Modern Vespa

Can someone please confirm where to find the engine number for a 1989 Vespa PK50xl?
Also need to source a Certificate of Conformity... Any ideas?

I have owned this bike from new, bought when growing up in Belgium, and recently brought over to the UK for my son's 16th birthday present (in October)... he has always loved the bike.

Have received the NOVA from HMRC and now trying to register on DVLA... Form (DV55/5)is asking for lots of information.... Has anyone imported bikes before??....

Thanks

Jezza

Moved to Not So Modern, where you are more likely to get a good answer for this particular scooter.

I'm pretty sure that the engine number is on the casing, by the fan cowl just before you get to the cylinder shroud.

No idea on a certificate of conformity. There is a chap on the facebook pages called Rob Skipsey who seems to be the go-to man for sorting out registering stuff from abroad. he might be worth a shout.

many thanks to both for your help.... will try to get in touch with Rob on FB

J

Also consider that being a 1989 bike, it will need an MOT to ride over here. That will require a speedo reading MPH, and a rear brake light.

Many thanks… have now got the MoT but still struggling to find the engine number… need this for the v55 form so that I can register and get a number plate…
Any further help grateful received

Engine number will be under the rear shock mount, next to the oil plug…

Example…

That is absolutely perfect!

I was looking in right area but all quite dirty… your picture makes very clear, really appreciated.

Many thanks

I’ve looked where suggested and definitely nothing printed under rear shock, near oil…
Have had a good look all over and can’t see anywhere… does anyone have any last tips / advice??

Thanks

On mine, its on the casing at the back of the engine, where the flywheel cover is. just below the CDI.

if you picture the flywheel cover as a clock, its at about 9 oclock.

If you can find the 2 bolts that hold the cdi bracket on, its between the top one and the flywheel cover.

Mine is a PK50XL, registration is 89 so probably an 87 or 88.

Found it!!… exactly where you said, many thanks

Good to hear!

I probably didnt explain it very well the first time and as you've probably noticed, most of the engines have it at the back by the oil filler.

did you have any luck with getting it registered?

Am going to send off the V55 form now that have engine number… have got MOT and Nova form so fingers crossed this now ok…

Do you have any idea how long takes to receive anything from DVLA?

Thanks again for your help…

Based on current experience, getting anything back from the DVLA is a fair few weeks.

Hi,

Just had reply from DVLA… 6 weeks after I sent through all info…

I'm gutted.. this is a birthday present for my son… his 16th is in couple weeks and had arranged him to take the CBT

Appears they are not happy… have asked for additional evidence to prove the year of manufacture.
I need to source this from Piaggio
Any assistance/guidance/suggestions on how to go about this would be welcome..

Thanks
[/quote]

Thats frustrating to hear!

I dont know if it would help but is there any evidence of year of manufacture on the belgium docs - Assuming you still have them.

There lies the problem… lost the paperwork in various moves.. was in my parents garage (at different locations) for almost 30years!

Can you get replacements? I guess that relies on having an address in belgium still.

I'm just ahead of you👍

Spoken to shop in Belgium, very friendly guy going to help get replacement paperwork

I have just gone through this process with a spanish motovespa PK 75 XL. It took exactly six weeks for my registration v5 to come through.

A certificate of conformity is not required for your scooter. It is exempt as its older than ten years.

I sent the following through for a seamless application. I used a triumph owners club forum to find out the correct information. What ive put on the form is all you need.

Ideally you should provide, if you have them.

The bill of sale from vendor.
A copy of the NOVA

Photocopy of your driving licence.
A copy of a letter/bill with your address on it.

A copy of the MOT certificate (mot was done on VIN number).

The original spanish/foreign log book. if you do not have such a thing then you must get a dating certificate from the vespa club of great britain. SO in your case, you do not have paperwork so dating certificate will do from vespa club of great britain. apparently lambretta club will also do this even though its a vespa, its about £20.00!

A photocopy of my insurance document (fully insured by bikesure for a year using the VIN number). Although, this is not required in england, only northern island, it is needed for TAXING.

Get full insurance for 12 months and dont send a cover note. The time they get to process your v55/5 your cover note will have run out and they will reject your application.
I took photographs of the scooter showing it in one piece complete and close up photos ofengine number (rear mount of engine visible if you get down behind rear wheel) and the VIN number, under the engine side panel pressed in frame.

