Modern Vespa

Timing is 18 BTDC at 7,000 RPM's running the SIP/Vape variable timing.

Jetting is 120/BE3/122, 52/140 idle

It's better than it was, still sags a little, but not terrible. At least I can ride it to get it properly warmed up for the next run at getting the idle set.

It stays nice n' cool while running, so I've got that going for me, at least. True, but this time I kind've meant to do it. Usually, I'm just not paying attention.

What I really need to do is quit running with the tap on Reserve all the time, which was the "reserve gives better flow" myth (I've since measured it, on multiple occasions and it doesn't, which is also what Physics says on the matter) but Bad Habits die hard.

I fabricated a rearview mirror bracket out of 1/4" aluminum plate, which was a LOT more work than the ones I made out of 1/8" aluminum plate, but seems to be super-solid, so hopefully minimal vibration.

I also went back and RTV'ed the exhaust to the cylinder, which I'd skipped for some dumb reason before I installed the exhaust the first time.

And since it's raining, no test riding for idle tuning, but I did fire it up and rev it on the stand a little and it started, idled, and revved off idle without sagging, so I'm optimistic things are getting close.

If it's not getting hot then the timing is ok for now. Jetting is in the zone too. 122 main is smaller than I was thinking but is autolube, so will be smaller. Not forgetting that Sito.
Is the carb drilled out 2.5 mm?
Careful just looking at the CHT temperature; ultra lean doesn't get hot either.

Yes, the carb is drilled out to 2.5mm (all my si's have that mod now), I walked the jetting down and stopped as soon as it quit stuttering. I was also surprised at the 122, but this is basically a bolt-on of the Malossi kit other than minimal porting and flowing the cases and airbox. Stock crank, stock intake timing, crap exhaust, and autolube.

I've been mostly just riding and getting irritated that the transmission was slipping out of gear when accelerating or under load, so I swapped the transmission for a spare EFL set I had on the shelf.

Good news is that it no longer is slipping out of gear. Bad news is that while I was test riding, the shift cable with a couple broken strands that I'd ignored decided to give up the ghost. Luckily, I was close to home and in second gear at the time, so I bump started it, then rode slowly-but-loudly home.

Next task will be changing that cable. Meh.

Mirror mount fab job looks a success.
Once you beat the annoyances out of it - should be back and solid.

If it's any consolation - the fast flow tap with fancy reserve light that comes on at about half tank - is so annoying I just disconnected it - so no help there.

Nice Tesla!

I have a silver Model X and a silver Sprint Veloce.

Also - would appear wife and dog are packing to leave.
Perhaps you should spend a little less time in garage.
That is clearly a communicative hint.

LOL! Irony is, wife was out of town with her mom, visiting her grandmother in Dallas when I took that pic. I was using the suitcases to haul trash to the dump. And Josie...well...she just likes being in pictures as best I can tell. I have silver Sprint, too! I had no idea that I was painting my scooter the same color as the car. I think we got it after I ordered the paint, as a matter of fact.

And since I was already rolling in the garage and had pulled that motor apart to get the gearing, I took the Malossi 166 that was on it and stuck it on the Stella's Sprint motor and put that back together. Ran it around the block just to see how it does and it's too rich (I started the a 120/BE5/125 stack, 52/140 idle), but it's going to have some punch in its own right.

It has some punch list stuff, because it's donating its SIP ignition to my LML motor when I rebuild it later this week and going back to a P200 Electronic setup, but if all goes well, I should have three solidly running scoots and the VBB which I never give the attention it deserves, but which could get me somewhere in a pinch. The mirror mount took a lot longer than I was expecting when I started on it, because I made it out of 1/4" aluminum plate, but it's the most usable mirror I've ever had on a scooter. It Just Doesn't Vibrate.

And I wound up not replacing the shift cable, because it wasn't broken, it'd just come loose in the headset. I still need to replace it, but today was not the day. The cables are a little tight, but I'll get that sorted and be good-to-go.

