1981 Vespa 50s

New Parts

2011-12-05T04:31:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone

Sorry it's been a while since I posted anything but recently my mate Brian placed an order with SIP of Germany for some scooter parts so I took the opportunity of placing an order for some parts as well. I purchased a front fender aerial that bolts onto the side of the fender and has a spring so it can't get damaged and comes with a heavy duty Paiggio flag, I also recently received some NZ pendant felt flags so I can change them around sometimes if I like. The main item I was after was a matching set of Vigano mirror brackets as I only had a Vigano bracket on the right hand side and a home made bracket on the other side that the previous owner had made. Imagine my disappointment on discovering that the bracket holes were 15mm too short to fit onto my Vespa , So what model scooter were these brackets intended for ?. Anyhow with a hacksaw and a bench vice and a drill I was able alter the back lip of the bracket until there was enough of a flat section to drill a new hole which turned out ok in the end. The last item I purchased was a UK style round tax disc which I have fitted to the right fender screw that holds the top of the suspension on and in it I have placed a beer coaster from our local brewery " Echigo Brewery ". I think I have almost added most accessories that I want to put on my Vespa but I still think it would look great with some white porta walls , maybe one day !. But for the time being it looks great and I love riding it about the city. Pictured above are a few photos I took today while the scooter was parked outside my bicycle shop.

On the road again

2011-09-07T15:13:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my Vespa mechanic Endo san the 50s is back on the road again and it wasn't as serious as 1st thought. There was a broken shifter pin in the hand change that needed to be replaced and while Endo san was working on the scooter he fixed the clutch lever so it's not hard and nice and springy for easy gear changes. Plus he fitted new oil seals and gasket packing to the engine and a brand new rear brake cable as I had replaced the old damaged cable with a bicycle cable which does work but in reality is not as strong. The Vespa is running great now and I have done several trips into work since getting it back, it feels faster than before and gear changes are very smooth. Pictured above is a photo of the Vespa outside Popolo which is a famous Italian Gelato shop as one hot morning on the was to work I had a craving for gelato

Vespa repair

2011-08-18T01:38:00.000-07:00

Just last Monday I was riding to work on my Vespa when travelling down a hill I decided to change up to 4 th gear and too my surprise the engine was revving like crazy so I decided to shift down but to my surprise I found I had no other gears at all and I was stuck in 3rd. As I've never had this happen before I pulled off to the side of the road to check under the scooter to see if the cable had broken but it hadn't, the thought I pushing my Vespa all the way into the city in 33 deg humidity was not appealing to me at all. Lucky my Vespa even though it was stuck in 3rd managed to get me to work on time although I had slow starts at every set of lights and just as I built up the speed of course the lights changed and I forced to stop again, which made for an interesting trip into the center of the city. Upon arriving at work I called Niigata cities famous Vespa doctor " Endo san " who appeared in no time at all at my shop with his van to take my Vespa away for further inspection back at his workshop. At 1st he thought it may have been the gear cable but alas it was not so simple as the shift linkage set inside the engine has broken requiring a new part and the oil seals, engine gasket needs changing as well so I won't be riding it for a little while which is a shame as it's pretty handy in this hot weather. But I'm sure it will be a lot better once Endo san has fixed it and I'm really lucky this didn't happen while out in the mountains on a long ride somewhere. Pictured above is a photo of a new shift linkage set that is the main part that has broken on my Vespa .

Ohno sans Zundapp R50

2011-07-13T17:35:00.000-07:00

The guy that I mentioned in my last blog posting is called Ohno san and he was my old students boyfriend many years ago. recently he has visited my bicycle shop a few times on vintage scooters , the 1st time he arrived on a vintage Rabbit scooter that he was repairing for a mate and recently he showed up on his full aluminum Zundapp R50 German scooter. Brian & I had never seen one before as they are rather rare in Japan and for it's age had a lot of great features - for example it has a fuel gauge which Vespa's don't have and was extremely lightweight thanks to the entire body being made of alloy. He did say that it was a very delicate scooter to work on, but it is a lot of fun to ride. The day that he rode it to my shop he had taken the rear side panels off to try and help cool the engine because the weather is so hot. Later on I hope to take a few more photos of it once we get together for a scooter run. Pictured above are a couple of the Zundapp R50

Endo san's Vespa 150

2011-07-13T16:52:00.000-07:00

Last year sometime while I was selling my New Zealand style pies on the street here in Niigata city a guy bought my pies whose face was familiar. Later I remembered that he was my old students boyfriend and one of his hobbies was old scooter's. It was quite some time before I met him again but mentioned how I knew him and told him that I had an older Vespa 50s . He then informed me that he had an old Zundapp R50 and some of his mates rode older scooters as well. One of his friends Endo san has been extremely helpful in doing repairs to my 50s and is an expert in older Vespa's . When time allows we all hope to get together for a run on our vintage scooters. Pictured above are a couple of photos I took on my mobile phone of Endo sans 1964 Vespa 150. It's kitted out with a front crash bar, rear flat rack and side bumpers plus a few extra lights and mirrors. All the parts are from the 60s and it looks fantastic.

New parts

2011-06-24T01:09:00.001-07:00

Just recently I added two long 33cm adjustable mirrors to my 50s as it was a little dangerous riding it in 4 lane traffic when I couldn't really see behind me, while I was ordering the mirrors I decided to splash out on a set of Italian Cuppini bumpers which are chrome with blue highlights. apart from looking nice they'll protect the front mudguard and rear cowling from any accidents. All the parts were quite easy to fit, but I still have a few minor adjustments to make in regard the the rear bumper bracket but otherwise it's finished. Pictured above are a few photos of how the scooter looks now.

Brian's Vespa

2011-06-24T01:00:00.000-07:00

As you can see from the above photos that 1979 Vespa 50s that I found for Brian is now looking a lot better than it did when we first got it. A new seat has been fitted plus he has added a new front rack & rear rack with spare tyre holder. Both racks are made in Italy by Cuppini and give the Vespa plenty of rack space for long tours. The gear selector and the timing points were adjusted by a local motorcycle shop and already Brian has clocked up some serious kms on his 50s . Above are the before and after photos of his scooter

Brian's one day 320 km tour ! - part 2

2011-06-13T05:50:00.001-07:00

Here are the rest of the photos he took while touring

Brian's one day 320 km tour !

