Got the bike registered this morning and I am relieved it all went ahead with no dramas. there was a question of the chassis numbers after the actual chassis number and he spent a good five minutes looking at them and at the paperwork and I could see it all going pear shaped so I decided to throw a few small talk questions like "Bit muggy today" and "geez the mozzies are bad this year" and other gems like that and he moved on to the engine number.
Costs.
TAC premium..$220
Stamp Duty......$22
Rego Fee..........$37.40
Plate Fee..........$15.30
Stamp duty again?? ....$112
Appointment Fee...$37
Thanks for coming. and they dont even supply the plastic rego sticker holder anymore, $6.00 at Autobarn.
After riding in some traffic on thursday last week and realising that the mirrors I had on the bike are next to useless, I decided I had to look into different mirrors before I end up dead. So on friday I rang GPS imports in Melbourne because I wanted to get a few spares, I decided to get a new cylinder cowl, Ill post a picture of the one that was on the bike, I did mention earlier that it was cracked and almost worn through and had just been given a spray to make it look pretty, I also ordered a set of spare cables, headlight globes, spare tubes and a few other bits and a couple of specialty tools like a flywheel puller. But I forgot about mirrors, so I jumped online and had a look at Motorsport Scooters in the U.S., I have ordered some things from them before, and the options were ok but without having measured the existing mirror stems I couldn't order anything, until I saw a couple of mirrors that clamp to the side of the legshield, So I thought that will do, they will take a bit of getting used to but i'm getting used to the whole bike anyway and without the mirrors on the handlebars Gloria would look like Piaggio intended with nice smooth lines and nothing in the way. So I ordered a pair, even though I would only probably use the right hand side, but giving me the option for a second mirror. I also picked up a couple of other things, mostly tools and the thing I was after next after the mirrors, a fourth hand tool, which after having a look online the prices ranged from $15 up to $130....for the exact same tool, go figure. I also ordered a new set of rims and tyres, hell I was paying for postage anyway.
So I have cable tied the number plate onto the crome plate cover until I get home and I will then drill out the holes on the plate so I can match them to the holes on the frame. they are about half an inch out. Now next on the list is insurance, Shannons seems to be the place to go according to the couple of people I have asked, so i'd better get to it.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Half way there
I donned the vest this morning and braved the Bairnsdale peak hour traffic, which is not really that much traffic, and putted the three and a half kms into town for the roadworthy. I rolled into the back of the workshop and parked the SPV up, gave the head mechanic a rundown on how it all worked, he hadn't seen one of these for quite some time, and left her there.
Now I've been thinking about naming her, My black GT200 is called Salma, after Salma Hayek....hot, what else can I say, So I've decided to follow a similar theme and call this one....Gloria. Why? well this is why, I have a thing for olive skinned, dark haired, curvy latin women with smouldering beauty, a wild temper and the accent doesn't hurt either. So I thought of Sophia Vergara, but then I thought there is probably a million scooters called Sophia in the world, My wife chimed in and said call her Gloria, Sophia's latest character. Brilliant. that will do. What man, given the chance, wouldn't want a choice like that to ride each day.
he he he.
The call came through about an hour later, She's all good, come and pick it up. $87.00 later and a ceremonial lap of the main drag. I went back to work. The biggest irony of all was picking up my bike from a roadworthy, riding 500 metres and having to change a blown tailight globe, this is going to be fun.
So the plan now is the same as last weekend, I will do some kms on Sunday and Monday I will ide into town again for the 1030 appointment for registration, all going well.
Now I've been thinking about naming her, My black GT200 is called Salma, after Salma Hayek....hot, what else can I say, So I've decided to follow a similar theme and call this one....Gloria. Why? well this is why, I have a thing for olive skinned, dark haired, curvy latin women with smouldering beauty, a wild temper and the accent doesn't hurt either. So I thought of Sophia Vergara, but then I thought there is probably a million scooters called Sophia in the world, My wife chimed in and said call her Gloria, Sophia's latest character. Brilliant. that will do. What man, given the chance, wouldn't want a choice like that to ride each day.
he he he.
The call came through about an hour later, She's all good, come and pick it up. $87.00 later and a ceremonial lap of the main drag. I went back to work. The biggest irony of all was picking up my bike from a roadworthy, riding 500 metres and having to change a blown tailight globe, this is going to be fun.
