alanbassman
2nd Class Ticket
Vespa PX125 Touring (2015) - Previously had a Vespa Douglas 150 from 1969 to 1971.
Posts: 18
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Post by alanbassman on Aug 15, 2018 11:42:15 GMT
I have a Vespa PX125 CAT (Euro 3) 2015 and (all as per upgrade improvements in SCOOTERING mag last winter) I have changed the standard CAT exhaust for a SIP Road 2, and the main jet (from 96 to 100) and idle jet (from 45/140 to 48/100 - this is the closest to the recommended 50/100 which was not available) and main stack Air Corrector (from 140 to 120), plus I installed a Vespa 200 air filter with standard holes, all great. I had tried a combination of 4 main jets (96 to 102), 3 idle jets including 50/120, and the above 2 Air Correctors, before settling on the above, then I very recently installed a Readspeed ZEUS CDi as the original CDi had a rev limiter that caused the revs to annoyingly drop back frequently, but I retained the original throttle slide and BE5 atomiser.
The exhaust change was probably the best mod as power at low revs improved but the accumulation gave a vast improvement - top speed rose from the standard 52mph to about 58mph by GPS, with the acceleration of 0-50mph by GPS was originally 32 seconds not 29 seconds as mentioned elsewhere (I am a heavy 110kgs) and it vastly improved as it fell by about 10 seconds. These figures will be rechecked and confirmed once I have finely-adjusted the really awkwardly-placed idle mix screw using a bent 7mm spanner, so am considering replacing the hex head screw with a slotted screw but this may not be worth the hassle as once properly set, this should not need further adjustment.
QUESTIONS :- I am about to submit my scooter to a local general vehicle garage (unfamiliar to me) for its first MOT within 2 weeks, and wonder if there will be problems with any emissions tests, so should I revert to the original setup before the test ? If I instead submit the scooter with these modifications still installed, I guess advising the garage about these mods might be foolish ? |
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Post by citydaz on Aug 15, 2018 17:17:59 GMT
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Post by ironsloth on Aug 15, 2018 21:42:22 GMT
It's difficult because it's a 2 stroke but take it in and don't say a word. Might well pass, if it doesn't hold your hands up and say I swear it's standard.
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Post by scooterg on Aug 16, 2018 14:07:52 GMT
Don’t worry,,they all pass,
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Post by ianmartin40 on Aug 16, 2018 17:35:57 GMT
in UK as far as I know there is no 2 wheeler emissions or noise check unless it is deafening or smoking badly it is a pass.
It is always helpful to use a MOT station that are scooter friendly and know the score.
Ian
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Post by mijapxman on Aug 16, 2018 17:59:21 GMT
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alanbassman
2nd Class Ticket
Vespa PX125 Touring (2015) - Previously had a Vespa Douglas 150 from 1969 to 1971.
Posts: 18
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Post by alanbassman on Aug 16, 2018 20:14:38 GMT
Many thanks for the quick (and thankfully consistent) answers. Folk found in an online search all say that there is no emissions testing for bikes. The exhaust is just a little crisper and louder than the standard box so again no problem here I guess. The bike is second hand so I will just act "the daft laddie" (as we say in Scotland) if they spot any mods and can easily blame the first owner lol. ALAN
PS I am really browned off that I never sat the bike test on my Vespa 150 at 16 in 1969 which was just a "walk around the block" really, (back then there no helmets or initial driving instructions at all, I just drove off with my scooter, lol) . Now I had to sit the CBT show L plates, and soon will have a Theory and the Part 1 and 2 bike tests to look forward to at age 65 - just have to decide whether to go for the A1 (125cc max) or take lessons for the A (I guess there is no point in going for the intermediary A2, up to 400cc approx, if I am paying for lessons anyway). BUGGER. |
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Post by citydaz on Aug 16, 2018 20:18:00 GMT
"if they spot any mods" - dont wear a green parka to the test then! 
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alanbassman
2nd Class Ticket
Vespa PX125 Touring (2015) - Previously had a Vespa Douglas 150 from 1969 to 1971.
Posts: 18
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Post by alanbassman on Aug 16, 2018 20:34:46 GMT
But, for the love of God, surely the garage will let me wear my brown leather tassled slip-on loafers. Or is this considered an MOT failure and there is no justice in this cruel cruel world ?  |
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Post by scooterg on Aug 17, 2018 20:42:00 GMT
Alan where are you located ?
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alanbassman
2nd Class Ticket
Vespa PX125 Touring (2015) - Previously had a Vespa Douglas 150 from 1969 to 1971.
Posts: 18
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Post by alanbassman on Aug 20, 2018 21:55:18 GMT
Sorry for the delay to respond. I am in Linlithgow, between Falkirk and Edinburgh.
Am thinking of booking it into a small local general-vehicle garage for the MOT as they (unlike a scooter or motorbike garage) will not notice the SIP Road 2 exhaust which looks like a bog standard one, although it is slightly louder and raspier.
