Modern Vespa

With the afternoon break in the downpours and flooding in New England and NY state, I scooted over to the small hill town of Leyden just below the Vermont line to find some sun.

I'm not superstitious, but it's kinda crazy that I had one bike break down exactly one block from your house and another break down one block from my house. Maybe not crazy in Vespa-world.

We'll hook you up with a GS/SS; maybe even one where you can kill the engine.

Took the MotoBi out to Forks of Salmon

Wow so cool

Our younger son is here from California. Took a nice ride in the country west of Madison.
Nice to have a riding partner and get some miles on both of them.

Our (or my wife's, as I like to call it…) little '71 Lambretta J50 Special finally got a quick ride up the street after many months sleeping in the garage.

Low on fresh premix at the moment, but gunned it up to its near-max 25mph with the tap on reserve, before being called into dinner myself.

It's all original, still has running in sticker. And the Ceat tires. Needs seat properly covered and I would like to pop a 75cc kit on it eventually when other projects get finished.

Why not go all the way to the 125 star stream cylinder? Gearing?

That could work too. Haven't really looked into this yet but if a motor rebuild was in order in the near future anyway -- and the 125 jug and gearing works with all the J range cases -- then we could do it at that time.

I do think the Casa 75 kit is basically bolt-on if I heard correctly, so it doesn't require opening the cases... but it would be nice to have more speed and also lose this teeny original carb.

One argument against sooping it up to 125 is that my wife is an inexperienced scooter rider and she doesn't mind slow while she's learning, which is a reason we've kept it stock (it's so slow, it's cute.).

I also have a LI150 project here to start soon, I hope...

I always wanted a starstream. totally illogical, based on everything I've heard about Lammy smallframes vs. the Vespa smallframe. but there's something appealing there anyway.

Ain't she a beaut Clarke?

hell yeah that blue is great, good looker there

WWII era fire control tower. Guns were up near Boston, but had a 25 mile range.

I can't believe I missed the mattress store sign when I did my run up Dickerson Pike a few weeks ago. I circled back and got it today, though. I didn't go in to ask if that's the price or the recommended use.

And Creepy Julie has been on my "to get" list for a while. It's on the buttress of a railroad overpass of Gallatin Pike, which is a pretty busy road. Bonus challenge points because I had to turn facing traffic.

And the salvage yard now has a fence up, so it won't be long now before it turns into apartments/condos or maybe a mixed use development...

Ride along the lake drive and over the UW Madison campus with a short stop at the observatory.
Nice day. Low 80's with nice breeze.
We have mid 90's forecast for next week so maybe some short early morning rides.

That's not the Yerkes Observatory, is it?

My photo stop du jour was what we took to calling The Murder House, because while no one was ever murdered there (that I'm aware of), a homeless person did die in it a while back and we're ghouls like that.

Now, it's on its way to becoming something else. Probably townhouses where no one will die, but no one will actually be "alive" either.

Chanderman
The Yerkes is about an hour south of us in Williams Bay https://yerkesobservatory.org/
The one on the UW campus is the Washburn.
https://lakeshorepreserve.wisc.edu/visit/places/washburn-observatory/
Both very lovely old buildings.

Stopping in CT. on the way back from MA. About 2 hrs each way. Beautiful weather after weeks of rain, heat, and humidity. The SS is a real tourer.

A guy in the neighborhood picked up this dead '73 Datsun 620 pickup that is amazingly straight and has only surface rust. He is a pretty good mechanic and got the motor running nicely after lots of fussing, then replaced the hydraulic clutch master and slave cylinders and finally the two brake cylinders in back. So now it drives, just not much yet - it would def be a ticket magnet around here until he gets a muffler . I can relate

Another one.

Finally took the s2 out for a ride about. This is in Sebastopol at an old grocery store. Love the signage

Fab looking Lammy. Is that s2 an original paint scoot? Me thinks I see an old running-in sticker on the legshield.

Must be incredible riding up in the North Bay. My sister lives in Sonoma town, and the hills are lovely all around there.

As a 3rd gen Sebastopolian, I would absolutely love to cruise that area on a scoot! All those lovely, twisty backroads between there and the coast have been calling my name since I moved away 23ish years ago.

So many good pictures from the weekend. It makes me happy to see everyone out and putting miles on so many gorgeous bikes.

The legshield is original paint and the sticker is an old shop sticker there was a post asking for them but I can't find it. Most of it was powder coated though

Yes it is so nice to ride up here. Reminds me of a long ride i took in the hills of Florence, Italy so long ago!

It's a beaut! Must be fun. Did you get a chance to attend the LCUSA Jam in Santa Rosa? That was an amazing opportunity, and I really wanted to participate, but I don't have a road-ready largeframe Lammy yet. Too bad because I grew up out there in San Francisco and still have most of my family there.

I do have most rebuild parts for starting my '63 Li150 resto, hopefully later this year.

Today I did one of my favorite rides, Florence to Yachats, on the Central Oregon Coast. The weather was perfect, just a tad bit windy, and all the summer crowd were about and about.

There's something about standing on an overlook,seeing 180 degrees of nothing but ocean. No oil platforms, islands, nothing. Just ocean, the occasional fishing vessel, and at the right time of year, a whale or two.

What an awesome day. https://www.relive.cc/view/v8qVQW99776

Just gorgeous shots, I smell salt air! Do ppl ever surf there? I see a tiny human I think, and lots of big waves. And birds. LOTS of birds!

Gorgeous pics.

And the coast and scenery ain't bad either!

Hey, just curious if that is a longtail seat. I just ordered one earlier today from Mercato (reasonable price!) for a project… never had one before. how are you liking yours?

