Modern Vespa

Ha, no.

That track is a custom built track by Chris Dadds. It is 1/32 but is "commercial" in every way - MDF routed and braided with 3.5" centers. One lap is about 50'.

Ok, things are starting to gel now. All cabled and wired:

I think my tail light came out really bitchin.

There are these lens retainer thingies inside that were riveted in. I had to drill those out for paint and so I replaced them with these countersunk 2-56 mini-bolts. I replaced the drywall screws that normally attach the lens with some cool M4 bolts as well. Finally, I gave the inside of the lens a coat of Tamiya clear red lacquer (car model paint) as it had faded over the years.

Original dealer sticker indicates that this bike has not traveled far in 50 years.

Headset is on now.

Ghetto bearing puller and bearing press:

Well, the press is just downright fancy.
Puller is very creative as well.

I'd say that is some smart garage engineering. The bearing press is simple & smart. Nice!

oh, hello friend!



top marks on the taillight and other work thus far!!

I *thought* that looked familiar

it used to be in much better shape, but like all things time takes its toll. and the elements.

Tuna can = One of the best dealer stickers I have seen in a minute.

"Dealer Stickers" would make a good thread on its own… 🤔

I tell that to Lenny all the time.

Do it!!

My painter was Conejo Valley Auto Body (CVAB) out in Thousand Oaks - Vince Jr. & Vince Sr. Vince Jr. runs the shop day-to-day while Vince Sr. is like the retired guy who just can't stay away from the shop too long. Vince Sr. used to paint for Doug, which is why I think Doug referred them to me.

Even though I am 100% happy (and relieved) with my paint job, I would still only give it like a high B+ just because they missed some things. Like my headset is a repro and the casting wasn't totally finished underneath and they didn't bother to finish it out before painting. Maybe they thought it wasn't gonna show or something - I don't know. Regardless, I would recommend them all day long and my bike is gonna come out totally bitchin because of them.

It looks cool, but those Allen screws in the taillight lens look a bit out of era. I'm guessing they should be slotted round head screws.

There's a lot of stuff on this bike that's out of era, like the reservoir front shock or the sticky tires. I'm not out to recreate history, just to build a cool bike.

And I replace all my hardware when I can.

That's cool. The paint looks great.

There's a lot of stuff that's not completely finished out like that on older vehicles. They probably thought that was intended/OG and left it alone accordingly.

Harbor Freight, right? I bought that puller and splitter set last week to fix my VW bus alternator.

You get the prize for improvisational freestyle wrenching. Ah, the crazy things we do with cheap tools that we wouldn't do with our good ones.

I have a set of HF body hammers. No good for body work, but perfect for things you should never do, like hitting a hammer with another hammer. Indiscriminate brute force and ignorance in a vacuum formed plastic box…

Nobody's going to be peering under your headset to inspect the paint.

I would replace the tail light screws with slotted though.

I love that bright white paint. Nice work overall, dont sweat the underheadset paint; doubtful anyone will ever notice.

Ok, I haven't updated this in a while but I haven't stopped working.

Motor is in, cables trimmed and adjusted, header mocked up now.

Some tuning notes from the previous owner:

Before & after electrical:

I painted the motor shroud parts. I use VHT motor primer - my favorite color right now. I find this to be extremely durable on its own and is pretty good at hiding the imperfections and dents. The extra hole with a grommet in it is for a temperature sensor.

Won't you use a spare?? It mounts where you put the regulator. I think it was fine where it was...

Thanks, I won't. First, it didn't come with one. And I'm really just going to use this to bounce around town - no rallies or anything. So I don't really feel that exposed or high risk.

Looking great! What kind of exhaust are you using?

I don't know what it is. It's got some numbers stamped in it but the weld jobs are a little bit ghetto so it could be partially home-made.

I'm gonna post a close-up of it because I'm gonna wrap it in header wrap.

Kind of looks like a sip road for the SS. Does it look like this one?

https://www.sip-scootershop.com/en/product/racing-exhaust-sip-road-20_24163000

lookin' good man!

I LOVE the dealer sticker.

Your bike looks amazing.

Exhaust is probably made by Marco (Pipe Design). Looks like the Silent-Box Torque 220. He uses original exhaust as a base. I have a Cobra 220 made by him and I love it...

http://www.pipedesign.de/auspuffanlagen/px-200/silent-boxtorque220.html

Here are pix of my header. It appears homebrew as it has a stock muffler with a Piaggio part number on it.

I'm confused. Did you delete the previous post I replied to??

Now, it's like I predicted the future...

My internet was buggy and your post hadn't shown up yet in California time when I deleted my post.

Then when I reposted it your post was already there so there was nothing I could do.

I think we're back on track now though.

are you going to use the sip speedo it came with? that has a temp gauge built in....

I am. Even though I jettisoned that turn signal system, my headset is still a rat's nest. So I'm taking it baby steps with the electrical.

Dude, your bike is gonna come out so bitchin. It's just what I wanted.

Looks pipe design to me too. Nice tape job. Unfortunate the tape starts from the header. The downpipe shouldn't be insulated until round the bend to avoid over heating issues.

Is this really an issue? I've got cables right up at the top of the header that I'm trying to take care of.

Anyways, I've done it before and never had an issue.