maintenance vespa

09/18/03 - I've been really busy, but I've got a whole lot of pictures, so i just have to sort em out and make some captions. I added a little blurb on the P200 front end to the body work section. The tutorial goes through the steps for almost everything on the frontend except the column lock. Things to come soon: Putting the motor back together, Installing a Rear shock, some vino stuff in the vino section, and some wiring tips so stay tuned.

04/12/03 - My MAMMOTH engine teardown page is complete. Have a look! Capital City Scooter Club is puttin' on Garden City Scooter Rally 2003 in Victoria, BC. Canada May 16-19th come and check it out. Or. or I'll tear down your engine! :) heh..

02/28/03 - Well it's been a year an a half, and since it's humble beginnings, the page has demanded a bit of bandwidth. I can't thank Bill at Scoot.net enough for helping me keep the project online. His generous donation of web space to all things scooters is just awesome. Check his site when you're done here for all kinds of scooter pictures and scooter event listings. In my spare time, I usually hang around on Scoot.net Chat in case you have a burning question or some suggestions for the site.

02/14/03 - I've been busy trying to demystify the various electrical black boxes on the P200. I learned some pretty interesting things about the workings of the CDI box, the Voltage Regulator and the Turn Signal System. I added the tutorials to the electrical section.

02/07/03 - I updated the tools section today. The new kit reflects pretty much everything I like to carry on trips. Have a look and compare to what you've got.. I'm going to continue adding specialty tools over the next while. Vespa's still running like a top.

07/09/02 - Well I made it from Victoria, BC to Seattle, WA on my Vespa. I don't give this thing enough credit. I went down to Insanity 15 hosted by the Vespa Club of Seattle. It was a great experience and I was just getting a hang of navigating Seattle :). I have a page full of photos from insanity and a few other events I have attended with the Vespa. Click Here To Go to the Photos. I didn't break a cable or anything!!!

04/17/02 - My scoot has been running great since the rebuild. I noticed that tandem gear cables are utter crap for clutch cables. Order the real cables unless you're in a serious pinch. The one I was using wore away in under a month. The proper clutch cable has been solid for 5 months and hasn't suffered from stretching. The Capital City Scooter Club is doing their rally this weekend.. hope to see all westcoasters in Victoria! It should be a great time! check The CCSC website for rally details!

03/18/02 - I have changed a few pieces of information regarding splitting the cases. Though I appreciate the comments on the ISBBS, I would rather have and comments directed to my email instead of the BBS. Thanks for the help.

03/15/02 - Some mad crazy action went on this week. I decided to drop the engine and do a cruciform replacement. It's all online so dig in. I have to give thanks to my cohorts in the CCSC for their help with this project. Cracking the cases is a life changing experience ;)) It's all in the engine section. There have been various updates here and there so wander around. The cruciform replacement material is in the engine section.

02/25/02 - New article on splitting rims the non-invasive way. Updated the Brake Installation article to reflect the proper way to install a cotter pin.

02/18/02 - New article on Brake Renewal added. Already 1000 hits to the site. Insane! Thanks everyone for the great comments!

02/05/02 - Updated Engine Section: How to Decoke your top-end. Make your bike happy and try this on for size. I will have a cowl repainting article soon as well as a beginners/buying guide.

01/19/02 - Updated the Tool Set to include my Glovebox tools.

01/13/02 - Replaced my clutch cable today. As usual, the tutorial is online. Have a gander in the framework section.

12/29/01 - My camera came back, they replaced it with a Sony P30. I now have the abilities to do movie clips. Woohooooo. Anyway, I added an article on making a spare tire for the P200. I added a new section for body work, since the bodywork is a major part of the upkeep on the P. See the sights, Keep that mail comin', I really appreciate the feedback.

11/16/01 - I added a tutorial on carburettor tuning to the fuel system section today. As always, let me know if you don't agree with something on the page. Thanks for all the input from users on the site! Time to sleep.

11/09/01 - Yep. I gotsta pay.. I think I will.. these ads are harshcore :). I changed the degree wheel page so it actually prints without using two pages. Thanks to everyone for the positive feedback, I will have some new articles soon.

11/08/01 - I put a printable degree wheel on the site in the electrical section. I am putting a carb tuning article together it will be available a little later. I noticed that there are advertisements appearing in the background of my site. cjb.net finally violated their original policy of NOT putting ads on the page. The good news is that they automatically pop to the back; the bad news is they are ads and I despise them. Just close them and ignore them. If you use bookmarks you could use the full site name instead at http://www.switchgearmusic.com/~bluedawg/vespafaq/ . I will post again if I get rid of them (I'm guessing they charge some amount of money. booo..) My digital camera is STILL in the shop. yeesh. so much for the "fast" extended warranty service I was promised. Did well on the midterms at least.

10/31/01 - I put up with a blinding 5 articles. I look forward to recieving input on the site. If any of this material is wrong, give me an argument for why and I will correct it. Time to study for mideterms. Keep checking this space for future updates. My digital camera died this week due to unknown causes, I have sent it in for warranty service and will get back to documenting all the stuff I do shortly. Have fun! Amare la Vespa!

09/29/01 - Construction begins: This site is a collection of personal experiences I have had with my 1981 Vespa P200E. If the site seems a little meager at first, give it a few months :). The P Series seem to be reliable machines, but they do need love from time to time. I decided to make a website with really easy to understand diagrams and detailed instructions to restoring your trusty steed to full health. I have a digital camera and I am really quite quick on the line drawings, so you can be sure this will be really visual. My brother is getting a rally 200 engine and we're going to rebuild it. Needless to say, I will put up instructions. If you don't see what you're looking for, please check the links section. This is also an on-line journal. If I rant from time to time, don't be too concerned.