SBF Classic Vespa's Cafe 2009 / 2010

[Sharpey]

A second hand starter motor will cost 300 odd... then you need to make mods to the engine casing (cut a hole for the starter gear) and get a new flywheel.... I'm thinking at least 450....

 

Then again... you'd be better off selling your current scooter and buying a newer one like a PX150 disc (1998 onwards)... these can be bought for 1500 +/- which when you think about it will save you lots of trouble and expense in the future... it comes with better suspension (front), better braking (disc), autolube (no need to add oil to petrol manually) and an electric start... Come to think of it... 1500 for all that sounds like a bargain!

[-ResiDue-]

AJ does do electric start but he says it's not going to be cheap..last i asked he said ard $150...but most probably more....

 

jas said the rattling was kos the piston was hitting the plug.....that's why he changed to a shorter one...

[Sharpey]

Which plug did Jas put in???

 

I think you place too much faith people.... Plugs that have been hit by pistons look like plugs that have been hit by pistons... when I saw your plug it looked just fine.

 

Please trust me on this... As long as you have a normal PX 200 head (or the one that came with the Pinasco kit) you should be using a NGKB8ES plug.

 

He may have been referring to the Champion N9YC being too long... If so, he is quite right... the N9YC is a protruding plug which is longer than the normal N4C or the NGKB8ES....

 

 

What plug is in there now?

[Sharpey]

So... we've got

 

 

1) Vigano

2) Sharpey

3) Cephelix

 

 

Sign up... Sign up.....

[Sharpey]

Not sure what 150 would buy you... Second hand starter motors at Tong Aik cost 300 last time I checked... If you can get one for 150... do let me know... I want one.

[-ResiDue-]

yah..realised that the N9YC is longer than b8es...

he put in on that's even shorter than the b8es...

have to double check the type though....

 

i'll ask AJ bout the electric start next time i drop by....

[Sharpey]

There is no plug that is shorter than the B8ES... unless he's put a shortthread plug in there... You don't want a shortthread plug... PLease believe me... Although I mighn't be a mechanic with X years of experience... I do do my RESEARCH.

[-ResiDue-]

yeap..the thread is short...real short...

do explain....y a short thread plug is undesirable

i too want to know more on how not to screw up my scoot....

[reddy]

lol..... this is hilarious...

yes ali, although wat the mechanic say might be true, u need to know stuff by reading and research so that u know u are not being bullshitted. and what mechanic say doesnt have to be correct. but u wont know that unless u have a slight knowledge on it. (im being general and not referencing to the plug)

the cons of naivety

[-ResiDue-]

exactly..so help me learn....

[Sharpey]

______ _________

1 1

1 1

1111

______ _________

 

 

Imagine the above is your cylinder head.... the short thead plug (represented by the 1's) does not reach the end of the hole.... Not good... you'll run really rich and hence cold becuase the spark is MILES away from the fuel mixture.

 

Short thread plugs fit in short thread heads

Long thread plugs fit in long thread heads

 

I can't understand how an experienced mechanic would put a px150 plug in a px200 head.... I would seriously consider taking your business elsewhere....

 

Of course it has solved your problem... it has also made your scoot run like crap.

 

Pinasco's are not easy to setup properly (research if you don't beleive me... they like to PING)... If I were you I'd go back to a stock barrel and sell your pinasco... With stock everything works and you don't need to mess around.

 

I have a spare stock barrell, piston and head if you're interested. And I'd consider trading it for your Pinasco.

[Sharpey]

Sorry if I sound frustrated... I too would probably have made the same mistakes when I started... I have believed BS enough times... The trick is to learn from your mistakes...

 

Like I said... the NGK B8ES is availble from Ah Boy, or from Jln Besar plaza vespa shop. This plug is what you need...

 

When I learn more, I can start trying to explain the benefits of a properly profiled cylinder head with adjusted squish that will run MILES better than yours does now... The trouble is that I'm still learning.

 

Tell you what... If you buy yourself a Vortex Carb (well worth it), not only do you get a great carb that has great torque etc... you also get lifetime FREE tech support from the designer and manufacturer AL HARPAM of Hot Rod Scooters... Apparently, a 20 mintue chat with him will change your life. I shall be making my first call soon

[-ResiDue-]

where's the jln besar shop exactly?kos i need to buy the jets too..

and yes,the guy did say that pinasco kits are a hassle...

but he only had champion plugs on hand....

[Sharpey]

Jln Besar Plaza... the shop is on the ground floor facing Jln Besar... there's noramlly a Silver Sprint parked outside... But try as I may the name is not springing to mind.... aha... yep Ban Hoe Leong.... they're ok... but as with any place be wary if you don't know what you want / what you're talking about... Confidence begets better pricing

[-ResiDue-]

thanx.....i'll go after cny

[un-sith]

Originally posted by cephelix@February 14, 2007 09:13 pm

thanx.....i'll go after cny

its on the left side of the road is u r traveling down jalan b.

[azahoneystar]

Hey fellas~

 

What brand of engine oil do u guys use? Where to get it? after observing the mechanic, i wanna try changing the engine oil myself. i haven't pluck up enough courage to clean the piston n carburettor yet haha.

 

And, my PX has a green n yellow wire leading from the back of its gear selector box to somewhere inside the engine. I think it's for the neutral gear or something. But ive noticed most PXs dun have that wire... Ive tried pulling out the wire n riding. No problems. So... Mr. Wire, what r u for?

 

N i juz wanna noe, at what speed do u cruise at in expressways? i always do 80 to 85. All the way from tampines to jurong. Isit healthy? My parts r all stock. except e copper pipe.

