Modern Vespa

Weird right? My scooter starts on the first or second try after sitting over night, but requires endless kicking, popstarting, kicking, waiting, kicking, kicking and kicking to get it restarted once it's warmed up.

Where would you start if this was happening on your bike?

btw I have a 1979 vespa 50 special small frame with a 134cc kit on it, and a brand spankin new spark plug.

thanks.

It sounds like it may be flooding. I would check the float and the float needle to see if it clean and not worn. You may try running it out of fuel with the petcock off then turn it back on before you start it again.

I do the above with my small frame. When I know Ill be shutting down in a moment, Ill shut the valve to run out some of the fuel. Always seems to start with 1 to 3 kicks.

Keep us posted.

HT coil or Condensor

my last smallie (kitted like yours) would start no prob either dead cold, or pipin' hot. it was when the engine was medium warm that i had trouble. my cheapy solution was to hold the throttle wide open and give 'er a good kick over. that did the trick just dandy.

Whats your ignition setup on this bike? I'd start chasing down stuff there instead of wasting time on gas/carb issues.

mine does that too, and backfires sometimes. BOOOOM!!
sorry, I don't have any suggestions, better listen to the pros here

+1

My -65 Allstate had same symptoms. Eventually I was stranded cause it stalled and wouldnt start again. Ended up being seals. Had to get seals replaced....runs like a champ now.

PLEASE try the HT coil and Condensor first.

so much easier than splitting the engine for seals...

Does it DIE after it's up to hot temp? That would indicate the coil or the condenser as Rover E said. If it runs well until you shut it off, and THEN won't restart, I would guess it's not getting enough air when it's hot. Suggest adjust your AIR/FUEL mixture. My vintage had the same problem when I bought it. Tweeking the A/F screw a bit to give it more air when it's hot cured that problem. My Lambretta also has this problem. It seems to need more air than it's getting. Check what Eric said first. Replace the coil AND the condenser. Those two parts when they start to go bad stop functioining well when they get hot.

Has anyone tried re-magnetizing the flywheel? My '59 VNA has this same problem and I've been told that this might help.

Magnetizing a flywheel only really helps if you have weak spark. That's not an issue in this case.

-Eric

wow this discussion just kept going, sorry i havn't been checking in. the bike is at moto amore for an inspection right now (for other issues) but i'll ask john about it.

from what i remember (havn't been riding much lately) is that the bike may be medium warm, but it still runs weird if it's wide open for very long.

lots of tiny issues with this bike. they may all be interrelated.