Modern Vespa

Hi guys; so a couple years ago I bought a 1979 P200e from a friend. It was mostly a bucket of parts, and painted an ungodly banana yellow color...I started going through everything, cleaning stuff up if they were dirty, fixing them if they were broken, and replacing them if they were straight up missing or something I wanted to upgrade...also got it painted to Ford Vermilion...

I was making progress at a steady clip and was in the re-assembly process when grad school started. Then I got super busy with research and working three jobs (Working in healthcare + COVID + broke college kid = lots of stress and no time) and the Vespa sorta fell to the wayside. Now I'm graduating and looking to pick up where I left off and I'm...overwhelmed. I labeled parts and made notes under the presumption that this would be a continuous rebuilding process, not one with a two year gap in the middle, and so while parts are clearly labeled and kept together, I've got no memory on how to get most of it back together. I have a factory manual that shows the layout of things, but there's some crucial stuff it doesn't mention (I bought a kit that contains replacements of all the little rubber doodads for the Vespa, but nothing to tell me where they belong), the wiring and cabling is also something I'm not completely confident in and that's stuff I wanna make SURE I get right. The last thing I want to do is to accidentally forget about a tiny circlip or something and have the front wheel fall off while careening down the highway. Again, I know there's resources for all of this, but I didn't anticipate how little time I'd have once grad school started when I first bought it, and after this it's on to my PhD so the work isn't going to be letting up much lol.

So as embarrassing as it is, I'm trying to enlist some outside help. My parents are kind enough to help pay for the remainder of the work as a sort of graduation present to me (as well as a way to finally have their garage clear of Vespa parts). I've got all of the parts necessary to rebuild it, and a lot of the rebuilding process is already done, it's just the odds and ends like all the rubber pieces, seals, bearings, and such which overwhelm me. Once things are at a state where it's just a handful of modules that need to be put together (engine, fenders, front end, wheels, etc) I'm confident I could take things from there. Shoot, even if I could just get help with getting the front end back on I'd be happy; I'm familiar enough with the back end to get that going, once the brake, throttle, and clutch cables have been threaded through.

Again, this is embarrassing, but this Vespa deserves to get up and running again and, hell, I deserve to ride it in the Florida sunshine this Summer after the year I've had. Is there anyone in the Tampa Bay area you'd recommend to take on this sort of work? I was recommended to Charlie of Charlie's Scooter Depot, but it seems he was not interested. I've also heard people mention a Darren from Vespa Servicing, but haven't been able to get a hold of him...is he still doing this line of work?

First off, you got this. Take pics and ask questions here and you'll have it sorted quick.

What help do you need with the front end? I just redid mine so it's still fresh in my mind.

Take pics of the rubber bits. For the most part they will only fit in one spot so narrowing it down can be done that way. Pics and everyone here can point you to where they need to go.

Also more pics.

And then some more.

Seriously I had a slight idea of what I was doing, they're basically bicycles with engines and I can handle a bike easily. I still got hung up a bunch and everyone here is nothing but helpful and generous.

Oh yeah, welcome!

Part 1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-9WWkL7Ilw

Part 2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPS3MtCxjhQ

Part 3:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fTgQy_2wFE

Part 4:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXkUsvFXtUY

Well I should also mention that I've got a broken arm, which makes things difficult with regards to fixing up a Vespa. Obviously that's a temporary thing, but still yet another road block. Though those videos certainly increase my confidence about this!

There are other options if you can't assemble the entire bike.

Send the motor up to Georgia to get rebuilt. Follow the instructions in this link http://www.scootermercato.com/Garage/Engine-Rebuilds. Make sure you contact them first and send the necessary pics. The cost is a flat fee and is done by one of the best Vespa mechanics around, Matt.

By the time the motor returns, your arm may heal and then you can begin assembling the bike. You may get lucky and a forum member in that area may assist. Also, Dave at Mercato may know someone in the area to assist you.

Or you can talk to Matt at Scooter Mercato and see if he would assemble the bike. Send the whole disassemble bike with the motor to Mercato and have them put it together. If you don't mind packing, Mercato have some great shipping rates and they will send the bike back on a crate or you can pick it up in Atlanta.

Good luck!

Welcome,

Lots of good suggestions here.

If you decide go after it yourself, we are here to help.
Ask away...

Good to know! The motor should be more or less complete. It was one of the first things I checked out and, relative to some other parts of the scooter, is fairly independent. So spark plug, air filter, and carb jets have all been replaced and put back together.

The parts manual shows basically every part on the bike, and where it goes. Very helpful.

https://www.scooterhelp.com/serial/VNX1T.VSX1T.parts.book.html