Vintage ride EDC - Every Day Carry

 I consider my Stella a vintage designed scooter.  She may not have pedigree or be old, but she's the same design as vintage scooters.  Therefore tools are needed.  If not for me, then for my fellow riders benefit.  Don't get me wrong, she's always got me home, but you have to be prepared.

So folks may be interested in what is carried all the time in that massive storage compartment.

#1 Flash Light!  I keep a magnetic mount USB rechargeable LED light.  This is essential, because I do ride in the dark and would not want to fumble around making a repair in the dark.

#2 Wheel Jack.  I made a scooter jack out of some wood.  It doesn't have to be complicated.  Two blocks sit under each side of the center stand feet.  This allows removal of the front wheel.  The cradled jack side can be used under the rear shock absorber to get the rear off the ground.  Sure, you can tip the scooter over in the grass and let the fluids leak out of the tanks, but that's no fun.  It can be propped up against a building, but what if you are in the middle of nowhere?

#3 Hand Tools.  The most important are the tubing spanners and tommy bars, then a set of open-end wrenches.  A 6" Crescent wrench, just in case a bolt needs held while the nut is removed.  A combo screwdriver.  Fourth Hand cable tool, and spare cables with nipples.

I also keep a few inner tube patches, bicycle hand pump, and tire gauge as well.  Flat tires happen.

The point is to be prepared for about anything.  The tool you don't have is the one you need.

Vespa GTS hpe - Turn Signal Beeper

 One lacking feature of the Vespa GTS is a sounder for the turn signals.  Since the turn signals don't self cancel on the scooter, you have to remember to turn them off.  (Gee, my 1979 Yamaha had self-cancelling turn signals, why can't they do that today?)  The only indication the rider gets that the turns signals are on is a little lamp on the instrument cluster.  If I'm watching traffic, I'm not looking at my instrument cluster.  In a busy traffic environment it could be dangerous to leave a turn signal on.  It can also be annoying to fellow riders when you are in a group.  In any case leaving the turn signals on is not accurately representing the rider's intentions.

What I needed was a simple way to add a turn signal beeper.  The one on my Stella is way TOO LOUD, but I never forget to turn it off.  The easiest thing to do was run some wires back from the front turn signal bulb connectors.  This proved much easier than I imagined due to the high quality electrical components that Piaggio uses.  This turns out to be a quick project for a snowy day.

The existing wires are shown with the squiggle at the end back to the existing harness.  I used some diodes out of my junk drawer, but a pair of 1N4001 diodes will work.  They just block the DC electricity from going back to the opposite turn signal.

The diode module on a small piece of perf board.

The white connector housing may be opened by spreading the two tabs, and unlocking the fold-out holder at the wire-side of the connector.  Don't force it or it will break.  Use a needle to gently lift the plastic tab INSIDE the opposite end where the wires come out.  This will release the crimp connector and allow it to pull out.  Your new wire can then be soldered to the back of the crimp connector, and pushed back into the connector housing.  Do this on both sides, and re-assemble the turn signals.

I made an aluminum bracket to hold the buzzer along side the existing USB charging port.

A piggyback connector was used to utilize the negative connector from the USB charge port.  The common side of the diode was connected to the positive terminal of the buzzer.  I shrink-wrapped the diodes in yellow and drew their symbol on the shrink tube, so I remember what's in there years from now.

There you have it!  All done.

Anti-Fog helmet shield treatment

 I had a really cool anti-fog helmet shield from Xelement a few years ago, but it cracked off in the cold weather.  I ended up returning the helmet and bought a nice HJC.

I like to ride in most any weather, but I hate when my helmet fogs up.  I've tried the Rain X product on the outside surface, and that works pretty well.  Its the inside surface that is the problem.  I saw someone try shaving cream, and that didn't work for me.  It fogged up just the same.

Then I read that F1 race drivers will apply a single drop of shampoo to their helmet shield.  The drop of shampoo is distributed evenly with the tip of the finger and left to dry.  Then a microfiber cloth can be used to buff it clear again.

This seemed like a simple trick and worth trying.  In my demonstration video below I compared an untreated helmet shield (silver helmet) with a treated shield (white helmet).  The results are surprisingly different.  The shield treated with shampoo really did resist fogging!

Vespa GTS - Protecting the paint from a cargo bucket

 The Vespa community has asked us to stop calling it a "pet carrier", since the name conjures morbid images.  So we'll call it a cargo bucket, that plastic bin that fits between the engine and under the seat of your Vespa.

