Vespa Geek

With the ignition issues I seem to be having, and with the prospect of starting to replace things like the coil, condenser, points, etc. in an atempt to diagnose the issues I’m having, I’ve been considering converting to CDI. I put a post up on the International Scooterist BBS to see what sort of sage advice I get from the folks there as far as whether it’s worth it, and if so, which kit to get.

I’ve seen a lot of people post good things about the ScootRS PX CDI kit, and that’s the one that would be my initial choice were I to do this. Mind you, that’s only because it’s the one I have the most information and feedback on, nothing else.

I think Motorsport Scooters in San Diego has kits as well. Not sure of the origin or quality though. I’m going to stop by there later today to pick up a few things, so I’ll check it out then and post what I find.

Sadly, a 30-year icon of design has fallen prey to the eco-nazi EU chiefs who have deemed that it is not environmentally friendly. Yes, the bike that came to fame in the 1979 film Quadrophenia is going away - not because of flagging sales or the price of fuel. No, after more than 30 years in production and providing cheap, reliable transportation to millions of people, it is going in the dustbin because a bunch of moronic socialists have deemed that they know what is best for the environment. Tell me a time when government ever got their hands on the environment and did anything but ruin it. It’ll be difficult.

The new EU emissions rules (known as Euro 3) will make the production of any 2-stroke engines larger then 50cc completely economically unfeasible - utterly ridiculous.

So, with gas prices at all-time highs, and demand for scooters having never been higher, the EU has brilliantly cut off a cost-effective way to save gas and money on transportation - well done! Apparently the EU chiefs making this decision were not smart enough to realize that the incredibly good fuel efficiency likely outweighs the small environmental impact of the 2-stroke engine, nor to care that since the engines are so simple that most are repaired rather than scrapped, further offsetting the environmental impact of the PX.

Oh well… arrivederci Vespa PX!

I was concerned that this last fix to the Vespa would leave me with nothing really to blog about if there was nothing mechanically wrong with it. Well, I can truly say that this little beastie is continuing in it’s endeavor to supply me with things to write about.

I had thought the points gap adjustment last Thursday had solved the problem, but it would appear that it did not. I now officially have no idea what is going on. After I pulled the whole thing apart, checked the timing and checked the points gap, put a new plug in it and buttoned it all back up, it ran great. I took it for a test ride down to BevMo to get a couple bottles of Rioja for “Sangria Sunday” with the West’s. The ride to BevMo is about 8 miles round trip, and it went without a hitch - no faltering, backfiring, bogging - none of the usual misbehavior that it’s been displaying lately for seemingly no reason.

I have family in town, and so I haven’t fired the scooter up all week, and yes - I know what you’re thinking… did he turn off the fuel petcock when he parked it on Thursday evening? The answer is yes, I did.

So I turned the fuel on this morning, pulled out the choke, and kicked it. It started on the 4th or 5th kick, but was idling poorly, and I could already tell that the same issues I had been having with it lately were back again. I don’t know what the hell is going on now. I think I’m just going to start replacing electrical parts like the condenser, coil, etc. and see what that does. I might also get a new carb and air box. I do know that the seal between the carb and air box is probably not the greatest - I noticed when I removed it that the guys who assembled it had stacked like 3 gaskets in there in an attempt to do something - what that is, I’m not sure.

So, long story long, I’m stumped. Woe is me. The weather is so perfect outside right now and I can’t ride.

As anyone who has been reading this blog (all 3 of you) know, I have been having some issues with the engine running roughly to not at all. It appeared initially to me to be a fuel delivery issue, but as it turns out, that was not the case. After a few posts on the International Scooterist BBS looking for some help - my usual source of information regarding all things vintage Vespa, the overwhelming advice was that it was probably a timing and/or points issue.

So, armed with that information, I set out to check and possibly adjust the timing on the old girl. Here’s the steps I took to accomplish and to do so, you’ll need the following tools:

• A TDC tool (see later post for info)
• A degree disc (print PDF)
• Feeler gauges
• Spark plug wrench
• Small flathead screwdriver
• Magnet (to hold timing wheel to flywheel)
• Small piece of wire (I used a short length of coat hanger wire)

The TDC tool plans and degree disc come from the helpful folks over at scooterhelp.com - I can’t take credit for those.

Start by making (if you haven’t already) the TDC tool and degree disc. I made the disc by printing the PDF and spray-gluing it onto some cardboard from the back of a notepad.

Next, you need to remove the right-hand engine cowl and flywheel cover (4 or 5 screws). You should now have unimpeded access to the flywheel. Cut a small hole in the center of the disc to allow the center nut on the flywheel to pass through and use the magnet to attach the disc firmly to the flywheel. You want this the disc to be really secure - any movement of the disc during the following steps and you’ll have to start over.

Bend the piece of wire into a loop that can be attached to one of the screw locations from the flywheel cover and bend it such that it points like a needle to the edge of the degree disc so you can accurately measure degrees of rotation as you turn the flywheel with the disc on it.

