Modern Vespa

Well, that could be a problem

They're present. Pistons are the brassy bits. If they were missing, you'd see the aluminum of the caliper housing in that bore.

Ok thanks. I put a wood shim in the caliper (to stop the pistons smacking together) and tried to push them out with compressed air but no dice. They didn't budge.

And I just had to post another tunnel pic. Got the rest of the paint off. My bet is that someone threw some POR-15 down in there and didn't prep it very well. The spots that stick are a bitch to get off. I hate that stuff.


Last one, I promise.

Gave the caliper another shot and no luck. I'm just gonna order another one to keep the project rolling.

This one ok?

https://www.sip-scootershop.com/en/product/brake-calliper-piaggio_58573R00?cr=e993ab67-6807-4109-bbed-f6374ebf9f9b&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIl7Cg8MD49QIVOsqUCR1_vAchEAQYAyABEgI1aPD_BwE

that one should be fine. just keep in mind the connection at the caliper regarding the the banjo and banjo bolt and sealing washers. they liked to flip flop around between sizes on those sometimes and that'd suck to get the whole thing and be mismatched or have to spring for connection hardware.

cleanest tunnel of the year award.

Thank you.

That's why I usually give the original parts a try. They will at least fit. Can always order some banjo bolts. Lots of winter left.

Wow. Shipping from SIP just blows on this particular item.

Is there a US source for this part? Gonna give the old one another try with some heat.

I'm going to print out your post and frame it. The Clean Tunnel Award is an important achievement.

Take two aspirin and call Scooter Mercato in the morning. They probably have it in stock for a good price. If not, they can get it from SIP faster and cheaper than you can.

https://www.scootermercato.com/Scooter-Parts/Disc-Brake-Parts

Lol, thank you. Pistons are really stuck anyway.

have you tried boiling it in hot water?

what? you all don't have a hot plate and little post "for garage use only"?

savages.

anyway, I'm such a miser that if I ordered the rebuild parts I'd fiddle fuck around with it till I got it or I broke it in the process.

you could also try 50/50 water and vinegar

(to note, do not do that in the house on the kitchen range. you have been warned)

Thanks. I will give that a try. I actually have a dedicated stove/range in my garage. I just get pissed when a part won't yield to my will, so even if a new one was on my doorstep yesterday, I would devour a PhD's worth of caliper piston removal information and beat on it until it submits.

I live in a woman-less house with my two boys so I could bathe with a tub-full of engine parts if I chose.

Sorry to paint that picture.

I'm given a long leash on "automotive smells and general chicanery" but even then a man's gotta know his limitations, Luke.

if you have a new master that works, you can try hooking it back up and using fluid to force the pistons back out. knock it back on to the caliper mount with no pads, finger tight jimmy bleed it down and go to town while applying a little warm with a heat gun to the caliper body.

for pure violence, just blow the seals out with torch. you're gonna replace them anyway. the smell and clean up is a bitch, but that's why you have cheap labor at your disposal!

Wow looks great! making way more progress then i would have, glad they are in a good home. I guess my wife sent you with our old garden trailer tires haha!

Like greasy said, i would deffinitly try to hook up that old master cylinder, bleed it and use that to pop out the cylnders with a small plock of wood in between since only one tends to shoot out beofe the other. I have done this a ton on cars, and when one moves i work it in and out, then clamp it in and work on the other side. That caliper deffinitly moved last summer.

As for the master cylinder, how about cleaning it really well and JB welding the window? it doesnt have any pressure and should clean up without issue.

Anyway, let me know if you have any guestions on anything, my big contract for work is wrapping up soon so will have time to chat if need be!

Hey there!

I was hoping you would be along at some point.

The scooters are cleaning up nicely and getting some tlc. Both solid bikes that will be well taken care of and enjoyed.

Please thank your wife for all her help with getting my bus up the icy driveway and 2 scooters loaded into that little bus on that dark and rainy night.

PS: I have a new sight glass and gasket for the mc. Old one pops right out. It's just a groove with an o-ring.

A little cleaning up after all that blasting.

Nice work, sir. Looking great!

Thanks! The nice thing is that it's only taken a little soap and water to get it like this. Last night I smoothed out a shallow dent in one of the cowls without disturbing the paint. Not perfect, but perfect would require repainting.

If I had restored this scooter and the result was the slightly scuffed and dinged scooter I had now, its flaws would irk me to no end.

