Modern Vespa

Yes. Even parked up people will pull faces and point at it.

yea that headset is more like a birdsnest! so compact and interwoven! So little space for all those connections....Its loookin A++

Work continues. Some motor and electrical detail:

I don't like those hairpin thingies as hinges so I replace them with hardware. This is M3 hardware for the gas cap:

I'm almost running out of excuses not to start this thing!

I'm out of excuses not to start this thing!

Fixed it for ya

Give it a go!

this collective of sickos demands a running riding driveway video by end of day!

also dat 2002

As opposed to me:

"I have no electricals, no license plate, no speedo, the rear brake isn't hooked up, the front brake sucks, the tires are older than my college age daughter, and the cables need adjustment. Let 'er rip!"

DO IT!!! or we'll kick your SS

Startup is just the beginning of phase II work.

Phase II? More like that's when I put it in the rotation of daily riders!

How can you resist starting it? I start engines on the stand, after they're in the scoot, and at least a couple of times a day while putting the rest of the scoot together.

Ok, so I got this bad boy started. No vid so you'll just have to take my word for it. Bounced around my neighborhood a couple of times with the cylinder head temp hitting 235 (SIP digital speedo), so tentatively I feel pretty good.

But . . . I've got a big oil leak at the shifter box. So, coupled with a couple of other issues that are on chandlerman's list, it's back on the workbench this weekend.
________________________________________________________________

Finally, a question for electrical experts. My lights brighten/dim in conjunction with my rpm's. I would have thought that 12 volt conversion w/battery would have corrected this. What should I look for?

The battery should be carrying the system during low output periods. Given that the lights come up with the rev's you're getting some amount of power out of the stator.

What's the voltage on the DC side of the regulator, both at idle and at RPM's? It should be between 13.2 and 14 volts in both cases.

You should also confirm that the battery is both charged (check voltage after the scoot's been sitting for a few minutes. It should be 12.7-13.2v) and actually connected up to the system while it's running.

If it's not connected, I'd start by checking if the fuse is blown. That can happen a lot if dealing with wiring while the battery is hooked up.

If that's not it, confirm the physical connection--while running, compare voltage both on the battery and at a bulb and confirm they're they same. If not, then the battery isn't actually part of the circuit.

I don't know which regulator type you have, but there was a discussion on here a little while back and the models where the regulator connects in the battery, if the bike is run without a battery, it can damage the regulator. You'll have to dig for the thread, unfortunately.