Modern Vespa

,hi all, tommorrow is my final check over on a P 90 `74 vespa. i has been reworked some what. the guy is local here, his son moved away and told him to sell it. i`m a Buddy 70cc rider,,and have rented vespas b-4 while on my
trips in the merchant marines.,, alot were like well rental bikes, not very nice
but still vespas. ok so from what i can see and what i am told, the bike needs a clutch cable ( which is there and was not replaced and a spring, supposedly to stop the spring eating. Ok i found the clutch spring no prob, have a guy in my scooter club to help install it.)
,,the bike starts and has been started an rode a lil, but was ridden daily 2 yrs ago, then garaged and statred once a month or so.
what else should i check , i know there are many things, brakes, etc and i`m going to need turn signals, etc, i have seen vespas with a battery rigged on the back panels,i think a "baja kit" will work for signals. what about the drive belt? any sounds,, carb issues? compression?
thanks for any help,,also body and paint are in great shape
I am so psyched to find a small frame and really want to get this bike. he is asking $1500, i`m going to offer $1300,firm or maybe $1200, since i figure i`ll ahve to put at least 5 bills in it to get it street speed rideable

hi, im new to the scene too, but i have a 1974 vespa 90 too and while the body wasnt in the greatest shape it was running well, had 400 miles, and i paid 500 bucks for it. I think 1500 is a bit much for a 90 that needs work. i would post pics of the bike before you shell out the cash so the experts on here can pick it apart for you. they are here to help.

,,here is the link for the pics of the vespa i`m checking out in the a.m.
the guy seems the think alot of it even though he does`nt ride it much.
hmm maybe i`ll offer $1100.

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/mcy/1218473116.html

not sure why he's referring to it as a P-90. It's just a Vespa 90.

1974 is a tricky year for American market bikes, which that appears to be, due to that battery side door. That was the first year that turn signals needed to be incorporated on bikes imported over here, but I see that the turn signals are missing (maybe a result of a potential wiring issue that those years of bikes are known to have).

Aftermarket pipe, looks to be a LeoVinci or Polini, would have to see if the bike is set up for that pipe (jetting and such).

Aside from that, hard to tell from those pictures, but it does appear clean. I'd suggest having a new clutch cable installed before considering it though, want to make sure that it actually runs as well as advertised.

,i`m taking a magnet to check the hull (body) sorry i worked on ships.
the guy is moving so i think time is an issue. is there a way to really tell about
if itis a viet-vespa ( nambike)??i think he has most of the paper work, etc.

,, ok i`m back magnet on the hull checks out., does`nt seem to be a `nam bike. started on 2 kicks, got there @ 9a.m.est he might have started b-4 i got there. cable is not there @ all. needs spring, mirrors, headlamp is iffy @ best,
no key/lock, engine is very responsive, seems to check out well., i`m gonna offer him $1150, which i think is a fair price. any comments/feedback would be great.,, see attached url/pic on previous post

the chances of that being a bodge are are very unlikely

That's a US smallframe with the left cowl door. Viet smallframes are almost all 50 cc only. I don't think they had the 90 smallframe, you don't see 125 largeframes either.

,,ok the seller and i came to a fair price, and i was told i seemed like the person most that would "give this thing the care and feeding it deserves"
+1 to that,, i`m excited about this have wanted a Vespa for a while. I love my Buddy, runs like a champ, now i have a "not so vespa" and i`m stoked.

!1--MORE question?? where do i find the serial # for the bill of sale , insurance, etc??and what if it`s no longer on the bike?

Well, congrats!

Here's how you find your serial numbers, both for the frame and the engine.

Serial number locator

You're gonna find scooterhelp.com and smallframes.com invaluable resources too.

Have fun!

we like pics

+1

waspmojo, you heard da man, post pics! Lotsa pics!

i just got back from a great ride on my et3
love it

I'm gonna be in your hood checkn' out your scoot on Sunday!

you and steelcap are parking on my block right???
warren ave venice ca 90291 mapquest
tommys is at the end of block on lincoln

We are gonna park at Hiram's pad then ride over...did you want to meet up somewhere before then we can all ride out to the meet up spot? Hiram has some stuff in his garage that I want to take a looky loo at!

cooolio

maybe i'll do that

depends on how lazy i am that day

Then I will ride to your house and wake your ass UP!

I got your # Master Splinter..I will call you when I get down there.

was out for a ride with kev and his cow

both bikes ready for the scoot invasion

i like his pipe better than my pollini sport pipe

worse is i gave him the og pipe off my et3

i'm gonna jack his pipe when he'snot lookin

it sounds so much better than the polini

anything familiar about the t- shirt

here are some pics after the maiden run to the park and back,, like the polini pipe compared to the prima

http://picasaweb.google.com/blips007/Vespa2?authkey=Gv1sRgCJz_r8K72uGJKw#

Great looking little bike - lose that horn...

That is in really nice shape, actually.

If it were mine, i would put the 70's turnsignals back on to keep it complete, but those are a love-them-hate-them sorta thing. Someone has also converted the taillight from the US-spec type to the euro type. Up to you whether you want to switch it out, but i prefer my US bike to be US looking.

Yeah, ditch the clown horn on it. But note that the actual horn you've got there is US-style 6volt DC horn with the WIDE diameter (it's like 4" wide versus 3" or so )

This was something they only used for a year or two on US battery models and they are unobtanium now.

I'm guessing someone has converted your bike to non-battery, and that's why the horn no longer works, and the turn signals no longer attached.... hence the clown horn.

But i'm guessing.

Very nice!

If you plan on keeping that rear light, you might need to reposition it. Looks like it's sliding off the tail, it's sitting lower than it should.

,,yeah well at the moment the "clown horn " is the only horn, and it keeps the cages alter, it`s loud, came off an beach bike,,,but yup it is a 6 volt batt
model , ( 1st year so i have read the us 90 had lites, etc, and bettery)
, yup the rear stop lamp works as does the heaplamp and even the speedo!
has 20k on it.. jumps up to 30mph real quick,,lol , so it will need a new one, even though it does work, why does it jump.
it has new gas tank as well, starts right up, once i get the new clutch spring and cable i should be all set. i want to use it for work a bit.i`m a chef so i`m thinking of a chrome or black. i thought about a prima roll bag. i want to do something with the wire rack it vibrates, in fact the bike does vibe a lil bit but nothing hard, i thought i wanted to kit it to 135 but it seems to run along ok
so any thoughts on that?
back i na bit

the reason the taillight doesn't sit right on that bike is that the person drilled the holes to mount it in the wrong place.

Like i said, if it were me, i'd find a DOT light and bracket ( not terribly hard to find, and not expensive ) , have it painted to match, and remount that.

The horn and blinkers don't work because your battery system isn't working properly. Either your battery is dead, your rectifier is dead, something is unplugged, or both. On your bike, you should be able to turn the key and the headlight and taillight should come on ...off the battery. Then if you kickstart it it should begin recharging that. HOWEVER, if your battery system isn't working right, the lights won't come on in the first position ...but when the engine starts they will start to glow from the current off the engine. It's not anywhere near as bright as it normally is if the battery system is working right, though.

Yes, 1974 was the first year they attached this system to bikes. It's reputed to be the worst year of vespas as far as electronics go... because they were bodging these turn signals and battery and a big DC horn onto a scooter that previously had none of these things, in order to meet the new 1974 DOT regulations that required turn signals on every vehicle over 50cc. The ducati rectifiers they used were kinda dicey, and frequently the bike would run the battery out of juice faster than the rectifier could recharge it. ( they worked out of the factory, but diminished in condition over time )

Yes, you can kit this bike... it's the first V90 with 4 gears, i think... which makes it nice because you don't have to buy a 4 speed gearbox like you did with the older V90's. I don't know how much or IF the gearing needs to be altered at all when you put in a 130 kit... it might just work out of the box with only some upjetting on the carb.

Tonysmallframe or Oopsclunkthud will know better than i.

eric has given prime directive here.

that bike is a gem.

i have a tail light/bracket if you want it.

,, thaks so much guys!! & gurls,, i`m dead bbl zzzzz