Now you need to insert your TDC tool into the spark plug hole just like you would a normal spark plug. This will prevent the piston from coming up to TDC as you turn the flywheel.

Turn the flywheel clockwise by hand until it stops against the TDC tool. Remove the degree disc and position it so that the needle you made is now pointing to the “zero” mark. Then, rotate the flywheel counter-clockwise until the piston stops again. Measure the number of degrees of arc that the flywheel passed through from stop to stop, and subtract this number from 360. 360 degrees obviously represents the full rotation from TDC and back to TDC again of the flywheel, and so if you subtract from 360 degrees the number of degrees that your flywheel passed through from stop to stop on your tool, the resulting number will represent the arc that your flywheel cannot pass because it is being blocked by the TDC tool.

If you divide that number by 2, you will now have the value for the exact location of TDC for your engine. This is because you have now calculated the midpoint on that arc that the flywheel is not traveling through.

So… with this in mind, remove the TDC tool (not the disc, the modified spark plug) and rotate the flywheel so that the pointer and your zero mark line up perfectly. Then, rotate the flywheel clockwise by the number of degrees from your calculation above.

You should now mark the flywheel and case so that you can find TDC easily again next time you need it. I used a paint pen and made a line that crosses the engine case and the flywheel at the correct spot. You could also scribe a set of marks with (of all things) a scribe.

Now (stay with me), you need to pull the degree disc off again and set it up so that while you keep the motor at TDC (helpful to have someone hold this position for you maybe), you line the disc up so that it reads zero at your pointer again.

Now rotate the flywheel counter-clockwise by the number of degrees that are prescribed for the timing of your engine. Since mine is a VBB (150), the value I used was 28 degrees BTDC (before top dead center). Remember to rotate the flywheel counter-clockwise because the timing measurements are calculated BTDC.

Mark the flywheel and case again and just for future reference, also add the number of degrees BTDC at the mark so if you later need to change to another timing setting you can find more than one timing mark on the case.

Now for the points gap. Pry the small rubber cover off the flywheel to allow adjustment of the points through the hole. There is a small flathead screw that allows you to loosen the lock on the jaws of the points. Rotate the flywheel clockwise, and as you do so, you will see the points open slightly. When they reach the point of being maximally open, insert your feeler gauge (I used .40 as a gap setting) into that gap and loosen the screw. You should feel the points close down like little jaws on the feeler gauge. Tighten the lock screw back up and you’re done. Setting the points gap is really easy, as you can see.

Then, before buttoning the whole thing back up, I got out my automotive timing light and started the engine to test the timing. I was amazed - it must have been the points gap because the timing was correct when I did the above procedures, but the gap seemed too wide. The engine now runs smoothly with no faltering, missing, etc. When using a timing light, you can easily see under the strobe light whether your spark is firing at your timing mark. Luckily, mine was. If yours is not, you’ll need to remove the flywheel and rotate the stator until it fires at the correct time.

That’s it, folks… pretty painless procedure. Since this is the first time I have done this, I don’t really have a good sense as to how often this needs to be done. I would hope not all that often, but who knows?

I’m not sure what’s going on with this thing. Now it won’t start and stay running at all, and it is behaving as though it’s flooded. I’m going to have to do some more research, but I came across a blog post somewhere where the author mentioned that he had some some “mod to keep the bike from flooding when the fuel tank is overfilled”. I wasn’t aware that would be bad, but I do know that I filled the tank a lot higher than I ever have before this last time I filled it. Coincidence? Not sure I believe in those all that much. We’ll see… I’m off to the garage.

Not sure what’s going on now. I did not (I swear) leave the fuel on, and left it for a week or so, and then all of a sudden, misfiring, backfiring, etc. It will run and idle on the centerstand no problem, but as soon as I take it out on the road, it’s the same crap all over again.

I pulled the carb and disassembled, cleaned blew it out with compressed air and rebuilt. No obvious junk in the filter inside the carb.

Reassembled the carb, reinstalled and fired it up. Still runs good on the centerstand and yet backfires and misfires on the road and then will eventually stall.

I’ll report back with more as I debug the problem this weekend. Frustrating, to say the least.

I swear, you would think I’d learn. Close the fuel petcock when you park the scooter, idiot… but I leave it open all the time. I didn’t ride it for nearly a week, and when I took it to work the day before yesterday, it kicked over just fine, but partway through the ride in, it started borderline backfiring and missing at wide open throttle on Coast Highway. I let off the throttle a little, and it got better, but I’m convinced it was related to having left the fuel on all that time. After a brisk ride home later in the day, the problem is gone, and since then, I’ve been good about shutting it off, and in the last 2 days, no more issues.

