SBF Classic Vespa's Cafe 2009 / 2010

[rae07]

Originally posted by Sharpey@Sep 6 2006, 09:14 AM

So Rae07... how's the Mambo mobile?? Has it become a childrens playground as many of us have feared??

 

You must come to the next meet... we neeeeeed to see your scooter up close and personal!

 

In other news....

 

My 2nd scooter is now taking pride of place (albeit in a few sections) in my spare room.... Taking it apart is fun... worrying about how the hell I'll be able to put it back together isn't.... Will post pics when I make some progress...

 

200 posts in 2 years.... wooohooo... it must be my slow typing...

so far so good. maybe cos i have it covered most of time to prevent any 'itchy fingers'. i'll definitely be attending the next meet-up...need help in donig up the internals now. all kinda probs surfacing now.

 

btw...anyone experience side walls of front tyre rubbnig against the shocks? i'm experiencing tt now.

visible wear-off marks on half the tyre wall. suspect tt my hub's warp but yet to confirm with bikeshop... sch work's piling up. meanwhile, am lubricating the wall with 2T to minimise friction and tyre wear.

[alsacehendon]

Hi guys, posted a topic here.

 

http://www.singaporebikes.com/forum/index....howtopic=130258

 

Hope you guys can help out!

[Sharpey]

front wheel or back wheel rae??

 

I had this issue when I but a battalax on my rear wheel... The problem was solved by puting washers on the wheel studs before putting the wheel on... this gives ever so slight but sufficient clearance... I guess it could work on the front too.... (but perhaps you should check that nothing is warped first...)

[Sharpey]

alsacehendon ... firstly... tough name to type... what does it mean??

 

Secondly... sounds like you've had a rough time with dodgy mechanics... Sadly it seems that they "saw you coming"

 

I can't fathom what has caused your problems... Sounds like you need to find a mechanic you can trust... and spend time asking questions about your scooter... The more you know, the harder it will be to rip you off in future... I've never heard of hubs having teeth??? Sounds scary.

 

I am in no way paid to say this... BUT... I do believe in promoting businesses that do a fair and reliable trade...

 

The two most frequented (by this community) scootershops are Ah Joo and Tong Aik... I will not say anything about the former as I haven't ever sent my scoot there...

 

I can say that you'll find honest service at Tong Aik... The mechanics there are happy to answer your questions and help you learn about your scooter. It mightn't be the cheapest place to repair and service your scooter, but sometimes the cheapest isn't the best :-)

 

What ever happens... the most important thing you should be doing is learning about your scooter... this will give you confidence (wherever you sent it for repair/servicing) that you aren't being told "fairy tales"....

 

Good resources include

 

Vespa Maintenance.com (related to px200, but much info is applicable to 150 motors)

 

Scooterhelp.com

 

 

Forums like this one (YAY!)

 

Stellaspeed.com (register to talk with owners of Stella/Belladona/Vespa Scooters [all 150 engines, just different names])

 

Scooterbbs.com (be prepared to be made fun of for asking dumb questions...)

 

Here's a tip for forums (works well on scooterbbs since the search function works well) Search the archives for answers to your questions... Chances are, someone else has already lost face asking it... saving you the trouble...

 

Cheers.

[alsacehendon]

I had wanted Hendon but apparently it was taken by someone who never posts in the forum? So there, alsace lorraine.. a beautiful place with a beautiful name used in conjunction with Hendon.

 

Anyway, I've been trying to learn as much as possible, stole a look at how the guy replaced my clutch cable and read up on http://www.vespamaintenance.com/body/clcable/index.html but still haven't got the guts to try it myself. I guess the 'teeth' are called grooves/spline.

 

I really hope to meet up with you guys and hang out more so I can learn much more about maintaining my bike.

 

Stupid questions:

 

Sometimes I stop at a traffic light in gear 2, and because I just changed "a certain part to change gears" it seems a bit hard to change it to neutral once I stop.

