Friday, March 20, 2009

Grinding hardware stamps

As you know the stock kickstand hardware was not stainless steel, nor did it have a stamp on it. I want stainless steel, but I do not want the stamp; therefore I grind'd all four bolt heads for the kickstand hardware. Also note that there are two different washer sizes here. I was in a hurry before I moved West so I just got the bike together. Now that I am settled I can correct those minor errors.

I used my Dremel and just very lightly ground down the stamps and made it all look even. I was able to handhold the bolts.


It is my hope that over the time the bolt head will weather a little bit and look a little more stock with less glossy shine on where I polished it with the Dremel.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

HeadLight Assembly & Headset Internals

As my readers may remember there were two items that needed my attention with the headset, but I went ahead and put it together before we moved to make sure nothing got lost in transit.Pictured above the headlight bezel screw that broke when installing the headlight bezel.  This headlight assembly fits a VSD (the Rally 180/200).  Remember that the later year VSCs in the USA were required to have a round headset.  The screw pictured here is part S15544 at ScooterWorks, where I bought the assembly.
To remove the bezel I heated it so the metal would expand with a heat gun.  It took about one to two minutes.
When ever banging on the Vespa I look for the softest thing I can find, such as a wooden paint stirrer.  The bezel was too snug, due to paint.  So I gently tapped the rubber mallet against the wood paint stirrer and it worked great.
Above note: the broken bezel screw and a chip from the paint.  This is okay, because the headset is aluminum and will not rust.  Plus the bezel will hide it and no one will ever see it.
Another close up of the broken bezel screw.
I need to replace both that screw and the bezel hardware for 1970s headlight assemblies, part number #15221 at ScooterWorks.
The headset assembly was supposed to arrive with a light bulb.  It did not.  I need one.  I used a Sharpie to label what wires plugged into what terminals.
The final items I need for the headset is the terminal for the speedo light bulb as well as the bulb itself.

I have more done on the Vespa and will post more soon.  I also have been working more on my Bajaj Chetak.  You'll never guess what I found during the oil change.  Click here to find out.


Monday, March 16, 2009

Rewiring the junction box correctly

Recently I have been working more on my Bajaj Chetak and some body work on my wife's Chetak in an effort to be ready for a Rally ride in three weeks. To see what is happening with the Bajaj's click here. I need to add a post on the Bajaj site to share an interesting thing I found in the oil filter some time in this week.

For info on the rally see the flyer below:



Tonight I replaced the grommets around the junction box to the correct ones. Here's what it looked like first.
Note the incorrect grommets.

Here's what the wiring looks like complete inside the junction box:


To save myself time, I made a diagram to remind myself how to rewire it quickly:


I looked closely at the Technica photo and made sure this time I got it correct. Here's what it looks like:
Note: the only thing I am unhappy is about is the bottom grommet has two holes and I meant to run the wires from the PX HT Coil (mod) through the top hole closest to us so it would be less noticable, but I messed up. In the grand scheme of things, this isn't an issue in any way.

The anoraks may note that my screw for the junction box is also not stock.