2011-06-13T05:44:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone

My mate Brian on his recently restored 1979 Vespa 50s did a one day 320km tour from Niigata into Yamagata, Fukushima and back to Niigata . I had to work so I couldn't join him but he has sent me a few photos of the trip and later he will write a report on the ride which I'll then add to this posting. Enjoy the photos.

New parts

2011-05-11T19:55:00.000-07:00

Recently my headlight came loose and when it fell out from going over a large bump in the road one of the electrical terminals came off causing the rear tail light to blow. The rear tail light bulb is only 6 volt 5 watt so it doesn't take much for it to blow out. as my mate Brian was buying some spare parts from Ugagin scooter shop I thought I'd purchase a few spare tail light bulbs and I found on the Ugagin web site a rubber kick starter cover which I purchased as well, the kick start rubber cover also protects the kick starter from hitting the ground. Pictured above is my Vespa tool roll that I had a friend sew up for me and it's perfect as it fits all the tools you need to carry out most roadside repairs and room for a spare spark plug and a few bulbs as well. In the near future I want to purchase a headlight chrome ring which might keep the headlight in place and some longer mirrors as at present I have two different length mirrors which are too short to see traffic that is coming up behind me. Pictured above is the tool roll and the kick starter cover

Shinya's Vespa

2011-05-11T19:49:00.000-07:00

While I was in Nagoya city last Nov on business I caught up with an old flatmate from NZ called Shinya who I used to share a flat with many years ago and when Shinya took me to visit his workshop he was in the middle of restoring a Vespa , at the time I thought it was his but now that it's finished he told he he had been restoring it for a friend. From the serial number he gave me it was a Vespa 90 from the late 80s and he upgraded it using a Polini kit so it's now a 133cc scooter. I only have the one photo of it pictured above but as you can see Shinya did a fantastic job of repainting it and putting it back together .

Scooter documentary

2011-04-28T03:42:00.000-07:00

Just recently I found this fantastic documentary on the scooter so go grab a beer and I hope you enjoy it as it has a lot of imagines from the early days of scootering - great stuff

Vespa book

2011-04-22T04:37:00.000-07:00

Today on the way back from a ride on my Vespa I stopped off at the large bookstore located next to the station here in Niigata city as a few weeks ago I noticed a nice little history book on the Vespa for 1500 yen and it was a hardcover as well. These days most books are rather expensive and especially any book with a hardcover rather than a paper back. So luckily they still had a few copies of the book I wanted so I purchased it and hung the bag from the bookstore from my helmet hook and rode home. Over a beer late this afternoon I read the entire book as it's only 183 pages long and bilingual in Japanese & English. It was a very interesting read and told the history of the company and the various models they have made over the years, plus stories on touring, advertising related to the Vespa etc as well as many fantastic old photos showing the Vespa in action around the globe. The back of the book has a full model list showing the years those models were produced. A great little book and handy reference guide to the many models that have been produced.

Pictured above is a scan of the cover and the details about the author

Vespa blue print

2011-04-13T20:08:00.000-07:00

Today I found this nice blue print of the small frame Vespa showing it's dimension's and if I get time I might try to make a clear outline using the side on picture which would be then suitable for a T shirt graphic .

The fishtail parka

2011-03-04T02:55:00.001-08:00

The Fishtail Parka was first used by the United States Army in 1951 to help protect soldiers from the elements in the Korean War.
There are two main styles of fishtail parkas; the M-51 fishtail parka; and the M-65. The M stands for military, and the number is the year it was standardized. The name fishtail comes from the fact that the coat is longer at the back than it is at the front. This was so the coat could be tied around the upper legs, much like a Knochensack for added wind proofing as they are not, as some think, waterproof. The hood of the M-51 Fishtail Parka is integral to the jacket and folds down inside the jacket collar when not in use. The M-65 Fishtail parka has a detachable hood. Both types feature a removable liner. Designed primarily for combat arms forces such as infantry, they are to be worn over other layers of clothing; alone, the fishtail parka is insufficient to protect against "dry cold" (as used in the US military; see FM 31-70, Cold Weather Field Manual) conditions (i.e., below 14 deg. F.). On the other hand, the N-3B parka (above) has more integral insulation and can be worn alone in colder temperatures than the fishtail parka. Because it has less insulation but is designed to fit loosely, it allows infantry more latitude to add or subtract layers underneath to adapt to changing weather or situational conditions than that allowed by the N-3B parka, which was designed for aircrews who typically worked under more static weather and geographic conditions. With proper additional insulating garments in the US military inventory, one can remain warm with the fishtail parka in -60 deg. F. temperatures. The fishtail parka has been replaced in the US military by the Extended Cold Weather Clothing System (ECWCS).
In the 1960s UK, the fishtail parka became a symbol of the mod subculture. Due to their practicality, cheapness and availability from army surplus shops, the parka was seen as the ideal garment for fending off the elements when on the mod's vehicle of choice, the scooter. Its place in popular culture was assured by newspaper pictures of parka-clad mods during the Bank Holiday riots of the 1960s

2010 Big Rumbling scooter rally

2011-03-03T15:09:00.000-08:00

Today I found a nice clip from last years Big Rumbling scooter rally held on the Isle of Shodoshima , if it was closer I would love to attend as it looks like great fun.

Ready for spring !

2011-02-25T15:17:00.000-08:00

Well over winter I decided to add a few things to the 50s and just this morning I managed to get it all back together again. The new items I purchased were , light bulb set which contains bulbs for the head light, blinkers, tail light & brake light and a new floor mat and spare tyre rack. The one item that was difficult to find was a black seat cover with grey piping with the Piaggio logo so in the end I gave up looking and fitted a seat cover that was actually too short but once stretched it somehow managed to fit. The slightly wavy effect on the seat is due to the type of sponge foam that I used, which is actually very comfortable and far better than the previous seat. I have also mounted a helmet hook on the front of the seat to save carrying my helmet everywhere. So once I have filled up the tank it should be ready to run again.

