Modern Vespa

Roland,
Sorry to hear your low level warning isn't working for you. I sure hope mine works. I tested the switch tonight and the circuit is closed when the float drops and opens when the float is raised. So it's working. I believe you are running premix in your tank? I wonder if oil in the fuel affects the buoyancy of the float or coating the switch somehow and therefore is giving you premature low fuel warnings? I am running oil injection so nothing but fuel in my tank. We will see I guess?

Hec

Sure some weight could be added to the float to "adjust" it to switch on at a lower level.

I have one of those SIP taps. The contact point for the switch would need to be lowered. Probably a simple matter of pushing a friction fit contact further down the post.

I actually have one of those taps on my PX200. Never tried the float switch. No SIP speedo on that one. Has the OEM gauge with a low light. Don't really see the point.
40 years ago, we all used to travel all over the country and lucky if reserve position worked.

40 years ago? That's me today!

And somewhere along the way, I got in the bad habit of riding on reserve all the time, which rather than working on improving, I've leaned into and just carry a buddy can as my "reserve."

Those "low fuel" taps break all the time (both SIP & BGM). The contact will either stay always open or close. And a few will also leak through the wires…

The only scooter I've ever owned with even a marginally working fuel gauge was a Honda Spree back in the 80's.

The Stella senders were never worth a damn straight from the factory and none of my Vespas are new enough to even have a fuel gauge, so I guess I just don't know what it's like enough to even miss it.

I still go but just much less. A couple of long runs each year.

Chandlerman,

You must have a different tap than mine. There is no contact on the post. Mine has a little magnetic donut pressed into the I.D. of the float cylinder. When the float drops the switch is made and when the float is raised to the top of it's travel the switch opens the circuit.
Observations: Tonight my OCD kicked in. Here we go again! I hooked up my continuity testing flash light to the switch and raised and lowered the float. When the float was dropped, my light turned on. When the float was raised to the top of its travel the light turned off. This was true only if I slowly raised and lowered the float. I noticed that if I dropped the float and quickly raised it the light would stay on until I dropped the float again! Sometimes I could get the light to come on by raising the float back up quickly right after the light was on with the float in the raised position. This explains what Roland is seeing with his. Perhaps he was on a bumpy road causing the float to bounce up and down rapidly therefore causing the switch to hang up leaving the low fuel light on. His fuel level would have to be low enough to allow the float to drop momentarily.
I also noticed that if I limited the floats upward travel just shy of the top, the light would turn itself off within a second every time! So for kicks, and in the name of Science, I added an o-ring from an old Mikuni Jetski carb kit I had laying around just below the top of the post. This would limit the upward travel of the float, just shy of fully raised by the thickness of the 0-ring. Now the light always turns off when the float is raised to its new position and doesn't leave the light on till the next time its lowered. Boo Ya!


I made a video demonstrating all this for you peeps!

Make sure CC is enabled on your viewer to see my comments.

What say you?

Hec

That looks pretty high.

Like the light would switch on at around 2-3 litres.

Doesn't surprise me no one has come up with a reliable solution.

I found the stock PX fuel sender either super good with accuracy, or it'd be useless.

That's some solid experimentation there, Hec I like it!

I agree that's absolutely not a functional/useful design for a Vespa tank, where the fuel sloshes around a LOT. I'll have to go find the SIP (I think) tap I have on my shelf and see how it compares. Not because I suddenly want to have a low fuel light, but because I'm curious.

Also, on further reflection, I totally agree that thing is way too high to be useful as a low fuel indicator since even the bottom of it sits above the tank filter, which the regular flow side of the tap sits inside, so it's several centimeters higher than the top of the regular flow side of the tap.

Update:

I got some more things crossed off my to-do list for my scoot.👍

• Control cables are in
• Choke knob is in
• Center Stand is in along with passenger footrest.
• Rear Brake pedal is in
• New Rear Shock and rubber Upper Rear Shock mount is in
• Carb to Carb Box to case all dremelled out for better flow. No more edges between the openings.

I also reconfigured my frame stand from using the swing arm bolt to support the upright to the long support arm to prepare for, do I dare say it, Engine install!😝

Stay tuned!

Hec

Lookitchoo go! Looks great!

Onward.

Clean work!