You must send two cheques. One made out for £55.00 for the registration and one made out for £22 for the road tax.

For god sake, photocopy everything. Take photos of docs on phone too. You DO NOT receive back your original documentation. Its gutting as my spanish log book was the original one from Madrid as bike only had one owner in its 34 years of ownership. I do have copies though for its history.

If you need any help PM me. or post on here and i can provide help. Its a slow process and fraught with problems if you do not evidence correctly supporting docs with your v55/5

After six weeks i got an age related v5 sent through and a nice D reg plate number.
Its interesting that the DVLA do not recognise motovespa as a maker so mine states Vespa Douglas. You must then contact your insurance company and update them on your new registration document as they will have given you insurance on the VIN, (frame number).

You then go to gov.uk and search for approved registration plate maker in your area and they can knock you one out in 10 minutes. Cheers Malc

ps do not follow the youtube video online as the bloke whos done it is WRONG and got his terminology wrong on certain things the form asks you.

p.p.s if your mileage is in KM convert to Miles!!!!!! for the form entry

p.p.p.s in normal times without covid restrictions, it is possible that an inspector will want to visit you to inspect scooter. Its unlikely as they have a backlog but it can happen as confirmed by a couple of people i know.

Many thanks!!… this is incredibly helpful.

Will get in touch with Vespa club of GB

Will update with progress…

Youre welcome. The v55/5 form is so daunting and you hardly need to fill in anything. Please get photos of your scooters as you will need these for vespa club of great britain anyway. It just proves you have the bike to hand and its COMPLETE. If you need anymore help PM me. cheers Im just along the coast in bognor mate and have a good engineer local to hand if you are stuck on anything with your PK. ps added to my original reply. you also need to include

Photocopy of your driving licence.
A copy of a letter/bill with your address on it.

just wanted to thank all for recent help.... have just received number plate from DVLA!!

Finally....

Congratulations, glad you have been of help to you. Not a difficult process but easy to get wrong and getting rejection letter. Nice F reg plate too!!! awesome. Next you will be on here asking about big bore kits, lol. Worth getting one for the 50 as they are pretty slow, but in the meantime for a quick win you can change the exhaust to a sito or bgm as there is a restrictor plate in the standard 50xl exhaust. The restrictor reduces speed by 10kmh. Also buy a couple of main jets for the carb, suggest 4 points over what is in there. Fairly easy job.

Hi,

Have installed a 102cc kit and upgraded carb to 16.
Am wondering about changing gear ratios now.
Have also heard that best to upgrade the clutch as well.

Can anyone please advise on what to buy?… also this may be beyond my skills to do.. any idea on costs if done by garage?
If not, any good videos on YouTube?

Any advice gratefully received!

Thanks
J

You can probably just go with single uprated spring for your clutch, I doubt the power will be too much for that. The Polini spring is best. The Malossi tends to coil bind and then drag.

https://www.sip-scootershop.com/en/product/clutch-spring-polini-sport_82870000?q=polini%20spring

I'll leave the gearing advice for others who've done the small displacement engines. Mine was a primavera and didn't need the gearbox help you might need.

Its worth noting that the XL clutches are pretty robust and more heavy duty . You see recommendations on websites for these small kits saying to use an XL clutch or third party one.. You will probably be OK as that kit will pull 50 to 55mph . My 75xl pulls 50 and i do not have any clutch slips . Try it first so not to waste money.

Thanks for tip…
Have you changed the gear ratios?.. 50mph for the 75cc seems to be pretty good.. what else you done?

Oh yeah - my tip sucks, you already have the nice clutch. Nevermind!

Mine is a factory standard xl75 , its motovespa spain the xl75 book speed is 80kmh where as the xl125 is 90kmh. Its just a quick little bike for its capacity. These models both use the 20mm carb which was also used on the ets125. It has large transfer ports as standard. I dont know what the actual gear internals are. Id imagine mine has primary of about 3.0 as I'm not revving out. Fastest I've hit on GPS is 53mph, slowest 47mph , I use a bgm big box which drops the revs but makes it a better all rounder for driving into wind or inclines. The sito plus will likely give you more top end but they cause so much vibration in the frame its not pleasant, the sito manifolds also rattle free and best changed to a 3rd party one. I think you will find the pk xl50 had factory restrictor in exhaust manifold and just changing to sito plus gives 10kmh extra top end. Id imagine a 3.0 ratio primary about right for your kit, give one of the UK dealers a call and ask what they recommend. What does SIP state on their website, mail them.

