Modern Vespa

Just threw down the deposit on a '79 P200E! Haven't picked it up yet, but here are some pics. I did the design myself.......just kidding. I plan to paint it sometime this winter.

Good lookin' P - I'm not a fan of the pin striping though...

Is that paint or decals? If it's decals I'd just take them off, the paint looks good from here.

Oh, and if you don't mind - how much did you pay for it??

Heh, thats EXACTLY what I said. "Uh....WTF is the design? Is that removable?"

Unfortunately, its painted on. I plan to repaint anyway - I want a nice bright red, dragon red maybe?

I paid $2,200, which was a bit more than i was willing to spend. But it looks like its in good shape, and the engine is solid, which is really important to me since I'm a novice at 2-strokes.

I'm not a fan of pinstriping, per se ... but i think it looks ok on this bike. I'd leave it for now unless you decidedly hate it....gives it some character..

We'll see til I get to see it in person. Character...hmmm....I'm not a very flashy kinda guy. I can see my dad riding this back in the '60s, with his bell bottoms, 'stache, and wile free flowing hair. He actually did own a couple pseries back in teh day - he is amuzed that I'm interested in getting one.

And is that pinstriping? I'm not even sure what it is.

I'd call it pimpstriping -

LOL. True dat. That is some character.

Pinstriping ...like, done by hand by the hot-rod guys. It's an artform ...and quality pinstriping can set you back some.

Anyways ... DON'T just repaint it right off. Ride it for a while. You're inevitably going to drop it, lay it down ...or do something that's going to mess it up.

Quit trying to spend money with talk of upgrading and painting - get in the saddle and ride for a while!

Hah - that's a given, I will def ride it around. I don't plan on garaging it for atleast another month or so, depending on the Boston weather. It could snow tomorrow so who knows!

Pinstriping...huh. Had no idea it.

Oh, any tips for first time shifty rider?

All I know is to keep my hand over the clutch just in case of engine seize.

Anything else?

Take it a to a parking lot to practice, you'll get the hang of it in no time.

From there it's just a matter of practicing to the point of it becoming second nature.

It's fun, you'll love it.

make your default "freak out" panic action be to pull in the clutch, rather than brake. ( granted, don't coast into a parked car because i told you to ) ... but i've seen a few people go for the brakes when the engine started revving, and it couldn't hold back the power of the engine when it's revving to the moon.

So, just worry about the clutch lever as your primary savior.

be really gentle in the first 2 gears...release the clutch slowly. better to stall out while learning than pop a wheelie and scrape your bike up. I almost made that mistake a few times. a guy I know bought a stella and immediately laid it down like that. says he did $1200 worth of damage, but that could be an exaggeration.

Totally agree. Don't paint it. You may be able to take it to a paintstriper and get the striping removed (they may have some tricks up their sleeve) and then just buff & wax it.

Good purchase!

dude, total blank canvass, and i'm not referring to the paintjob. it screams for "upgrades"!!! 377cc Godzilla piston and cylinder, forged 15.1:1 AirVice head, shotpeened rz350 gears (you'll have to get a new engine case, i recommend Terminator Skull brand cases), inverted oil-filled forks with magnesium triple clamp, Assgrabber brand suction cup seat, coil by E=MC^2, and airbrakes from a 747 to haul you back to a stop from a gps verifiable 81.4 mph!

congratulations, dude. Finally found yourself a P.

don't forget the johnson rod conversion.

8 or 12 inch?

Best wishes for many years of good riding.

Al

That's a good looking P.

paintstripper? Where do you guys come up with these inventions? Seriously, you guys amaze me. I don't need to be macgyver, when I have all of you.

Will take a look and report back with some higher rez/better pictures.

if that's painted pinstriping, leave it. p's need all the individuality they can get, and i personally think it looks cool. it's definitely "period" as to the age of the bike, as opposed to trying to make an '80's scoot try to look like a '60's.

if you don't mess around with the carb/jetting, the seals are in good shape, and there is oil in the tank, seizing is the last thing you would have to worry about on this bike. it's good to cover the clutch as a beginner, but don't ride around thinking every manual shift bike is bound to "seize" at some point.

uuhhhhhhhhhh, haha. That seriously looks like another language. I only understood assgrabber.

Sorry, I was typing without first engaging my brain. I meant pinstriper. Since pinstripers occasionally have customers who aren't 100% satisfied with the end result, I assume they know how to remove it.

