Modern Vespa

A few final notes...Other than buying the wrong length (should've gone with the DCE instead of the DDE), it might be a contender. I tried the DDE on 1st clip and it hits pretty hard, but still isn't long enough.

So for ROM, it'll be the BGF on 3rd clip, with 60 idle and 188 main. Maybe down to the 185 main. Luckily, jets don't take up a lot of space in my bag.

I may need more than my little 1/4 gallon tank for that. This thing is not so good on the mileage.

Weirdly - you will get better gas millage than you might think - in my experience.
Largely because - there is a lotta steady state crusing in that 1/2 throttle range.
That thing of yours will be tearing along at that much throttle - so maybe less - when on a 3 mile straight run - which there were plenty of last year.

Perhaps we need a second can.

I would say the diameter is too rich. Its tricky with PWK needles, as only the diameter is true. The L1 and Taper vary with diameter. Other carbs have more stable methods.
Drop the diameter a few sizes. Don't go beyond the needle where 3/4 goes rich.
For ROM adjust the clip at 1/4 throttle. Adjust the airscrew when fully hot. This will ensure the CA fun continues all day.

Wow. That thing sounds like a screaming chainsaw of death! Outstanding stuff.

Hah! And I'm still not fully happy with it, too!

Currently, it's all packed up, ready to go in Red for its Big Adventure.

Jack, I should have some time on Thursday to experiment. All the needles and jets are coming with me, including a BGG and BGH, so I'll give both of them a shot and see where I land.

It's close, it's just not...THERE.


Ready to go

Big Adventure Bike. SoCal named it "Red"

you can't show us how it packs together inside the bag? I feel so cheated.

WEE NEEEEED DEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTTTSSSS

yeah like is there a molded foam insert? Or did you just stuff the bag with cheetos and drop in in there and hope for the best? we have to know!!!

Im guessing its filled with crusty socks and holey under-roo's

Or
Option D) All of the above

My original plan was to foam it into the suitcase, but I didn't have nearly enough or, honestly, the right kind of foam for that (the two-part, mix it, pour it, stand back kind), so I went with packing material and crush zones using stiff packing foam and empty boxes, then used foam around those.

If I open it up again to stick more stuff in it (as opposed to just putting it in my other suitcase), I'll snap pictures, but they'll probably be kind've disappointing.

All that matters is your engine arrives safely in SoCal!

Just hope you aren't boarding a plane with that. People just wouldn't understand… Feels like I have been hauling weird metal shit all over my whole life…people lookin' at me funny…

Are you sending it off to reform school? I missed, or didn't pay close enough attention, why you're shipping it off.

Rides of March 2023 -- Almost summer in CA

That's dedication.

Quick ROM update. I swapped the needle from a BGG to a BGH, still on third clip, 188 main. Cleaned up the 1/8 throttle nicely. Still a little rich, but gives good power. Definitely better than what I had on the BGG.

Open the airscrew 1/4 and it will do, until the fun is had.

Someone's heading towards the BGM needle direction…… lol

(Chants) BGM! BGM! BGM!!

(And 45 pilot jet… lol)

*drums fingers*

well... what happened? did it make it? spontaneous combustion at speed? pulled away so quickly that it became airborne and took CM back to his home planet?

inquiring minds and all that...

https://tenor.com/bHJ7x.gif

So it's been a bit quiet on the scooter front of late. I've just been super-busy and mostly just cleaning up things here and there on the rest of the herd, getting the last of the white Stella's punch list knocked out for sale, and so on.

But things are about to get real...

I have the new Smallstate floorboard in-hand and pulled the trigger on what started out as a replacement clutch/starter interlock and turned into the first round of parts for re-doing the Smallstate's body work.

Teardown will start soon, then I can move on to the interesting stuff. Like the floorboard.


New floorboard. Who dis?

Who dis ?
Whodat!?

Gripping the handlebars white knuckle style and peaking through my other fingers while I watch this!

No need to worry. I've totally chilled out my riding style in the last three weeks.

See? That wheel is barely in the air at all!

The exploding gas can is a nice touch

Always good to see a shiny new floor! Definitely a steep learning curve the first time you do it. Does it appear to offer up about the same size? Mine did pretty much apart from the side rolled seems but managed to manipulate them well in the end.