Pictured above are a few photos I took of it this morning

VESPA CLUB MIYAGI SENDAI JAPAN

2011-02-04T14:36:00.000-08:00

My favorite Japanese Vespa club clip showing riders from the Vespa club of Miyagi on a run through the countryside

Canscoot Show Weekend 2008 promo

2011-02-04T14:34:00.000-08:00

A promo clip from Canscoot, The Canterbury scooter club based in Christchurch, South Island , New Zealand. If I was living back home in New Zealand I'd love to join these guys for a run

Del Orto SHB 16.16 carberator rebuild

2011-01-28T02:10:00.000-08:00

Today with some free time I stripped down the SHB 16.16 carburetor and upon opening the top of the carb it was easy to see why the previous owner stopped using it as in it's current condition ( before I cleaned it ) they was no way that any fuel would have reached the engine as the top bowl float chamber was totally gunked up and all the jets were clogged as well. It took a while to remove the built up grime that was stuck to the inside of the bowl but in the end it turned out ok. I'll take the carb into work where I have a decent air compressor in which to blow the remaining gunk out of the jets and give the carb an overall clean. With a new carb kit and a new float needle it should run pretty well. I have learned since owning my scoot that if you keep the carb nice and clean you shouldn't have too many problems re getting your scooter started. The Del Orto carb is rather small but is really quite straight forward to strip and rebuild and once you have learned how it works.

Pictured above is the del Orto SHB 16.16 carb stripped down into all of it's parts

1979 Vespa 50s - part 1

2011-01-27T02:11:00.000-08:00

Today I had some free time so I drove over to Brian's apartment building to take a closer look at the scooter and to remove a few parts for cleaning etc. Overall the scooter is in great shape for it's age and the only faults that I could find with it was some peeling paint and light surface rusting on the floor which is very common on old Vespa's and a small dent in the left side cowling which is not a big problem as it can probably be pushed out if needed. The 1st thing I did was check to see if it had any brakes and luckily both brakes seem to be working fine. The front drum brake is sticking a little but that will be easily fixed by taking off the drum cover and cleaning it out. After that I removed the fuel tank and the Del Orto SHB 16.16 carburetor as I have brought the carburetor home for cleaning. There was a strange brass wire clamp on the end of the throttle wire which proved tricky to remove but apart from that it easily came out. I have learned a lot from restoring my 1981 50s so now I'm quite familiar with most parts and how they come off for maintenance etc. I then put the scooter up on two sake crates to make it easier for Brian to get under the scooter for cleaning and removed the leg shield spare tyre mount which needs a clean plus the double stand which appears to be painted black. The scooter also came with two good quality Michelin S83 classic scooter tyres which is what I have on my 50s. The other tyre which will be handy as a spare is an original " Cret " brand tyre made in Italy. The double seat has seen better days and will require a new cover and maybe some new sponge foam as well for a comfy ride. I think it will look fantastic once cleaned up and as we do some more work on it I'll post some more photos.

Pictured above is the 50s in it's current condition resting upon the two sake crates ready for a good clean

A recent find - 1979 Vespa 50s

2011-01-27T01:55:00.000-08:00

For some time now I have been on the lookout for a Vespa 50s for my mate Brian and recently one of my customers at the bicycle store mentioned that he had an old Vespa 50s sitting in his garage, in fact it had been sitting inside his garage for the last 10 years which was rather nice of him, as Niigata's weather is pretty tough on bicycles, scooters etc that are left outside in the elements. Niigata city is located close to the sea and we also have a lot of rain as well. When I asked the owner how much he wanted for it , he said 30,000 yen which for an original Vespa that hasn't been modified in any way is a bargain. So after inspecting the Vespa I informed my mate Brian to purchase it as it wouldn't take too much work to get it going again.

Pictured above are some photos of it that I took today

New Zealand Automobile Assn badge

2010-11-04T03:41:00.000-07:00

Pictured above is a nice vintage New Zealand Automobile badge that my sister purchased for me from the online NZ auction site TradeMe . I had seen a few photos online of Mods that had decorated their scooters with various badges, lights etc so I thought it would be nice to have something related to NZ. Although I may fit two more smaller badges to either side of the AA badge but at present am still looking for something suitable. The AA badge is held onto the 15mm diameter rack with stainless steel fittings that I found at the local home center in the plumbing section. They were a very tight fit and what I thought would be a 15min job turned into an hour complete with various swear words to make the badge fit to the rack.

I have some other up grades planned for the near future which include - rear rack with spare tire attachment, rubber floor mat, lockable helmet holder and a set of whitewall tire inserts.

Happy scootering
Don

The Ramen run - Part 4

2010-08-22T03:47:00.000-07:00

Over lunch we decided to head back along national route 49 which even though it passes over the border back into Niigata the overall road conditions are a lot better than the route we took in the morning but it always has a lot of traffic, mainly people who want to avoid paying the highway tolls. Along the way we often took breaks at the popular roadside rest stops that have large car parks, toilets, & places to eat. As it was so hot the rest stop car parks were full and whilst riding we spotted several large groups of Harley Davidson riders, there must have been a biker meet happening nearby as I've never seen so many Harley's on the road before. At one rest stop I took some photos of a custom Harley trike that was parked nearby , but of course it was no where as stylish as a Vespa. After cruising along mostly in 4th gear we both finally made it back into Niigata City around 3.30pm , rather tired we admitted that 50cc scooters we best for shorter rides of 100km or less rather than long distance touring. But it just goes to show that it is possible to cover long distances in a day even on a 50cc. The total distance for the trip was 237km !

The Ramen run - part 3

2010-08-22T02:40:00.000-07:00

After our brief stop at the morning market we continued on our way along route 459 which is not very popular due to the narrow roads and steep climbs. When I cycled this course earlier in the year I was forced to dismount my 1947 Humber Sports as the 3 speed Sturmey Archer gears were no match for 12.5% climbs. I was a little worried about this section on the Vespa and hoped like hell the engine would survive the strenuous climbs that lay ahead of us. Most of the time I rode the Vespa in 3rd gear at around 40km and when the road conditions allowed I put it into 4th gear and cruised at around 50 - 55km. But on approaching the steep incline I quickly changed out of 3rd gear and into 2nd and managed to ride quite a lot of it in 2nd gear with the engine nicely ticking over on low revs. But on the steepest section which included tight switchbacks I was forced into 1st gear and I'm proud to say that I never got off and walked at all, the Vespa handled it with no problems. After a short rest for both us and the scooters we then headed down hill through another small villages known for it's famous buckwheat noodles, but this was not our destination as we were keen to eat ramen for lunch. After one more hill we were soon on the outskirts of Kitakta and after a few wrong turns and consulting a local info center we found the ramen shop I like, located on a nearby side street. The shop had just opened and as it was only 11am we were most likely their 1st customers for the day. It would have been so nice to order a beer but in Japan there is no drink limit for drivers so we had to make do with ice water, the ramen we both ordered and the accompanying Goza were pretty good and we were soon very full and satisfied and ready for the return journey.

