As my readers, who have been with me from the beginning, know I made most of my mistakes early on in this restoration process. Remember my seat restoration? Yah, that will be fixed in the distant future -- fortunately, my wife doesn't care as much as I do about that.
I recently remembered some odd holes in my legshield. And I took a close look at Gary's red SS180 on this site, which is the same year as our's. I noted his does not have my holes.
So I emailed Palmog & Collin and then Christopher & Tom G. I am waiting for their responses. This is what I wrote:
"Guys,
What are these two holes for on the top of my SS180 legshield (just beneath the chrome trim)? There was an odd thing bolted into it when Eric bought the bike (photo link below) and then he disassembled it and sold it to us. I had the bike medium blasted and then painted and thought nothing of the holes because they look so perfect -- like the factory did it -- a professional job and all.
I asked Lisa what she thought and she said, "them there holes is for a gun rack Jeremy. Them farmer men made them there holes."
She may be right. She also thought they added a rack or something. I thought maybe after market / home-made blinkers?
Original -- Click on photo to enlargeMedium blasted -- Click on photo to enlarge
Post paint -- Click on photo to enlargeAnywho, the Vespa will live with them holes since it is painted." Maybe in some odd way by preserving this specific bike's history we're preserving its soul.
My question to my readers is what in the hell are those holes for? Watch the slide-shows and you'll see the bolts mounted in the holes.**** Responses ****"Certainly not factory. Could'a been a mirror set, or custom rack, or badge bar. Who knows," said Tom G.
"Hi Jeremy,
Sorry for the delay. I just checked out the pics. Unfortunately, those holes are not original to the SS 180. It was likely for some type of accessory front rack ( I've seen many on bikes over here in CA), that had an "L" shape rack that bolted straight through the sheet metal. I'd be willing to put money on the fact that it's not from a gun rack, but who know...Either way, it's not original, and unfortunately, the only way to really take care of the holes is to sand down the area around the holes, have them properly welded up, and prime/paint the area again, which is a complete pain.
Given the fact that you're this far into your restoration, and turning back to fix a couple holes would cost valuable time and money, I would suggest leaving them there, maybe a tribute to the history of the bike..? Or easily cover them up with a period accessory or something ( Or two small stickers that read, in tiny print, "If you're reading this, you are too close to my scooter.." haha). Don't worry about it now, it's a done deal, and the bike is going to look great regardless. " Cheers, Collin
What I know is what ever it is gonna stay. Maybe, we will be able to ask that owner some day what he had installed and replicate it if Lisa wants. For me, I hope it doesn't draw people's eye away from the beautiful restoration it is undergoing.
