Modern Vespa

Wow great find with that auto store color! The floor is gonna look like an exact match once trim goes on there. Put a shiny horn and trim on the front and you've got a 9/10 paint job

Sounds like you learned the hard way John. Always have at least 12" of masking paper between the panels that are going to be painted and the plastic drop. And now you know why.

I was thinking that too. The touch ups will get lost in the trim and the other parts when it all goes back together.

I like how you put the correct curve back in the top of the legshield. I have to do the same for my VBB, though the bracket isn't broken. I was pondering how I was going to do this, but now I know.

There's still a repair lurking on the top, that broken brace needs a weld. But that will be a small additional paint repair, no big deal. At least now I can get on with the runners, etc. And yes I got the fit close earlier.

What is this masking paper? And in a small job like this, can newsprint stand in for it?

It's just more or less the standard rolls of paper that you can buy at any homo depo, lowes, paint store (both house paint and automotive paint). I don't recommend using newsprint. The paint might bleed through it.

It was probably right next to the plastic sheeting I bought . Thanks.

Some polishing on the frame today. Will be another couple repairs after I get a few items welded.

?si=_ppPDqfXnUIIUK2-

Here's the welds needed

Socalguy to the rescue

Nice work. That cleaned up great.

I MIG weld like that all the time. You'd have to weld a really long time to get arc burn.

Yes and he's wearing shorts! Totally hard core!

I don't see what the issue was. It looked like SoCal had his good welding shorts on.

Of course we spilled gasoline in the area prior to starting, as required for safety 3rd

I don't think that much qualifys. Looks like you just cleaned something. 😉

My reflexes kicked in a bit faster than normal

My best was between 4 to 5 gallons of avgas. Looks like a lot more than that on the floor. Good thing it evaporates really fast! I had the doors open at least.😵‍💫

heck, he's even wearing gloves!

*pulls sunglasses down*
*fires off plasma cutter*

Safety is overrated.

In the early 90's I did a lot of carbon arc brazing on patch panels. I knew how to weld with oxy/acetylene, but I was a student and had no place to keep the tanks.

The carbon arc brazing used a torch with two electrodes and an 80 amp buzz box stick welder. It sucked. The electrodes would constantly get loose in the holder and the torch would go out. It also would give you a pretty bad arc burn if you welded in shorts.

I still have it and sometimes use it for heat shrinking. I would love to go back to oxy/acetylene because you can do so much it, but the MIG is unfussy and does just about everything.

For the record, this was some of my best welding to date.

Small paint repairs under way.

Nicer weather today, it's been not so good. Of course the color spray can decided to only work in messy blobs, cans always seem to be suspect the 2nd time around. Good enough for me.

On to the floor rails!

Fitting floor rails and looking for center stand stuff today. Some drilling required on outers as they and the floor have been through the ringer.

Can anyone confirm either of these stands as VBB? They seem short enough…

I decided I need to rivet these rails. This bike is another learning lab, and the stakes are super low. So why not learn the skill now?

I've been watching some videos on how to do it without the tool, it doesn't look too bad. Are the rivets the same on P, I think I have some spares.

This guy is in Indo, and he has a lot of videos. I watched his wiring harness install yesterday. Is it a good idea to feed the vbb harness front to rear like he does?

The riveting is much easier than I anticipated. There's no reason to use screws except to hold the rail while riveting.

I would have told you this if I'd seen your prior post in time.

Rivets are super easy with a hammer and bucking bar, you just need a heavy enough bucking bar.

Looks great.

Yeah, I kinda turned it into brain surgery in my descriptions of the process. I do that with a lot of things actually.

It's like being overly focused on something simple like walking or breathing. Suddenly it becomes really hard to do.

I've run three harnesses in the Allstates. First one I went back to front the second two front to back. Was definitely easier front to back in my case.

Ugh. Too small. Damn.

But at least it'll go in real easy.

do i need this one instead?

https://www.scootermercato.com/Scooter-Parts/Floor-Rail-Rubber/94625

or this one?

https://www.scootermercato.com/Scooter-Parts/Floor-Rail-Rubber/47243

second one says for original floor rails but who knows what has been done over the history of this thing?!?!

This is the VBB, right? If so, the second one.

yeah it is. i think I will roll the dice on #2, it seems correct.

I feel seen.

... oh, the floor rubber! yes, yes, of course.

carry on.

Order placed. which means I should remember whatever I forgot overnight.

and order shipped, I love Scooter Mercato!

Stand 1 seems to have been used without feet for a while…. There are bolts on the boots to keep them from tearing, but the angle on the stand posts seems like it's probably over.

Stand 2 has level bottoms but seems a bit wider than stand 1. Can I clean up this finish or should I just paint it? Is it bent outward, should the legs be 90 degrees to the top?

Legs should be ninety degrees from the crossbar. Past that, go with the one that's the better fit.