 

Thanks~~~

[machine k]

Originally posted by reddy@February 14, 2007 08:15 pm

lol..... this is hilarious...

yes ali, although wat the mechanic say might be true, u need to know stuff by reading and research so that u know u are not being bullshitted. and what mechanic say doesnt have to be correct. but u wont know that unless u have a slight knowledge on it. (im being general and not referencing to the plug)

the cons of naivety

yeah, some knowledge will be good, so that they won't change stuff unnecessarily...

 

but then again, when things need to be changed... i want to know the 'market rate' leh. Maybe we should come up with a list of common items, the price and where to get it. Beneficial to all =)

[reddy]

u like to start the list? we wil add the price as per item..

anyway i wasnt refering to prices or cost of repair but basic mechanical knowledge that can be found in abundance in the net. for eg, im sure we dont want to waste money on parts that dont nd to be change. all of us can give tips and comments, but how true are that comments if you dont do additional research? scooterbbs got tons of info. some of the qn are probs that we sometimes face or may face in e future. scooterhelp.com too gives lots of tips like maintenance and simple diy.

~knowledge is power~ hahaha dont be offended if my tone earlier sounds harsh..

cheers

[-ResiDue-]

unsith > thanx, will check it out as soon as i come back from melaka

 

machine k > i'm currently building a list from TA & AJ...do contribute the prices of the things that you've bought or done and where you bought/did them so the list may be more complete.

[rae07]

Originally posted by cephelix@February 14, 2007 08:18 pm

exactly..so help me learn....

it will be good to start reading every page on the haynes manual u have(i know it's a chore to read but these books are really informative) and visit sites like http://www.scooterhelp.com and http://www.vespamaintenance.com.

 

there are tons of info out there on vespa...you'll probably get most information faster from the sources above and http://www.google.com than here. juz my 2 cents worth. pardon me if i do sound harsh here.

[rae07]

Originally posted by azahoneystar@February 15, 2007 12:25 am

Hey fellas~

 

What brand of engine oil do u guys use? Where to get it? after observing the mechanic, i wanna try changing the engine oil myself. i haven't pluck up enough courage to clean the piston n carburettor yet haha.

 

And, my PX has a green n yellow wire leading from the back of its gear selector box to somewhere inside the engine. I think it's for the neutral gear or something. But ive noticed most PXs dun have that wire... Ive tried pulling out the wire n riding. No problems. So... Mr. Wire, what r u for?

 

N i juz wanna noe, at what speed do u cruise at in expressways? i always do 80 to 85. All the way from tampines to jurong. Isit healthy? My parts r all stock. except e copper pipe.

 

Thanks~~~

wow...very courageous of u to pull out wires juz like that. i can't think of reasons for wires to be at gear selector box except for grounding purpose. perhaps you wanna try 'tracking down' the source of these 2 wires. for all you know, the prev. owner might juz use them to tie up some loose components at gear selector box.

 

perhaps you should look at gear oil than engine oil. according to some scram faithfuls, gear oil have higher viscosity than engine oil and does better at protecting ur gears at high temperature than engine oil for 4-strokes.

 

btw..i too travel on the same speed with the same set-up as u. so far so good. it's not very much the set-up you have, but the amount of 2T and the mixture that you are runnning. open up ur plug and check that you are runnnig on brown plugs and not white ones. if it turns out wet and black, it may not be very good too.

here's some plug guides to assist u.

http://www.dansmc.com/spark_plugs/spark_plugs_catalog.html

http://www.atlanticjetsports.com/_techtalk/00000005.htm

 

if everything is alright and you are still paranoid like me, pour in extra 2T on top of the 2% rule when topping up petrol. be sure not to pour too much extra or u'll have a big fat fine coming ur way courtesy of NEA.

 

to everyone>> do correct me if i'm wrong at any point. it's all about learning here.

[Sharpey]

A price list is a great idea! I suggest we start another thread on this... mainly so that when you search you can find the bloody thing and not have to trawl through all the recnt classic vespa thread pages to find the info... maybe Momo can make a sticky for us....

 

Rae is pretty spot on azahoneystar.... brown plugs are happy plugs...

However, just removing the plug after slowing down and stopping isn't going to give you an accurate reading. What you need to try and do is ride in thrid gear at hiogh revs for a while... say a minute or two (keep hand on clutch in case of seizure... be ready to pull in if you feel the rear lcoking up) and then kill the engine and coast to a stop with the clutch in.... Killing the enine basically means that the reading on the plug will be one from when the engine was at high revs.... not at idle.

 

You can of course just chack to see what things look like on your plug after cruising around at 80 first (probably do this before the above check, as the above one requires lots of open road to be safe... I like the TPE)... So cruise around at 80, then kill the engine and coast to a stop.... Like rae said, white and black are bad... Brown is good.

 

 

If most things are stock on your bike... chances are it'll be brown... and yes cruisng at 80/85 is fine... no damage unless your plug is too white.

 

Take a pic of the plug and compare to the links that Rae posted... or post here so we can all argue about what shade of brown it is

 

 

Oh and on the oil.... don't ever mix more than 3%.... too much oil makes your scooter run hotter and actually makes a seizure more likely... 2% should be fine if you're stock especially if you use Castrol R2 or Esso Gold or simmilar fully synth oil... (buy for 13-15 bucks from ah boy and not 20 odd at petrol stations).

[Sharpey]

Sign up...

[Sharpey]

The green and yellow wire probably is for neutral... so just leave it alone (if you have a neutral light on your speedo then its a sure bet) Most px's don't have that wire because most px's don't have a neutral indicator on the speedo.... ut hey I could be wrong here... like you, this is an educated guess.

 

I can't be bothered changing my own engine oil... I don't want to have to deal with disposing of the old oil (2 stokres pollute enough as it is!!!) and it only costs like 8 bucks ewvery 5000kms.... so big deal.