Update:
The engine is in! Installing the engine took me about 25 mins. It went super smooth! Next I installed the rear brake assembly. New O-rings, new Malossi brake shoes and hardware. That went smooth too! Wow things were going great! Next I installed my SIP my 2.0 Road "Sport style exhaust. That's when I ran into problems. First the exhaust wouldn't fit over the exhaust stub. This was due to the gobs of paint inside the exhaust connection. So I wire wheeled the inside of the exhaust coupling and that took care of that. Next the crappy little tin box that captures the square nut in the mounting bracket allowed the nut to spin while I tightened the bolt. The spinning nut distorted the tin box and opened it up. So I took my grinder and ground off the box. I used a regular nut on the back side and it went on fine. I tried to mount the rear tire next and that was a no go! There is no room to squeeze the tire in due to the two exhaust pipes. I even deflated the tire and it wasn't happening. So off with the exhaust, and on with the tire, then the exhaust went back on. When I ordered the exhaust, SIP assured me the rear tire could be removed with this exhaust in place. Well guess what? it won't. I don't see how? Bummer!

Hec

So next on my agenda is the installation of the fork. Before I do, I need to route the front brake cable and Speedo wire through the fork. I'll be using the SIP speed sensor in lieu of the mechanical speedo cable. It plugs right into the speedo drive gear as compared to gluing magnets to the wheel like other sensors require. The other end simply plugs into the SIP Rev Counter Speedo.

https://www.sip-scootershop.com/en/product/speed-sensor-sip-sip-rev-counter-speedometer_50000150

Anybody out there use one of these? If so please share your experience. I do have the option of using the mechanical speedo cable too.

Hec

I didn't know that something like that could work with an original speedo. It bugs me that my Stella speedo is so crappy. The problem seems to be that the gear keeps getting chewed up. When it works, it reads 8mph fast. I hope it works well for you.

Howdy all,

Here's a couple of pics showing exhaust, spare tire, and spare tire cover installed. I also fitted the tail light. Well maybe more like a mock up!😜

More to come!

Hec

I use the same sensor (disc version) on all mine. Work great. With no stress on the worm, it lasts forever. Ensure there is enough loose cable for full suspension travel. Install the plug after its in the fork, they leave it off for a reason.

Hec a friend of mine adapted the pipes by cutting them off close to the box, and adding a sleeve to each pipe with a captive nut. Then it was just a case of undoing the couple of small bolts/screws and taking the two pipes off as a unit. If you do have a flat somewhere, it's a lot more palatable to slip the pipes off than removing the whole exhaust. I thought I had photos but can't find them sorry.

Jack,
Thanks for that! I appreciate it! Ginch,

Great minds think alike! This a picture taken from underneath the exhaust. This is what I was thinking of doing. For what it's worth, I have fitted the exhaust on and off at least 10 times now. I can drop it in under 2 mins and install it in 5! So it may not be such a big deal to change a tire.

Hec

I use same. Only issue after maybe two years or so was that speedo sometimes show absolutely incorrect readings(for example 45-27-52-30-60... km/h) when front suspension works hard enough or when I want some fast acceleration.
After close look it turned out that sensor which seat in metal body starts to move freely in it.
Few drips of super glue fixed the problem.

Perhaps not in that case! I know mine is extremely tight on the stub so would be a total pain.

Yesterday a friend posted this pic complaining about the flat he had to fix. I noticed he had the twin exhaust and asked him how he did it. He said "...it's a song an dance thats for sure, and I've become very good at. Let the air out, a little twist this way, a little twist that way, bobs your uncle. Bricks or wood essential."

Ginch,

That's awesome! Perhaps you can persuade your friend to share his "song and dance" step by step! That would be great!👍

Hec

Update:

One step forward and two steps back describes installing my steering lock. The steering lock was removed for painting. So, I get the little plastic baggy out of my box of parts with the lock and key and have a look to try and repair it. That steering lock didn't work when I got the Scoot. I couldn't get it to stay engaged. When I removed it, I noticed the pin that rotates when you turn the key was half gone. Looking at pictures of steering locks on the internet it appears that pin is slotted like a screw on some locks. Some locks appear to have a pin without the slot. By the way my locks are Neiman brand and not Zadi. I was able to get needle nose pliers on the pin but could not screw it out or pull it out. Hmmm. So, I carefully drilled it out. Thankfully the pin is made of soft metal. I didn't see any screw threads in the hole the pin was in. Perhaps it was simply pressed in? So, I took a little piece of 1/8" steel rod and beveled one end and cut it to the approximate length based on pictures found on the internet. I inserted the pin, then I inserted the lock into the lock housing. Wha-la! Works perfect now! So, I removed the lock again and applied a little dab of JB weld to the hole and pressed the new pin back in.

