suppliers

Here I will list the different suppliers used along with an appraisal of their service/ prices.

GPS Imports - my local scooter shop. They are a pretty major importer of vespa parts for Melbourne and I prefer dealing locally with actual people wherever possible.
I have used them for numerous parts, including all my electrics. My rear sebac shock, seals, nuts and bolts, gaskets, cables etc. Not only is the immediacy of supply (if in stock) handy, but the ability to discuss something helps make sure you have all the bits required for a task.

SIP scootershop - Germany - online. Many in Australia have horror stories about their freight charges. They are German (efficient) so have always used very pricey freight. Recently they have started offering a cheaper alternative, making soem of their products now within reach.
I bought my performance exhaust from them. I would buy loads more from them if only their minimum order was lower.


BEEDSPEED - england. A bit of a favourite at the moment due to fair freight, good pricing and extremely fast postage. When you buy from them remember to take around 17% OFF the prices as they include their local tax in pricing.
I used them for my front sebac shock, a front hub, strengthened cosa clutch, etc.


SCOOTERWORKS - USA. Used them for carb jets last year and they were helpful and very fast on the postage.

SCOOTRS - Vietnam. Great for superficial things, but I wouldn't recommend structural stuff.
Very happy with my chrome, oldy style kickstart. Very disappointed with my saddle seat. Very happy with the replacement floor for the VNA. The GS style tailight was cheap and will be handy. The calendars are a great addition to the workshop.


AUSTRALIAN SCOOTER PARTS - Sydney (VIETNAMES IMPORTERS). Good blokes. Not sure about the parts as yet, but they are new and their range is growing all the time. I have ordered a GS repro seat from them so we will see.

SCOMO - I don't know if I have bought from them but all the Americans (and oner or two Aussies) seem to have a crush on their sales person 'Chelsea'. She is often on the international scooter bbs giving advice. During my headset crisis she was very helpful one on one, and I really wish I had got the NOS (New Old Stock) from her in the first place. Lesson learned.


EBAY - Some regular scooterparts ebayers such as sydneyscooterparts, and westcoastvespa are worth contacting when you need a part or two. Sydneyscooterparts sorted me out with a few bits and bobs that weren't listed for a reasonable price.

SCOOTER BBS and SCOOTERBOYWORLD spam forums - USA and UK respectively. Each are separate forums to their general ones. I have had mixed success with these. I have found a lot of people have offered to send parts, which is very kind. Unfortunately by the time you realise they may not come through with the goods they could have been delivered by Beedspeed.




More later....

engine update

Ok, now the carb's in, the clutch is in, electrics, flywheel, all set to go.....
... and the clutch on the LML (daily rider) comes loose and rattles itself to pieces. In order to get to work everyday, I had to steal the clutch from the bench 210 and put it in the LML.
Luck I did because it was not put together correctly (my fault) and the corks weren't soaked correctly (my fault) and there is a 4 plate kit in it which seems to be chewing on the brass bush.
Hopefully It will hold out until the big change over. The good thing is now I know a little more about clutches.
For the malossi (210) engine, I took the opportunity to order a cosa clutch from beedspeed. It arrived in Australia from England in less than a week.
The corks are now soaking in oil, and will go in any day now. Australia play Greece in the soccer tomorrow night at the MCG and I am going, so It can't be tomorrow.

I am starting to wonder if it might be less bother to switch motors straight off, rather than fix the motor to the bench, attempt to join an exhaust, make a way of feeding fuel, changing gears, operating the clutch and trying to kickstart it on the bench.
We shall see.....
TBC

MY GOD IT'S A QUAD

There's a new kid on the block.... the '64 GL frame.
After much procrastination over repairing the rust in the VNA, I have decided to change my plans. I have gotten hold of a basic GL frame that doesn't have any serious rust and is straight. The GL had a 10 inch wheel, so my life will be a little easier using the px motor.
( what looks like rust is actually red clay).
.. so here's the new plan...

1) I treat the frame for rust underneath, and cut+polish the white finish. My favourite vespa finish is original white that shows that the bike has had a full and active service. As you can imagine, I am very happy with this one, as it is just that.

2) I do my best to fix up the old VNA side cowls, and make them fit the GL frame (see pic).

3) I use the VNA headset. Firstly a GL one will be hard to get, and will upset me if I have to drill holes for extra switches, and cut it for hydraulics. Secondly the VNA is ideal as it is a pressed steel two part unit, allowing access for extra wiring. I can even cut bits out if necessary for guages, etc. (probably won't 'tho as the bike is to look as stock as possible ).

4) Same plans apply as far as forks go. The only difference will be I need a PK XLII fork instead of a PK XL. This topic is always a little hazy, so there's more research to do on that one. The forks then get the appropriate sebac shock and a PX200 disc brake kit.

When this is all done, the engine pops out of the LMLT5 and into the 'DIRTY ROCKET'

As time goes on I will be ebaying for the correct headset, forks, cowls, etc. to allow a full restore in the future.

open sesame

a few weeks ago I got a case of beer, a few pizzas, and some new seals/ gaskets and had the lads from the Melbourne Vespa Connection around for a case splitting ceremony.
In attendance were Jeremy, Paul, Stuart and myself (dirty derek)
I had been sorely tempted to just fire up this baby and see what happened, but a bit of reason and a lot of curiosity got the better of me and we pulled it to bits.

Firstly the head came off.. no big deal but it was freshly machined by the look of it and seemed nice.
Next the barrel... ooh boy such a shiny new piston in there.
As we went to remove the circlips from the gudgeon pin (holding the piston on) I found one wasn't completely on. From this point I truly realise that the motor, while being complete and a great find, is now reliant on ME to make it safe and prepared for active duty.

With the combined experiences of the four of us we split the cases, replaced the seals (in case they had deteriorated in the years the engine has sat without being used since rebuild) and put it back together.

In the weeks following I have added the new stator plate, added a new rear hub, put the cdi/coil on and filled it with oil.

Apparently the starter motor I ordered from a gut in england was sent back by customs, so after a bit of negotiation I cut my losses, got most of my money back and bought one from a guy in Sydney.
That arrived promptly and I bolted it on.

The electrics produce a spark

Pablo (Brisbane) kindly sent me the correct oil pump pinion and cog, and I now I await one washer from the states before I can assemble the autolube pump, and put the carb on.

I have stripped the carb and replaced the float and needle.

One washer and I am away. My wife goes to Tasmania for a week, so I hope to burn the midnight oil and get this beast started by next week.

Once it is running I see no reason why I can't have it in the scooter for jetting the next day.

back to the motor and a change of plans

The 210 is going in the LML t5 frame.

I had already decided to get the malossi engine going on the bench, then put it into my daily ride (see pictured).
This was mainly due to the huge difference in time it will take to do that and prepare the body.
Now that the headset disaster has unfolded, I will not only put it in, but get soem disc brakes on there aswell.

Enough about that for now... I must go back and catch you up on what's been happening with the motor.

200 bucks, 2 months wait and a box of shite to show for it

finally my headset arrived today... bent and broken.
The speedo (100 US ) is bent where the cable goes in.
The handle bar is bent
the headset bottom os dinged.
None of this happened in transit, and I am waiting for a response to my annoyed email before deciding what to do next.

This signals the official shelving of the VNA side of the project, and the fast tracking of the 210 malossi engine.
More soon on that.