I wasn’t aware this was something one needed to worry about quite as rigorously as one would appear to. Oh well, live and learn, but repeat after me… I will shut off the fuel, I will shut off the fuel…

This blog post in the New York Times has some interesting information regarding some common misconceptions regarding how your vehicle’s MPG metric really should not be the ONLY one used when evaluating the vehicle’s efficiency. The higher the MPG rating of the vehicle, the better, obviously, but when you are considering switching from one vehicle to another, the argument for hybrids becomes less compelling. The reason? As the efficiency of a given vehicle increases, the savings (on a per-mile basis) actually decrease.

Below are some example vehicles, including the ones I personally drive and their MPG rating, gallons per mile, and from that, the calculation of cost to drive it per mile. This calculation is based on a hypothetical $4.00 gallon of gas. Unfortunately, I just paid $4.69 for a gallon of regular today, but I figure I’ll base these calculations on something closer to the national average than San Diego County where I live.

• My 10mpg 1968 Ford Bronco guzzles .1000 gallons per mile (40.0¢ per mile)
• My 15mpg Ford F150 4×4 uses .0667 gallons per mile (27.0¢ per mile)
• A 28mpg car uses .0357 gallons per mile (13.9¢ per mile)
• My friend’s 55mpg Prius hybrid uses .0181 gallons per mile (7.2¢ per mile)
• My 70mpg scooter uses .0142 gallons per mile (5.7¢ per mile)
• A theoretical 100 mpg scooter uses .0083 gallons per mile (3.3¢ per mile)

Basically, if I were to switch from my 15mpg F150 to a 100mpg scooter, I would save a whopping 23¢ a mile - obviously really great, but as the vehicle you’re switching from gets better and better mileage, the saving in switching to a high mpg vehicle decrease. Switch from the 28mpg car to the 70mpg Vespa, for example, and you save only 8.2¢ per mile on a difference of 42mpg.

You would do better to switch from the 15mpg F150 to the 28mpg sedan - which would save you 13.1¢ a mile with a mere 13mpg difference in economy between the two.

So, once you start looking at this math, you can start to see that switching to a more fuel-efficient vehicle is not always what you think it might be at first glance. The 100mpg scooter really only saves about 4¢ a mile more than the 55mpg Prius, even though there is a staggering 46mpg difference between the two.

For me personally, obviously driving the scooter rather than either of my two other vehicles is saving money, but were I to be considering switching from something like a midsized sedan to a scooter, it really makes a lot less sense.

I ride my Vespa not for the gas mileage (although that’s a plus), but because it’s fun to ride to work and around town on the weekends, but if you’re considering making the switch to a scooter from something else strictly for increased gas mileage, make sure you do the math before you make your choice. This is obviously not the be-all, end-all way to calculate this, but it certainly adds another dimension to you r fuel calculations.

This is pretty crazy - a PX with a turbo. Apparently it’s 42 HP at the rear wheel. I’m not actually sure what on earth you’d do with something like this, as I can’t imagine trying to stop it once it gets going. It does sound pretty nasty though. Wonder what that top end on something like that would be?

I had heard rumors that Piaggio was supposedly going to be releasing a hybrid model or models in the near future, but had not seen any sort of confirmation that this was true. Well, it appears that both Piaggio and Vespa hybrids will be going into production in early 2008 (read: now).

This is really exciting news, as there’s been a lot of buzz around this rumor. Apparently, the prototype that has been spotted is a 250cc model, but the production version should have a 125cc engine. The HyS (for “Hybrid Scooter”) models are parallel hybrids, combining four-stroke combustion engines with electric motors. The electric motor provides power assist, supplying a 25% boost in power for acceleration over the first few yards, while at the same time supporting a 20% decrease in fuel consumption.

I will say that’s the one place that my old VBB is lacking - when moving through traffic near stoplights, etc. I avoid moving to the front of the line at the light, simply because I know that when the light does go green, I’m only going to piss off all the drivers because the old scoot doesn’t get out of the hole as fast as a motorcycle does and I’m left puttering up to speed, holding everyone up.

From what I’ve heard, regenerative braking, as well as the gasoline engine recharge the batteries when driving, but the batteries can also be charged from a 220V outlet. It would be a bummer if it wouldn’t plug into a more standard US power outlet, but I think putting an extra 220V receptacle in the garage is a no-brainer if that’s what it’ll take. Charging time is about 3 hours.

The operating mode selection switch looks slick - used to choose from one of four operating modes

• Standard hybrid
• High-charge hybrid
• Low-charge hybrid
• Electric-only

In the first three modes the HyS manages power output from the engine and the motor using a drive-by-wire type system. The electronic management system interprets the rider’s request for more torque and selects the assist ratio based on the battery’s state of charge.

In standard-hybrid mode the battery charge is maintained at optimal traction levels (batteries at 75%). The high-charge hybrid function is geared to maximize the range of the electric motor (batteries at 95%).

In electric-only mode, the Piaggio HyS shuts down the combustion engine and turns into a silent, zero-emission electric vehicle—an important consideration for those European cities that are increasingly placing restrictions on emitting vehicles.

Rumor has it that the fuel economy on these is upwards of 150MPG. And to think that I thought my old Vespa’s 60MPG was good! I can’t wait to see these in person!