The Ramen run - part 2

2010-08-22T02:25:00.000-07:00

Our first stop up the valley was in the mountains just past the village of Tsugawa. It was so nice to be in the mountains alongside the river as it was only 24 deg compared to the 34 , 35 deg days we currently have each day in the city. This year the Japanese summer has been extremely hot and most people would like to see the summer humid weather end asap. After a short drink stop in the shade by a mountain bridge we wound our way through some narrow mountain tunnels before coming out into a riverside village where we spotted a small morning market in progress. In small rural villages in Japan they often have these markets on the weekend and locals can sell their freshly grown vegetables. I guess they are similar to the Farmers markets that are now quite popular in New Zealand. Pictured above are a few photos taken at the above locations

The Ramen run

2010-08-22T01:17:00.000-07:00

Well as I'm starting a new job soon and my regular day off will be Wed or Thurs my mate Brian suggested that we take a ride across the border into Fukushima to the famous ramen town of Kitakata. We had cycled some of the way before and from that I knew it was a tough course but rather scenic and it would be a challenge for our scooters , 1981 Vespa 50s , 1978 Yamaha Mate 50cc. Although these small scooters are not designed for such long distances I felt that if we made an early start it would be possible. We ended up leaving my place at 6.30am and headed out to the hills of Mt Gozu where there is a great fresh water spring, while there filling up our water bottles and old couple gave Brian a bag of tomato's so we ate a few and brewed up a coffee before heading further into the mountains along route 49 beside the mighty Agano river. Pictured above is a photo of my Vespa 50s with a spare 5 ltr fuel tank tied to the front rack and our scooters at the fresh water spring.

Front rack support stays

2010-08-05T04:34:00.000-07:00

Today I had some free time so while visiting the local home center I found some M5 threaded rods which I thought could be used as support stays to hold the front rack to the leg shield etc. First I used a large metal file to remove the threaded section of the rod that I didn't need then cut them to length after checking them against the rack for size and then I heated the ends until they where red hot and bent them with a pair of pliers to the correct shape. I think the rack was intended for a large frame scooter as the angle of the stay hole on the bottom of the rack angles further out than the edge of my leg shield. But as I only used M5 rod it has a certain amount of flex which allows it to fit. I may yet coat the stays in black electrical heat shrink to prevent them from rusting and to prevent the leg shield from any damage. Pictured above is what the rack looks like with the support stays fitted.

Front rack restoration

2010-08-02T03:15:00.000-07:00

Even though I only picked up the rack on Sat it's now totally restored apart from two new M5 x 230mm support struts that I need to make from stainless bolts. I spent about an hour on Sunday morning and another hour today with a small steel wire brush the size of a toothbrush and some steel wool. Most of the chrome was in near perfect condition with only the main swing rod rusted so it's a perfect match for my 1980 50s and maybe around a similar vintage. Later on I'll purchase a new rear rack for fitting the spare tire. Also my sister in NZ picked up a nice chrome old style Automobile Association car badge which will look great fitted the the rack above. Pictured above it what the rack will look like once fitted and the AA badge

What a bargain ?

2010-07-31T04:04:00.000-07:00

One thing I have always admired on Vespas was the front & rear racks and as they are all made in Italy and chromed they are not cheap as they are built to last and look the part. I was planning on buying a front and rear rack in the near future as I want a rear rack for fitting the spare leg shield tire which will give more more room up front and I wanted a front rack for holding the odd metal badge or two. So when one of the staff from the local Vespa dealer ( Sagami Motorcycles ) came to my house to collect my 50s for fitting new rear brakes they mentioned there was an old set of Vespa chrome racks in their loft above the bike shop. Luckily I know the owner personally of the bike store and the other day while visiting their shop he sent one of the staff members upstairs to fetch the front rack which is pictured above. As you can see it is badly covered in surface rust after sitting in their loft for the last 20 years or so but after having restored countless rusty old bicycles over the years this rack will be rather easy to restore. Already I have taken off the two rubber leg shield supports and cleaned them up in hot soapy water and left them to dry and as you can see from the above photos I've also done a steel wool test to gauge the depth of the rust and luckily it's only surface rust so it should clean up quite nicely I think. I will have to make two new support struts out of long bolts with the heads cut off and if I can heat the ends up I'll be able to bend them to the required shape and maybe coat the ends in black plastic heat shrink to protect the leg shield alloy trim. Pictured above is the rack in question and once fully restored I'll post more photos of it. By the way I only paid 2000 yen which is about US $20 for it - What a bargain !

137km tour

2010-07-24T22:46:00.000-07:00

This morning at 8.30pm my mate Brian dropped by my house and then we rode out of the city over a new road the crosses the mighty Agano river, after that we wound our way past Toyasaka and stopped off in the hot spring village of Tsukioka where we took a Ashi Yu ( Hot spring foot bath ) . Niigata has several Ashi Yu's located in small villages in the countryside and they are all free and it's a nice treat for your feet. After soaking our feet we continued on our way towards Shibata City but took a right turn to head up the valley towards Akadani and beyond Akaidani Village is the Takidani Shinden camping ground where we stopped to take a break by the river and whilst there we talked to the campground manager who told us about the facilitates at the camping ground including the nice log cabin that you can rent for 5000 yen a night, the cabin sleeps 4 people and looked rather nice. While at the camp ground we decided to ride up & over the mountain and down into Mikawa Village. The ride was fantastic as most of it was downhill under a nice cool canopy of trees , I even managed to get the Vespa into 4th gear on a couple of long straight sections. We had planned to make a detour over another mountain range to Murumatsu but unfortunately there was a sign saying that the road was closed. Just around that time it decided to rain and we were both soaked right through in a manner of seconds, but with the warm weather we were both dry again after a stop for some lunch at a big roadside rest area. After lunch we road back into Niigata city along the river bank before crossing over and ending up in the middle of the city where the traffic was thick and fast. My Vespa behaved rather well for such a long trip but on returning to the city it did stall several times when I changed down a gear or two and I had to crash start it a couple of times to get it going, I think such a long trip may have been a bit much for scooter but upon discovering how much gas was left in the tank I turned the tap into the reserve position to get home without too much trouble, finally arriving home at 2.30pm . All in all it was a fantastic first run and thanks Brian for joining me as I had a fantastic day out.

