Modern Vespa

Thank you sir, that means a lot to me!

I completely agree with you on that. I was looking for some used Rizoma brand reservoirs, but nothing really looked like it would be a very simple bolt on. The existing reservoir is off of a KTM 640 (along with the slave cylinder, return spring, and the spring bracket tab), so i was like, well i might as well use that too. The plastic reservoir is semi permanent for the time being. When i find something better that really sparks my eye i'll install it.

https://shop.triumphcleveland.com/store/Triumph-Speed-Triple-Rear-Anodized-Brake-Reservoir-A9620061-p126436005/?utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=shp&utm_network=x&utm_mobile=01&utm_creative=&utm_position=&utm_random=3871171988039884229&gclid=CjwKCAjw6vyiBhB_EiwAQJRoplEL0UHD51n-IZYWeD_gZmOeDAgHeMp91p9QF7QA3TBgLZvREi50DxoCPLMQAvD_BwE&utm_campaign=shopping%20-%20united%20states&utm_ad_group_id=71409&utm_campaign_id=252087&utm_prod_id=126436005

https://www.amazon.com/Clutch-Reservoir-Aluminum-Master-Cylinder/dp/B08MV5H1QL/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?keywords=motorcycle+brake+reservoir&qid=1684015417&sr=8-8

my first thought was: oh nooo! John! not the money maker!!

btw, the magic eye drops probably contain lidocaine

what about instead of replacement you look toward concealment?

something like this would look the part...

Now that's a super cool idea! Sure beats out using an empty Redbull can to slip over a dirtbike's shock reservoir.

you're much classier than that Goldie!

I like the look of the plastic reservoir. If you put a cover on the spare you won't even see it.

i'll leave you guys with this for tonight, the scooter is officially off of the sawhorses!

Did u photoshop out the gantry crane?!

Nice Jeep grills on the wall.

This was after he drank some of the eyedrops

sees all this cool shit in a shop...

¡lɐᴉɔǝds ƃuᴉɹds ɹǝlɐǝp ǝƃɐʞɔɐd Ɩ0∀ lɐuoᴉʇdo uɐ ɥʇᴉʍ sǝᴉɹǝs W ɟlɐɥ ɐ puɐ ǝǝɹɥʇ ʎʇɟᴉɟ ɹɐǝʎ pᴉɯ ɐ ɹoɟ plǝᴉɥs ɥsɐlds ɹǝuuᴉ ɐ s,ʇɐɥʇ ¡ʎǝɥ ɥo :sʎnƃ dǝǝɾ

I'll admit to spending too much time looking for the tell tale signs of a photo chop, but it was late and my eyes were tired.

but then I remembered that John has that farm boy strength!

Absolute beauty. This one is like my Allstates west coast cousin, I love it.

No photo shop magic in my pic. Just as you say, it's farm boy strength. I'm a fairly skinny guy (6' x 158lbs). Since high school i've grown 2" and gained maybe 12lbs. All growing up it was carrying and moving stuff on the farm, such as tractor implements, hay bales, animals, boxes of fruit, firewood, ect.

After that i went into construction and then it was humping around lumber, ladders, sheetrock, and sacks of concrete all day. My personal record is picking up and carrying 6 sheets of 1/2" plywood (back when 1/2" plywood was 1/2") for about 40'. The difficult part about that, is that an average man's hands are only so big. The last 2 sheets of plywood are literally being carried by just the last phalange in the fingertips!

Then there's lots of automotive side projects of farm trucks and jeeps that happen in the shop as well. Picking up and carrying Dana 44,
60, and 70 axles, installing 200lb truck transmissions (without a transmission jack), and engine swaps. So to me, picking up a scooter is a normal sort of weight for me. But i have to confess, a scooter is REALLY awkward to pick up!

Riding and racing a KTM 990 Adventure will bring the strength levels up as well. Picking up a 500lb bike multiple times in either the mud, sand, or snow will put things into perspective.

The most ironic part is that i can't even bench press very much weight. I go to the gym 3x a week and i can maybe bench 120lbs? I had an embarrassing incident a couple weeks ago when i got trapped under the bench press bar...with only 115lbs on it. No one came to help me out because there wasn't enough weight on the bar for it to be an emergency.

So yeah, i'm a wimp at the gym, but i can pick up and carry real world junk. Now that's i'm 47, i need to realize and be careful that i don't have a 23 year old back anymore.

Super awesome work here. All along well thought out build, and attention to all the details; both mechanical, and aesthetic.

The VESPA script emblem was really rattly...so much so that it was making quite a bit of noise when the engine was idling. I was also concerned that the existing rivets would slowly fall out. I looked in my shop and found my grandfather old drawer of miniature brass machine screws. I think the size is called a 0-80? They're small enough that i didn't have to enlarge the existing holes in the legshield. I had to use tweezers to install them through the emblem. They also happened to be a perfect length too! I also finally found a place to mount my old ratty "GOLDEN" badge. For all who don't know, the GOLDEN emblem is from a Lambretta Golden Special. And since i have the same last name, well it's kinda like i just attached my signature to the very front of my project.

A period correct license plate could probably be the most critical part of any of my builds (automotive or moto). I've REALLY been looking forward to installing the plate for the past year or so. And yes, the plate is legally registered as a "special interest" plate to this VB1!

I fired up the scooter this morning and went for a 20 mile ride. The engine that i just rebuilt (new piston, new cross, a new short 4th gear, and a new clutch) runs and shifts absolutely magnificent. I was taken back just how nice of a shift it actually is. Perhaps the SIP aluminum gear pulley plays a roll in that?