But I agree with the other posters here, just ride it as is and enjoy it!

Congrats my friend, you've been looking hard! I think the paint will suffice for the moment. At least you HAVE paint on yours Nah I'm getting the primer down slowly but surely.

Nice looking scoot I like the pin striping. It sets it apart and gives it an old school scooterboy look.

I found this article helpful when I bought a Stella. You'll have it down in no time.

http://www.vtscoot.com/infobase/ib-13.html

Give yourself plenty of time to stop there is a BIG difference between your GTS and your new P200 drum brakes are not the best for a quick stop so keep that in mind! Hve fun with it.

The paint that pinstripes are often painted with reacts with EZ-off oven cleaner (yellow can) to be removed. At least that's what I was told by a guy that was hand lettering a few trucks at a friend's father's business back in the day.

+10 Ride it the way it is intended to be ridden and maintain it the way Piaggio recommends, and it will be a damn dependable scoot. Millions of European people can vouch for that.

Al

So what kind of tires are on a stock P200? I've only seen these type of tires on a P.

Kind? What do you mean by "kind"? Size, brand?

Al

Congrats!
It looks very well kept!

Is the rear light original? Is it the stock light on USA models?

In Italy we've always had the standard big red square 'peperone'...

wangta

Man that elegant pin striping leads to mixed emotions. While it is not always exactly to one's personal tastes, if it is classical, freehand work, it is indeed ART. I have many memories of a couple of my buddies pin striping their cars in the late 50's and early 60's. One practiced for weeks on a pair of trunk lids and fenders he got from the wrecking yard to get the technique down just right before ever taking that tapered, soft bristled brush to his car.



Read up on the art of traditional pin striping. It is awesome. May lead you to think twice before removing this art forever. It ain't like someone applied vinyl stickers.

Al

Nice Scooter. That engine is so powerful, i love it.

I like the stripes, it makes it unique.

I just got a P a few months ago and coming from a bike background I was amazed at the (lack of) braking.

Practice some emergency type of stops in a car park. I can now stop the beast pretty quickly with a combo of both brakes and down shifting.

Now all you need is a Parka!!

Cheers,

Matt

Alright, so I was planning to use Zipcar to renta Toyota Tacoma to pickup my scooter. However, I don't have a ramp at home to unload it?

I would buy a ramp, but I live in a dorm - what would I do with it afterwards? Would a piece of wood do? P200 weighs around 230 lbs (?) - is it possible to lift the scooter out with two people?

I was going to do Uhaul but their vans are so expensive. $19.99 a day, plus $.89 per mile (trip will be round trip around 200 miles). That doesn't include gas!

That P looks great. A very nice find.

My 2 cents' worth: I would leave the paint and pinstriping alone, especially as the bike looks perfectly straight, and that beautiful deep red looks like it might be the original factory colour. If the body work was all dented/rusted or paint faded/flaking I would possibly tear down and re-paint, but not on a well-preserved gem like that one! I wouldn't pin-stripe a bike by choice, but in this case the pin-striping tells us something of the bike's history and provenance. You might think I'm being a too precious about it, but to me it's like buying a piece of antique furniture - you don't strip it and re-finish it just because you can. That would destroy a lot of its originality and value.

Provenance, from the French provenir, "to come from", means the origin, or the source, of something, or the history of the ownership or location of an object,[1] especially a work of art, or some object of value such as is found in archaeology, or paleontology, or some document, such as a manuscript, or even an item of literature in the broadest sense, including a first edition of a very rare published work. The primary purpose of provenance is to confirm the time, place, and if appropriate the person responsible, for the creation, production or discovery of the object. Comparative techniques, expert opinions, written and verbal records and the results of various kinds of scientific tests are often used to help establish provenance.

Hmmm, I hear you. But honestly, it just doesn't match me. I like bright solid colors. I was hoping to make it look soemthing like this except with fresh new red:



You guys are making me feel so bad - like I'm violating some ethical norm!

It's your bike, man, do what you will with it.

I don't love the paint-stripes either. There's another on your side. I don't HATE them. But I'd rather have a less curvy pattern at least, were I to have one.

That said, riding it for a bit would be rather fun before getting into any repainting or the like. I'm into the painting/repairs right now and wish I was riding mine for a bit first (though I didn't have quite as much choice, needing a new speedo cable and so on and so forth).