Pictured above are a few photos that were taken while out touring today

First long ride

2010-07-23T01:39:00.000-07:00

Today I had a dentist appointment in the center of the city so instead of cycling or driving my van I took the Vespa. After filling the tank and taking a note of the date plus the odometer reading I headed into the city. It behaved rather well and with brand new rear brakes I felt rather safe. At one point on a long stretch of road it got up to 55km , but I have decided not to try and push it too hard as it really needs running in at first. Most of the trip was spent in 3rd gear cruising at about 40km as that's the legal limit here in Japan and while stopping at the lights I slipped it into neutral so save any wear on the clutch. I also rode up a steep section of road near the sea and although it was very slow going it made it no problems. Most of the time I guess I'll be using 2nd & 3rd gear around the city as it's only a few seconds before you need to change out of 1st gear at the lights. I took the same route that I drive into the city which is a busy road but everything went well. I must admit I was a little nervous about my 1st long ride into the city but it was heaps of fun. This Sunday my mate Brian who rides a 1978 50cc Yamaha mate & I are going for a long ride into the countryside which I'm sure will be good for the scooter. After this Sundays ride I'll post a report along with some photos.

It's finally finished !

2010-07-19T03:22:00.000-07:00

Well today I picked up my Vespa from Sagami motorcycle shop as they have just fitted some new rear brake pads, rear brake pedal rubber and a brand new rear wheel locknut. I also have a lead on a used front carrier and a rear rack which I'll look into next month as that will save me some money by cleaning up an old set of racks rather than buying a brand new set and I'm sure a brand new set of racks would look out of place on my 30 year old scooter. It was great fun riding the bike home from the motorcycle shop and once I re fitted the NZ mud　flap I took it for a spin around the local streets only to discover that the front brake was sticking so after some slight adjustment I had fixed the problem and then whilst riding the engine died on me. After looking in the tank I realized why the engine cut out as there was hardly in fuel left so I turned the tap into the reserve position to ride home and it worked fine. Later this week I'll fill the tank right up as my mate Brian & I are going for a long ride this coming Sunday which I'm sure will be good for my scooter as the engine needs running in after not being in use for such a long time. Pictured above is the Vespa which is now fitted with a number plate and the national insurance sticker .

Stubbon wheel nut !

2010-07-11T03:30:00.000-07:00

Well after nearly 9 months of slowing rebuilding my Vespa it's almost ready for the road. Just last Friday I picked up my brand new number plate which involved a little bit of paper work as it had not been registered for many years and there was no proof of ownership papers etc. After getting Tamaya san to sign a paper stating that he was the previous owner I now officially own the scooter. The next thing I looked into was getting the standard insurance which is available year by year or you can pay for multiple years in advance which is actually cheaper. That then gives you a sticker which your local motorcycle shop attaches to the top left hand side of your number plate which is called " Genbiseki " . So far I managed to repair the entire scooter myself by buying the required parts from online scooter shops here in Japan but the job I undertook today was something I wish I hadn't started. I had planned to take off the rear wheel and remove the drum brake housing which was rather easy but the large nut that hold the drum brake plate in place was held on with the strength of a thousand gorillas. I did manage to remove the split pin that stops the nut from working loose but in my attempts to try and remove the nut I have slightly rounded off the corners of the nut which as everyone knows, it will only make removing the nut even more difficult. After a lot of colorful language and a vast amount of sweating I threw in the towel so to speak and tomorrow I will drop by the local Vespa dealer to ask them to come and pick up the scooter, take it to their shop and remove the nut ( somehow ) and fit some brand new drum brakes so it's safe to ride. I was hoping to avoid using the bike shop but in this case I have no other option. Anyhow once it's back from the bike shop it will be ready to ride which will be fantastic.

Pictured above is a previous photo showing the stubborn wheel nut which I tried to remove today

Scooterworks USA catalog

2010-07-08T03:14:00.000-07:00

Recently I was given some US dollars and having nowhere here in which to spend it I posted it off with a letter to Scooterworks which is Americas leading mail order shop for Vespa fans. I had seen on their website that they sold some nice Vespa related sew on patches and in the future I'd like to fit them to a M-65 parka. So just the other day I received the patches in the above photo, of course they don't sell the NZ flag patch as I had that already. Apart from the patches I ordered from them, they were also good enough to include their latest 127 page Vintage Vespa catalog which is packed full of everything you could ever want or need for your vintage Vespa. You name it and it's in their catalog plus the last few pages have a listing of Vespa serial numbers. Pictured above are a couple of photos of the catalog

black kickstand

2010-06-24T22:08:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in the last post the stainless steel kickstand was starting to rust so I took the kickstand off again and left the Vespa sitting on the plastic sake crate while the stand was getting powder coated at the company just around the corner from my house. Today I got the kickstand back which looks very nice and after fitting the rubber feet to it, I put it back on the scooter. It looks pretty good and at least now I will not have to worry about rust any more. I also took the Vespa for a few laps around the block to check the idle speed which seems to be fine and apart from the still non existent rear brakes everything is working well. Next step is to buy some new rear drum brakes and get the scooter a number plate so I can start riding it around. Pictured above is the stand before fitting it to the scooter and some pics of the scooter in it's current condition.

Vespa update

2010-06-20T00:51:00.000-07:00

Recently I decided to take off the center stand which I believe is made from stainless steel as even after I polished it up it was quickly starting to rust, which I was not happy about and seeing the scooter is from the 80s I decided to get the center stand powder coated black which means I will not need to polish it anymore. Niigata has a lot of rain so it's rather easy for things to get rusty in this climate. I decided to make a mud flap for the Vespa today featuring the NZ international vehicle code. It was made from a thin plastic white sheet in which I cut the patten out and then bonded it to a black piece of rubber. I think it turned out quite well but only time will tell if the bond holds together. I also spent some more time tuning the carburetor in the hope that the engine will idle better. I think I have almost fixed the idling speed and I took it for a spin now that I have a helmet. it still needs some rear brakes but on a long stretch of road I did manage to get it into 4th gear and up to 40km an hour. the next step is to buy some new rear brake pads and then it should be ready to go on the road.