The problem is that it has a sharp edge where it hangs on the body.  This presses into the paint and causes micro-vibration that wears right down into the metal.  Eventually it will create a rust ring the whole way around.

There's a product called "racer's tape", some call it "helicopter tape", but it is a polyurethane tape that is amazingly strong.  It can be hard to cut with a pair of scissors if they are even slightly dull.  I've used this for years on my Sunbeam Alpine where the hard top contacts the body of the car.  This tape protects the paint and will not damage it even if you leave it on for years at a time.

Sunbeam S7 Deluxe - Oil Pressure Switch

 The oil pressure light has not been extinguishing on the Sunbeam S7 Deluxe.  I removed the switch and put some pressure to it, which did not open the contacts.  The stamp mark on the body of the switch is 10psi.  I was well above 10psi air pressure and the switch did still not open.

Figuring that there are replacement switches available, it would not hurt to try to take this one apart to see if it was repairable.  The switch was not leaking oil, so it seemed reasonable it may be just something with the contacts preventing it from opening at the correct pressure.

The adjustment pin has a slotted head inside the electrical contact stud and would not move.

There is a pressed sheet metal collar around the switch body.  I put it in the vice and began prying at the collar.  It eventually slipped up over the switch body and exposed two cutouts with a view of the contacts.  The diaphragm pushes against the outer contact which lifts it from the fixed contact.  The fixed contact was initially factory set at 10psi, and then fixed in place with a center punch mark.  This explained why the adjustment would not move.

After cleaning the inside of the contact chamber with contact cleaner, I was able to see it operate.  Using two small flat bladed instrument screwdrivers, I could hold the fixed contact against the adjustment pin and slightly bend the profile of the contact.  A few iterations of this yielded a nearly perfect contact break point just around 10psi.

The tool I'm using in the video is a continuity tester.  It has a small buzzer and battery in series.  The pointer end is connected to the buzzer and the other side of the battery is connected to the wire clip lead coming out the back.  I built this long ago for general electrical testing.

(Forgive the state of the workbench, I usually don't leave it that dirty.)

If it continues to act up, I will probably order a new pressure switch.  For now at least I know how the original switch works.

I fitted a tee to get the oil pressure switch out into a little bit of cool air.  I'm told that will lengthen the life of the switch.

Additional Cooling for the Vespa PX engine

 My friend Bill installed Stella Auto cowls on his 2 stroke Stella shifty.  These are vented cowls that maintain a tasteful original look.  The Auto version of the Stella was only imported in small numbers in the United States (300 I believe) and parts are not readily available.  The claim was that additional engine cooling helped pull fresh cool air into the engine compartment to be available for the fan.  The engine does run cooler with no cowl at all, so any advantage is a plus.  Bill was seeing 15 to 20 degrees cooler cylinder head temperature.  That is an advantage I could use!

 I don't have the means to cut louvers or vents into the original cowl and make them look have decent.  The original cowl on my bike was damaged in a crash before I bought it.  The body filler and stickers make it look presentable today.  I do have a square sheet metal punch that is slightly smaller dimension than the checker tape on the lower part of the cowl.  This gave me an idea that I thought was pretty brilliant.  If I cut square holes in the center of a few of the black squares of checker tape, the holes wouldn't really be noticeable.  The additional airflow should be exactly what is needed to give the additional cooling.

The final carburetor settings after all the modifications DR177 kit, SITO+ exhaust, UNI foam air filter come out to be:

Stock 20/20 carb
40/120 idle
160 air
BE3 atomizer
106 main jet

I take the same road over Reesers Summit every Wednesday to meet up with the Three Mile Island Scooter Club.  This road run is the temperature test bed to prove if I knocked holes in the cowls for any good reason.

CHT without holes = 315 °F

CHT with holes = 306 °F

Stella PX DR177 kit

I may have mentioned in a previous post that always wanted a Vespa PX, but due to pressures of my biker friends that nothing less than 500cc's was going to keep up with them, I avoided purchasing scooters when they were at their height of popularity when the PX was re-released in the early 2000's.  When this wrecked Genuine Stella 2T came available locally on craigslist, it was too cheap to pass up.  That combined with my recent career move to a job closer to home, the time was right to jump into the scooter world.  Wrecked and abused, she served well for about a year or so.

The crank big-end bearing failed in a catastrophic manner.  Though she got me home that night, it was time for some major upgrades.

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Night Flight

A red scooter is the best way to get around,

No other transport is finer that I have found.

A tank full of fuel will take you so far,

To visit with friends or hang at the bar.

After a dinner, its homeward we go,

Travel is pleasant its like we're on show.