So the plan now is the same as last weekend, I will do some kms on Sunday and Monday I will ide into town again for the 1030 appointment for registration, all going well.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Inspections booked, fingers crossed
Now the SPV is sorted, I have booked the road worthy for first thing Thursday, should be ok with that one. My confidence in the motor registry isn't high, I'm not a fan of red tape and the bureaucrats that pedal it, I went to the Vicroads office this morning and I had to make an appointment for the inspection. The scoot is deemed an "high risk' vehicle because they cant find it on the system, I assured the young girl that I could point them in the right direction so they could verify the vin and engine numbers to the model and year. I got a blank look in response, followed by "Oh its ok they will find it" I was not convinced nor confident that the transaction next week will go smoothly, I can just hope and wait. So we confirmed the booking for Monday next week 1030. I was hoping to get in this week so I could get a good solid day running in on Sunday, registered and legally.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
On the road.
Sunday domestic duties done, I rolled the SPV out into the spring sunshine after lunch, Kicked her over and double checked that all the lights were still working and the vintage scooter fairies hadn't undone all my hard work.
All good, so I donned my fluro yellow vest with a sign I had made up at work stating "Running in engine, please pass" in bold lettering, unceremonially stapled to the vest. I saw a similar sign in an old morris minor a few weeks ago and thought it would be a good idea to do the same thing, so when I'm putting around at 40km/hr cars will know why and give me a wide berth, not try and kill me.
I rolled out of the drive and away I went, out of the safety of the cul de sac and into the real world.
The gears were smooth and the last adjustment and grease up did the trick, so I was happy with that, On that note I did notice there was a 1982 stamped into the top of the batwing, assuming it was the year it was made, not really relevant to anything just thought i'd add it in.
I could not be happier with how it ran, the only real issue was operater learning the geras, indicating with hand signals, using a foot brake and trying to wipe the smile off my face.
I managed 102kms, didn't miss a beat, I sat on about 40kms the whole time, flirting with 50km on occasion, on mostly flat roads with some hills, It pulled well up the hills but I didn't want to push it, the throttle was smooth and responsive. The sign on my back did the trick too, even got a few toots and thumbs up, everyone I rode past had a good look, there are no other scooters like this one in town, and few other scooters at all, so I guess the SPV will get attention wherever she goes.
I went home for two reasons, one I still had to mow the lawn, and 102 kms at 40km/hr took me a couple of hours so the wrist and bum were getting a bit sore and I had only put in 5 litres of fuel and wasn't sure how long that would last. So 172kms in and no problems as yet. Will book the roadworthy inspection first thing Monday
this is my 6mth old Lab Polly, "helping" me and I've marked where the gears are to the numbers on the handle bar. having now ridden the bike I'm not concerned where they are, they are smooth and once they are run in they will be even better, I hope.
All good, so I donned my fluro yellow vest with a sign I had made up at work stating "Running in engine, please pass" in bold lettering, unceremonially stapled to the vest. I saw a similar sign in an old morris minor a few weeks ago and thought it would be a good idea to do the same thing, so when I'm putting around at 40km/hr cars will know why and give me a wide berth, not try and kill me.
I rolled out of the drive and away I went, out of the safety of the cul de sac and into the real world.
The gears were smooth and the last adjustment and grease up did the trick, so I was happy with that, On that note I did notice there was a 1982 stamped into the top of the batwing, assuming it was the year it was made, not really relevant to anything just thought i'd add it in.
I could not be happier with how it ran, the only real issue was operater learning the geras, indicating with hand signals, using a foot brake and trying to wipe the smile off my face.
I managed 102kms, didn't miss a beat, I sat on about 40kms the whole time, flirting with 50km on occasion, on mostly flat roads with some hills, It pulled well up the hills but I didn't want to push it, the throttle was smooth and responsive. The sign on my back did the trick too, even got a few toots and thumbs up, everyone I rode past had a good look, there are no other scooters like this one in town, and few other scooters at all, so I guess the SPV will get attention wherever she goes.
I went home for two reasons, one I still had to mow the lawn, and 102 kms at 40km/hr took me a couple of hours so the wrist and bum were getting a bit sore and I had only put in 5 litres of fuel and wasn't sure how long that would last. So 172kms in and no problems as yet. Will book the roadworthy inspection first thing Monday
Problems sorted.
Over the weekend I sorted out all the things I needed to so I could get the roadworthy done this week, The Tail light that had red plastic melted over the clear, I attacked it with a stanley knife and managed to get it off, It's not pretty but its all clear now.
On Friday we had a crack at the brake light, the power was there and the globe was new but still no light, we checked the switch at the foot brake, it was working freely and other than the untidy wiring looked ok. we then checked the switchbox (or whatever it's called) and the same situation in there, untidy but ok.
I decided to pull the light away from the bike and see what was going on behind the plastic light unit. again not flash but seemed ok, It was suggested that the earth, which looked a little corroded, should be cleaned up, whiich I did with some light sandpaper, I put it all back together and bingo, a working brake light. nice.
So according to the vicroads guidelines for minimum requirements to be deemed roadworthy, I had what I needed all working.