Del Orto Carburetor kit

2010-06-08T01:28:00.000-07:00

Today my Del Orto Carburetor kit arrived from Pushrod scooter shop in Fukuoka, I must say their online shopping service was very good as I placed the order for the Carburetor kit and Valve float needle on Sat night and received a reply later on that night and today ( Tuesday morning ) my parts arrived COD from a national courier company. I have just refitted the valve float needle which was badly worn and not doing it's job as the pointed rubber seal on the end of the valve was damaged and fitted a new gasket & rubber seals etc. Hopefully the carburetor should be as good as a brand new one now after cleaning it and fitting the new parts etc. Later this week when I get time I will fit the carb & the fuel tank back into the Vespa and try to tune the engine so it is idling correctly.

It's not from 1964

2010-06-05T19:03:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone

Today while cleaning some more rust off the Vespa I discovered another serial number which means that my Vespa is not a 1964 model at all but is instead from 1981. I don't really care that it's not from 64 as it's still a nice scooter regardless of it's age and I'm having a lot of fun restoring it as well. Last night I ordered a new Del Orto carburetor kit which contains new o rings and gasket seals so hopefully that will make the carburetor work better and as I noticed the carb valve float needle was worn down I ordered a new one of those as well. So later this week once the parts arrive I'll re build the carb and fit it back into the scooter along with the fuel tank which I removed. I have also taken off the kickstand which I had polished as it was starting to rust and I will get it either powder coated black or chromed.

Carb parts needed

2010-05-10T04:41:00.000-07:00

Today I once again pulled the Dell Orto SHB 16.16 apart and on closer inspection I found out the following parts need replacing .

1. Needle valve 3 sided
2. packing for the banjo screw
3. Gasket for the air filter
4. Packing for the slide top
5. Rubber sealing ring for the float bowl

Also the inside of the float bowl seemed dirty and maybe an in line filter is required for the fuel line to stop this problem. Pictured above is part of the carburetor that still requires cleaning and the small carb parts that I need to replace.

2010-05-09T01:14:00.000-07:00

Scooter update

2010-05-08T05:07:00.000-07:00

Well after refitting the Dell Orto 16/16 carburetor and the fuel tank I then refilled the tank and pulled out the choke and turned the fuel tap on, after a couple of kicks it burst into life and sounded a lot better than it did before. I was even able to open the throttle fully and the engine seemed to be running fine so I slipped it into 1st gear and took off slowly down the street and as it seemed to be running ok I changed in 2nd gear and on a longer stretch of road I was even able to get into 3rd gear. It was fantastic to be riding along at a decent speed but I'm sure the locals thought I was a bit crazy as I didn't have a helmet ( must buy one soon ) and the scooter is not registered yet so of course it doesn't even have a number plate. After getting back to my apartment I noticed that it was leaking fuel out of the drain hose on the air filter, even though it's an old scooter I'm sure it's not supposed to do that so I parked it up and killed the engine. I have since had lots of great advice from the Canscoot ( Canterbury scooter club in Christchurch NZ ) forum and I have just today removed the fuel tank & carb and when I get time I will rebuild the carb again this time taking more care to inspect the smaller items such as the fuel jets and packing washers which may be the cause of my fuel leakage.

Fault finding

2010-05-01T19:52:00.000-07:00

Well after getting the Vespa back together it was time to try and start the engine and to my surprise it fired up after several false starts and all the lights & horn are working perfectly which is nice as it means less repairs for me to have to worry about. I did manage to take it for a very slow ride around the block in 1st gear and found out that there seems to be no rear bakes at all so a pair of new rear drum brake pads will need to be purchased soon and at half throttle the engine dies out. I knew the compression and spark was fine as I had tested both those things & they were ok so I guessed it must be a fuel related problem. I then pulled out the tank & carburetor for cleaning. I tested the flow of gas from the petcock and it seemed to be flowing fine so it must be a dirty carburetor. I have never pulled apart a carburetor before but with a print out from the smallframes.com website on stripping & rebuilding a Dell Orto carburetor it was very easy. After pulling the Dell Orto 16/16 carb apart I soon found the reason for the poor engine performance as the jet needles & filter were totally blocked up which required a good clean. I totally stripped and rebuilt it in a few hours and next I will buy some new fuel line before refitting it back into the scooter.

Pictured above is the Dell Orto 16/16 carburetor

It's back together again

2010-04-28T00:55:00.000-07:00

Well finally I had a nice sunny afternoon to put the following parts back on the Vespa - Wheels, kickstand & seat. So now it's finally back together and even though I have never worked on a Vespa before I think it turned out ok. It was never my intention to make a award winning scooter but to retain all the original parts I could and give it an overall clean up. Yes the body does has a few scratches and a few patches of surface rust but it's the original paintwork from 1964. I don't really want a perfect finish as I'd always be worried about getting the paintwork chipped etc but with this scooter I won't be afraid to take it anywhere. As mentioned in a previous posting I have retained the best condition original tire to use as the spare which looks very nice , check the photo above and the two other tires are brand new as are all the tubes. I have yet to fill the tank and to try and start it but it kicks over very nicely so it might not be too difficult to get it going again.

Pictured above are some photos I took now that it's back together again

Tires are on the rims

2010-04-22T03:46:00.000-07:00

Well it's taken me quite a while to get this far but today after purchasing a decent bicycle pump I was able to mount the tires onto the newly painted silver rims. As mentioned before I bought two brand new tires ( Michelin S83s ) and I have kept the best of the old Michelin tires for use as the spare. After following the instructions in my book " How to restore & maintain your Vespa Motorscooter " I coated the Dunlop rubber tubes & the insides of the tires in baby powder and put them together. The old tire went together very easily but the new tires were a bit tougher because their beading was tighter which is a good thing but in the end the air pressure forced the new tires solidly onto the restored rims.

Pictured above is the old Michelin tire on the left and a new Michelin S83 on the right and when I next get some fine weather I'll be able to fit them to the scooter. I also bought new plated nuts & spring washers from the local home center instead of getting the old ones re plated. I'm pretty happy with the final result as I hadn't done spay painting in ages so I think they turned out quite good

Silver rims

2010-04-15T23:11:00.000-07:00

Well today I finally got some good weather and it was warm enough to spay paint my rims that had just come back from getting sand blasted. I have painted them silver as that's what they were before I got them sand blasted, they were very rusty and the silver was rather dull looking so they will look a lot better once back on the Vespa. I kind of feel that the silver I have re spayed them in looks rather bright compared to the original color but if I don't like them they can always be sprayed again. I'm almost finished cleaning, painting & re building the scooter and all I have to do now is to buy some inner tubes and put the wheels back together and then fit the kick stand & wheels and then I can fill up the tank and test the engine.

