Modern Vespa

So I bought this scoot about a month ago and am a newb. The directions the owner gave me on starting it were: turn gas line on, pull out choke on cold engine, then kick start it, then turn key to on, then kick start it again. Is this correct? I was told by someone else that i dont need to kick start it before i turn the battery on and that i should turn everything on then kick start it. Also, is it normal that when it turns on that i need to keep giving it gas for about 20 seconds til the engine starts up so it doesnt cut off. Cuz if i turn it on and dont twist the throttle every now and then it just cuts off.

Any help/direction on starting a p125x would be great. Thanks!

I don't know of any reason to give it that 'pre-kick'. I just turn everything on and kick it over, starts second or third kick - remembering not to open the throttle if choke is on, you may flood it if you do.

It should idle happily at higher revs for 30 seconds or so before pushing the choke back in, now you may need to give it some revs until it settles in.

Not saying this is right for everyone, others may do things differently, but this is what works for me.

Hope this helps.

Rob.

That sounds good but I know my VNB and many others need a 1/4 throttle turn while starting as well. Good Luck with the new scoot.

Thanks for the tips, they are a big help. So if I read correctly I leave the choke out for 30 seconds and that will stop it from cutting off if i dont give it some throttle? The guy that sold it told me that once it starts to close it asap as it might flood the engine..

You are going to need to develop a feel for your engine to determine when it doesn't need the choke any more--there isn't a rule. 30 seconds would be kind of a long time to have it out, but every bike will be different. If the idle gets slow or the bike is bogging or smoking a lot, you are too rich and need to push the choke in.

You shouldn't need throttle to start a bike when it's cold if everything is adjusted correctly. If yours won't idle on its own, adjust the idle screw at the top of the air box (turn it clockwise to increase the idle speed).

I was just about to say that 30 seconds was probably overdoing it a bit, but Team Leisure beat me to it.

Also, as Team Leisure said, you'll get a feel for it. If you feel that it needs some throttle to stop it cutting out, then give it some.