Oh, and at some point, I need to get another seat or two. It's that or start installing saddles, which I have two of, but I hate those damn things.

And, since I hadn't done anything scooter related today, I did the rough porting of the new cases for the BGM 177.

Bearings and other missing parts start arriving Wednesday, so that will be up next, other than an hour or two of getting the Stella back fully on line.

I found a GPS Speedo that's going in Sweet Roll that will be here tomorrow or Wednesday, plus front turn signals.

TL;DR: Lots o' scooter goodness today.

Damn that sprint is fine!

Look forward to your impressions of the BGM 177.

The BGM is a rebuild of the motor that I cracked the cases on. MJRally hooked me up with some fresh Stella (reed) cases, so I'm transplanting the build into it.

Basically:
LML Reed Cases
MMW Reed block w/ VForce4 reeds
PWK 34
60mm P200 (110mm rod) bell crank
PM Tuning Leftie pipe
SIP/Vape variable timing ignition
P200 Gearing

I can't find the old port timings, but I'll get new measurements in the next day or so once the motor is back in one piece.

I'll swap this motor into Sweet Roll once it's Known Good and put the P200 motor in the Sprint, then swap back again once the P200 build goes Final Form.

I GSFDyno'ed that build at 25-26 HP once upon a time. It'll be interesting to see what the rebuild comes in at.

Today was "rebuild the Stella motor" day. I got everything assembled up to the point of running a pressure test to end they day, which it passed with flying colors. It only lost half a pound (from 7 to 6.5 psi) in about 45 minutes or an hour.

Getting the SIP Ignition off the Sprint was challenging. I wound up having to use a three tooth gear puller, which I recall I had to use to get that flywheel off that motor a year ago. Luckily, it's now ground down so it fits that motor to pull the flywheel, so other than the annoyance, it's not a huge deal.

Tomorrow I expect I'll get it running in the stand and maybe even swap it in to Sweet Roll if I'm feeling saucy (icy? Frosting-y?).

I think I'm also going to put my 11" tires on if I can make the front wheel fit.

Then, the 210 motor will go in the Sprint for a while, which is next in line for some Rebuild Love after I fix the autolube tank leak (fun surprise on the workshop for after I filled it up) and install a p200 electrical on it.

It was the best of days, it was the worst of days.

The best of days was that I got the BGM assembled, run, and installed in Sweet Roll along with my 120x70-11's.

I had to replace the throttle pulley, because the GL stock pulley would only open the PWK half way. Luckily, I had a mis-ordered large diameter shifter for the older style headset, so I modified that by adding a stop and used it for the throttle.

Somewhere in the course of that, I killed all power to the bike. I'll worry about that tomorrow.

Short review is that it's a beast. It's hard to keep the front wheel down coming off the line, even throwing my weight forward and trying not to.

Here's the First (re)-Start.
It was the worst of days because after I swapped the BGM into Sweet Roll, during the course of getting the clutch adjusted, I managed to lurch it into gear and that beast motor took off and ran poor Sweet Roll into the tree between the car port and the workshop.

I hammered out what I could just so it wouldn't look quite as bad, and I'll work on it more in the next few days, but I'm pretty bummed, as you can imagine. It'll never be the same, but I'll get it to a state that it's not painful to look at.

So, like I said, best of days; worst of days.

Omg. So sorry. That is a serious bummer.

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

Oh man, I feel your pain. That SUCKS!

fuck stockings

So sorry amigo. So sorry.

Oh jeez. Glad you weren't hurt.

There's a bright side here somewhere. Need to think on this.

I was standing right next to it and the bike was on the stand. The only way I could have been hurt, other than emotionally, would have been if it ran over my foot.

If I can get the legshield hammered out, I still have a little bit of the color coat and a fair amount of clear coat, but the hammer and dolly work may be beyond my skills as a panel beater.

It already looks a lot better than it did, and I put masking tape over the areas I was hammering, so no more paint damage.

It'll all work out. Just a bummer, especially right at what should have been my moment of triumph. It would have been nice to have finished the project before I tore it up.