Re painted exhaust pipe

2010-04-11T23:49:00.000-07:00

Well as I was cleaning the scooter I realized that the stock exhaust pipe was badly rusted and in need of a clean. I did consider attacking it with a wire brush but after getting the rims sand blasted I thought I might as well get the exhaust pipe sand blasted as well. After dropping the pipe of to get blasted I purchased some heat proof black spray paint which is rated to 600 deg ( I don't think my vespa will ever get that hot ! ) and a few days later I received the pipe back perfectly clean. So on the 1st sunny day that we had I sprayed two good coats of the heat proof paint on the exhaust and pictured above is what it now looks like. I'm now waiting for two sets of rims to come back from the sand blaster and some sunny weather so I can spay paint them silver.

New tires

2010-03-31T02:35:00.001-07:00

When I first started this rebuild I knew I would have to purchase new tires as the old ones looked pretty bad , but at least one of the old Michelin 3.00 x 10 tires was in good shape and if I could clean it up would look great as a spare tire. So I bought some tire cleaner which came in a spay can and after spaying the old tire , it now looks like new. As it's a vintage scooter I didn't want to put any modern tires on it and was happy to find out Michelin still make a classic scooter tire called the S83 which arrived today after having placed an online order for them from a large motorcycle dealer in Osaka. I would have rather bought them from a local bike shop but the internet price was a lot cheaper than I could have purchased them for at any bike shop in the city.

Pictured above are the two brand new S83 tires.

New small parts

2010-03-27T19:47:00.001-07:00

Well the other day I placed an online order with KB Scooters here in Japan and much to my surprise they replied to me in English to tell me that the Michelin tires that I wanted were not in stock but they had everything else I needed. A couple of days later I received my order which was COD and pictured above are the new parts that I received.

Front PIAGGO mark , rear frame badge for 50s, A pair of center stand boots, 4mm steering lock & a Vespa / PIAGGO leather key fob

This morning I fitted the center stand boots to the polished chrome center stand and then placed the PIAGGO hex front mark onto the Vespa. After that I fitted the rear Vespa 50s badge to the frame. Even though it's only a small part it turned out to be a bit tricky as the holes in the Vespa didn't quite line up with the new badge so I had to bend one of the badge mounting stubs inwards so it would fit. As it's made from alloy it's rather easy to bend but I must say that the heading over of the alloy stubs on the inside was difficult as my pliers couldn't trim the stubs down because of the curve. If I had different shaped pliers or cutters this would have been easy. But in the end I just bent the stubs over on the inside with a hammer, it's now held in place and the badge won't come off and nobody will see the underside anyway. I also re used the rear foot brake rubber pad as it's still in good condition. I will not be fitting the new lock until the lock cover twist rivets arrive from a local motorcycle shop

Pictured above are some photos I took of the parts

Engine cleaning

2010-03-02T03:34:00.000-08:00

After I turned the Vespa upside down I was able to give the engine a good clean, it looked like it hadn't been cleaned for a long time and everywhere there was thick black grease & dirt. One handy tip I learned from reading my Vespa book was that standard kitchen grease remover , the type of spray on stuff that you would use to clean an oven etc. Once I had sprayed on the greaser remover and let it soak into the grease it only then required a gentle scrub with a brass wire brush, don't use a hard wire steel brush as it will only strach the engine casing etc. You can also use a rag to remove the grease once it's soft as well, then use the brush for the stuff that's left behind. In the above pictures you can see the condition of the engine showing some of the parts that I have already cleaned. I forgot to take a final photo of the clean engine before turning the scooter over , but I managed to get the entire engine nice and clean which I'm sure will help the engine run better and when I need to work on the engine at a later date at least I'll be able to see what I'm doing

Upside down ?

2010-03-01T01:44:00.000-08:00

Well as you can see from the above photo I turned the entire scooter upside down and supported it on a couple of sake crates with some padding under the headset. Why on earth did I do that ?, Back home in New Zealand I had a large workshop but due to living in a rented apartment here in Japan I don't have the luxury of having an indoor space on which to work on projects such as the Vespa. So all I have is a covered area alongside my apartment in which to work. One of the main things I wanted to do with this Vespa was to make sure I could clean it thoroughly and with it sitting the right way up even on plastic crates this proved difficult when it came to cleaning the engine and under the frame. I knew that turning it upside down was not the best idea as oil was sure to leak out from the engine , which it did. But I was able to clearly see what I was doing and it made the job of cleaning it a lot quicker. If I had a workshop I would have just taken the engine out to clean it.

Removing a small frame steering lock

2010-03-01T00:37:00.000-08:00

One thing that often happens is that owners loose their keys to the steering lock. That's fine if you are not worried about having your Vespa stolen, but if you would rather keep your scooter it pays to have a working steering lock. One of the few parts that were missing on my 50s was the key to the steering lock, I guessed that I was able to purchase and fit a new lock so I was not worried about not having the key. As this is quite common I expected to find something in my Vespa book that I purchased on how to go about removing the steering lock, but to my surprise it was not mentioned at all. But thanks to the very helpful website scooterhelp.com I was able to remove the old lock. Pictured above are the steps that I took to remove the lock.

No. 1 The lock cover & lock barrel fitted to the scooter
No. 2 I then drilled the heads off the alloy rivets with a hand drill
No. 3 The lock cover has been removed , prise it off with a flat headed screwdriver
No. 4 Drill 3/4 of the way into the lock barrel & destroy the lock wafers
No. 5 Insert a screwdriver and turn it 1/4 of a turn anti clockwise to remove it
No. 6 The old 4mm lock barrel & spring is finally removed

Even though the scooterhelp.com website mentioned using an electric drill I managed to remove the lock with only a hand drill ( it was hard work ) , flat headed screw driver & pliers. Once the lock was removed I was able to remove the rivets with a pair of pliers, though vice grips would have been better.