 

Is it best to change to neutral before I stop, or change to gear 1 before I stop and back to neutral?

 

I have so many questions! I need a meetup!

 

I'm a new rider, totally new to mechanics as Sharpey has said. I'll persevere, and someday I'll be the one ordering parts online to do an engine overhaul myself.

[rae07]

Originally posted by Sharpey@Sep 7 2006, 10:15 AM

front wheel or back wheel rae??

 

I had this issue when I but a battalax on my rear wheel... The problem was solved by puting washers on the wheel studs before putting the wheel on... this gives ever so slight but sufficient clearance... I guess it could work on the front too.... (but perhaps you should check that nothing is warped first...)

it's the front tt have the prob.

anyway..got it fixed just now. turns out that it's the bearing tt's worn out and probably caused by my 'loosely attached' shocks.

 

to those with classic headlights...how do you lube ur cable? since we can't remove cover like PXes. lube directly frm the lever? pardon me...still unfamiliar with my classic head.

[apachezulu]

Hey Rae! Saw you turning into Ubi from Paya Lebar Road yesterday! Looking cool in your Scoot and pony tail! kekeke!

 

Have seen Ah Joo lubricate 3 quarters length of cable before inserting into housing, leaving the last bits on both ends to facilitate crimping. Maybe that's the quickest and easiest way?

[apachezulu]

Originally posted by alsacehendon@Sep 7 2006, 05:03 PM

I had wanted Hendon but apparently it was taken by someone who never posts in the forum? So there, alsace lorraine.. a beautiful place with a beautiful name used in conjunction with Hendon.

 

 

Sometimes I stop at a traffic light in gear 2, and because I just changed "a certain part to change gears" it seems a bit hard to change it to neutral once I stop.

 

Is it best to change to neutral before I stop, or change to gear 1 before I stop and back to neutral?

 

Hey Al,

I usually change to neutrel just before coming to a stop. Have the same problem trying to twist the damn gears into neutral if I stop on 2nd.

Sometimes when moving off and shifting from 1st to 2nd... the gears will slip for a second and then bite with a YEEEHARRR kick forward!! Never fail to get dirty stares from the drivers or riders next to me....Heeee

Have fun Al! And Welcome to the Vespa!

[rae07]

Originally posted by apachezulu@Sep 8 2006, 01:23 PM

Hey Rae! Saw you turning into Ubi from Paya Lebar Road yesterday! Looking cool in your Scoot and pony tail! kekeke!

 

Have seen Ah Joo lubricate 3 quarters length of cable before inserting into housing, leaving the last bits on both ends to facilitate crimping. Maybe that's the quickest and easiest way?

haha..was on way to ah joo's to fix my rims.

 

if wat u are saying is true...i gotto remove the cables frm levers to lube it? tt's very troublesone man. had hell of time trying to adjust the clutch cable when i was attempting to change the head.

 

 

ADDED

my's room's turning into a junkyard, thus, i'm giving away the following parts

1) front mounted tyre rack - condition's so-so...still usable

2) floorboard strips - painted black, slightly off shape (can easily bend to shape)

 

call me @ 94234461 if interested. will add on if there's more items, trying to sort out junks.

[Sharpey]

Alsacehendon...... now your nik makes sense! French eh?? I shan't comment... being a Brit... Lovely country though France...

 

 

The trick I use (as I often stop in 2nd) is to blip the throttle slightly and then clutch in and shift.... Give it a go.... If you are going to shift to neutral before you stop, don't try and do it while still traveling fast... best to try to shift just before you stop...

 

Rae.... Good to hear the probelm is solved...

 

 

>>>Reuild update....

 

Have given the engine to T.A to do a general overhaul (managed to carry it down on my darling scooter this morning...)... As much as I'd like to get my hands dirty and do everything myself... I don't want to screw around with changing seals and bearings... so I reckoned it'd be best left to the experienced... So, now 400 bucks poorer... Oh well....