I think we're all hurting for ya a bit (alot!). So sorry this happened, right at the peak of excitement. These are the tough moments for us to remind our selves... It'll all work out. Not easy when you've worked so hard and the outcome is not as expected. We feel you'r pain, and will cry with you and cheer you on to still get across the finish line

Tear it it up like that. People will get out of your way.

Finish it when you have time. Wish I was there to bang that out.

Get outta Ma wayee or I'll bash you like I did that tree!!

sweet baby jeebus weeps for you.

man, i'm just glad you weren't hurt.

we can fix the bikes, we can rebuild them. the peoples-- our friends, we cannot.

chalk it on the board as a learning experience, bang it out and ride it for a year as a reminder and then... you start again.

or like me, you collect all the parts and cuss at it every time you see it for, like i dunno... five or six years until your friend nags you to put it back together because you're being a total and utter stick in the mud and you need *something* to ride because you're losing your mind.

sorry... ANYWAY.... bro, that sucks giant moose cock. but you'll come out roses. you've got the skills, the wills then the tenacity to make it happen. don't pet the sweaty stuff my dude. you got this.

Thanks, everyone!

Having had a night to sleep on it, I decided I'm going to bang it out as best I can, mostly that crease under the "V" of the legshield badge, then replace the legshield trim and ride it like that for a while, where "a while" might be six months, but will probably be until I decide my body work skills are up to the task to re-do the whole thing again.

Maybe it's the Universe telling me that I'm just not meant to have perfect, shiny scooters.

I mean, I've set up more clutches than I can count, and never had that happen before. Hell, it shouldn't have happened this time, but I forgot that I didn't still have the rear wheel off the ground and didn't grab the front brake before shifting into gear--something I would normally have done even with the rear wheel off the ground.

I'm going to re-tune the carb because I think it's a little lean across the board (idle is, for sure), but also get the Stella and Sprint back into better working order.

That means the P200 motor into the Sprint, but it gets a little bit of TLC first while the motor is out, like a good wash n' wax and fixing the leaky oil tank. Plus, I stole the seat off it, so it needs a new seat unless I put the OG saddle and cargo rack back on it for a while.

Of course, both the Sprint *and* Stella have leaky autolube oil tanks that need to get sorted since I put oil in both of them and they both left puddles of 2T on the floor.

Oh, and I think the Stella has a bent fork, but it's not like those are lying around for cheap the way they once were because everyone figured out they could part them out for the disc brakes, then threw the forks away, it seems like.

Once I get through all that, though, it'll be the VBB's turn to be Sweet Roll 2.0. No more two port motors. It'll get something entirely too fast for 8" wheels, much like my other bikes tend to have things too fast for 10" wheels. Gotta keep that tradition strong.

Maybe I could swap the VBB gearing into the Sprint cases and throw on like a 24t clutch...that'd Go Plaid and then some...

And the Circle of Life begins again...

I have to say your calm and positivity regarding this is pretty amazing. Kudos. Again, I am so sorry about the GL. Broken hearted for ya. I'd be a puddle of gin and misery for a few days, you bounced back fast which deserves notice. Eventually it will a hell of a story to tell a year from now at a Rally when it's all shiny and straight again. ^^^
And this made me laugh out loud.

Now go buy a couple lottery tickets, you are due for a win amigo.

It may never be *all* shiny and straight again, but if it was, the point of reference for the story would be lost, so all good either way.

I learned long ago that there's no point in wallowing in misery. My life has more than its fair share of static, sure, but I still know I'm fortunate in many, many ways and try to keep that in mind. I mean, the fact that I even have the time/money/energy to build stuff like this in the first place is more than most people on the planet will ever even aspire to.

Besides, I figure that if the Stella has a bent fork, then I effectively have a "spare" motor, plus the cowl-side oil tank in Sweet Roll is proven out, so why not put it back in service?

The fact that I have to tear down and rebuild the VBB is a minor consideration.

Oof. We are all feeling your pain.

