Modern Vespa

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Ok, I just read your other two posts. Asked and answered!

is the gauge easy to read?
Very, even at night.

do you like the headlight on the handle bars?
Yes. Works quite well.

does it scratch easily?
About as easily as a car, but the scooter is more often in a situation or location where it'll get scratched. You'll get scratches over time. You can fix them or live with them.

how much stuff can you fit under the seat?: as in, say i go shopping, how many plastic shopping bags could fit if i had nothing else in there?
Depends on the size of the bag, but usually 2-3. . (It gets hot under the seat, so I never put fresh meat and such in there.) You can hang another 2-3 on the hook under the front seat. Add a rear and/or front rack, a top case or just some bungees and you can carry a lot.

I recently walked out of a grocery with 9 bags and a 12-pack, all of which fit on my scooter. I then watched a guy on a cruise motorcycle trying to balance 2 bags while riding because he had nowhere to put them. Scooter wins again!

do you reccommend a windscreen and a regular helmet, or a helmet with a visor (or both)?
Well, you'll get a lot of opinions on this. Personally, I say a windscreen and at least a helmet with a face shield but a full face helmet is better. Windscreens have a lot of advantages (better speed and acceleration, better MPGs), but some people don't like them because of how they redirect the flow of air and increase wind and noise. How this may affect you depends on the size of the windshield, your height and proportions, and your riding position. A windscreen will not protect you from many of the things that can come at you on the road. I have one and get bug splatter all over my helmet and occasionally a small rock to the face shield.

If you plan on riding through a cold winter somewhere, you'll definitely appreciate a windshield. That's cool. How are you doing this conversion?

Oh, what are you going to do with the engine after you convert it? Just curious.

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Yes, there'd be interest.

Value might vary considerably. Where do you live? A local buyer would probably be best. It would also depend on how many miles were on the engine, its condition, etc. A rough shot in the dark: $300-$450. I know of people who have bought GTS 250 engines for close to $500.

Someone here might want it. Not sure I would right now... but... maybe...

I think the under-seat storage space issue is going to be a moot point for you.

Betting money is on every bit of available space inside the bodywork being needed for battery space to get any reasonable operating range.

Just put a rear rack on and you can put stuff on the floorboards. Amazing what you can get on an LX when you have to. Good luck

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Unless you are about to work magic that has never been achieved anywhere else on Earth - battery space will be an issue for you, weight will be an issue for you, top speed will be an issue for you, and range between recharges will be an issue for you. Simply using new technology Li-ion or other compact batteries does not make all this go away. Of course, if you get all this successfully solved, good on you. We will all be looking for an update on how this goes.

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Ahh, to be young again and so full of unjustified optimism...

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You are aware that the rear wheel and rear suspension is integrated with the engine/CVT, correct?

The construction is not like, for example, a chain driven motorcycle where you can simply swap out the source of hp and align the sprockets, etc.

Not saying it cannot be done, but there will be a tremendous amount of custom machining of parts to make something like this work.

You could still use the CVT, just driven by the electric engine. IIRC the hybrid LX that Vespa build several years ago could be operated in all-electric mode and retained the CVT. The hybrid MP3 works something like this. They actually have 2 motors-a standard ICE and a complimentary electric powered one.

It can be done! I think an LX to electric conversion has been done before; I'll look for it.

For a straight electric vehicle (not hybrid), it would make little sense to retain the CVT as such (although retaining the housing and using a straight fixed-ratio belt drive might make sense just to simplify things). Electric traction motors develop maximum torque at zero rpms, so a variable-ratio transmission really isn't necessary, and a fixed-ratio drive would have much lower friction losses.

Agreed. From what I know, most straight electrics are direct drive or similar and deliver plenty of torque. There's probably a way to fix the variator and clutch, keep the belt, and away you go.

Conversion probably isn't the most efficient way to build a great electric scooter, but, on the other hand, electric LX, yay!

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I hope you plan on documenting the project. Going to blog it or anything like that? Would love to follow its progress!