A couple things about the scooter. It's tall...really tall. It feels about 2" taller and a PX. The seat is also VERY uncomfortably hard. I'll need to get some sort of padding on it. Perhaps one of those Alaskan sheepskin pads?

Also there isn't very much leg room with the current seat and the legshield spare tire. I knew all of this before i started the project so i'm not going to consider that detrimental. Besides, i like the aesthetics of the single saddle.

Absolutely stunning Vespa! I fall in love For sure. I put them on my smallie and then on P. Very noticeable positive difference. But also read lot of opinions that SIP short pulleys absolutely useless.

I've installed both the sip gear wheel and the quick throttle wheel and wouldnt go back, especially good for me as I suffer from arthritis so minimising twisting of my writs is a god send. I have also reindexed the gear position so that neutral is where the 2nd gear mark is, saves bending the wrist back so far for 1st gear.

So good on every level... and the Golden badge made me chuckle. Somewhere a lammy purist broke down as the last screw was placed on your badge. LOLZ!
hahahahahahahahha

Whats the plan on the speedo? You probably mentioned it somewhere and I just missed it...

Before i installed the SIP gear wheel i was prepared that i was going to have to reindex the neutral position on my 3 speed bar, but i was pleasantly surprised (after the first test ride) that all four gears felt very natural on my wrist (with the neutral indexed to the little dot).

I have a friend who all he does it own and build VERY nice lambrettas. The litmus test will be his response when he sees the badge.

Originally i really wanted a speedo, and a digital SIP speedo at that. I thought for sure that SIP made one for the VB1/GS headset, but they don't. I don't really see how to convert a stock VB1 speedo to work with a PX speedo gear. Maybe it's a super simple process of using a mix and match inner and outer cable from a VB and a PX?...who knows for sure. I think for now i'm just going to skip having a speedo. Although having a warm glow of light from a speedo after dark is definitely a welcome friend, i do have a green indicator on the headset that illuminates up when the headlight is turned on. So i guess something is better than nothing.

You could always fabricate a blank... similar to what they used on Allstates and other low end models. Blank would also... maybe... be a nice place to scratch/etch "fast enough" or some other witticism.

I made an adaptor on the TV to fit the EGT/CHT under the stock lens.

Started to make one for the GS, would not be hard to do.

I'm kinda hoping to wait to see if SIP will ever make a digital speedo for the VB1/GS headset. They might not since it probably wouldn't be financially beneficial to them. But who knows for sure.

Here's a pic of a SIP speedo that i'm planning to install in my VNA Allstate. I suppose a guy could easily fab up a mounting plate to fit the smaller VNA speedo into the larger VB headset hole, but i would prefer a speedo that would fill the whole hole.

Is the faceplate under the broken glass remotely salvageable? Speedoking does magic and suspect you have the chops to do similar work? Then its just figuring out the cable shenanigans.




Of note, the moderators and admin have conferred and this thread ticks all the boxes to receive a forum award. Sadly there is no monetary supplement to go along with the forum award, but... seriously this thread is the kind of content that makes this forum continue to thrive. Thanks for sharing the story, process, failures and wins with everyone.

MV Documntarista is hereby awarded. Wear it in good health!

I'm thinking internals from the SIP with a custom face plate and spacer and then use the VB1 bezel and lens.

absolutely magnificent on every level. top marks all the way around.

Wow! That looks great, nice work!

The saddle is such a critical part of the look - but i always find it sits too high and creates the short leg room issue.

I'd also like to use a single saddle, but perhaps sort out a means to mount it significantly further back and low - where I've grown accustomed to riding.

Don't have a full plan yet- but figured I'd share. Perhaps it will need to flip up to access the tank cap.

I'll probably have to expose the front "cornice" of the chassis when I slide it back - so there may need to be some problem solving to get a nice look.
Maybe the flip up mechanism will be exposed and help visually with that issue.

I like the look as well but also need the leg room, be very interested in what you come up with

Phil moved the seat back on his cannonball bike

https://modernvespa.com/forum/post1566681#1566681

Thank you very much and i humbly
accept the Documntarista award! Hopefully this scooter project will motivate and inspire others with their builds. I know that when i read about other's builds here, that i get more motivated to fix and build up my scooters!

And yeah, i'm posting up my fails (along with my wins), just so that everyone knows that i'm just as, if not more fallible as the next man. I suppose if a project was easy, then there wouldn't be as much satisfaction on completion.

I was slow to reply to all the replies that i got yesterday. I spend the day in the shop fixing a decent sized error of mine...
Turns out i had messed up the angle of the fork when i cut, turned, and then welded it last winter...

The story is that i went out for a 20 mile ride two days ago and i noticed pretty quickly that the steering would take a quicker dive off to the left. It was something indicative of a bent fork tube. I was trying REALLY hard to blame it on the worn down Zippy 3 tires...it wasn't the tires though. I got home and sighted down the length of the scooter, and it was pretty darn obvious that the camber was way off. Something like close to 5/16" off from the top of the 10" rim to the bottom! I spent a few hours brainstorming the least evasive game plan...which happened to be a bit on the evasive side of things. But it was painfully obvious that it needed to be fixed, so at least the option to not fix the fork was not an option!

I started out with leveling out the scooter. I started out with putting a level on the seat's "goal posts". After that i double checked for plumb on the rear disc brake rotor. I compared those two measurements with the front wheel (i used a SIP tubeless rim because i knew that it would be 100% true). That's when it was VERY obvious what was going on. I also had to make sure that the front and rear wheels were 1000% parallel with each other! If the fork is turned just a little bit, it significantly changed the angle of the camber!