You can get it pretty close, then ride it for awhile until you feel like redoing it and reshooting it. The upside is that you will only have to paint the shield so you can blend it and nobody will know.

I worked on the legshield and more this morning and other that that big crease, I think it's going to be more-or-less fine. The legshield just bounces when I try to work on it, so I'm guessing I need to put a board or something on it to stabilize it?

I'll work on that tomorrow.

And, yeah, when it I reshoot it, I'll just do the front of the legshield down out of sight and no one will be any the wiser.

But on the bright side, based on a quick trip to the grocery store, the transplant was a success.

Already looking better. My suggestion is to put away the hammer... use strategically placed clamps and small blocks of wood to gently leverage the metal back to where it belongs. Not nearly as bad as it originally looked. You got this..

That makes perfect sense. I feel like that last dent will pretty well pop back into shape if I can just get the right leverage on it.

That and probably replacing the legshield trim and the rest of it will buff out. Luckily, the trim took the brunt of the impact, so there's almost no paint damage.

SoCalGuy, brilliant idea. You can *slowly* massage the metal back and it will keep the paint intact

Just catching up with this and liking your plan AND attitude This is just another bump in the road you'll always remember and no actual ppl were hurt, merely inconvenienced temporarily.

To add something to the above hint, radius the edges of your wood blocks generously, so you don't add any creases.

Yup, I'd already had the same thought. I'm going to shape the blocks to the legshield, which'll be a moderate PITA, but I'm not worried because I have a serious random orbit sander and plenty of 80 grit paper.

And then, to add insult to injury, my turn signals were delivered today...and they had been stolen out of the package in shipment.

When it rains, it pours, I tell ya.

just now catching up, holy crap that sucks! I'm hoping to catch some interesting photos on the way of your panel beating to straighten it up though - those are useful skills, so don't skimp as you go.

good on ya for not giving up!

I'll be expanding my body work repertoire tomorrow, but I'm also celebrating a successful new motor that hit 73 in a 40 on the way to the grocery store this morning and it still had lots more in it. Definitely my best motor building work to date.

Either way, I'm still fortunate I get to work on these things and whatever I can learn and share will be applied (literally) to the next bent up legshield I encounter.

And a little bit of good news, Eagle Lights, the manufacturer of my turn signals, didn't blink an eye on my support request and are shipping out a new set of lights to me today. Including a picture of the box with the "sorry sucker, empty box" sticker on the shipping label probably helped.

They're small (1" wide by 1/2" tall), so they'll sit up under the handlebars and you probably won't even notice them unless they're flashing.

Is it perfect? Nope. But is it SO MUCH FUCKING BETTER THAN IT WAS TWO DAYS AGO???

Yeah, I'd say it is.

I may still work on the shape of edge at the level of the horn, but even that I expect I'll eventually just get used to. And honestly, if it'd looked like that when I started, other than the fact I'd have skimmed it to clean up the shape I'd have been happy with it.

Taking SoCal's advice, I clamped a piece of wood to the legshield which gave it enough stiffness that I could work on it.

I used various dollies to match the curve and a three pound sledge with a dolly to walk that big crease back from the horncast to the edge of the legshield. I'd give it a solid smack and then shift over half an inch or so and do it again. Then, I was able to work the sides with a regular body hammer from the inside and finally worked it back down from the front.

I covered everything with masking tape to protect the finish and it all worked out fine other than one section on the inside of the legshield under the big crease, but I did that on Thursday night when I was just tired an angry about the whole affair.

For the legshield beading, I worked it loose at the bottom, straightened and opened it up with a combination of a centering punch and a screwdriver, then re-crimped it, tapping down the sections that didn't want to cooperate and line up with the edge of the legshield.

Also, I discovered that the end of the fence got knocked loose where it connects to the carport, so I guess the final score for the affair was:

Tree: 1
Scooter: 1
Fence: 0

That's fine now! Looks like my Sprint...

The fact that the badge survived unscathed is some kind of good omen.

Wow, that's great CM - Pretty amazing actually....

I'd ride that thing all day long!