Modern Vespa

You're an animal! It only took you less than 3 months, incredible. Looks great, too bad you aren't riding that scoot at ROM.

I'm pretty sure I set some sort of personal speed record with this project. I started it the week between Christmas and New Year's and have just worked steadily away at it all winter.

I still have the punch list stuff to do, plus paint touch ups, and I may actually rip and re-do the wiring harness.

And the Boo-Badge logo. Can't forget the Boo-Badge.

Wooohooo! Great job!

Nice work Chandler. You're getting good at this.

What a transformation…!

I noticed you have a lambda sensor on your exhaust. Is it hooked up to a single gauge? I've been wondering about using one to check jetting. Is it worth having and do you like yours? Haven't heard anyone talking about them on NSM.

The front shock and fork look fantastic

Thanks, Mike!

Let's not go all Crazy-Talk. I don't want people start to expecting things from me, but I do try. The gauge is not hooked up at the moment, but I've used it to good effect in the past. It's better at showing change than exact values due to how resonance affects mixture. It's really good for providing feedback on specific jetting changes, but you still have to do the fine tuning with more traditional approaches.

I've done a couple videos using the AFR to demonstrate specific tuning behaviors, too. It can be pretty interesting for that.

So here's the obligatory First Start Video, too-short throttle cable and all.

And, lest we forget, let's remember the Smallstate's humble beginnings...

lol… what a bag of bolts when you first got it…

So awesome to see the progression.

Hamtastic news!

Congrats. The Boobadge is an instant classic.

That really did come out nice. The Booberry on the legshield gives it an initial, "aw how cute" kind of vibe, but the fork lets you know it means business.

Then you start it…

Shakedown progress continues. I loosened up the fork bearing nut a little, which makes it rideable. But I also managed to reinstall the headset crooked on the fork. So what one hand giveth, the other hand fuckupeth away.

Also had the throttle stick when one of the carb's vent tubes got stuck in the carb mouth. That went from "annoying" to "problem" because I forgot to find the kill switch short so I could reconnect it.

Fun fact: it's really hard to kill a tuned motor by stopping while in gear. I confirmed that the rebuilt and oil-free rear brake will lock up the rear wheel, though. So...win?

I'm looking forward to getting the gremlins worked out and finally being able to put this thing through its paces, but all indications are currently positive.

Night and day difference. You, sir, are a legend in your own time.

Gracias!

I'm now into the "fixing annoying things" stage. Little, but significant, things like the front disc is dragging a little, the headset doesn't want to stay straight/centered, the fork still needs to be a tiny bit looser, etc.

The new primary gear is seeming like a really good change, though. Second gear is still dangerous, but it's at least usable. And fourth is now a much better option for 45-50, especially uphill.

I'll get there. At least I'm now able to ride it.

That is a bad ass little scooter.
Gracious.

Fix the shit that will kill u - or the engine.

Love it!

Wow great vids this thread has been excellent!

Looks great CM!

What motor is in this again?

Thanks, y'all!

As we all know, the first 90% of a scooter project takes 90% of the time, and the last 10% takes the other 90%.

Getting the fork gremlins finished up is top priority right now, and not just because it's a safety issue. Every time I ride, I worry that I somehow torqued the frame and it'll never be right, even if I can objectively point to reasons for each symptom. I won't be able to enjoy the bike until that question is resolved. Or I get to go shopping for another smallie frame.

I'm at a bit of a loss what to do with the headset-to-fork misalignment. It's new since the rebuild and I'm just not quite sure what to make of it since nothing should have changed. I didn't think there was that much play in that whole bolt-through-notch-in-fork design for it to really be "off."

What am I missing about that? Is it just three cases of User Error in a row now? (entirely possible, considering who's working on it, after all)

I am eventually going to re-do the whole wiring harness/electrical based on what I learned fabricating the current one. It's in there, but pretty much completely missed on a key design goal, which was to NOT have a bunch of connectors right under the speedo hole. I have a plan how to eliminate several connectors, period, both in the junction box and the headset, which is worth doing a 2.0 version to me.

