Modern Vespa

May need to tattoo that one.

One positive... Scooterwest has some of the sealed beam headlights in stock again. They were a scarce item for a few years so I was dreading trying to hunt one down. But, I bought two... One for immediate replacement and one for the shelf after I blow the replacement. *ahem*

Knowing yourself is job 1.

Hahaha.
You could consider also just putting ur motor up on the handlebars where the light could provide spark.
Lemme know if you need some calculations done…

ACMA style ... err... ACME style.

I've been that Coyote...

Yeah you have , OK me too, but only vicariously .

Finished (mostly) the paint and body work.

Battery side cowl turned out aces. Engine side cowl is a bit less than I had hoped, but as we had an airleak on the moisture trap just after I started painting the engine side cowl, I'll take it,

I was really pleased with my dolly and hammer work. Less so with the filler, but I learned a ton and overall it's a win, especially considering where it started.

That looks good to me!

We're always our own worst critics, and that goes double for paint and bodywork.

Looks great!

beauty!

Gorgeous "after" shot of cowl with p200e emblem! Great shiny smooth paint job

Alright. Putting this out into orbit before I change my mind…

I think this one is done. Fun project, albeit more of a lift than expected at times….

A few tiny cosmetic details still to sort, but seems like it is running well. All electrical is sorted and working except one wee dashboard light.

Matched paint on the cowls and fender… it's a step or two above rattle can and a step below professional. Treated all the rust on the floor board and touched up the bare metal as seen on page 1 or 2.




If you know someone looking for a freshly rebuilt 200 with lots of OG paint/character holler. Regular NSM folk get the "family price".

Will put up for sale soonish at market price in the usual places.

Sharp looking bike right there. I'm digging the license plate that expired in 1984, too, but not enough to become the owner of it.

Retracting "for sale" status until DJ sells his 200.

Pro Move right there

The lords of 2T are pleased with your blood sacrifice.

Onto the next one!

looks super great. Can't wait to see what you do with the super and the SS!

DNA evidence

Just when you think you are done.

Still haunted...

Bad stator has been confirmed.
I had a battery drain off and pulled the neg lead and then tested to see if it was still pulling amps. It was.

Having exhausted my electrical knowlege I used a "Phone a friend" token and called Mark. Poi Dog helped me test the stator... issues were apparent on yellow and red wires so I pulled the flywheel and well... 2 of the coils were basically cooked... Black as charcoal

No bueno.

well at least you're getting to the bottom of it. ship that stator out for rebuild, you'll be right as rain.

Maybe your baby bird just likes it there so much it's looking for reasons not to leave the nest.

Looks like we are ready to roll again. And again, it's thanks to Mark... Grabbed a dead stator off ebay that had exactly the coils I needed in good nick. I suck at soldering so Mark stopped by with the skill and cookies! It was like the TX version of Qascooter and Scooternewb.
(Note his wife's cowboy cookies are sooooooo good!)

Stator was rebuilt and soldered with some minor mods (grinding off excess layers) to the retaining plates.

Once mounted on the bike multmeter showed the battery still wasn't charging?!?!

Hmmm... regulator. And... turned out it wasn't a bad regulator. Just a bad mechanic. I had somehow reversed the yellow and grey wires on the regulator. Just stupid on so many levels and I honestly have no explanation. Ahem.

Anyway.
Done and done.
And perfect timing. (Rumor is the SS180 is coming home for Christmas.)

Big Shout Out to Poi Dog for the assist.

no photo evidence on the cookies?

so what happened to your fender crest? you had one to start with...

Pro-tip: Plausible deniability... that way the wife doesn't know how many we started with.

I consider the P fender crest the a black mark on an otherwise good aesthetic.
You want? Happy to send over.

If I were playing that game, I'd have just waited until the cookie count was down to an acceptable level and taken the picture then.

no need, was just wondering why it went AWOL this is a better plan

Hot hot hot. 🎶

Still have the ghost in the herd.
Noticed that it is running hot and would be interested in the hives thoughts on what is causing the high temps. I am getting up to 260 to 270 after 2 or 3 miles. Over 5 and I am in the 290s?!?! Doesn't seem right.