Engine burble turns heads, like they've never seen,

So beautiful a cherished painted art scene.

My Italian-descended tibutation in style,

Nothing of late could bring such a smile.

A pinging was heard; whatever to do?

A loss of compression would surely ensue!

Darkness it came and I filled with dread.

It wasn't far to get back to the shed.

Coaxed up the hill giving all that she could,

The crest was ahead; I felt that we would.

Then plunged into darkness; nothing to see,

But a green lamp on the dash shining at me.

Off with the key and in with the clutch,

If I hit a tree, I'm sure it'd hurt much.

The whispers of wind was all that was heard,

The engine had died, and I uttered a word.

Word of complaint ruined my ride,

The headlamp was out! I could'a cried.

Some short distance more under the tree,

The moonlight provided little to see.

No push was needed; she showed such pride,

And that was the end of our valiant ride.

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The search for more power is an ongoing effort when you buy a vehicle to rebuild.  I had already fitted the Sito+ exhaust fitted and re-jetted at the time of crank failure.  The logical step was to either buy a 200cc engine or do a kit for more cubes.  In a way it would have been easier to just drop in a ready-built engine, but where is the adventure in that!  I decided on the DR177 kit.  David at Scooter Mercato was a big help in making the right choices for good reliability and more torque.

First, let's say that the PX engine is a NASTY dirty thing when it is abused or neglected, whether it is an Indian or Italian engine.  The gearbox breather sits atop the engine.  The breather is capable of producing enough oil mist to cake the cases over time.  The overflow from the carb should not be a real issue, but it is something to watch.  I abhor dirty engines and oil leaks.  When I heard that most folks stand by the age-old grease on the gaskets approach, I was appalled.  Engines should be built to stand the test of time and not leak.  So after spending DAYS of scrubbing down this filthy mill I vowed to keep it clean.  That meant when it was time for re-assembly I was going to use Permatex "Right Stuff" and spray-on Gasket Sealants.  Whether it was needed or not, I also ran a road tube from the gearbox breather to the back of the engine.  It can't hurt to keep things cleaner.  The other addition is an exhaust spoon.  This is a piece of 1" stainless tubing cut out and cold-formed in a spoon shape.  The end clamps to the exhaust stub and is held in place with a hose clamp.  The idea is to re-direct the oily exhaust away from the rear tire without changing the dynamics of the 2 stroke exhaust chamber.

Another requirement was to keep the autolube system.  I hate mixing, the thought of having to mix oil every fuel stop was not something I ever wanted.  The autolube system is a technological innovation that I believe in.  Since the jump from 150cc to 177cc isn't a big one I figured that things should be lubricated just fine.  I usually dump a little Marvel Mystery Oil in anyway, so a little extra oil should be just fine.  The problem was that the 2009 year LML autolube carb box had a machining issue which would allow oil to go past the check ball and fill the crank chamber with a large charge of oil.  That would result in a large embarrassing cloud of smoke in the morning.  I tried to overcome it on my own, but if I was re-building the engine I didn't want to take any chances.  SIP shop had replacement autolube carb boxes available, so I bought one to put on.

(oh yes, I did!)

Since I was re-jetting anyway, another easy modification was for a more free-flowing air filter.  The white and blue material of the original was all oil-contaminated, so cutting it all off was an easy choice to make.  I had some leftover UNI filter material left over from a previous cycle overhaul.  That was easy to cut into the right diameter loop and slip over the original air filter frame.  It was cut the right shape to completely cover and insure good filtration with the best air flow possible.

The only thing I didn't change was the reeds.  The LML reeds seemed good, so I just put them back on.  This may prove an easy upgrade later.  Goodness knows with all the carb jet experimentation that I've done, going to a bigger jet is as easy as looking in the box of spare parts that I already bought.  So for now the original reeds should do.

After MUCH experimentation, a lot of reading other's accounts of what carb and jets they were using, I settled on the following.  This is based on plug chops, and cylinder head temperature readings.  The TrailTech gauge is battery powered and easily attaches to the glovebox on the scooter.  The wiring had to be extended to reach the whole way back to the cylinder, but that wasn't much of a problem.  Observations were that when the engine was running rich, the CHT gauge would read very low.  If it was too lean, of course the CHT readings would be too hot.  The trick was to find the happy medium of Main Jet that yielded a middle CHT reading without going too far above 300°F on a hard pull.

Stock 20/20 carb 
40/120 idle, 160 air, BE3 atomizer and a 106 main jet.
19° BTDC ignition timing.