strangeangel

Ah, fair enough... yeah, in that case I would bung it up and sell it with a ticket for PROFIT.

If Triple S isn't Chinese then I say crack on. As for the exhaust, here's one for 40 notes delivered that's described as solid: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Piaggio-Vespa-ET4-LX-Skipper-Zip-Liberty-125-Exhaust-Silencer-system-pipe/233930203328?hash=item367753a0c0:g:FgwAAOSwsVtgTiHa Bit of wire wheel action and some BBQ paint and your good lady will be out on the Queen's Highway in no time 👍 Seems a shame to punt it on now when you've done all the hard work.

They're a great* bit of design, those rubber inlets. The whole weight of the carb is supported by that on many scooters, with obvious consequences. It was such a problem with the Helix that Honda fitted a brace to the later models, which they made available for people to buy and fit to earlier bikes. Another possibility that springs to mind is the condition of the vac lines, any missing clips etc. If you want to save a few pund on the transmission overhaul I would stick with genuine rollers but get an aftermarket belt. I use Three Five belts (Taiwanese) in the Helixes which are cheap and reliable. I went to those because I bought a genuine Honda Bando (£££) for my first belt change and the bastard snapped half way through its duty cycle...

Impressed to see that they both went in the van so easily... fetching scooters home in the C15 always involved taking bits off - nothing ever went in with the top box and mirrors still attached! Just think how easily I'll be able to ship home rank mopeds in this Vito... MUAHAHAHAHA. The GTS looks like it'll prove itself a proper bargain, I'm sure you'll enjoy riding that in the urban scramble. Re: the carb on the 125 - it did look spectacularly rank, but those CV carbs are normally pretty reliable, even when terminally worn. The problems I've had over the years (the same type are fitted to my Helixes) are cracks in the rubber inlet manifold - I would whip that off and have a really good look at it if you haven't already - and the vac piston sticking occasionally. The latter can wear and get burrs on the end nearest the needle, cleaning with a bit of fine abrasive paper usually does the trick. Ultrasonic cleaners are good IME - I have one of the Lidl jewelry cleaners, which is fine for moped carbs, but won't take something that size. - you'd be able to get bits of it in OK though. I wholeheartedly recommend voiding the warranty by using diesel in it instead of water. As you have already surmised, the aftermarket (Chinese) carbs are down in the bottom drawer behind the bar in the Last Chance Saloon. I gambled £25 or whatever it was and bought a Helix one purely to use the bi-metallic strip electric choke thing - the Honda ones are £££ - and for once my luck was in. A while later, after discussing Chinese carbs on a scooter forum, out of curiosity I stuck it on one of the Helixes, which was running perfectly with the carb it had on at the time. Nightmare - poor starting, idled when it felt like it and, worst of all, two big flat spots in the middle of the rev range. I've since robbed the gaskets from it, but anything where actual engineering tolerances are involved should be considered scrap. If that one really is bolloxed then a decent second hand one is your best option IMO.

@pbottomley has several. If you have a rummage through the Bikeshite thread there is an absolutely priceless video of him hooning around on one. WOULD.

If you stand outside your gaff right now and listen carefully you'll probably hear me applauding... using a redundant fire extinguisher to seat a tubeless tyre - if that isn't the Autoshite way then I don't know what is 😎

Have you got a compressor? You're welcome to borrow mine if not.

Not arsed really... in the 21st century we should be doing away with the lot of them, both the privileged by birth and 14th rate actresses/Jerry Springer escapees alike.

I've tried, and while it's OK with a Cub or some such, changing anything 12" or less is a bastard IME. I ruined one Metzeler trying to do the 10" rear on one of my Helixes, and used a garage thereafter. I always get them balanced as - to my mind - they get out of shape just like a car wheel can, except of course you've only got one at each end. I know people who don't bother, and they're not dead, but then neither am I and I'm not prepared to change my stance in the absence of a considerably larger focus group than me and my M8s. Is this one of those Vespas?

A grand. Is there even half that value in scrap here? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CLASSIC-BEDFORD-COACH-YMT-BUS-GLAMPING-POD-MAN-CAVE-CAMPER-VAN

Between you and me, I think someone's pissed in it. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/3727870717291295

Here's my Vespa, this has been in the family since the early sixties. Not concours at all; still proudly wearing dents and about 90% original. The only non-original panel is the right hand engine cover which came from my Grand-dad's long-dead 1962 Sportique (YVM654). It's been in about a dozen different colour schemes down the years, but this red is copied from the only bit of original paint left on it (the filler cap), so it has come full circle!

I'm guessing some will be bolloxed, others maybe still OK and they'll all get punted through the local auction house for not much dosh... I could spend a happy hour or two in there with some spanners trying to make one good one out of the wreckage!

Not a million miles from me if anyone fancies this... https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/788203148714688