Modern Vespa

I picked up this 1963 VBB2T a while ago. It has no spark. It has all Asian ignition system on it. I got in contact with Scooter West in California. I purchased a whole OEM ignition system. I can not for the life of me find a flywheel puller for the Asian flywheel. I believe it is a 28mm left hand thread female puller. I have tried 4 different pullers now.
Does anyone know how I can get this flywheel off. It doesn't matter if I destroy it since I have a new OEM one to replace it.

Is there a cir-clip seated in the inner ring of the flywheel? If not, is there a groove for a cir-clip?

Please post some clear, in-focus pics so we can get a better idea of what you are dealing with?

Don't see a clip. Has a keyway slot.

Pictures of the entire bike, and a little more information (if you have it) about the provenance will help.

Even if it's not a self-removing flywheel, it's not be a lefthand thread on the puller. If it is, there's more going on that just a stuck flywheel.

take a pic of the whole flywheel so we can see what the flywheel looks like. Then maybe someone can identify which flywheel puller you need.

Also, if you don't care about possibly destroying it, you can try a three-armed gear puller. You can get one from the auto parts store for like $10. It may require a little grinding to get the hooks to fit.

Sadly, I think that you're going to find a lot more going on than just the ignition on this thing.

All I know is its a 1963 Vespa 150 VBB2T. I bought the flywheel puller from scooterwest and it did not fit.

Here are more pics

that CDI is a new one to me. It's definitely not a (vintage) Vespa.

Yeah I was gonna say from the close up of the fly threads it looks like you just need a standard P fly puller tool. It looks like someone swapped a P or Stella engine into that frame.

https://www.scootermercato.com/Scooter-Parts/Factory-Tools/T-48564

I ordered that puller. The puller I got from scooter west is a 28mm but the treads look finer then what is on the flywheel.
What is a P or Stella engine?

If there is a slot for the snap ring on the flywheel you can get a few from the hardware store and fit it. My vbb was missing the snap ring and I was able to get it off that way.

He posted a picture up near the top that shows it's a threaded flywheel, so some sort of later motor. No idea what yet, though.

Right. No threads on the VBB flywheel.

Couple thoughts.
1. SIP sells a range of the screw in pullers - in all sorts of thread sizes. Scooter Mercato can order it for you.
2. If you don't really care - another option is to drill three holes in the face, tap them - and put bolts in that you can then pull with a cheap puller from harbor freight or the like.

Look for a number on engine casing near pivot bolt on front of motor.

https://scooterhelp.com/serial/vespa.serial.locator.html

It doesn't matter what is stamped in the motor of an asian resto, they stamp them with whatever they want. It's a p/px style motor that uses a p/px style crank, that uses a p/px style flywheel, that needs a p/px style flywheel puller. The real problem is that fact that the threads are a little damaged and that's why a p/px flywheel puller will have a hard time going in. What people have to remember is, THEY DON'T SEND THEIR BEST STUFF OVER HERE FOR US TO BUY. They send us damaged stuff they don't need for themselves. If you can't get the puller to work, you may just have to destroy the flywheel with a large three jaw puller and when you order a new flywheel you will not be ordering a VBB flywheel because that is not a VBB motor.

As mentioned above,

- Get a 2 or 3 jaw puller (3 would be better)
- make sure puller jaws are behind flywheel fins
- Tighten puller to taught and then some
- Tap puller end lightly with light hammer
- If it didn't pop give the puller another half turn or so and repeat.
- It'll come loose

The flywheel may be damaged -- that's OK as you're going to want to put another one on.

Where in WI are you?

Agreed.

turbo, I'm going to rip the band-aid off and lay it out for you in case you haven't already seen the pattern. Think of it as a Scooter Intervention.

The elephant in the room is that this thing is a total bodge. It's obvious even without pictures of the full bike, and it's about time to call it as such.

Whatever kind of motor it is, that crank looks utterly thrashed, the CDI is something so random I don't see how it *could* work with a Vespa ignition, it probably has more bondo in it than an auto parts store, and until it's been gone through by someone knowledgeable, you can't even know how bad the situation is, much less begin to work out how to fix it or if you should even try.

If the frame and body panels are worth saving, maybe the engine cases, then that's something you can rebuild on. I'm not saying it's not do-able--that's what Charlieman did with his Unicorn, and that thing is a beast now, but it's a beast that he's completely rebuilt and then some, to the point that other than the frame and maybe the engine cases, I'm not sure there are any original parts left on it.

So show us some pictures of the bike as a whole, plus some good shots of the entire motor, and we can begin to tell you where you sit to the extent that's possible via the Internet.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it is what it is.