Thanks Terry - Yes, people surf along the coast, and rarely at this spot. It's at a mouth of a river and the coast is one big lava flow area, so it's pretty rocky, but the inlit of the river is a nice place to walk on the sand. There are other beaches that stretch for miles... Thanks Zach! I'm really liking the seat. It has a slight sloping towards the rear, which is OK, but sometimes a bit much. I love that I can slide my butt all the way back and have lots of seating positions. And it fits the lines of the 62, which I love also.

A quick post office run on the 90 to mail out the speedo to Speedo King. It's a fun city scooter! A handful of misc things to finish on it, like installing the latch on the engine door.

A quick pre-dinner run around the neighborhood w/ my neighbor to road test the rubber boot installation and carb rebuild on his smallie.

Chasing the sunset in Claremont, CA.

I did go to the Lammy Jammy, it was a fun event and our small club hosted a party and lead the rides!

Is this a Vespa? I don't know, but what do I know it certainly tested my character!

Where do I start from? Perhaps from the very first post and thread I started here: 1980 Bajaj Barnfind

So, this was a 1980 Bajaj Chetak that I acquired from a friend of mine. It had been sitting under a tree outside in Chicago's harsh weather for "a couple of years" after had been for a several, a dozen maybe years in a storage. The last owner said it ran briefly in 2008, which was 15 years ago!

For those who followed my thread, they know how I had no idea what I was getting into and how after I took off the right cowl I found that that some pieces of the engine were missing... until I was able to open the glovebox, which had a broken key in it's lock, and found the missing pieces in there!

Fast forward, and everything is the original thread, a month or two later, I was able to make it around the block riding this little beast. At the end of the day, after 100s of words of cursing and swearing, blood (no kidding) and sweat, I personally found out that this little bugger has tested and revealed my own true character!

How far was I willing to take this journey?

Did this project come in a point of my life when I was being tested?

What did I learn from it?

Well, in a few words, it did a lot for me! Why, how? It's a simple, rudimentary, outdated 2 stroke scooter for crying out loud that I purchased for a measly $500. What can it possibly do for me? What can it possibly teach me? The last question is even more important if you knew my life's story... but I'll spare you the details and go strait to the basis i.e. rudimentary black and whiteness of it all!

For someone who's ridden motorcycles since age of 14 and now in his late 40s, an owner of my 8th bike - a Harley Davidson... hmm, 9th this little beast, someone who's a software engineer in the world of artificial intelligence and crypto currencies... and I have no idea what the average scooter enthusiast or even a buff... but there has been nothing else in my life, perhaps excluding my 10 year lasting divorce that has revealed my own character better than this project! There's nothing more satisfying in bringing something back to life, something that the previous 2 owners collectively ran/rode for pultry 484 miles and left it to die in a storage and the last few years outside under a tree!

I'll spare you the details from rusty fuel tank to stuck clutch, or even shorting electrical system (all in the thread) but let you know that the project itself and more importantly the people who insisted that I do things right and spent numerous hours reading my verbose posts thought me enormously about my own character. Maybe a bit impatient, maybe too eager to ride it, maybe a bit careless... it's not that important, it's important that it served as an epiphany and revelation of oneself's true nature; in my case, the trait of not giving up and seeing through the project and do whatever it takes in order to get it done!

And getting it done, I did!

Is this passion, or love or dedication or obsession? You can only answer this for yourself. For me it was 150-200 hours of my sweat and blood no kidding (and I have some pics for you) that took me the point where I have (barely) found peace! Isn't this what we all want? Mental peace? What is is this this 43 year old piece of steel, gunk and rust that made me pursue it to bringing it back to life? Some may say, Bajaj Chetak was produced in the millions in India and it's nothing special, nor worth anything. You can even find used one in great condition for a $2-3k and still, there's nothing special about them. But what's special is dedicating hours, and again sweat and blood and above all learning about this, in the world of electrical vehicles, dying breed! Is the knowledge worth anything? When and how can I put this knowledge into the real world and have it bring bread to my table, or even pay my mortgage? I can't. But, everything happens for a reason and I believe this project came into my life at the right time, when I had just lost my job, and finalizing my (ongoing for 10 years) divorce.

I am grateful for this little beast; it provided me with the much needed distraction to go through life and reminded me of god knows this passion in me that keeps me going beyond the point where many others give up; and in this case, a few other mechanics by profession who had given up.

I am afraid of one thing - that after all these hours of work on it, I won't have the time to ride it. These "things" as many as they were produced in India, and as ordinary as they are, they as all of us need life, and in this case - it needs riding!

Today, I'm happy to say that this 1980 Bajaj Chetak is almost ready to ride! It did indeed left the house and happily did it's put put put, smokey, crunchy, hard gear shifting, glove box rattling, front brake non-functioning, no lights whatsoever working, no registration, no plates... took me successfully around the block... or 5 or 6 and brought me back home!

Cheers, and many thanks to the dedicated folks who endured my 10-11 (ongoing) pages thread!

Congrats on getting your first rip around the neighborhood. It will be a lasting memory, I'm sure. These machines often are good therapy and they usually will pay you back for your gift of much needed TLC by cooperating with you, eventually. Nice looking bike and what a great color.

So well said!!!! I think you speak eloquently for many of us and our own first encounter with these silly wonderful things, and you wear your passion on your sleeve. It's not always just the destination, pay attention and ENJOY the journey too.

PS Your picture SUCKS, it's supposed to be outdoors I think... sucks regardless!

LOL yeah it went out the door! For actual good pictures, you guys will have to wait a bit. Cosmetic appearance is important and I won't half azz it. Alternatively, I can post pics of my bruises, scars and blood related to this project

This is a thread you're probably not ready to kick off with this crowd. Blood Sacrifice is just part of the game for most of us. But if you really want to, I have a thread you can add to...

Was it you who gashed half his knee off when the engine seized up on the off ramp?