125/Be5/120
160/55
B7ES plug

SIP rd 2
1st oversized on the piston


Thoughts, comments, and spitballs appreciated.

You gotta give us a reminder of what your setup is.

Also, what sort of riding conditions? Is that WOT or just around town? What's it settle back to at idle? If this is new, any change in perceived performance?

I assume that's 120AC, BE5, 125 MJ? I usually write it the other way, so just making sure (plus, I've never heard of a 125 AC, but I've never heard of a lot of stuff )

And it's a stock top end right? 24/24 or 20/20 carb?

Did you drill the float passage?

It could be as simple as a clogged jet if nothing else changed. I'd start with that, then add an inline fuel filter to prevent reoccurence.

What's the timing? Seem to remember you had a revving out problem... ever get that sorted?

Sorry my dyslexia is showing …

125 main
BE5
120 ac

19 degrees strobed on the timing IIRC
24/24carb
Stock jug overbored to first oversize

This is mostly city riding. Wot until 4th and then 3/4 throttle once in 4th.

You may just be too lean on the main.

Try WOT in 2nd with a 128 or 130 and see if it still rev's out. If so, I'd say walk the main up until it splutters WOT in 2nd, then roll back one jet and see how it does there for a while.

Basically, the reverse of the normal main jetting process since you're already pretty close.

I'd think the BE5 is adequate for your mixer, and you're on that transition from the mixer to the main at 3/4 throttle.

Timing could drop back a degree to 18 BTDC, but that's not going to make a difference except maybe at the top of the rev range, I don't think.

Do you have a Fast Flow fuel tap installed? Carb float bowl passage drilled to 2.1mm?

I noticed a temp drop by 20 degrees on my STOCK P200 (24/24) when I put in a FFFTap. And one of these fuel lines: https://www.scootermercato.com/Scooter-Parts/Fuel-Taps-and-Parts/40281300

And for what it's worth, I've only got the temp up on the new P200 engine with the same jetting as yours to 230f, and that was over 10 miles! I may be running a B8ES plug too. I'll have to check.

Oh, and time at 21/22 degrees

19° is too retarded for a stock jug.

Factory timing is 23°.

http://www.scooterhelp.com/scooters/VSX1T.p200.html

Yes that's correct, but with today's modern fuels, 23 degrees will make the cylinder run more hot. Dialing in back to 21-22 is safer.

The industry standard jetting used to be a 160/BE3/125 (and that's with genuine Dellorto jets, not SIP jets), and then a B8ES plug for riding the open roads for a stock 200 with a Sito+. Heart drilled out in the air filter. Timing set to about 21-22 degrees. There were no fast flow fuel taps or drilling a larger hole in the carb's float bowl. That SIP II box looks to be hotter than any ol Sito+, so maybe closer to a 128 main? That's been my unsecret sauce for the past 20+ years. FYI, I ride mostly longer stretches of highway on my stock 200's and just a smidge of inner city.

Thanks everyone.

I found my chicken scratch notes and they say we started at 19 and then adjusted and timed it to 21 with a light.

So I'm fairly sure we in the right spot for timing.
It is running a good 50 degrees hotter than my silver p200 and the set up is almost identical.

I started my jetting at a 130 way back when and it was boggy… I'll see if I have a 128 main to try, albeit I can't imagine that will bring the running temp down much…(that said at this point I'll take 10 degrees cooler if I can get it)

Hmmm.

air leak?

Maybe time for a fresh pressure test...

Bah!!!! No bueno.

Pulled and cleaned jets.
Looked for a 128 and couldn't find so I put the 125 main back on.

One thing- I had the airbox cover off before so I put that back on. Ran up the feeder wot and….

It felt like it soft siezed. Looked down and it was showing 306 on the cht.

*could* be fuel flow?

But… meh IDK never had the issue with fuel flow like that before.

Feels like a lack of fuel when it starts drinking heavily, like a kinked fuel line, or a lame fuel tap, or, or....

One Bourbon, one Scotch, and one beer...