On Friday we had a crack at the brake light, the power was there and the globe was new but still no light, we checked the switch at the foot brake, it was working freely and other than the untidy wiring looked ok. we then checked the switchbox (or whatever it's called) and the same situation in there, untidy but ok.
So according to the vicroads guidelines for minimum requirements to be deemed roadworthy, I had what I needed all working.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Roadworthy worries.
I had taken the spare to the servo to get it pumped up and would top the other two up on sunday, I'm ordering new tubes and tyres, the tyres that came on the bike are Kenda, I've been told they are a good cheap tyre but I'll feel better having a better tyre under me, especially if the roads are wet, the new tubes are a no brainer, it loos like they have thrown on whatever they had laying around that would hold air for a few weeks, the valves are obviously old and they dont have caps, the threads are a little rusty and worn. When I changed the front tyre over I notice a lot of rust in between the two hub halves and there was actaully something rolling around in side the tyre, when I get the new tyres and tubes I'll do some more investigation. So once I get these things, minor as they are I will be booking in for the roadworthy, I have a good relationship with the bike shop here and the guy I have been dealing with has worked on my GT200, doing the Mallossi variator upgrade, he knows about this bike and is quite excited about seeing it. that might help. Well bring on Sunday, fingers crossed.
Some more pictures
On closer inspection......
Well had a few hours and an experienced set of eyes and hands to assist me this time, we set apon getting the gears in order, I had done a bit more research yesterday and took what the majority of people had said and put it into practice. a bit of rolling back and forth, selecting each gear, seeing if it was in properly down the back inbetween gears and adjusting accordingly a test ride proved that they were worse than before, so a little more head scrtaching and adjusting and they seem to select cleaner and fully, but it was getting late so this will have to be another post after the sunday running in ride.
Top shows the angle of the clutch in first gear, Bottom is in fourth. this just doesn't look right to me, these positions are well beyond the scope of the numbers on the handlebar. there is very little slack in the cables, I pulled the headlight off to check the cable outers were seated correctly, they were, but I must say the inside of the headset was a little dissapointing for a "reconditioned" scooter. I'm even starting to think that the cables and outers may need to be changed, and the size of the pin securing the handle bar shaft to the gear cable holder was quite thin, say 2-3mm and had quite a bit of play, thing with all of this is I've never worked on these things, nor even laid eyes on them this intimately, so I dont know whats normal or not. I also found out why the green high beam light above the speedo doesn't work. its not connected and doesn't have a light bulb.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Importing process in a nutshell
I never thought to explain the importing process until someone asked, so here's how it worked for me.
Planet Vespa (PV) sorted out all the paperwork at thier end to the point that the SPV was boxed up and on the ship, cost, I don't know but assumed any costs would be covered in the cost of the bike.
I had to apply for an Import approval from the department of Infrastructure, Transport blah blah... that was $50 non refundable and I had to supply the VIN and Engine numbers, photos of them and the bike, which PV supplied.
Shipping cost was $220 to Melbourne Port.
Now I used an import agent which was at an extra cost, but for me and my families convenience of not having to take a day or two off work, hire or borrow a trailer drive the 4 hours there and 4 back, bluffing my way around Melbourne, dealing with all the red tape at the dock and Customs & Quarantine inspections, I was prepared to pay the extra. You can do it your self of course.
My Bill from the Importers was $1500 and the break down was.
Port charges $280
Quarantine service fee $139 Quarantine inspection fee $145
Duty (which I believe is approx. 10% of the value of whatever you are shipping something like a GST, not sure) $381 they show you how they work it out, but unless your into numbers or accounting its a little hard to figure out.
Customs Clearance $150
Agent, Transport, fuel levy and Handling fee $ 317
So If you did this yourself you could save $300 plus depending on the value of what it was you were importing. If something goes wrong like the paperwork is stuffed up somehow or quarantine find bugs or dirt (which my tyres had) it can go pear shaped and the storage, cleaning, disposal costs will aadd up pretty quickly.
So to have the bike dropped in my driveway and avoiding all that, I can live with the extra cost.
Planet Vespa (PV) sorted out all the paperwork at thier end to the point that the SPV was boxed up and on the ship, cost, I don't know but assumed any costs would be covered in the cost of the bike.
I had to apply for an Import approval from the department of Infrastructure, Transport blah blah... that was $50 non refundable and I had to supply the VIN and Engine numbers, photos of them and the bike, which PV supplied.
Shipping cost was $220 to Melbourne Port.
Now I used an import agent which was at an extra cost, but for me and my families convenience of not having to take a day or two off work, hire or borrow a trailer drive the 4 hours there and 4 back, bluffing my way around Melbourne, dealing with all the red tape at the dock and Customs & Quarantine inspections, I was prepared to pay the extra. You can do it your self of course.
