Modern Vespa

Needed to time my Li but couldn't wait for delivery of a proper buzzwangle and wanted try that method over the degree disk which I've used in the past. The thought came to me you can take a small digital angle finder and zip tie it to the flat spot on your flywheel puller and then follow the basic buzzwangle instructions. Worked perfect as confirmed with a strobe.

Don't want to take business from buzzwangle but maybe it could help someone in a pinch.

Brilliant adaptive use.
The Klein level is a huge bargain

I have the same inclinometer, and use it in a similar way for timing. Definitely a bargain, with a bit of ingenuity to make it work.

Finding TDC with an Inclinometer

Don't feel guilty, great minds think alike, etc. Chandler posted this almost five years ago. Somehow I remembered it before I built my last motor while I was still ordering Vespa stuff so I could try it without waiting if I ordered one of these too. I've found it to be very accurate and it is now a favorite tool with so many other uses. Thankyou Chandler!

My flywheel has a small raised post next to one of the fins so I decided to mark it as my reference. I began with a piston stop to locate TDC and marked it also in white on the fan shroud. The digital inclinometer is held on by strong magnets and naturally I found one of the cheapest ones on Amazon at thirteen bucks.


Here we see zero degrees lined up to TDC. The steel chisel stuck in there is a brake to hold position on the flywheel. I made a small piece of angle w/ magnets to mount the indicator to.



Now rotate 20 degrees, the mark from my first pass was a little off. I erased it and set a new one a little to the left.



And my timing now, strobed after adjusting. The camera & fin angle makes it look further off than it is. I like the white dots on there, easy to see w/ the timing light and no fussing around taking stuff apart.