Cowboyrob's new can of worms.

I went ahead and bought a Vespa Smallframe. It is a 1980 100 Sport. It has always been in this area from what I can gather from the old motorycle shop sticker on it and the previous owners bill of sale and bogus title. I bought from a used car dealer that took it on trade. I'm gonna clean it- up kit it- mount up- and rev it up!

Just got back from a 500 mile trip on the Chetak and found a link to it from my friend Tim on my email.Went to see it on saturday, bought it on Monday.It's no Bajaj, but I think it's pretty damn cool.

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It was just an innocent gas pump fight...who would know it could be dangerous?

Nice. Congrats! I too have been tempted by the two stroke lately. I dont have pics yet but I just got a 67 yamaha yr1 and a 68 yr2. Two parts bikes = 1 complete... Not a scoot I know, but im pretty excited.

Bitchin' ride Rob!

What did you end up paying?

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The "X" stands for ex-Chetak owner.

$800

It was listed at $1000 on craigslist, Tim sent me an email telling me to go buy it before he did, since he already has 6 scooters in his garage.

I went and looked at it Saturday and the car-broker who had traded it was not in, the guy who shares the space with him was. I called the actual owner on Monday and talked him down to $800 over the phone, $800 was the same price Tim talked him into over the phone.

I showed up with cash and looked at it, tried to talk him down using all the usual tactics of degradation, I'm broke, you can have this money right now and be done with it etc, but he was NOT budging further. I know Tim had told him he was leaving for a week and would call him again when he got back in town, plus the guy had looked further into it on the internet over the weekend and was sure he could get the $800 for it if not more- I folded and gave him my 8 yards.

Not the smokin' deal but I feel comfortable with it. I am real excited to figure out this thing and get it running reliably. It has some problems, but I intended to kit it and refurbish it anyway even if it ran fine. So, it is what I wanted-even though I didn't know it.

Small frames kick ass! (as long as you have a Chetak to ride when they aren't runnning Laughing

)

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It was just an innocent gas pump fight...who would know it could be dangerous?

Two in bush can be better than one in hand Confused

Sounds like a deal to me. Go for it.

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"I see a big market for designer tin foil head gear..."

"Grow up and stop posting like a 14th Century Vatican Flat Earth Zealot."

I have been researching my new scoot on the net and I started cleaning it up a little yesterday. I am now faced with the delima.

Should I strip this scooter down and go into full restoration mode? (new paint, modest kit and rebuild, change to electronic ignition etc.)

or should I just do what is necessary to get it running and ride it awhile.

The thoughts of the full painting etc. came to me when I started trying to clean the years of crusted gunk off it, I thought of how much easier it would be to clean if I dropped the engine- pulled the tank carb etc. That lead to the thuoghts of how I will definately want to kit it up later and how it might be better to do that while I have the engine off to clean it. Well, one thing leads to another and it seems to end up that the two roads are

A- full clean resto know exactly whats in there and going on, or
B- clean what I can- rebuild carb and replace neccesary gaskets to get it running conssistantly.

The pros to the total resto are many new parts and knowledge of the little scooter with a huge reward in the end of a great looking scoot that is (hopefully) reliable and fun to scoot around town. The cons are that it could turn into a world of pain that makes me lose interest in it because it is so much work with little immediate reward.

The pros of a quick clean and fix are that it would get it running and give quicker gratification.the Cons are that I may run into one thing after another that makes it more work than if I had broke the BASTARD down in the first place and systematically restore it. When I went out yesterday I kept running into stuff that made me want to "go ahead and fix that" and I think that feeling will stay till I tear it down.

I have my trusty Bajaj in the garage so I can scoot whenever I want. This makes me want to go ahead with the full on rebuild-paint-restoration.

I really value you guys opinions-

What do you guys think?

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It was just an innocent gas pump fight...who would know it could be dangerous?

Rob,

There is that stuff that must be fixed now no matter what, then there is that complete list of the stuff that would nice to do, and sometime time you are gonna just clean the damned thing. Sounds like three options to me, at least. And you haven't really told us how it runs or any of those type of details.

It just so happens that this morning my Chetak was sitting in the shop with cowls removed and a 2x4 under the arse end keeping the back tire off the ground. By noon I had the motor sitting on the bench waiting for me to order piston rings. I would not hesitate to spend some sweat equity and pull the motor. Clean it up, torque the case, clean all the bits as you reassemble. Then you will know where you are at and what you got. Fix the stuff you have to fix to make it run. Ride it like ya stole it. Do the fancy expensive shit this winter.

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"I see a big market for designer tin foil head gear..."

