Modern Vespa

When I got the VL1 the engine was seized - had been for decades. I eventually got the piston out of the barrel using a block of wood and a mallet to drive it out. Somewhere along the way, though, the skirt below one of the piston ports (and I may or may not be using the right term) snapped off. Now there's a rectangular port on one side of the piston, and a rectangular notch on the other side if that makes sense. This is the factory VL1 piston, 2 ports and the deflector top.

At that time, it was difficult to find VL1 parts. I described the problem to a guy at one of the larger shops - it may have been Scooterworks, may have been somewhere else. The mechanic there said to just use the piston as is, it would probably perform better anyway. I'm not a 2-stroke guy, so I have no idea whether this is true or not. The engine runs fine… as far as I can tell. I have nothing to compare it to.

For those of you who actually have some clue about these things, now that I can easily order a new proper replacement piston, should I? It doesn't seem like an undue burden to have to pull the head and jug to replace it, as long as I don't need to remove the engine from the scooter to do it.

Should you order just a piston? Nah. I'd wait until it's needed and then buy a new top end. Technology has improved a lot from the deflector style piston design that the price of a new old piston and a cylinder bore is about the same price as a reputable new style top end.