I reinstalled my lock and when I turned the key to remove the key from the lock SNAP! The key broke off in the lock barrel. The good? I was able to get the broken key piece out. The bad? I didn't have a spare! D'oh. Making spare keys was on my to do list, just didn't get to it. In fact, I don't have a spare for my ignition either. So, I took my broken key and lock barrel to a lock smith in hopes he could set me up with a key. I wanted to keep the original locks for the steering lock and glove box if possible and only install Zadi replacements if necessary. The gentleman who helped me was an older fellow, so I thought I had a chance this guy knows what he's doing. I showed him the broken key and he says," What's this from? A FIAT?" I was amazed! I said, "You are in the right country!". I knew right there I was in good hands. He was able to make me a pair of keys for the steering lock. This key also fits my glove box. Moral of the story is, make sure you have spares! I am leaving my ignition key with him today to see if he can make me a spare. The trick is finding a blank that will work!

Next was installing the fork. First, I installed all the bling on the fender then mounted the fender to the fork. New grease cup and bearing races, and bearings all around. The fork install went smooth with no issues. The fork moves right to left smoothly and there is no play in any direction. I lifted on the fork and wiggled it and its tight without play. Next, I will install the front brake cable and speedo wire for the SIP Rev Counter 2.0 speedo. The steering lock is now reinstalled and working perfectly and does lock the fork!

Little by Little!



Hec

Howdy all,

Unfortunately not much has been done to my scoot since my last post. I have a complete set of spare keys now. So that's something accomplished. My spare time has been spent winterizing boats and jet skis and putting them away for the winter. At least the weather has cooperated as of late! I even got my outdoor Christmas decorations up!
I do have a question though. Do you guys recommend installing the two springs that came with my SIP 2.0 Road Sport exhaust? From my research, I have found out that one spring attaches to the predrilled hole in the cooling fins of my VMC Stelvio 177 cylinder. The other spring attaches to a fan cover screw using a two hole bracket supplied. What are the Pros and Cons of using the springs? Any thing else recommended for installing the exhaust? RTV sealants etc.

Thanks in advance!

Hec

The Pro of using the springs is that you won't hit a bump and have the exhaust pop off the stub.

They really do make a significant difference when it comes to holding the exhaust in place, both preserving the seal of the RTV and keeping it attached in general.

My preference is two springs, RTV and no clamp.

Howdy all!

Today I had a few hours to work on my scoot. Here is what I got done.

• Installed steering lock and hammered the 2 rivets that secure the steering lock cover. I managed not to damage anything else in the process!

• Routed new front cable and SIP speed sensor wire through the fork. Still need to install speed sensor and hook up front brake.

• Installed handle bar housing.

• temporarily installed horncast Ffor grins.

One thing I noticed is my new front brake cable set came with a 6" long cable housing for the front brake switch. My old one was about 4" long. I wonder if it was shortened by the previous owner?

Here is the front brake cable set I bought.

https://www.scooterwest.com/complete-2-part-front-brake-cable-assembly-vintage-vespa.html

Right now I have my clutch and brake lever, throttle and clutch tube washers, and 3 plastic cable bushings in the ultrasonic cleaner in preparation for install. They all have old dried up grease on them.

Stay tuned!

Hec

Strong work, sir. Looking good!

Saw this, though of hec…

why not go whole hog and do up the rim halves in red and green for the full effect?

Liking this direction…

my friend agrees

Thanks guys! I like the picture.

Yesterday I was cleaning up my levers an noticed the clutch lever was slightly bent. It had scratch marks on the ball end too, so maybe it was bumped into something.
So I straightened it out by heating it up with a plumbers propane torch and using bar soap as a visual guide to let me know the cast aluminum was heated enough. Basically you scrub bar soap on the lever and heat it with the torch until the soap turns dark brown. I simply tapped the heated lever on the workbench with a rubber hammer to straighten out the bend. I had to heat the lever twice to get'er done! After I was satisfied with the result, I dropped the hot lever in a bucket of water to quench it.

Hec

he should teach me how he do that dance since my tyre.. Aahh u know them well

Howdy all!

Got a little more done on the scoot. I installed the handlebar grips, levers, throttle and clutch tubes, respective cable pulleys, connected all control cables to cable pulleys, headlight, handle bar switches, connected all wires in the front junction box and the horn. I installed the new handlebar grips using the grip glue sold at Scooter West! That stuff is great but you have to work fast! The directions say to allow it to dry 4 minutes before taking a ride! I think I will need to pull some of the wiring harness back into the frame as I may have pulled too much out at the headset. Especially the CHT and power supply wires for the SIP Rev Counter 2.0 Speedo. We will see if the wires are too long. Time to start tucking wires in neatly.

Little by little!
Hec

Is it US spec headlight?

Roland,

Yes it is!

I will be off of work for a week after Christmas and plan to spend more time on the scoot. If I take any longer on this project I will forget where everything goes! Good thing I took tons of pictures upon disassembly!

Hec

wow, super sano.

did you chrome the HL ring? what all is new and what all is just cleaned up?

very tidy!