Memo to myself 2. After adding fuel, don't forget to turn off fuel when parked.

Regine is an old lady. A good looking, but old, lady. And old ladies sometimes have issues. Incontinence issues. Enough said.

This morning my missus complained about gasoline odour coming from the basement, where also the garage is situated.

Being the Sherlock Holmes that I am (dah), I immediately suspected that the smell came from the garage, and that Regine was causing it. And my suspicions were spot on:

 There she was, fuel soaking the entire floor beneath the engine.

Turns out I forgot to switch the fuel lever to "closed" yesterday, and this has caused the carb to overflow.

So: Nothing too serious. But I am not looking forward to trying to start Regine tomorrow...

Memo to myself. If everything else fails, try adding fuel

Regine has been out of service for the last two months, after a two week trip to Tunis she refused to start. I tried (not very hard) to get her to start by running her back and forth, but no signs of starting. So she was retired from service, and I started using my working smallframe instead.

After a recent puncture with Yosephine, I just had to get Regine to work. This time I checked the fuel tank, and to my surprise, it was nearly empty!

Dah. Switching to spare fuel tank fixed the problem.

Memo to myself: You're an idiot. First thing to check next time: FUEL.

Kickstart

Mondays are meeting days for the Vespa club in Stavanger, however, nobody (except me, coming to a locked door...) had the chance to meet at the workshop today.

Audience was however granted to Mr Presidents castle, his 180SS engine has been dismantled, and I was curious about how my kickstart gear can be so low.

180SS casings...

Kickstart gear in resting position...

Kickstart gear in max kick position...

My new kickstart gear matches the original kickstart, and there is no way the kickstart gear can be fitted incorrect by the looks of it.

The position of the spline (not showing) on my defect kick deviates 35-40 degrees downwards compared to the new kick gear.

Based on this leads me to the conclusion that the defect kickstart gear is infact defect; most likely the gear "moon" has rotated on the axle shaft at some point during heavy load. Good thing I ordered the new kickstart gear!

I leave you with some photos from Mr. Presidents garage:

Bastard and Auntie Red (Tante Rød)...

Night Rider

Ignition

Although Regines usually starts on the first kick, some fixes will be needed in the near future:

1. Carburettor should probably be dismantled, cleaned and checked
2. Oil change.
3. Ignition cables need a fix.

As far as ignition goes, this is the current status:

The cabling from the coil is a complete disaster...

Black and red cable "hotfix" by previous owner...

And the coil cabling is a complete mess, but works... An accident waiting to happen, if you ask me...

Not showing in the picture is the metal tape wrapping that was covering the coil and ignition cables. I've taken them away, and have ordered new plastic and rubber parts to restore the cabling to a more, hopefully, functional state.

Low kickstart

I didn't notice this error on Regine when I first inspected her, it was dark and I was too satisfied with her starting on the first kick:

Notice the low kick?

The kick is extremely low placed...

The kick is so low placed that I need to be careful when turning to the right.

My first fix was to try to rearrange the kick by loosening it at turn it a notch on the splines, but the fastening bolt does not agree with that action.

I have posted the problem on Stellaspeed, but really not got any too good advice. 

1) either the kickstart axle is totally bent

2) or the kickstart gear is installed in a wrong way (not even sure if that is possible...)

Either way: I need to split the casings for fixing it properly. A new kickstart gear has been sourced, and I will sometime in the future fix this.  

The search for the lost VIN number

One of the first things to check when buying any scooter, motor cycle or car, is of course to check the VIN number, the Vehicle Identification Number.

Totally happy with the test drive of the 180SS, I dropped checking the VIN number... which caused some concern with my mates when returning home with the beauty...

Not to concerned myself, but after a while I started feeling a bit insecure. So I took off the side bubble and started searching.

This is what I found... the VIN number was severly rusted.

Some chemical rust and paint remover was needed...

To find the numbers beneath the rust. And YES, they match the registered numbers... :-)

Brake maintenance

Regine was in a very good condition when I bought her, considering the age. The chassis had some usual dents after a luggage rack, and the brakes needed some TLC. The tires definetively needed replacement, rubber was hard and provided a lumpy drive.

One of the first maintenance jobs I performed on her was to tidy up the brakes:

The rims needed some shining up, and the wheels needed replacement...

Front and rear hub are like, picture after degreasing and sand blasting...

inside...

Although the drums are like, the brake shoes are not (back showing)...

Front...

A package of SIP tires and new SS rims where ordered from SIP. Not taking any chances, the rims where primed, sprayed and clearcoated before assembly...

It was not until I had primed, sprayed and clearcoated the drums I noticed this; all 5 pinbolts on rear drum was nearly broken off!

The old rear rim told the same story...

It took me some time to find the solution to the problem, being summer holiday and all; the end of the story is that I had to machine out the old pinbolts, and replaced them with umbraco bolts.  

Today I am very happy that I did this maintenance; the result could have been fatal for both me and the scooter. I am more, but not totally, happy with the stopping power. The ride is however smooth.

Regine

Regine came in to my possession early 2009, picked up from Oslo.

Regine on the left, Yosephine on the right...

180SS headlight...

Initial condition of the front when I bought Regine...

Well patinated...

Original paint...

Speedo...

Compartment...

Original 180SS engine beneath the bubble...

Being a 1966 model, she has kept her appearance well! Everything works, and my intention is to use her with some minor improvements "as is", at least until I have finished my Ferdinand project.

Vespa 180 SS

Welcome to my blog dedicated to my 1966 Vespa 180 SS.