"Grow up and stop posting like a 14th Century Vatican Flat Earth Zealot."

Good advice Rufus, Thanks!

I just tend to let my monkey mind jump from branch to branch. I went out to clean it and after removing the coathanger, duck tape and culk (or gum, I can't tell which) from the rear taillights......

I saw a small dent where the left taillight got bent at some point. That made me want to go ahead and hammer it out- smooth it and fix the mounting on the signal. Well that leads me to just want to go ahead and strip and prep the whole damn thing for paint- and on and on. Rolling Eyes

It will start with the choke all the way out after some effort, it then races up and bogs and dies when you twist the gas. From what I have gathered this is an air leak and the most common problem with these small frame engines. I am sure the thing needs a carb cleaning and rebuild as well.

So, I think I am gonna pull the carb tank and engine outta this little mutha and start things off with a good cleaning and see exactly what I am working with motor-wise. then move on with/to the electrical. Luckily there is a lot of info on these things out there on the web, and my buddy Tim, who has worked on these before, will be back in town soon. The internet is great but good old fashioned human experience is alot quicker sometimes.(and less painful)

Anyone ever applied for a replacement title for a 29 year old scooter?

Laughing

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It was just an innocent gas pump fight...who would know it could be dangerous?

Robby, if I can just share some of my own experience, I would give you the advice to do as little to the body as needed. There will be time for that down the road. Put your effort into the engine, cables, electrical and front fork, as needed.

I'm in the midst of restoring a 63 vbb. The reason I went with a full restore instead of just a clean up and fix is because it was rusted, dented and generally just beat to hell. The entire engine, minus the cases, was rusted. The front hub & fork bearings were rusted solid. In my case, the bike was in such bad condition that nothing less than a full restore would have satisfied my attention to detail and safety. If I had a bike that was in as good of shape as yours, I'd clean it up real good and get it running well mechanically. It looks like 90% of everything is in good working order (I'm assuming). Roll with it yo.

That bike is gorgeous as-is, in my opinion. I would leave the paint original. Get something color matched to cover up the warts... but I tend to think that the battle wounds give the scooter a personality. Old Vespas should look a little beat up.

Your choke out bogging - yup, that's an air leak. New seals and gaskets and bearings will do wonders for that engine.

As far as titling is concerned, I had a hell of a time getting the VBB titled. Laws vary from state to state. Missouri said I just flat couldn't title it ever period. But since I bought it in Kansas, the guy I bought it from helped with the titling there - all they required was a bill of sale because the bike was so old. In Arkansas, who knows? There's always ITS Titles out of (I think) Maine.

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The "X" stands for ex-Chetak owner.

Rob,

Once you pulled stuff apart once, cleaned all the screws and bolts up, and re-assembled with anit-sieze it's really easy to 'work on a bike'. It's the gettin' it apart the first time that frustrates everyone about maintenance. Make that baby run.

Talk to your DMV people and ask their advice, be nice, they have your gonads in hand Embarassed

Don't hesitate to go to another office and start over, like a small town. You can't imagine the difference between my local ladies and the Gestapo up in Springfield. Don't hesitate to say I AM A COLLECTOR OF ANCIENT SCOOTERS. Some states give alternate titles for "Show Bikes" so they can be ridden to and from bike shows only. In that case you will always be on your way to a show Cool

Up here we can get antique tags which only need be purchased once in a lifetime.

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"I see a big market for designer tin foil head gear..."

"Grow up and stop posting like a 14th Century Vatican Flat Earth Zealot."

Thanks guys- you both really confirmed what my original intentions were. When I started to clean it up is when my mind started running away with me to the "total restoration" thoughts. That type of effort would be better spent on an older scooter like Matty said.

As far as getting a title, I know Arkansas has antique licenses for automobiles, I am about to get one for my VW. I don't know about scooters though. I read last night on some thread where a guy from MO said that AR was much more lax on titles than MO and he had a friend in AR he would get scooters titled through then buy them from him to transfer the title. I hope it is fairly easy. I am going up to the DMV tomorrow and ask their advice.

Till then I guess I am going to go out and start tearing shit apart- taking alot of pictures and notes to hopefully put it back together with as few "extras" left over as possible. Laughing

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It was just an innocent gas pump fight...who would know it could be dangerous?

I only know what the nice ladies told me, MO just checks the VIN to make sure it's not reported stolen. And I ain't sure I'd trust what any dude from MO says on a forum. Jeez Rolling Eyes

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"I see a big market for designer tin foil head gear..."

