Now that the Primavera is back on the road, it is time to start on a new project. This is a friend of mine's Vespa Super Sport. He has done a nice rebuild on it, but there are a few major issues that have to be sorted out before it is a reliable runner.
The main things that I noticed when he brought it by were: 1) poor running; 2) no lights; 3) poor clutch operation; and 4) a strange grinding noise coming from the rear wheel when it moved. That is quite a lot to sort out, but considering this was a basket case when my friend got it, and this was his first restoration... well, these are pretty minor issues.
So the first thing I decided to tackle was the lights. On these older Vespas, the electrical systems are pretty basic, so it isn't all that hard to figure out where the problem lies. First, I took all of the various lighting systems apart, just to verify that they were wired correctly. When I pulled the switch, I noticed that the switch block appeared to be the original, and it was cracked right down the middle. It would need to be replaced.
With everything isolated, I felt it was time to check that power was getting to the various switches and then on to the lights. I started the scooter to get some juice flowing (this is a non-battery model). I immediately noticed that the really poor running condition that was present when the bike arrived had vanished! Well, it looked like the broken switch was grounding out the kill button, and causing the scooter to almost stall constantly. Voila, one problem scratched off the list.
After doing some more checking I could get the tail light to work, but not the headlight. Eventually with some time using my trusty multi-meter and test light, it appears that somehow the headlight bulb housing is faulty. With the bulb out of the housing, it seems to get power, but once the bulb is in, it grounds out, and no power goes to the bulb. I tried different bulbs, and it happened with all of them. We'll order a new housing, and see if that solves the problem.
Since there will be a delay while we get the part, I'll move on to the rear hub and clutch...