Any idea how the rear offside turn indicator light actually gets earthed as it became intermittent very recently and got worse - have cleaned the front contact and bulb holder (seems to have a stuck-on silver paper contact, which is a bit frayed but appears electrically sound) and checked the bulb, but I will check the route more thoroughly tomorrow, and also that the newly-fitted Readspeed ZEUS CDi unit does not foul the bulb unit.
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Post by scooterg on Aug 20, 2018 22:13:57 GMT
Remove the switch at handlebars first
And check in there,
And yes a local garage,,not a bike or scooter garage specialist
rear indicator earth is the little spike on the inside of the panel,(at you heel)
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Post by citydaz on Aug 21, 2018 7:27:19 GMT
I thought the earth was the spring contact onto the retaining bracket on the frame?
I remember reading somewhere that if you clean this area up and rub with a bit of sand paper that should improve things.
try it anyway, it will take 10 seconds to do.
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Post by swm on Aug 21, 2018 12:05:47 GMT
I thought the earth was the spring contact onto the retaining bracket on the frame? I remember reading somewhere that if you clean this area up and rub with a bit of sand paper that should improve things. try it anyway, it will take 10 seconds to do. Correct !
alanbassman , av a read of sbwnik's sticky thread vespa.proboards.com/thread/3926/vespa-range-indicator-issues-beginners Should help !
Cheers .
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alanbassman
2nd Class Ticket
Vespa PX125 Touring (2015) - Previously had a Vespa Douglas 150 from 1969 to 1971.
Posts: 18
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Post by alanbassman on Aug 21, 2018 12:40:57 GMT
Thanks so far. Still checking the circuit and connections at the panel, (doubt the switch is at fault) and will again sandpaper the retention spring and the connecting clip on the frame which is the return earth circuit - the new CDi unit is NOT touching the bulb holder in side panel.
I can hardly believe in this day and age, that the earth return is accomplished through the painted rear side panel spring to a painted frame bracket, what with corrosion or oxidisation so easily present! Unbelievable - and the scoot is barely 3 years old and garaged.
(Scootreg face - The front connector, behind my right heel, is of course the live feed to the indicator bulb unit. NOT the earth return.)
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Post by ianmartin40 on Aug 21, 2018 14:06:03 GMT
I know what you mean when you say you find it difficult to believe the earth route chosen by Piaggio, but the beauty of the Vespa is that it has not changed that much since it`s initial design, hence the reason lots of old models from the 60`s are using PX motors as they fit straight in and it was a "major" change to fit a disc brake and electric start. When indicators became mandatory in most countries piaggio probably looked for the easiest and cheapest way to fit them, and if a quick rub with a bit of sandpaper fixes it then sometimes the simple designs are the best. Even a fairly new PX has more in common with a classic vehicle than a new one, which is partly why I like them.
Enjoy it and ride safe, how many other vehicles remained virtually unchanged for so many years?
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alanbassman
2nd Class Ticket
Vespa PX125 Touring (2015) - Previously had a Vespa Douglas 150 from 1969 to 1971.
Posts: 18
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Post by alanbassman on Aug 21, 2018 15:34:14 GMT
SORTED - First I traced the earthing between the bulb-holder and the retaining spring and a "break" seemed to be at the spring itself. So I sandpapered REALLY well, the underside of the (painted) retaining spring at top of the rear panel, and ALSO the corresponding (painted) bracket affixed to the frame, using sandpaper wrapped around a thin screwdriver shaft to really get under the overhanging lip.
Earthing works but still no joy as no rear indicator AND now all the panel lights were flashing (panel was normal when front indicator was on, but panel all off and no rear indicator, when the rear indicator should have been "on") - this was a new development.
I had previously removed the bulb again to clean/sand it so I now checked the unusual "silver/paper contact" in the bulb-holder (where the live-point of the bulb makes contact) only to find somebody had used what looks like silver paper from a fag packet, which had been folded up into a small square as a sort of padding under the bulb, but regrettably it had slipped a millimetre or 2 and was now shorting out the live contact to the earthed side tube of the bulb-holder! (Maybe done by the previous owner?).
So this was tidied up for now, and I will decide later if this dodgy bodge "mod" is really required AFTER the MOT and meantime I have sandpapered the spring and connecting frame bracket on the left hand side panel (no silver paper under this bulb) as I am sure this was the only problem with the right hand side originally.
AN EARTHING ROUTE AS PART OF THE FRONT CONNECTOR, OR A (QUICK RELEASE) TRAILING WIRE FROM THE BULB HOLDER TO AN EARTHING POINT ON THE ENGINE WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER SOLUTIONS BY PIAGGIO.
