   Vespa Manuals and Classic Scooter Books.
Link
To:
Vespa and Lambretta Manuals.
Link
To: Classic
Scooter Books.
Link
To:
Vespa Identification listings.
There
are three reasons a scooter will not start.
They are fire,
fuel and compression!
First:
Take out the spark plug and ground it
to the motor. You
must kick over the engine and look for a crisp blue spark.
If you do not have a crisp fire I would check the plug.
Second:
Check the spark plug wire and spark plug
cap.
Third:
Check the points and condenser; usually
replacing them;
or the CDI units on the VSX and VSE models.
Fourth:
Check the wires on the stator plate.
Five:
Check the coils in the stator plate.
Sixth:
Check to see if you have a good magnet
on the flywheel.
Here is a hint: If you have a decent headlight your
flywheel is usually good.
On the fuel system:
You can spray ether or carburetor cleaner
such as Berryman B12 Chemtool Directly into the carb and see
if it will start. Then loosen the fuel line and see if fuel enters the carb.
If not, the problem is in the fuel line or fuel tap inside the
gas tank. If you have fuel at the carb, the carb is your problem
and needs cleaning.
If you have both fire
and fuel:
Then
you must check for compression.
You must have a
compression checker.
These are available at automotive
parts stores. A
scooter must have at least 90
pounds of compression
to start. This is
an uncommon problem. If compression
is low the rings
may have collapsed
or the piston is damaged.
WIRING
PROBLEMS:
Wiring problems for a novice can be a nightmare. Even for the experienced
person they can be a headache. First of all the Haynes Shop manual is
for British Vespas and of little value. We have most of the US wiring
diagrams and will provide them to our customers free of charge. Some
trouble area to check are the wires in back of your stator plate as
many times they old and tatty.
A solder gun and wire from Radio Shack can fix them. Take your time
here. With battery models be sure to check the connections around the
battery and fuse. Later models have a voltage regulator behind the battery.
These wires need checking as well. A real problem area is in the headset.
All the wires come out of he steering column and often the Headsets
turn thousands of times. This insulation can be rubbed bare to the wire.
Make sure to check where the wiring housing turns down the steering
column. Many times the previous owner is no electrical engineer and
has decided to play inside the headset.
This can prove to be a challenge. You must on occasion chase the wires
down one by one.
A few thoughts
WD-40 and carbureator cleaner
is a must if you ride a Vespa
Carry a tool kit plus few bits when you ride a Vespa. Include an inner
clutch cable, inner gear cable, Pinch bolts, slit barrel nipples and
a spark plug.
Keep quality tires on your scooter and occassionally check your tire
pressure. The most inexpensive New tires are better than 20 year old
rubber. Rubber gets hard and brittle with age and provides poor road
contact especially on damp roads.
If you do not ride your scooter often put a gasoline stabilizer in your
gas tank to keep gasoline fresh.
One product fairly well known is Stabil. There are others of course.
Change your gear oil every 3000 miles or yearly.
People call and ask what kind of oil should they mix in your gasoline.
First of all use a good two stroke Oil. Never use engine oil. Personally
I like good quality synthetic oil and use it exclusively. We sell Bel-Ray
and will be glad to ship to you however there are a number of good oils.
Be sure to keep two stroke oil with you on long rides especially if
you ride a non injection model.
Be safe wear a helmet.
Watch the traffic when you ride you are smaller than a car and they
just do not always see you. One Can not stress safety enough. I have
ridden a scooter since l962 and in that time have seen a lot of Idiot
drivers. Two things I personally do is look for eye contact and the
front wheel of the car approaching at an intersection. It gives me an
edge.
The older the scooter the more important it is to keep it original.
It is all right to soup up a P-200 but not a 59 Allstate. Older Vespas
are gaining in value all the time, and are of more value the nicer and
more original they are.
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