Is the engine still on holiday?
That's a major job that only ends in full respray and total rebuild. Going to keep you busy.

What color are you going to paint her?

I try to keep it fresh, y'know. The smallie floorboards come in a couple different widths. This one is pretty darn close (it should be spot on, but repop, never quite right, yadda yadda yadda), but I'm not worried about it matching up.

Getting the legshield curve sorted so I can start cutting will be the next adventure. The existing sheet metal on this thing is super-thin. I think I used 22ga when I was patching my VBB, and the blowthrough wasn't too bad--but where it was bad, it was TERRIBLE for whatever reason. This will be relatively easy by comparison, I think. Yep. CM1 still has the engine, either held hostage until I come back and remove the stickers I left around his workshop or maybe because he's been busy earning a living. Either way, all good.

In an act of ultimate hindsight masochism, I think I'm going to try and free the rings and see if it will run one last time on the old cylinder and piston. I kind've doubt it, but it'll be an interesting experiment either way.

And, yes, full respray. The mechanicals & electrical were all sorted, so other than re-installing them after I finish, not that much work. I'm going to do a few quality of life improvements, too, while I'm at it.

For example, SoCal showed me how he installed the CDI inside the frame on Red, which was something that Vader showed him many moons ago. Cleans the motor's visible complexity and messiness up *significantly*. Given that wiring aesthetics are not one of my strong suits, that's a perfect thing to do. It's going to be Cool Grey Khaki, which is a few years old Subaru paint color. I think it'll be the bomb with blacked out running gear and trim.


Greasy, this one's for you!

Cool Grey Khaki

It will run. How long is the question. If the Nicasil is fully intact from BDC up, rings not bent and the piston has no major damage to the ring grooves, it will probably be the same performance as before.
Scores on the piston make little difference.

Like the colour but like how it is now too. Tidy wiring and clean lines, always good.

The best type of experiment.

Doubt the bore would've survived those speeds. But fingers crossed.

Hmmm…
Yes.
I did notice a certain sticker had made its way to the bathroom mirror.

Keep looking...

Thinking he should go with an old with a metal can next time... more "potential".

I used to have an old metal can that I found in a junk pile. I loved that thing. It had a lever-controlled valve, which was awesome for not overflowing tanks. Unfortunately, the movers refused to take it when we headed south and it was too big to hide in a scooter glovebox like most of my volatile chemicals. Something about fire or explosions or something, so it had to stay back in Chicago.

So I'm now back to, "leave it as it is, ride it like I stole it," and just put the resto parts into the Dragon Hoard until at least winter.

Besides, I didn't want to remove the "I need ammunition, not a ride sticker;" I now have "Safety Third" stickers that were effectively made for it; the motor is about to be headed home, where a new top end awaits; and I have a few other upgrades that I need to work out some engineering on before I do any paint work.

In the meantime, once I get the last of the last finishing touches on the white Stella so I can sell it; find the rattle in the front end of the VBB; and fix the leaky fuel tap on the Sprint, I think I'm going to go ahead and bump the other Stella to the front of the bodywork queue so it can find a new home, too.

And finally, I had the GL out today running some errands and all the time spent tuning the Smallstate was paying off, because I could instantly tell that my needle diameter, taper, and main are all too lean.

Lucky for me(?) I already have a huge collection of needles and jets for the PWK 34.

I would like to take a quick moment to thank my friends at FedEx for being such gracious hosts to my SIP package. They are giving it a chance to tour not just Bavaria, but also Belgium and France. Who knows where else it will visit before it comes the the US. Maybe Bonn or Frankfurt, which are still a bit chilly, but definitely have a different cultural vibe.

Is that a great company, or what?

Missed the weekend build schedule?

Hope it's not smallie parts…

Just wait till you get the "Delivered" notice, also in Germany...

Smallie parts, but actually more importantly for now, various punch list bits n' bobs for the rest of my herd. Been there. Done That. My package did a full tour of Suddeutschland, before returning to its ancestral spawning grounds in Gersthofen, where it was successfully delivered back to SIP.