Many thanks.
Although I know that changing exhaust will give a good boost, I am reluctant to change it given that my 16 year old son also uses her… and if he gets stopped by police, the exhaust is an immediate give away..
in any case, much appreciated… will speak to a dealer and keep digging.. may have to wait until his 17th birthday before doing any major changes..
thanks

What does everyone mean by the XL clutch?

From my experience (buying the wrong plates) there are 2 different types of clutch basket/plates the one with the single spring and the one with multiple springs. I think the XL clutch is the one with multiple springs but my XL had the single spring clutch. Maybe its a year thing, or is it the XL2 that had the multi spring clutch.

The other differences are in the clutch cover, there are 2 different lengths of arm. v range and PK, the PK has a longer arm so has more travel hence a lighter clutch. There is also a cover with a splined push-rod, i dont know what benefits this gives, i think this is referred to as the XL2 cover.

There are also pressure plates with a bearing in them, i think these come with the XL2 clutch cover.

With the gearing, you probably want to go 24/72 and then its down to quality/price as to which one you get. You can swap the small pinion from 21-25 tooth to fine tune. As a quick gear-up, there are +1 tooth pinions available for some of the standard gear sets so that would give you a bit more top speed/lower revs.

If you have the tools then its not difficult to do, there is a brilliant guide on scooterhelp for taking it all apart etc

I have fitted Sito Plus exhausts to a p125x and a 50 special with no problems , with improved performance on both . The advantage of this system is that it looks like the original so I doubt that the police would notice the difference .

Many thanks… I'll take a closer look at the Sito Plus exhaust.

None of them are as quiet as the original. The BGM is supposed to be close to the original sound but it sure isnt, its a high pitch popping machine gun but good thing people hear you coming which IMO is safe. The SITO is more like original IMO. A box pipe is the quietest with original look. In fact its the only option as you cannot get original 50cc exhausts, the SITO/bgm only choice for the same look/style. One thing im not sure off with the 102 kit is whether you need the 50cc exhaust or the 125cc exhaust. My 75cc uses the BGM 125 exhaust.

Good point Ferriswolf , the pipe leading out of the silencer box is always smaller in diameter on a 50 than a 125 . It may strangle the performance a bit .

The 102 is the 43mm short stroke crank so would need the 50 exhaust.

Ferris, Did you kit yours in the end? I know there was some discussion around your engine internals but did you ever find out what size crank you have?

This is what I dont understand about the xl75 as its a 43mm crank yet uses the 125 exhaust system. Even the cylinder cooling hood is marked 90/125. I didn't kit in the end as the bgm pipe gave it such a spring in its step. The xl125 only does 5mph extra top end. So reckoned that kitting to a 102 or 110 would likely give me not much more performance than get already. I also want scoot to last. Im using the xl for work, travel 13 miles and it drives like a dream. Getting around 100 mpg as I WOT and drive it hard. Im looking to sell my px177 and get another small frame as they are such good fun.

Got a new problem:

The seat lock has stopped working… major problem as unable to open.. it is unlocked and button depresses but simply won't open.
Appears something wrong with latch.
Anyone have any bright ideas how to resolve???… for obvious reasons this is major as unable to refuel..
help gratefully received.

Thanks

Have you got the original seat with this lock? So this shown is locked position, the two bars work with the seat latch and move it forward of the petrol tank catch, this is photo two, part is marked brevetto. The problem with the xl seat is it has a flush lower plastic frame which means you can't spanner off the front two boots under seat to slacken seat to manoeuvre. Often the seat latch is worn and you quite easily yank it up even in locked position . Get somebody to hold scooter because when you yank it will come off stand . I doubt the lock bars are broken, unless you keep dropping the seat from height , this might have caused the bars to break. Here's a complete kit with the tank catch etc , the part in top right corner of ebay kit is worth having as these really wear causing seat not to latch locked. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175010676846?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=ejxDdiNlSBa&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=iZ9ewEGIRA2&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY