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Well, I sold my LX150 on Saturday and the Vespa gods were smiling on me and today I picked up a beat up P200.

The good-
It runs (kind of) and it was only $750.

The bad-
Ignition doesn't really require a key, runs badly and dies easily, +40K miles, banged up leg shield and cowls, originally maroon and was painted white with a brush, dead battery.

The ugly-
It is pretty ugly, but I love it anyway!

Here is the story of this thing. It was owned by an art professor who moved to Houston from California and had it in storage. It is a 81 that was bought in 83. The guy I bought it from picked up a few months ago and realized how much work it would take to make it "pristine" and how much space the project would take up in his garage.

Now for the questions. The previous owners rode the hell out of this thing and only ever changed the spark plug. Right now it runs poorly, but I was able to start it in a few kicks. Is this engine due for a complete overhaul or does it just need a little love? How do I tell if it has the SI20/20D or the SI24/24E carb?

OK that is all for now, I'm sure that I will need more help as I get this thing running.
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@joshzingzing avatar
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Veni, Vidi, Posti
px200 cutdown,px180,px150. Puch SR. Puch scooterette
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@joshzingzing avatar
px200 cutdown,px180,px150. Puch SR. Puch scooterette
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for the carb size


when you take off the air filter you will see if its a 20 or a 24 cause its printed under there with ----------- is24-24e or something similar
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GTS, PX125E, P200
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GTS, PX125E, P200
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Damn! We were looking at that over here to take the motor.
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Ok, I took a few minutes this morning and took off the filthy air filter. The carb is a 20.

I'm going to have to do some thinking about how I want to fix up this engine. I don't know whether I should just clean it up enough to get it running well or completely rebuild it with a bigger carb, malossi 210, and a pipe.
@fish avatar
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Hooked
(11)GTS300/(81)P177Vespa2/(61)ACMAtypeN'77rally200 powered
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@fish avatar
(11)GTS300/(81)P177Vespa2/(61)ACMAtypeN'77rally200 powered
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hi nice p200, with work to do to get it brand new...
i ride mine PX200e with a 20/20 carb motor full stock exepted a sito+
i can go easely to 110km/h, for me it's enought!
shure you'll love it more & more
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1978 P200E, 1963 GS 160
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@gaseous_clay avatar
1978 P200E, 1963 GS 160
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Throw a 24/24 on there and see how you like it. I'd get it running well and then see if you really want to drop the bucks on a 210 kit. The stock 200 motor is pretty good on its own.
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If you decide to kit it, I have a nice Malossi 30m carb new never mounted still in the packaging
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Molto Verboso
Scattered remnants of (two!) 1974 Rallys
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the ones with the km/milles speedos (80-81) came with 20 carbs, just for the american market. the 24 will make a difference, and you can keep the oil injection.

i love it! it doesn't look that bad. the legshield will require some skill to get back into shape. other than that, it looks ok! i love neglected P200s.

if it had the same plug forever, and it still gets a spark, that in itself isn't a problem, i don't think.

try changing the plug (if you haven't already), the case oil, spray lots of carb cleaner (maybe take out the jets and make sure they're all clear of debris), just that could make a huge difference.
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Hooked
(11)GTS300/(81)P177Vespa2/(61)ACMAtypeN'77rally200 powered
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(11)GTS300/(81)P177Vespa2/(61)ACMAtypeN'77rally200 powered
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Gaseous_Clay wrote:
Throw a 24/24 on there and see how you like it. I'd get it running well and then see if you really want to drop the bucks on a 210 kit. The stock 200 motor is pretty good on its own.
the thing is that i ride it awlays with my girlfriend on the back for week ends or meetings... so i think that it won't be better for cruising...

more, i have some work on an other scoot for these days, i'll may try later when i'll be back on the p200

regards
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1978 P200E, 1963 GS 160
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Also, if you haven't already, drain the gas and get some new stuff in there.
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Thanks for the advice, everyone.

The previous owner said that he had replaced the stale gas that was in it when he got it, but that was 6 months ago.

So far, I have only had time to fiddle with it for about 15 minutes. I will be taking a look at the plug, the carb, and the gas to see if I can get it running better. I will definately be cleaning the air filter.

The legseild will take some pounding/welding to get back into shape as well as the front fender. In the pic you are seeing the good side, not the thrashed side.
For now I think that I will just try to get it moving down the road. I don't want to get caught up making it perfect. That is what led the previous owner to get rid of it. He realized it would take a lot of work and time to make it pristine. I don't think that he put any effort into making it rideable as is.
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HonestlyLincoln wrote:
I'm going to have to do some thinking about how I want to fix up this engine. I don't know whether I should just clean it up enough to get it running well or completely rebuild it with a bigger carb, malossi 210, and a pipe.
You should do the first part without the second part. Even if you have to do the second part, forget about the bigger carb, malossi 210, and pipe.

Unless you take it to a tuner and have all that excess done correctly (bolting it on is not doing it correctly) then you -may- end up with an extra 5mph, but you will definitely end up with a lot more headache.

Ride the piss out of it until you can tear that motor down and rebuild it in <6 hours (that includes bearings). To do a kitted motor correctly you need to install a reed valve, polish and port it and a ton of other stuff and if you have a good solid set of cases and good rotary pad it's a shame to muck it up to kit it out.

Wait until you find damaged cases to really kit it, and wait until you fully understand that motor and have the $1500 it takes to kit it out correctly.
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vespa sprint veloce p210
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vespa sprint veloce p210
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Advice on the immediate things-
clean that thang of grease and grime
change the gas
change the transmission oil
change the 2 stroke oil
clean the air filter, perhaps replace
use a new spark plug, buy several
reattach the air bellows, in the pic it isn't into the frame
change the carb to a 24, use the stock jet for that - 116-118?
change the tires to stickier smooth and rounded type - new tubes too
check the timing, just to see
check all of the cable ends for wear, swap inners if needed, and lube the new ones
Bang out the dents as best you can and dab paint or nail polish into the rusting creases.

advice for the medium time frame
change the mirror
consider new clutch plates
consider a sito plus and a 118-120 jet, that will help the low end grunt and pull a passenger better
Consider a halogen headlamp
consider a better rear shock - sebac or bitubo


Advice on long term and perfecting it-
tear down the motor, replace all that you can with new
especially the cruciform, seals and bearings
consider a disc front brake and M/C on the handlebar
consider a cosa clutch
consider an efl transmission and selector box
Then it would be ready for a kit of your choice, a performance pipe and a larger carb, all in conjunction

If it were me, which it isn't, I'd probably go with the sito plus, the 24 carb, the tires, the headlight for a month or 2. If the clutch slips or the motor has strange noices, I'd do the rebuild over the winter, drop in the cosa and cruciform and change shocks.
Then, after a year, when you tire of its limits, that's when I'd kit it.

You have to respect the abuse these things go through and continue to shine.

Of course, you can just leave it as is and cross your fingers that it stays ok.
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Vespa Rally 180 BMW R1150R Suzuki Burgman 400
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Cripes, that's a good list portergieske, thanks.
I have a "better shape" P that I'm recommissioning and I've done a bunch of that stuff on that list, but it's nice to have a checklist and timeline too Clap emoticon
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1978 P200E, 1963 GS 160
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+1 on everything portergieske said.

And 6 month old gas is OLD!
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In reality, I won't end up doing performance mods to it right away. I just have this devil on my shoulder that speaks in a Tim Taylor voice. He tells me things like, "Hey this scooter is idling rough...must need MORE POWER!"

I took out the old sparkplug and it looked pretty new, but it is one of those gimmiky ones with the wierd electrodes. I am going to replace it with an NGK that I already picked up. I cleaned the air filter with some gas and carb cleaner, but it still looks really brown and I may end up replacing it. I plan on pulling the head and seeing how coked up it is under there. I drained the gas and oil last night and after cleaning everything up, I will put in some fresher stuff.

I was pretty amazed at how easily the legsheild moved back into place with a few whacks of a rubber mallet. The straighter it gets, the poorer the glovebox fits.

The headlamp assembly is just caked with paint. There are layers of red, black, and white on top of the original (I guess) blue color. It is just flaking off, so I went after it with a putty scraper like it was an old door.
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I have used a pair of BFCLs (Big Fucking Channel Locks) to tweek a legsheild back into shape. Often the metal wants to return to its original place. I usually put a rag between the jaws to prevent damage to the paint. I don't think you need to worry about that!
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That sounds like a good method. I wasn't trying to get it totally straight, just a few whacks to to get it from "really bent" to "bent."
I'll have to take off the glovebox before I can really get it straight and then I may break out the channel locks, even though beating on it with a mallet is fun.
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1980 P200E - "Old Rusty", 1976 ET3 Primavera
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@xantufrog avatar
1980 P200E - "Old Rusty", 1976 ET3 Primavera
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I thought mine was a survivor! Now, see, you can be really proud of your scoot... it embodies the durability of the P200 and Vespa in general

Can't wait to follow its repairs!
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xantufrog-

I already read through your thread in project reports with great interest. I love that you named your scooter "old rusty" even though it was neither that old or that rusty. I really want to get mine running for the third coast rally in San Antonio. I wonder if they have a rat scooter category?
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2009 Vespa GTS 250, TBA
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Here's the easy part: the key. P200s (or maybe P's in general) apparently have the reputation of being able to be started with any key that fits the slot, or even a screwdriver. That's the bad news. The good news is, you can go to Wal-Mart and pick up a padlock that has a key that will fit in the P200 key slot and actually turn on the ignition. So, I'm not too worried about anybody being able to turn on the ignition on my P200; when my scooter is parked, it's secured with a big honkin' chain and padlock.

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