Modern Vespa

Parked my scooters years ago and just never found the time, money, motivation to get them going again. Kids/work/other projects.......Excuses, excuses.

Time to change that. Won't be building any hipo engines, but might consider some bolt on stuff for a little pep. Plan on all new wiring, seals, cables, etc. It has been quite some time since I've had a Vespa engine apart, so I'm sure I'll be using the heck out of the search function here and posting some questions.

Open to any suggestions for building a decent, reliable cruiser.

Planned order of spending money:

'74 Rally
Blue '80s P
Toss up between the silver P and the somebody decided to cut every single wire and put a Campbell's soup can piston in the cylinder Jet.

welcome back to the fray.

a lot has changed in just a few years parts wise. so many new and wonderful options abound in quality stock, trick upgrade and performance parts.

don't be shy to start a build thread we all love following along, helping where we can and of course helping spend your money! and of course pictures. we need the pics!

Nice little stash there!

Welcome to the asylum!

First off, like Greasy said, start a build thread so you can remember what you did later, plus consolidate all the discussion.

As to where to start, for the motor, the P is going to be easier to work on due to various engineering improvements over the years, but the trade-off is that the electrical may be more annoying when replacing the wiring harness.

For upgrades, the only one you *have* to consider up front is if you want to upgrade to a 60mm crank. If not, then the top end and exhaust are obviously both easy to do with the motor in the bike.

Personally, for a tourer, I'd suggest you look at a BGM 177 (my favorite) or a VMC 177 Super G. Either will do right by you and they're both reasonably priced.

A Polini Box, Sip Road 3.0, or any of the BGM or SIP's Big Boxes will sort you, exhaust-wise (you can't really go wrong with any of them unless you have ground clearance concerns, in which case the SR3.0 or the Polini is what you want).

If you decide or determine you need a new ignition, the SIP Vape has basically taken over the market because it's better than all the competing options. It just is.

Finally, for the wiring harness, I'd suggest that you go with the BGM offering that fits your bike. Good build quality, correct connectors, and accurate documentation.

Final thought, I'd say pick whichever one will get you on the road fastest. It's now late spring, but there's nothing stopping you from having a bike back on the road in a month, and we all know there's nothing like some riding to keep you motivated for the rest of the projects.

Thx everyone.

I'll probably stick with the Rally as my starter since it was a daily rider until it wasn't and mechanically not that much different than a P. I'll start a build thread for it as a place holder and for bike specific recs.

nice collection. always wanted an ochre jet. i like the call to go with the rally first. looking forward to seeing your progress!

Very cool collection ya got there! And super agree...Rally!

While pulling tanks to clean, threw the tank and carb from the Rally on the P for a quick test.

YES, Yes, yes! Great to hear a motor getting fired up after so much time. Good Man.

That's great!