Modern Vespa

Some of you all may have seen my post about the $5 Vespa I picked up earlier this summer. Well, it has been a memorable few months. My kids absolutely love it and ride it all over town. Every time it goes out people smile and wave. And so far it has been totally dependable...pretty darn good for having sat 5 years and only a carb clean to get it going again.

So here lies my minor dilemma. I want to go through every nut and bolt on it over the winter, complete tear down and rebuild. That's just what I do when I get an older machine. So the paint is a bit dodgy and comes off in pieces now and then. Do I strip it and start from fresh or keep the patina as is? I'm a serial buyer and seller of motorcycles but my kids say this will never leave the family, so keep that in mind.

And I'm still not exactly sure what I've got. The owner before me had it shipped from India, I know that much. The title say VBB150 but the DMV in Kentucky didn't have a clue what it was when registered. From my minor research, shouldn't it be a VBC? The VIN is V462I2T60500 if that helps.

I've got a garage full of motorcycles but everybody has the most fun with this.

I'd say Just Ride it. It already looks great and if I had to pick the most common cause of "basket case" scooters showing up for sale, it's people who attempted a complete teardown and then never finished it.

if y'all are enjoying it (and you definitely seem to be ), it'll get its fair share of bumps and bruises over time anyways. Making it all pretty will just make people afraid to have Maximum Fun with it.

You might consider rebuilding the motor if you're concerned about anything that's worn out from a bearing or seals perspective. You could maybe throw a better top end on it and an ignition/electrical upgrade, but past that, I'd just roll with it.

Split the difference and check the torque/inspect the scoot this winter. Pick another bike to tear down or learn how to tile a shower if you're bored. Don't mess with a running scoot till you need to.

If there's nothing wrong, just ride it.

Just thought of this, but if you HAVE to wrench this winter, do some research into a hydraulic steering dampener. Will make steering/turning/ handlebar wobble so much nicer!

Agreed.

This......

You should do basic maintenance and cable adjustments, check torque on important bolts etc, but resist a full teardown for now and keep on loving what you have. It seems to me that you need another old Vespa, maybe of about the same vintage, but that needs a little more work so you can learn more about these and discover how much fun they can also be to ride without a sidecar! Where are pulling the VIN from? According to https://www.scooterhelp.com/serial/ves.frame.serial.numbers.html
If the VIN was VBB2T*60500*, it wouldn't exist, but if VBB1T*60500* it would be a 1961 VBB 150

It is likely a VBB or equivalent, VBC is a newer 'Super' model that has more 'squared off' lines on the cowls & mudguard.

This is the reply from Scooterwest regarding this machine and it's the best answer I've gotten so far...


"Well basically you have a scooter that may have been built from multiple Vespas.

Based on the origin story you most likely have a BAJAJ scooter with some ingenious bodgery.

We are going to ask that you proceed with caution when working on the scooter as there are unforeseen variables that may make it impossible to get you the right parts the first time around.

The good news is the carburetors are all pretty standard for the most part. We'd only need the model number off the carb to assure the correct rebuild kit."

Ride it like you stole it 'til the newspaper and chicken wire falls out.

There you go, if you'd like to do something useful this winter, I'd be tempted to undo the sidecar, drop the motor out, pull the gas tank and lay it over on cushions to do a full frame inspection from inside and out. Chances are good it is just a single frame, but any dodgy repairs or serious corrosion damage you should know about before you go any further. Chances of shoddy repairs to a damaged or worn out frame are much greater than multi frame concoctions in my experience.

My scooter is also an Indian Vespa. Bajaj was a licensed Vespa factory up until they weren't, and then they started selling the same scoots under the name Bajaj. Your VIN checks out as a 1967 Vespa 150 according to this website:
http://indianscooterownersclub.com/cgi-bin/vespa_chassis_dating.pl

If yours has a round rear fender instead of a squared-off one, I'd guess that your body is (or was originally intended to be) identical to a VBA body. What I've found is that the parts are off brand. The carb is probably Spaco, and the cylinder head probably has RAMP stamped on it (if you take it off), the clutch cover has an R on it instead of the P in a shield. It all works.

I just ride mine, it's fine.

A note: I had to replace the coil's dubious mounting bracket because it was brittle and broke. I expect the clutch arm is made from the same metal as the coil mounting bracket, but it seems to be holding under greater stress, so it's still on the bike. If your coil bracket looks like the attached, consider fashioning a new bracket. FWIW, I had to replace that coil as well.

just ride it.

do all the safety stuff and basic maintenance, but otherwise leave it alone (with the exception of a steering dampener).

if you start picking at that thing, you're gonna go spiraling down the rabbit hole and the next thing you know it'll be exploded view and it won't even be close to being back together until well after riding season, or probably the one after that. I'd bet ham on it.

you want to tinker, buy another one to fart around on. or buy a motor and build it for that.

It's interesting how she is being told to ride it when it is most likely a bodge that could be dangerous to ride. Maybe a tear down would reveal all sorts of questionable stuff.

Scooter West seems to be veering towards caution which seems very logical, especially for a business.

Made me remember this. Beyond that, what everyone else said. Make it safe and ride it.

That is excellent advice and information, thank you very much. And yes, I'll take the sidecar off this winter and explore the undercarriage. It was apart when I got it and it seemed OK, but I quickly threw it together soon after.

On the plus side, it may be a bitsa Vespa, but I had it insured last week and they valued it at $12,500 should it be wrecked or stolen. I could get a few more with that kind of payout! (not anticipating any issues).

The next time you have the gas tank out, I would stick your phone down into the frame tunnel and get some pics. You will be able to see any scary welding or rot. Based on that, I would decide whether restoring it was worth it. You don't want to strip the whole thing down only to find that repairing it correctly would not be worth it.

The other consideration is how long it takes to do a full restoration. It always takes longer than expected. I am doing a full resto on a '77 P200e. It's been in limbo in the final sanding stage for awhile now. It doesn't bother me because I have another scooter to ride and all the parts are organized, labeled and ready for when I get back to it.

I should have added to my "Just ride it" comment with doing the usual safety/maintenance checks, but all the smarter people than me covered that. I will mention, however, that riding with a hack is a whole new experience as you are discovering. You are going to be going thru front tires, brake shoes and clutches quicker than a normal scoot without the sidecar, so keep that in mind too. I helped a local set up his sidecar Stella rig with lower gearing to help out on the hills around us. It has a top speed of about 42 now, but it pulls great and he loves it.