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In 2001 I acquired this fine
vintage Italian product from Scooter Therapy in Wisconsin where it was being sold
on consignment for a customer. I saw it on their website and had to
have it as it is the very model and, most importantly, color I've been looking
for.
As it appeared when shipped to PA from Wisconsin Unfortunately, even though I was assured it was in running condition I could not get a spark. It turned out that the wiring harness is a total bodge. There were splices in the junction box on the engine that were merely twisted together and taped without the benefit of solder. After patching things up I got it to run. The kill switch is broken so instead of bypassing it by simply removing a wire from the CDI box, a previous owner yanked wires from the harness and spliced them together. Also, the headlight circuit from the stator was dead. |
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Now, in 2003 I finally have it on the road after many trials and tribulations. This scoot was supposed to be stock. Turned out that it has an older Pinasco 213cc racing cylinder kit, but with a stock exhaust and stock Del'Orto SI24/24E carburetor. The oil injection had been cut-off in a half-assed manner. The carb was also warped. So I replaced the carb with a new unit that I purchased through American Scooter Center in Austin, TX. It was supposed to be a new Del'Orto, but it turned out to be made in India by SPACO, but in a Del'Orto box. Seems that they subcontract out their Vespa P-series carbs now. Anyway, it has a new carb and restored oil-injection. The entire electrical system was fried. I got a new "double-yellow" type wiring harness from Scooter Parts Direct. This is a very early model Vespa P200E and uses a different electrical system from later US models, luckily the wiring harnesses are being reproduced in India. I sent the stator plate to ScooterWorks for a rebuild. I also had to replace the ignition switch (early 4-pole type) as it fell apart when I took the headset off to route through the new wiring harness and new control cables. Since everything else needed renewal I figured I'd replace the old corroded wheels with new silver painted ones and I got a nice set of Sava Kran MC18 performance tires with reflective sidewall stripes. I thought that this was all that I needed now to put it on the road,
except of course for a title. The Vespa came with a bad Wisconsin title,
and Scooter Therapy was no help whatsoever in legalizing the transfer.
Pennsylvania has no provision in the DMV regulations for getting a vehicle
titled if one does not already have a title. So I had to go through
International Title
Service to get it registered in my name in the state of Maine, with a
Maine plate. I did this in 2002 and finally reregistered it through
PA-DOT and now have a correct, legal Pennsylvania title. |
As it looks now So you think I'm done? Hardly! After getting on the road, I blew off the tailpipe while running in 2nd gear uphill. Courtesy of Chelsea (the Scooter Goddess) at Scooters Originali Mail Order I now have a Sito Plus performance exhaust. I also bought from her a lot of small parts and a really nifty VE-UK made repro of the old Super Corsa sport seat. Speaking of accessories, the DeathScoot now sports a set of used Giancarlo crashbars and an EME rear rack. So the chrome does not match the sport seat, TOO BAD. |
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I still need to go over the brakes. They are OK but I should put
in new cables and brake shoes just for good measure.
The other thing that I need to do is replace the neutral switch. This is not something necessary for operation, after all the non-USA versions of the P200E did not have a neutral switch. It is only US-DOT that required additional idiot lights. I have a new neutral switch, but it does not fit the hole!
Apparently there were different neutral switch/gear selectors used over the
brief time that P-series Vespas came into the US. Now, to find a selector-box/neutral
switch combination that matches. |
| I'd like to thank all the folks on the Two Stroke Smoke e-mail list for their patience while I ranted and raved about the problems this scoot had. I especially would like to thank Sean Stevens from the Incriminators SC for all of his tech advice, most of which is on his web page. Other great folks are Chelsea at Scooters Originali Mail Order and John Stafford. Now if only I could get the other scooterists in my area to band together for a ride. What an anti-social lot this group is..... |
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| Send me an email! |