Cleaning rusty parts

2010-02-28T04:31:00.000-08:00

One thing I learned from restoring vintage bicycles was that if you have the time and are prepared to put in a bit of effort even parts that are very rusty can be cleaned up. When most people would just look at a badly rusted part and purchase something new , I always try to get it as clean as possiable and retain the original part. The pictures above show parts that were bady rusted after I had cleaned them up. If you want to clean such parts you will need the following supplies , steel wool ( more than one grade of steel wool is very useful ) Brass wire brush , large and a smaller toothbrush sized one, plently of old rags, metal polish, rust removing paste or cream. With those supplies you should be able to restore most chrome or alloy parts, bearing in mind if chrome has flaked off a part be careful when using a wire brush as you may damage it further. Also do not use sandpaper as it will only stratch & dull the surface you are trying to polish. After using a brass wire brush you can then use steel wool with some rust remover spread onto it and finally use some metal polish on a rag to buff the part to a shine. The mirror & the kickstand were both very rusty but after the process mentioned above they now look quite good. If I was to re chrome either of those two parts they would have looked out of place on such an old scooter

The split rims & tyres

2010-02-27T20:37:00.000-08:00

As the split rims were badly rusted I set about to try and clean the spare tyre first, but my wire brush proved worthless on the rusty surface and learning that the was a company in my neighbourhood that did sandblasting I decided that I would sandblast all of the 3 split rims and then re spay them myself once the weather warms up. Pictured above is the first pair of split rims that I have had sandblasted and as you can already see some light rust has already formed on them. Since discovering that I have wrapped them in newspaper and put them into plastic bags to prevent them from further rusting. The tyres that were on the scooter were Michelin 3.00 x 10 and although they look good, there are plenty of cracks in the sidewalls which render them unsafe for practical use. So once the rims & been repainted I will install some brand new tubes & Michelin S83 which is Michelin's classic scooter tyres which I can buy online here in Japan at a very reasonable price.

The seat

2010-02-27T20:09:00.000-08:00

As the seat foam was in bad condition I decided to start on that first. After emptying out the decayed seat foam and cleaning the seat frame I purchased two pieces of seat foam from my local home center ( Japanese home center's are huge and sell almost everything you could require ). It turned out I didn't need to purchase two pieces of foam after all as there was only enough room for one section of foam. After removing the clips that hold the vinyl onto the frame I easily removed the cover. But after putting the new foam in , it was very tit and required two of us to stretch the vinyl to get it back on. It was a mistake to do that as in the process of fitting the cover back on I ripped the vinyl near the rear of the seat. Even though I had the new foam fitted I was unhappy at damaging the cover so set about to take it apart trim the foam down so there would not be so much tension on the cover and I fitted strong waterproof black tape to both sides to stop the rip getting any larger. It's now back together and looking pretty good for an old seat. One of the things I had in mind when I started this project was to retain as many of the original parts as possible. Pictured above is the repaired seat

How old is this thing ?

2010-02-27T19:38:00.000-08:00

As I hve no knowedge of Vespa's at all I found on the net a fantastic book called " How to restore and maintain your Vespa Motorscooter " so I ordered a copy of the book online and hoped it would offer me some guidance in getting the Vespa back on the road again. While waiting for the book to arrive I did some research on the internet and found out that most problery my scooter was a 50s. The rear name bage was missing but it looked very simular to the scooter pictured on my blog header. In Japan Vespa's like mine are fitted with handle bar indicators and up until 2000 brand new Vespa 50s, 100 and 125ET3 models were sold in Japan as the Vintage Series, some old stock of these are still avaiable brand new today as I have seen them advertised on line here in Japan. In Niigata City where I live I have only seen one scooter like mine which appears to be from the mid 80s. After receiving my book I checked my serial number which is V5SA1T 8893 and according to my book my scooter was produced in 1964 which was the 2nd year of production for this model. Above is a picture of the book I purchased which has been of a great help so far and a photo of the engine. You can find the serial number stamped on the top on the frame just above the engine

A closer inspection

2010-02-27T19:20:00.000-08:00

After obtaining the Vespa I set about to give it a light wipe down with a damp cloth to get rid of the dust that had been covering it for so many years. And it seemed to be complete which was fantastic as even though I have never restored a scooter in my life , I have restored many vintage bicycles and if the project that you are working on is not missing any parts it makes things a lot easier and cheaper of course. The first thing that came off was the stickers, a large Mickey Mouse sticker on the side of the frame and two reflective stickers on both sides of the rear fender. Luckily for me the previous owner had fitted a Vespa floor mat which had protected the flooring from rust and even though the floor mat had decayed it had done a good job of protecting the paintwork and running strips as they were in good condition. Also under the seat was the original tool roll containing the tool set which came with the scooter when new. The seat had no rips or tears in the vinyl at all but the seat foam had turned to dust. The overall body had some light patches of rust as did the wheels but nothing a good cleaning wouldn't fix. The engine was covered in thick black grease as was the front brake assembly which later on turned out to be a blessing as it had protected the parts from rust etc. Pictured above are some other photos that were taken on the day I received the scooter.

My Vespa 50s

2010-02-27T18:56:00.000-08:00

When I was younger I always wanted a motorcycle, but like most parents they were against me buying anything other than a car for my 1st mode of motorized transport. Many of my mates owned various makes & models of motorcycles and enjoyed touring around the countryside of my native home New Zealand & once I was offered a fantastic old double seat vintage Vespa when I was collecting vintage bicycles back in NZ, but because it was larger than a 50cc I would not have been licenced to use it as I only had a car licence. I have never bothered to get a motorcycle licence at all and always admired Vespa's for their unique design. It was in Nov 2009 that I was walking my dog around my neighbourhood here in Niigata city Japan where I now work & live that I spotted a small frame Vespa sitting in a shed. I knew the owner of the property and several weeks later while my wife & I were out walking we bumped into the owner of the Vespa and I passed a casual comment about the vintage scooter in his shed. He said would I like to take a look at it and of course I jumped at the chance for a closer inspection. It was dusk when I first viewed the Vespa but the owner informed me he had been given it recently from a mate and didn't really have any use for it. I then asked him what size engine it had and he said it was a 50cc, it looked quite old but as I didn't know anything about Vespa's I had no idea of it's exact age. He then said would I like to have it !, even though I live & work in Japan I would say my Japanese is not that good but from what I could make out he was willing to give it to me so without hesitation I quickly said yes I would love it. It took a few weeks later before we met up again and he suggested that we push it out of his shed and up to my place. I couldn't beleive that I had been given a vintage Vespa after wanting one for so many years. Pictured above is the 50s on the day that I received it.