But because it came to me this way, they don't bother me a bit. If a rock hits it, the kids bump it with their bikes, whatever...I will not be losing my shit like I would had I put a lot of effort into making pristine, That's just no fun and no way to ride.

Compressed air usually doesn't cut it… doesn't seal well enough…

I'd set it up with the master cylinder and hose and pump them out like you'd do when bleeding brakes…

Just keep pumping and the piston will pop right out

Popped the headset opening to clear out any blasting media. There wasn't any, but while it's open, it's going to give it a clean up and lube everything. I now have a cable oiler, so I will do that too.

Hoping to paint the tunnel this weekend when there will be a warmer weather window to apply and cure paint. It's been hard to find one when I have the time.

Working on the master cylinder. That snap ring is difficult. My snap ring pliers are too clunky. The brake light switch needs to be replaced or cobbled back together. I will fiddle with it awhile longer for my own edification before prying open the wallet for a new one.

I am considering replacing the wiring loom in the 200. The old one will need some splices and new terminals. The wire insulation is quite brittle in spots. The green wire especially seems to be made of cheese. It doesn't look like it would be that hard. Can anyone recommend a decent quality loom?

Thanks.

Getting somewhere. Always good to find the wrong right tool for the jerb.

what? you don't have master cylinder pliers?

also, don't kid yourself running a P harness is a giant pain in all nine assholes.


implements of torture

It's like making love to a squid. Ecstatic once you are done but boy what a struggle.

and you always remember your first...

Thanks, I never knew such a thing existed.

Yeah, the harness looks like it could be a PITA. I remember doing my shift side switch years ago. It sucked. Especially stuffing the wires back in and having the shifter move without anything shorting.

I know I can do a decent job with replacing some connectors, a few splices and some heat shrink.

Fook dis shit...

It's just one of those days...

Got my garage nice and toasty and ready to paint the tunnel only to find that the paint I was going to use turned funky even though it has never been opened. It might be useable, but whenever I have used iffy paint, it turns into a kick in the dick. It's the kind of place where a paint failure would be really hard to fix.

I wrecked the seal putting the MC back together and one of the seals in the kit was wrong anyway, so done with dicking around with it. The caliper too.

So on to an actual question. Will this caliper fit? It looks exactly the same as the one I have but SM does not mention the LML star under compatible models.

https://www.scootermercato.com/Scooter-Parts/Disc-Brake-Parts/56220R

Thanks.

That's so impressive how well you could clean out the tunnel!

Are you going to paint the inside?

That looks like the Marine Blue color. Love that color.

Yeah, I was going to paint the inside of the tunnel today with Master Series Silver. I had an unopened can of it that was 2 years old and had started to gel. Rather than take a chance I ordered a new can. Oh well, one of those days.

better safe than sorry. The extra wait will pay off in the end. Its a real struggle sometimes to want to push ahead, rush thru; then we always regret it later. "If only I'd have been more patient..." Good call. You're doing great work.

This is especially true when it comes to chemicals. They have an annoyingly short shelf life--some of the stuff I used for my boat restoration had expiration dates that were six months from manufacture. The more effective they are, the more volatile and short-lived they tend to be.

I'm also damn impressed with how you cleaned up that tunnel. I didn't do anything near that on the VBB or GL, but seeing you do it makes me feel like I should have. Oh, well...

Thanks CM,

The tunnel was definitely overkill, just something I've become good at and it's the brainless kind of work that helps me unwind. Sometimes it's sandblasting stuff or taking a few thousandths off some hunk of aluminum in front of the tv.

The usual cleanup, Ospho, rust paint deal really does make stuff damn near bulletproof, so I'm sure your good. Riding it often also does wonders.

Today was more productive. I pulled a bunch of new wire through the tunnel to the horn cast junction box. It was pretty easy and better than splicing. I have a lot of euro style crimp connectors and wire left over from my bus project. The connectors are the same type. It's just a matter of duplicating whatever's there. Colors are correct too.


These are in rough shape.

New wire pulled through. Old loom left in place and wire clusters zip tied together. I have a good supply of wire cover too.

It looks like a mess, but it's pretty well organized.

Glad to have a good supply of these...

a spaghetti farm!

good on you for doing it the right way!

Thanks,

I've had a lot of practice...

Surprise!

The worst kind of surprise.