The ignition system was pretty common long ago. I ran it on my Lambretta many moons ago. The gray box is the CDI/ignitor -- there is no internal coil (to the CDI). The CDI box sends the signal to the external coil (which can be seen at the back of the engine).

In its function it works just like the Ducati boxes.

Here's a new one for sale

https://www.ebay.com/itm/393672112916?hash=item5ba8afbb14:g:U~oAAOSwUoZhgpdg

The flywheel is likely a Bajaj knockoff.

Same setup as the LML/Stella? Now that you point out the coil, it looks pretty similar.

"Same setup as the LML/Stella? Now that you point out the coil, it looks pretty similar."

Not sure, I never worked on one of those. That said, it wouldn't surprise me. It is -- I am pretty sure -- of Bajaj origin, so same part of the world at least.

I never had a problem keeping this system going. I shifted to the Ducati boxes when they became much more available again.

That said - I agree this is a bodge engine for sure. It's going to be a mess, but it might also be a good learning experience.

OP -- I'd say if you want to get this running quickly and easily find a good used engine and swap it in.

no need to go to SIP...

https://www.treatland.tv/flywheel-puller-set-p/puller-set.htm

five out of five tacos, would recommend.

dump some other nonsense in your cart that I *know* you'll need and get free shipping.

That *is* a smokin' deal on those pullers. That's like 1.5x the price of a SIP puller, plus free shipping versus the typical SIP "Send moar monies!" BS half the time.

no lies.

besides that kit I have the K&L 4-way cross one (which sucks btw) 5 double sided randos and 6 other specific pullers.

literally, if I can't pull your flywheel then it doesn't deserve to come off without the violence and really, nobody wants that.

oh, and as an aside the snout of your crank looks like a bag of butts. so take that into consideration while forging ahead.

Treatland is so great.

Treatland... come for the good prices... stay for the reviews.

I have lost count of the number of random pullers I have at this point. The worst part is that with most of them, even the ones from quality sources, are made from whatever grade of steel most closely matches Brie in terms of texture and hardness.

Here are some pics

I really don't see any areas that are badly rusted and been covered up. The frame looks like its ok. If this isn't the correct motor for this machine then I assume all the OEM ignition parts I bought for it won't work.

They painted over the tunnel rust. You can see the paint bubbly in the edges of the tunnel under the tank. I'm sure closer inspection of that bike you will find more.

More pics

From Scooterhelp (if the numbers are correct)

https://scooterhelp.com/serial/ves.motor.serial.numbers.html

Comes up as a 1984-1990 PX150E motor.

That's great! If the engine cases are in decent shape, it's a faster engine than the original VBB one. It's got different port configuration.

The ignition system you bought might be wrong though.

You might be able to save that flywheel and put a Ducati electronic ignition stator/CDI on it. The flywheel looks like a version of the Ducati one, but with stamps I don't recognize.

It's got a Piaggio Badge, then a hex one with BB?

What is the part number in the square?

It looks a lot like this LML flywheel. If it was built in the 1980s, that would make sense that it also has the Piaggio stamp. That would be when LML was under license with Piaggio.

https://www.scooter-center.com/en/flywheel-piaggio/lml-nos-2750g-vespa-px80-px125-small-diameter-oe180mm-flat-fins-without-elestart-3334084

I would recommend looking that body over very carefully. We can already see some serious rust under the paint, and not even in areas that water would pool.

Pull that motor out and remove the other side case half then you will know what you are dealing with. If you get the spark fixed, there is no guarantee the compression is good enough to start, then there is no guarantee the shifting cross is good you get the picture. I worked on one of these and the thing ran before I opened the cases and saw the horror. Basically a new motor and cases were needed, I think I salvaged the gears and rest was replaced. The body weighed like 25 lbs more than my VBB- bondo weight. It is now on display at a restaurant

I'm gonna say this, and you are not going to like it- From one cheese head to another it should be on display somewhere and not ridden.

Clean the gunk out of the flywheel thread, get some penetrating lube down the crank and whack the end with a rubber mallet. Repeat. You'll end up whacking a bit harder each time.

What kind of floor rails are those, I can't remember seeing all metal ones? Wouldn't those get really slippery when wet?

As previously mentioned, please let someone have a look inside that frame, as it appears to have deep rust on seams, where it appears to have been welded together. It's got numerous features of a bodge, sadly.

I'm amazed how much it faded, but pink/red are known to fade, so guess its been outside.

The welded holes where fuel tap is sure shows signs of bodginess.
Someone may be able to help with which frame this part is by location of original holes