Post by arigead on Sept 20, 2011 15:10:05 GMT
First Hello all, it's great to be here ;-)
I come from a background of motorcycles and tinkering with them. A friend of a friend knew this and asked me if I'd take a Vespa off his hands as he simply wanted rid of it and to clear the space it was taking up. At first I thought it was the drink, talking but it turns out he was serious and I've now got a vespa.
Now this may or may not have been a gift horse, so to speak. The reason he was getting rid of his 2002 PX125 is that some very bold boys had tried to steal it and to that end had jammed a screwdriver into the ignition switch and tried to force the lock. This has resulted in a bike that needs TLC and some creativity.
Before I go to far down that particular avenue I should ask about where I might get an owners manual for the beast. I've bought the haynes manual and that enabled me to read the wiring diagram to work out that I needed the clutch engaged to start the bike. That's the kind of everyday info that I really need and the Haynes manual don't have. The basics of operation of the beast. I've looked at the Vespa UK web site but I can only make an enquiry of a dealer and as I didn't get this bike from a dealer and there's no dealer in my local area they might not be too interested in sorting out my problem.
So to get back to the bust ignition, the Bold boys have ripped the front horn cover off the bike in an attempt to hat wire it. I mean it's a vespa for Christ's sake. Anyhow they also totally bust the metal "barrel" That the ignition switch and the electrical switch fit into. By that I mean that both ends of that metal tube are at angles to each other. I pulled out a grub screw to remove the electrical switch and was able to look at the back of the ignition switch. Turning the key does not turn the plastic "key" that mates up with the electrical switch. Even if I did replace the ignition switch as both ends of that metal tube are at angles I don't think they'll match up.
I did start the bike by taking a screw driver to the electrical switch and turning it to the relevant position but that's not really a long term solution. Maybe I could take the ignition key switch out and try and hammer the tube back to mate up with the other half. Maybe that's the best I could do and there's little in the line of alternatives.
Maybe somebody out there might have a cunning plan?
Thanks for any help.
I come from a background of motorcycles and tinkering with them. A friend of a friend knew this and asked me if I'd take a Vespa off his hands as he simply wanted rid of it and to clear the space it was taking up. At first I thought it was the drink, talking but it turns out he was serious and I've now got a vespa.
Now this may or may not have been a gift horse, so to speak. The reason he was getting rid of his 2002 PX125 is that some very bold boys had tried to steal it and to that end had jammed a screwdriver into the ignition switch and tried to force the lock. This has resulted in a bike that needs TLC and some creativity.
Before I go to far down that particular avenue I should ask about where I might get an owners manual for the beast. I've bought the haynes manual and that enabled me to read the wiring diagram to work out that I needed the clutch engaged to start the bike. That's the kind of everyday info that I really need and the Haynes manual don't have. The basics of operation of the beast. I've looked at the Vespa UK web site but I can only make an enquiry of a dealer and as I didn't get this bike from a dealer and there's no dealer in my local area they might not be too interested in sorting out my problem.
So to get back to the bust ignition, the Bold boys have ripped the front horn cover off the bike in an attempt to hat wire it. I mean it's a vespa for Christ's sake. Anyhow they also totally bust the metal "barrel" That the ignition switch and the electrical switch fit into. By that I mean that both ends of that metal tube are at angles to each other. I pulled out a grub screw to remove the electrical switch and was able to look at the back of the ignition switch. Turning the key does not turn the plastic "key" that mates up with the electrical switch. Even if I did replace the ignition switch as both ends of that metal tube are at angles I don't think they'll match up.
I did start the bike by taking a screw driver to the electrical switch and turning it to the relevant position but that's not really a long term solution. Maybe I could take the ignition key switch out and try and hammer the tube back to mate up with the other half. Maybe that's the best I could do and there's little in the line of alternatives.
Maybe somebody out there might have a cunning plan?
Thanks for any help.