 

Tonight, I'm laying down the undercoat for the underisde of thefender and cowls... wish me luck :-)

[rocket1]

Originally posted by machine k@Sep 6 2006, 01:34 PM

wah..$1800 is rather tempting too, but i made a promise to my present vespa to ride her for 2yrs, before changing to a more 'mature' one, i'd really like a real sprint... once i have deeper pockets

 

till now, i've only set aside enough for a new coat of paint and accessories.

 

is this colour nice?

the colour is power... but I think it only works well with the white walled tyres which aren't easy to maintain

[rocket1]

Originally posted by alsacehendon@Sep 7 2006, 05:03 PM

I had wanted Hendon but apparently it was taken by someone who never posts in the forum? So there, alsace lorraine.. a beautiful place with a beautiful name used in conjunction with Hendon.

 

...

 

Stupid questions:

 

Sometimes I stop at a traffic light in gear 2, and because I just changed "a certain part to change gears" it seems a bit hard to change it to neutral once I stop.

 

Is it best to change to neutral before I stop, or change to gear 1 before I stop and back to neutral?

 

I have so many questions! I need a meetup!

 

I'm a new rider, totally new to mechanics as Sharpey has said. I'll persevere, and someday I'll be the one ordering parts online to do an engine overhaul myself.

when I stop at 2nd I do what Sharpey does, just rev the throttle and move the Vespa forward 5cm and when in motion change to neutral

 

happens with my other bike as well, don't sweat it

 

and I second Sharpey's opinion about Tong Aik. Nice Place, lots of space in the workshop in a covered carpark so you know your bike won't ever get wet or be squashed with other bikes. The head mechanics are both very experienced and most importantly for me conversant in English. Their work is very good, I never had a problem before.

 

but the person that they outsource their paint work to leaves much to be desired... but for the price you can't really complain.

[machine k]

rocket1>> i'm afraid my choice of colour will be the same as u man... better not let u see my scoot after i respray it, tink i will get it done after nov..damn busy with sch now =(

 

sharpey>> post some pictures of ur laid up scoot, i wanna see the leopard prints! and show some pictures of ur hard work too... so we can...errr...appreciate our vespa better...after seeing how hard you toll to get urs done urself. haha

 

hope everything goes well for u

[machine k]

i went down ah joo the other day..he quoted me $200 for a respray..anyone has any experience there?

 

tong aik charging $300, n i've seen the quality/standard of spray in rocket1's scoot..i think i need to specify not to spray my chrome suspension though

[un-sith]

200 might be a 1k paint.

better go for 2k paint.

 

and guess who i saw on the road jus now. our little mambo-themed scooter.

 

hey rae, i waved to u @ pie. =)

[rae07]

Originally posted by un-sith@Sep 8 2006, 06:34 PM

200 might be a 1k paint.

better go for 2k paint.

 

and guess who i saw on the road jus now. our little mambo-themed scooter.

 

hey rae, i waved to u @ pie. =)

pardon me for my response juz now. was stoning and enjoying my music. in fact.. got a shock when u appeared by my side waving @ me..

 

btw..nice color scheme.

[wilsonbb]

Hi guy/gers,

I have questions abt paintwork....

i went to tongaik and ask for the price for respray px150, auntie quote me 300 for 1 color and 350 for 2 color, but den she continue to write on paper add some extra money blah blah blah end up she say less den 500 for 1 color and 550 for 2 color......

the workmanship cost about 200????

I think she quote everyone the same price? since TA is quite famous. But I read through forum, all say spray color ard 300 to 350, does tat includes workmanship and other cost?? Is their paintwork really that good worth tat amount of money?

 

Oh and one more question my vespa everytime want to start engine have to tilt the bike 45 degree.....can it be fixed?

 

thx guys!

[Sharpey]

Afaik its 300 for 2k paint right??... another 100 if your old paint needs to be stripped... more if you need welding/touchup

 

Perhaps you can give us more details about your scoot.... Its hard to say if what you were quoted is fair when you tell us so little...

