Vespatude - A Vespa Blog: Headlamps and needle bearings

No, I have not forgotten about Vespatude.com. The problem is that nothing has been happening...that is until today. First, the headlamp conversion and then the final report on what the engine needs before we can put it back together.

You can see the results of my conversion in the photos above. I tried all kinds of things to get a smaller bulb to work in the base of the original bulb. Then at scooterhelp.com, I read about a conversion that uses a typical car headlamp bulb. I was a little disappointed at first because the bulb ballast that I have was not the same he started with. So, I would not be able to follow his example exactly.

Turns out, it was even easier for my ballast. The base of the bulb fit perfectly into the ballast. I was then able to connect the wires for the ground, high-beam and low-beam and then secure the clip on the opposite side of the ballast than the original setup. Now all I need is a larger battery to test it.

The engine

Mike came by this morning and took a look at the disassembled engine. He pointed out to me the marks to show that the engine had actually blown up at some point. It wasn't a pretty job they did putting it back together, but it was good enough. The major problems were two:

1. the rear seal. I already have that on order and it should come next week. That should be pretty easy.

2. the crank. There is a pin that goes through the piston to hold it onto the crank shaft. This pin sits inside a ring of needle bearings. The needle bearing held the pin too snug, so the movement is not as good as free as it should be. Ed Johnson is going to machine the shaft hole so that it will release some of the pressure on the needle bearings.

I'm afraid the day will come when I will have to put a new engine in the bike. Maybe a year or so from now, I can upgrade to a 200cc engine. That would probably be the best way to go anyway because of the sidecar.

Getting ever closer... could this be the week?