"Grow up and stop posting like a 14th Century Vatican Flat Earth Zealot."

	rufusswan wrote:
	I only know what the nice ladies told me, MO just checks the VIN to make sure it's not reported stolen. And I ain't sure I'd trust what any dude from MO says on a forum. Jeez

Yeah, those people from up there can be pretty sideways about most matters to us Arkansans! Laughing

I am about to go to the DMV to check on it. I have a strong fear of finding out it was reported stolen in 1984 by the dad of some kid who really traded it for weed or something and couldn't tell his folks. Hopefully not. Wish me luck!

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It was just an innocent gas pump fight...who would know it could be dangerous?

Just in case someone stumbles on this thread and wants more info on these scooters, I am listing links that I have found over the last week of research. There is a lot of info on these scooters but some of it was suprisingly hard to find. This might make someone's search easier.

Smallframe Vespa Forum
http://davedaniel.proboards.com/

Yahoo smallframe user group
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/vespasmallframes/

StellaSpeed Vespa Smallframe Forum (must register)
http://forums.stellaspeed.com/viewforum.php?f=10&sid=af4020d6cc9605908cc230afb4e505ad

Smallframes.com info sight
http://forums.stellaspeed.com/viewforum.php?f=10&sid=af4020d6cc9605908cc230afb4e505ad

Scooterhelp (great how to's and database- Vin search)
http://www.scooterhelp.com/scooters/V9B1T.100.sport.html

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It was just an innocent gas pump fight...who would know it could be dangerous?

Glad that you reached the right conclusion - "Kit it and hit it!" You just can't fake patina.

Smallies can be hell of a lot of fun, and also just hell. I hope that you have small hands!

It sounds like it was bought well. I bet that it's the seals that are causing the running problems. Don't get too carried away replacing everything in there. Check Scooterworks for a kit as they are running some fair prices this summer. Of course, they won't have it in stock and what they eventually send you won't be right, but it's fun waiting.

Enjoy the possibilities, but revel in the actualities.

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Ronin
Rovers SC
1981 Vespa P200e
2002 Bajaj Legend
2005 Kymco Agility 125
http://www.examiner.com/x-3223-Detroit-Scooter-Examiner

Hey Ronin!

	Ronin wrote:
	Smallies can be a hell of a lot of fun, and also just hell.

Already having my share of both, such as.....
GOOD news-don't have to clean or rebuild the carb!
BAD news-the carb has big chunk of metal broke off the mounting flange!

	Ronin wrote:
	Enjoy the possibilities, but revel in the actualities.

Words to live by Smile

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It was just an innocent gas pump fight...who would know it could be dangerous?

	Quote:
	BAD news-the carb has big chunk of metal broke off the mounting flange!

The carb is the most common spot for air leaks. You may have just found yours. Welcome to Vespa hell my friend.

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The "X" stands for ex-Chetak owner.

matty_x wrote:

	Quote:
	BAD news-the carb has big chunk of metal broke off the mounting flange!

The carb is the most common spot for air leaks. You may have just found yours. Welcome to Vespa hell my friend.

Awesome! I wish that you guys were here for our rally this weekend. I'd really enjoy a meet up with you bunch.... www.motorcityshakedown.com and www.rovers-usa.com

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Ronin
Rovers SC
1981 Vespa P200e
2002 Bajaj Legend
2005 Kymco Agility 125
http://www.examiner.com/x-3223-Detroit-Scooter-Examiner

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It was just an innocent gas pump fight...who would know it could be dangerous?

Viet Bodge ;-)

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The "X" stands for ex-Chetak owner.

	matty_x wrote:
	Viet Bodge ;-)

Do you like bare metals? So are we!

More like a hillbillybodge. Did I mention the previous owner was tying pieces of torn t-shirts in between the adjusting nut and cable housing to adjust the clutch and shifter cables?

Got all my parts in last week. Very Happy

Today is my first day back at school. Mad

Really puts a damper on chillin' and workin' on my scooter.

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It was just an innocent gas pump fight...who would know it could be dangerous?

I'm pretty sure if you're able to install all three of those cranks you might have some problems Razz

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The "X" stands for ex-Chetak owner.

	matty_x wrote:
	I'm pretty sure if you're able to install all three of those cranks you might have some problems

Yeah, I was over at Tim's house so we started looking at cranks. The crank in my 100 sport was cut exactly the samw as his Mazz "cut" crank. You can tell by looking at it that it has not been altered. I don't know what gives. Maybe the 100 sport crank was cut different than other cranks. OR- maybe somebody passed of a regular Mazz crank to Tim as a cut one.

Either way, I'm gonna get all three in that bitch and it will go three times as fast! Twisted Evil

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It was just an innocent gas pump fight...who would know it could be dangerous?