 

 

The tilting... no fix for that I'm afraid :-D... part of the fun of owning a Vespa!

(btw... the tilting allows fuel to flow into the carb... so that when you kick... there's something to burn!)

 

 

As for the Rebuild... Shall take some pics of my former spare room (now vespa workshop) tomorrow....

 

Cheers.

[Sharpey]

Just a quickie on the paint front....

 

The materials alone for my paint job cost 200 bucks... So 3 or even 400 for a complete job is a relative bargain...

 

The trouble with letting other people "do it" (ooh errr) is that they don't disassemble your scooter before spraying... meaning that you'll have bits not sprayed properly (eg the back of the mud guard and body behind engine) and other bits (like your suspension, fuel line, etc etc) sprayed when you wanted them left alone...

 

If you want a proper job... either pay lots of money (like 600 at least [taking scooter to pieces and putting back together again is a big big job {trust me, my fingers hurt}])... or DIY like our fellow Vesporean Rae07...

 

If you pay peanuts... you will ultimately get monkeys....

 

 

Cheers...

[Sharpey]

Here's the scooter pictured 1 year ago when she was put up for sale....

 

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/2060/leopardprintvespazz0.jpg

 

 

When I bought her, she was home to a variety of jungle life... including cockroaches and lizards... Spent a whole day cleaning and getting rid of the worst of it.... [bird poo is hell to get rid of!]

 

 

More pics to follow when I've had a chance to snap em....

[un-sith]

hi wilsonbb.

yeap. its 300 for 1 color and 350 for 2 colors. I think if u wanna extra designs and etc, there's a 50 more i think

 

for the additional 200, u gotta ask her. Is it the parts that need to be added or changed and etc? cos i repainted mine last time, it was just as per quoted. it took 3 days only, upon placement of scoot and advance booking.

[un-sith]

Originally posted by rae07@Sep 8 2006, 07:51 PM

pardon me for my response juz now. was stoning and enjoying my music. in fact.. got a shock when u appeared by my side waving @ me..

 

btw..nice color scheme.

wah. enjoying music @ the busy PIE? haha.

i was busy squeezing thru. quite a lot of curves @ that stretch.

[machine k]

sharpey>> i can understand what you mean by the leopard prints was ugly, its a piece of art only the person who did it can appreciate.

 

yeah..more pictures of ur progress would be great. nice to see how the vespa is taken apart... juz dun end up with spare nuts/screws when u put them back. haha

[cHiLL]

hi there... nice to join you guys here...

a newbie here juz wondering(correct me if i'm wrong pls) when one tilt the bike it's because there is an over flow of fuel collected in the carb, by tilting it'll some flow out of the carb. hence easy to start, since most classic lack of the choke to pull(after passing down through many generations most choke seems to be unuseable...sigh) for cold start esp in early mornin...

 

juz another question... y must some shop(s) have saperate charges for spray painting, removing of paint, and disassembling of parts before spray? i found other bike(non-vespa) only charges one price(except special design or multicolour) for spray paint which includes removing parts 1st from the bike then remove old paint then spray new paint... do u buy chicken from market still well alive, pay more to get it slaughtered, then pay again to get it pack nicely to be brought home?

[rae07]

pardone me if i'm wrong but to me..it takes a lot more effort to prep a vespa as compared to other bikes. vespa's generally more tedious cos whole bike's metal as oppose to plastics where u juz putty up and spray.

 

sanding and derusting's a b*tch esp. when u have badly rusted parts or parts tt's dented for watever reason. a lot of effort goes into levelling out the uneveness as well. on top of tt, u may need to do some anti-rust treatment before the usual steps like priming and painting colors.

 

Sharpey>> maybe u should start a blog and post ur progress. it'll be a great chrono-log of some kind which u can be proud of.

 

un-sith>> was listening to my ipod while tailing behind cars. (tt's y i din really hear u horning..hahaa.) kinda lazy to squeeze these days, esp after a tired day @ sch.