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Post by ironsloth on Aug 21, 2018 20:28:40 GMT
Nah, I prefer the original 😁 some people do modify them to a "proper" pin plug, but as far as I'm concerned, the old way works, why complicate things? I don't need the faff when I get a picture on a main road in the flaming rain, all I want to do is fling the panel off quick, grab the rear stand out the glovebox (looks rough as hell but it sits under the selector box and saves laying it down) whip the spare off, along with the dam Scorpion, put wheel on and swear like hell because of where it happens and why does it always rain at the same friggin time....... 😄
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alanbassman
2nd Class Ticket
Vespa PX125 Touring (2015) - Previously had a Vespa Douglas 150 from 1969 to 1971.
Posts: 18
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Post by alanbassman on Aug 22, 2018 21:23:59 GMT
POST SCRIPT - So now I have found a further intermittent fault with the rear offside indicator. In the side casing, the live feed from front connector to rear of bulb holder, plus the earth return from bulb holder to spring were both tested ok (continuity testing, not voltage or amperage). The red herring was testing from the live feed just before the bulb holder with bulb fitted to earth at spring or chassis which was ok, and also simply testing between either side of the bulb holder (at live feed in, to the earth strap with bulb fitted) which too proved ok with the meter, but later was found to be faulty.
But fire up the engine and the rear indicator would maybe flash once and cease. Long story short, there is a problem with the electrical earth contact of the bulbholder, which had a second (previous) bodge repair of a thin wad of paper placed around the outside of the cylindrical metal holder, forcing it inwards towards the bulb. The bulb can be made to temporarily work but only if it is pushed to one side or the other, so obviously it is not a good fit around the bulb - this may well have been the original fault, not the metal foil pad under the bulb which I may have dislodged, and maybe never any earth corrosion. I have ordered a new replacement indicator light unit.
Beware relying on meter testing with these bulb holders which, apart from oxidising internally, can also intermittently lose their physical earth contact with the outside of the bulb, if they get slightly spread open (a screw fit would be better), and where they seem ok under a continuity test meter, but not when operating normally with electricity !!
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Post by scooterg on Aug 22, 2018 21:28:30 GMT
Oops mixed up the live an earth in my head 🤪🤪🤪
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Post by citydaz on Sept 7, 2018 15:26:39 GMT
Alanbassman - did your scoot pass the MOT?
Mine passed on the 24th of August no problems - shame really that it will be its last!
citydaz
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Post by ironsloth on Sept 7, 2018 16:49:59 GMT
Alanbassman - did your scoot pass the MOT? Mine passed on the 24th of August no problems - shame really that it will be its last! citydaz What do you mean it will be its last?? |
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Post by citydaz on Sept 7, 2018 17:43:15 GMT
its over 40 years old so enters the historic vehicle class and does not require a MOT.
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Post by ianmartin40 on Sept 7, 2018 19:23:10 GMT
Be wary of running around with no MOT, I know that pre 1978 machines no longer need one, however if anything goes wrong, theft or damage, you may have difficulty proving the machine was roadworthy, and a bike MOT is only £30, I am soon to put a different vehicle on the road after being off the road for some time, and although I don`t require a MOT, i`ll take it along anyway, just to make sure and to cover myself, if you scroll through some of the dung on e-bay, there are quite a few old cars/bikes being advertised as MOT exempt (which they are) but they look like they were dug out of someones garden!
Just my opinion.
Ian
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alanbassman
2nd Class Ticket
Vespa PX125 Touring (2015) - Previously had a Vespa Douglas 150 from 1969 to 1971.
Posts: 18
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Post by alanbassman on Aug 18, 2019 21:43:48 GMT
Hi citydaz sorry for the year delay in replying - yes it passed its MOT last September 2018 after it failed for one faulty rear indicator and a worn rear wheel bearing which I had felt wobbling over the previous week (strange I thought for a 3 year old Vespa with maybe only 6,500 km on the clock plus front bearing was worn but not yet a fail). Looking forward with dread to my next MOT next week.
POST SCRIPT - Rear indicator problems continued over the winter - which I finally solved by running a 600mm (minimum) wire fixed to a new stainless steel lower bolt at the inside of the cowl, one of 2 securing the indicator cluster, then the wire runs up to a suitable bolt on the engine side, offside (say at rear of the fan cowl) ALSO to the earth terminal of the battery on the other side, nearside. Use suitable crimped-on "O" connectors either end of wire, and ensure wires are tucked away neatly when replacing the cowls. The cowls can be placed on ground but extremely near to the scooter, so I also used a quick release bullet electrical connector mid-wire for when I need to completely remove the cowl. The bulb and its holder must make a tight contact together and both free of oxidisation (greyish), plus the end of the electrical strap within the light cluster where the fixing bolt contacts it, plus the front live male connector at the front of the cowl must also be rust free, and its recessed contact in the scooter body too - sandpapering and sprayed with electrical contact cleaner. I can provide photos and better details if required.
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