As to the motor, Ginch, it's a Quattrini M1L60S top end with a Quattrini M3-150S exhaust that was designed to match the cylinder. And, after the Great Crank Explosion, Quattrini cases. 51mm stroke, 144 cc's. too many horsepower. (Just kidding. There's no such thing as too many horsepower )[/url]

Spitball... Did you remove the lower bearing race and reinstall it after paint? I was off on the SS lower race by a few mm and it sure made for a squirrelly ride until it was fixed.

I did. Replaced it with a tapered bearing. I'm 99% certain it's in there correctly, though.

If that's what it turns out to be, I'll be annoyed with myself, but not complaining.

How'd you diagnose it? Any way other than dropping the fork to look?

Mark (life saver) noticed the gap between my headset and nat the column looked too small. Compare that gap to your other scoots.

Otherwise... AFAIK.. you have to drop the fork. See if you have grease on the lower column race 360* like all the way around. If ya have none or just some on one side it needs to be reset.

Mine was at a tiny angle and the back of the race had zero grease. The difference in handling was substantial once fixed and the column bolt was way easier to install after.

Can you post some pictures of the front end so we can see how it all looks? Including the gap from the fork to the fork stops.

Thanks for that, I did go through the thread to find out what it was first. So is this the "new" 144 or old? I read that SLUK article and was pretty impressed by the figures he's now achieving! Very interested to see how you'll avoid the headset rat's nest. Very interested!

This is the "new" 144, the "S" variant. Puts out about 33 HP, both on the spec sheet and the GSF dyno. The M200S allegedly does 44 HP, which is kind've hard to imagine. I worked it out based on lessons learned. Talked it through with CM2 on the phone today and it's basically the same way he solved it in the Unicorn, so I think it'll work. More to come on that.

Also, I got the disc brake and fork/headset alignment sorted today, but it's still not riding as well as it should, which means time to do a more serious fork bearing race inspection next. Meh.

Such a cool ride. I doubt you tweaked the frame during your welding repairs. Just a gremlin to shake out, which I'm sure you will. It's been a treat watching it come together.

Absolutely cool Vespa!

Where did you get this sticker?

Thanks!

They were a fundraiser that was run when Russia first invaded. I got them for my donation at the time.

It is very pleasant to see how many vespisti supports Ukraine. Thank you mate!

I support you all the way back to the 1991 borders!

To assuage my bent frame paranoia, I got the laser out again and checked frame alignment, and it's still dead straight.

Next up will be dropping the fork so I can inspect the bearing races. I'm not looking forward to that, but if it finally resolves the issue, I'm not complaining.

Can you take 2 pics for us?

1. Side on at the steering column to look at the gap between the headset and the frame.

2. take the horn out and snap a pic(s) of where the fork lands on the steering stops.

I'll do it tonight or more likely in the morning.

Looks like a bit of a lean here?

If so, that would support the crooked bearing race theory, so that's not the worst thing in the world.

It may also just be a tiny bit more leveling is needed because the right side of the centerstand has bent from kicking over a high-compression motor.

For the moment, bear with me as I'm still working through the Seven Stages of Fork Dropping:
Denial (I *know* I got those things fully seated!);
Guilt (I should've tried harder to get the races seated);
Anger (fuckin' bearings...they all suck!)/Bargaining (Maybe if I just tighten them down more or ride it a little, they'll shift into place);
Depression (I'll never get them done right. What's the point?);
Reconstruction (I have a plan, I just have to execute
Acceptance (It's just an hour or so of work, and I'm getting pretty good at bleeding brakes)

Pretty sure that belongs under Denial! Would for me at least.

*Spitake*

Okay...snuck out to the workshop and got some pictures of the fork and stops.

I used an 11mm wrench as an improvised feeler gauge and determined that the stop is a millimeter or two lower when the fork is centered than then its at the edges.

Perhaps a clue?

Since you're in the Bible Belt and the pipe on the Boobadge wails like a Banshee, would it be considered a Holy Terror as you're ripping around Nashville?

Nah, this is the land of stupid trucks and cars with stupid-loud exhausts. I don't even rate compared to a lot of the crap that rolls around here.