived no fewer than 3 removal/reinstallation processes before finally coming loose again this past summer, mostly because I tapped the mirror on the garage door frame exiting. I thought I'd never need to install the new perch, but of course I did.

Note that although called JB "Weld", it's still a composite material based on epoxy plastic. Forget about repairs to exhausts, which reach temperatures (800F) hot enough to burn off the plastic matrix. Then again, I have read (Honda Forum) reports of successful repairs of crankcase seam bolt threads, probably because the case on a 2-stroke stays relatively cool.

I worked on every car and truck I owned until I got a '94 Ford Ranger New. Haven't touched one since, including scoots.

Sometimes this applies.

Wow that is a lot of fuck

Some of us did get a proper education!

Read? Who has time for reading. Today's experts need only watch a You Tube video or two. Books are so yesterday.

Damn, I'm old.

Proper/right tools, genuine replacement parts, experience, LIFT---maybe have chance to get it right---when I iived in Italy, Italian Vespa guys wonderful, Germans were parts changers for the most part, but I lived near the French border, Bitche, Citroen service wonderful and good, US maybe there are some real pro Vespa mechs left, but not in every shop! I rode and lived in Japan over 20 years. The Japanese were very good for the most part. Korea Daelim shops perfect.

US regardless of scooter brand, you take your chances.

This topic scratches like a wild cat.

I have a pretty nice shop at the house. A/C, lift, well tooled up, sound system a good little set up.

Many people have asked me to work on their scooters for payment and I always give them the same answer. "No, I'm a hobbyist. If I take money it takes the fun out of it."

Now my friends. Bring your bike we'll work on it together, or mine, you need a part I have just get me another one unless it's something stupid like a fly side seal. Just have fun with scooters! And yeah, we've broken a lot of stuff and blown up a few motors! (Well we won't try that again, here, stick a bolt in the piston hole and we'll get you home, too bad it was your bike)

People that want professional quality work with a lot of experience with everything that's not me. I get stuck, ask for help and get it. If it takes me another 3 weeks to finish it really doesn't matter to me.

Thanks for all your help over the years greasy

I'm the same way, its a hobby and I don't work on other peoples scooters. Friends I'll help, but their spinning most of the wrenches on their scooters. I have a garage, no a.c. or heat, good selection of tools, compressed air and a nice stereo. But greasy made a good point. When I pay for a service or repair I expect it to be done properly. Overall I've been lucky with paid for scooter and auto repairs.

In this photo, i was 23 years old when was a repair mechanic:

I have been reading this and enjoying the replies. Me I'm a hobbyist. I enjoy messing with scooters and have no problem messing around on my own and close friends that know I'm only a hobbyist. I have always learned best by mistakes made by myself and others. I have learned to listen to advice from people that know what they are talking about. Even better I have learned enough to know who doesn't have a clue but will offer advice.

I found this guys Youtube channel and he does some of the craziest things with a grinder, vice and hammer. His videos with his hillbilly lathes (no offense to any of our hill living members) are priceless but get the job done. Is he a professional who knows, but he gets the job done in a barnyard somewhere in Eastern Europe. Here is a link to his channel, they are a fun watch on a rainy day. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxz9rdsvLLZQFZKkPi9l6Lg

JB Weld should require a license to purchase. I work on a lot of old Harleys (50+ years old) and encounter way too many hack jobs that employ its use. There is the right way to do things and then there is JB Weld.

-Craig

You know what is worse than seeing a hack job on a motorcycle or a car? Seeing a hack job on 50 million dollar jet. Unfortunately aviation industry is not any better. Most of the companies do not provide tools/equipment and a lot of mechanics just don't bother investing into their own tools/equipment.

Believe me, I have enough wisdom to leave all maintenance up to professionals Further, if they don't get it right, I take it back at no further expense.

I do admire and acknowledge you out there with the technical brain lobe to do some of your own work. I detect you actually enjoy it. Not I!
All I want to do is fill it with gas and twist the throttle.

Note, relying on professionals, I have never had a scoot fail on the road.
I believe the pros are worth every dollar they charge.

Two Thumbs in Minnesota.

Bob Copeland

Fully agree with Bob.

In my experience, it's not the homeowner who did the sketchy work that pays for future repairs. It's often the next owner, or even the owner after that. Source: I had to pay $6k to run a new gas line because a previous owner didn't install a cut off switch on the original line, and laid concrete foundations over the original line, making it impossible to repair. The homeowner who did the work/had it done, has been dead for decades. A lot of the work that was done to the house by that owner seems to have been done with the attitude of, "Code? Nah, I don't need to work to code, I do good work. Install a cutoff valve to the hot water heater? Why should I? I do good work. Someone in 30 years might need to test the gas line to find a leak, and a cutoff valve will help determine where it is? Not my problem. This outlet doesn't need to be grounded, so even though it has a 3-prong outlet, and I have a grounded wire running to it, I'll simply cut off the ground wire at the outlet, as it'll save me time in having to connect it."

My wife is a Realtor. The things she has encountered are pretty hilarious and sometimes dangerous. When people try to do un-permitted additions on their homes it becomes a real liability at the time of the sale. She encountered a home in Scottsdale, Arizona (a ritzy address) that had a large addition that was obviously done without a permit or inspections. How was it obvious? The water main shutoff was located behind the couch in the new addition! WHO DOES THAT?!?!

Then there was the house with an addition and a large deck added onto the house. Upon inspection, it was discovered that the addition and the deck covered an abandoned swimming pool. They didn't break up the bottom of the pool to allow drainage of rain water or fill it with dirt (both required) The floor of the addition and the deck were supported by 4x4 timbers that sat in the bottom of the old pool. Since there was no way for rain water to drain out of the pool, the bottom of the timbers were sitting in a foot of water that accumulated during the last rainfall. Great mosquito breeding ground right under you house.

I love this.

Just love the whole spiel
Sadly people are penny wise & pound(tons) foolish.

I haven't seen that one before. How long did it last?
What never gets old is someone with a Tao Tao that looks like it was stolen, stripped and left in a swamp for six weeks telling you that the bike didn't cost very much, so it shouldn't cost much to fix it, or that it's their only transportation and they need you to get it running as soon as possible.
There are times I miss having a shop, and threads like this help me get over that.

I paid my main dealer £103 ($130) for the 600 mile service on my HPE.

After checking their work, I found they over-filled the engine oil because they checked the level without screwing the dipstick in, and also charged me for a litre of gear oil when the bike only needs 250ml.

So after correcting their mistakes, I'll be doing the next service myself.

John

I've often had issues resulting from 'professionals' servicing or working on my vehicles. To be fair to the mechanics involved it is as likely to be a problem from above with some manager trying to get the work done as quickly as possible to maximise company profit, rather than incompetence on the part of the mechanic involved.

When you finally find a trustworthy indie who does a good job for a fair price, treasure them.