Modern Vespa

Well I bought this little fella today locally. It’s a pk75 xl , a little ratty but considering 34 years old in pretty good shape. Surprised at its power for such low capacity and everything mechanically good. Other than some minor repairable dinks and bit of paintwork required not much to do. Got to register with a uk plate . The seat is so comfortable and it’s so damn light too. I’m going to kit it with a 135 of some description and have the engine gearing , crank upgraded at some point. Think it will be a cracking little local runabout down the line. What kits do you guys recommend ? DR, malossi, polini? Thx

It looks solid!

Was the motovespa 75 the one with the ali barrel? If so then I have a feeling that the spigot size is different from the rest of the smallframes (apart from the early 90) and might not be suitable for putting a kit on.

The xl2 yes but not the xl. Its fully supported in all the kits . The xl2 has a short stroke for some reason. I checked this before deciding .

Very nice. And in good nick too. Some PK parts are getting thin on the ground now.

I bought a frame with a few other bits a couple of weeks ago for a future project. I will gradually collected the bits to do it. I already had a set of VMX5M engine cases in my smallframe stash.

This one is an 86 PK50XL.

They are getting more difficult to get hold of now as imports. The cost has gone right to ship and taxes too so doubt many will find their way to uk. I paid 1200 quid for it so think done ok as all small frames are getting harder to get. I love how light it is, really easy to move about.

Nice project mate

Thats good then. What gearing has it got? could you leave it as standard for now and just put the 130 top end on? Or is it like a 50 where its rediculously low geared so goes nowhere and just revs.

Thats a really nice little bike.

Motovespa, wasn’t that the name assigned to Spanish built bikes or am I mixing this up with one of the other makes that had works in that country.

Yes Fritz you are right. Motovespa also made some funky mopeds too which are still quite common on the streets there and are tunable with polini kits. They shared headsets from traditional Vespas too. I’ve rented them out in Spain over the years on holiday and the 75cc kitted ones are a lot of fun. I missed chance to buy one in the uk which only reached 400 pounds but was a later model in great condition. I keep looking as they are easy to put in back of car for holidaying . My pk was born in Madrid and spent its life as a commuter in Barcelona .

The yellow one comes with a shoe already attached to the right hand pedal?

Cool factory accessory or bad photo editing... i dunno.

I started out on a moped a zillion years ago. There never were acceptable over here in Canada so my first riding experiences were a mixture of joy brought on by this newfound freedom and horrible embarrassment cause by the knowledge that my ride was totally uncool. The freedom aspect won out

They love em in Spain. [url]

Looks like it'll be a blast - I love my smallie

if you ever want another one....or are struggling for parts - i have a contact in spain and could do go between for you

im in wolverhampton

thanks mate for offer but the chap I got it from is back and forth from there and offered the same, appreciate your help though, kind of you.

Why on earth would my 75 cc be fitted with a 20mm Delorto carb as standard. This is something that would be on an et3. Has the 75xl got more ports on it or something? Anybody know?

You were surprised at the power for such small capacity. Maybe its been kitted already.

Smells like a 110/112 kit, perfect for a 20mm carb.

I suggested this to my mechanic who is going to service it and said for him to check . I’ve driven a 90 and 100 before but this pulls a lot quicker unless it’s a bit like the et3 in that it was boosted with the ports etc I dont think it would be A 110 kit though as that’s for a 50 conversion . These take the 135 kits like DR say . Because I can’t drive on the road until it’s MOT test and uk registration I didn’t have enough private road to blat it.

The Motovespa PK75 is a unique engine 47mm bore and 43mm stroke (like the 50's). a 135 kit will work if the crank is changed for the the 51mm stroke 125 crank. This engine also has a 97mm long conrod, the same as the 125 motors. So both 112 or 135 kits are not bolt on without changing other parts. Be interesting to see what you've got.

I was informed that this is true for the xl2 not the xl1. I’ve gone to two main suppliers now and my engineer who inform me the xl1 has longer stroke so bolt on. When you look at kit compatibility lists xl is in there but not xl2. I hope they are right . But thanks for your input. There was a German pk75 too manufactured and that looks just like a 50 special but has the primavera side panel toolbox . The 75 kit was the original kit of choice in the 80s for a 50 upgrade. It appears the 20mm carb is standard for xl75 as i found a YouTube of a Spanish owner servicing his 75xl and he does a carb tear down , it’s delorto 20mm., when push comes to shove be happy for now to get it on road just as is and drive as 75cc until the next season. I doubt with dvla in the uk they will register for ages due to covid isolation issues with staffing.

This post brings me good memories, this PK that you have has Barcelona plates. It is the same color and year as the one that I had. Mine also had the security flexible metal tube that connects from the left of the handlebar to the post near the seat, in Spain we call it "piton", it is probably the number one accessory that you but from the dealer. My mirror was square (yours is rounded).

Yes it lived for 18 years with same owner in Terrassa. Got 16k on clock so guess it’s been pottered about local. The security device is very good as you can pop horn casing off and simply short the ignition plug and off you go if steering lock not on.

long time no nothin´ so got to ask: how did the project go?

It's still going and it's still running as a standard 75 with just a bgm box box pipe. It's my local run about , does 50mph gps top end and sniffs petrol . I went through a busy phase where scooters were and still are put on back burner . I do have all the parts ready, all polini evo stuff and it will require some engineering on the engine case to accommodate the cylinder.

thanks for the update.
Good reliable little runabout the. Good buy!!

Whishing you luck/success with your undertakings thus more spare time for the scoots.