My Bill from the Importers was $1500 and the break down was.
Port charges $280
Quarantine service fee $139 Quarantine inspection fee $145
Duty (which I believe is approx. 10% of the value of whatever you are shipping something like a GST, not sure) $381 they show you how they work it out, but unless your into numbers or accounting its a little hard to figure out.
Customs Clearance $150
Agent, Transport, fuel levy and Handling fee $ 317
So If you did this yourself you could save $300 plus depending on the value of what it was you were importing. If something goes wrong like the paperwork is stuffed up somehow or quarantine find bugs or dirt (which my tyres had) it can go pear shaped and the storage, cleaning, disposal costs will aadd up pretty quickly.
So to have the bike dropped in my driveway and avoiding all that, I can live with the extra cost.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
On the road, well sort of.
I pulled the pin early today, the boys are in daycare, missus at work, I've got a cold so I thought bugger it. After lunch i rolled the SPV out into the sun and gave her one more looking over, I finally sorted a light so I could have a good look into the tank, with the help of the sun, it all looked ok, not new but ok. I diconnected the gear cables and gave the selector ( not sure what the real name is, they call it a bat wing on the Modern Vespa website, which btw has a vintage section which is really informative) a good clean and greased it up good re-connected the cables and adjusted them according to advice I read on said website. I stood back and thought "well its gotta happen sooner or later" so I added 5lt of fuel and the oil, mineral 2T @ 4% as recommended by Greg at Planet Vespa, at least until 1000kms. Put in my little key and switched it to ignition, fuel tap on, I saw the fuel run down the fuel hose, choke out, neutral. deep breath...kick, no....kick, no....kick, no mmmm is it going to work, kick putt putt ting putt ting ting ting ting she was away, I let it idle for about five minutes, it wasnt an even idle by any means but I didn't need to apply throttle to keep it going, the smoke smelt like you'd expect it to and if anything looked a little dark to me, (disclaimer, I know it should be a nice blueish colour but am going to pick my mums boyfriends mind tomorrow, he has been tinkering with engines of all varieties for most of his life) but hey she's running!
Ok next I check the lights, they work, back light works, just thought I didn't check the brake light, put that on the list, that light on the headset above the speedo doesn't do anything, on any setting, put that on the list too. So I wheel her out the front, still idling, I get some shoes and put my helmet and sunnies on, hop on and a nice smooth clunk into first, clutch out, it grabbed at a nice distanceand a few revs and away i go.
I live in a cul de sac, about half way along and its approx. 500-600 metres, so I do 4 laps and the gear changes are smooth, especially for someone with five minutes geared scooter riding, I notice that the 4th gear jumps in and out and is way beyond the "4" mark in the headset, 1st is right, N is right, 2nd seems to be half way between 2nd and 3rd. add that to the list too.
I park up in the driveway, the SPV is still idling but a bit better now, I get off have a look over and under to see if there are any leaks or anything else that is obviously not right and it all looks ok, I will need to get some little gasket washers for the oil sump bolts, the drain plug looks a little wetish ( is that even a word) I jump back on and decide to venture out into the real world, being on the edge of a largish country town I think I'm going to be ok, Off I go around a few blocks, top speed 30-40, dont want to push the new engine too much and I notice the half a dozen cars I do see are all having a good look, a double take, wtf was that. The 4th gear was still jumping in and out and the handling was not that flash as the front tyre needs a fair bit of air, all tyres do, but the front especially, will do that on my expedition on Sunday. More tomorrow.
Ok next I check the lights, they work, back light works, just thought I didn't check the brake light, put that on the list, that light on the headset above the speedo doesn't do anything, on any setting, put that on the list too. So I wheel her out the front, still idling, I get some shoes and put my helmet and sunnies on, hop on and a nice smooth clunk into first, clutch out, it grabbed at a nice distanceand a few revs and away i go.
I live in a cul de sac, about half way along and its approx. 500-600 metres, so I do 4 laps and the gear changes are smooth, especially for someone with five minutes geared scooter riding, I notice that the 4th gear jumps in and out and is way beyond the "4" mark in the headset, 1st is right, N is right, 2nd seems to be half way between 2nd and 3rd. add that to the list too.
I park up in the driveway, the SPV is still idling but a bit better now, I get off have a look over and under to see if there are any leaks or anything else that is obviously not right and it all looks ok, I will need to get some little gasket washers for the oil sump bolts, the drain plug looks a little wetish ( is that even a word) I jump back on and decide to venture out into the real world, being on the edge of a largish country town I think I'm going to be ok, Off I go around a few blocks, top speed 30-40, dont want to push the new engine too much and I notice the half a dozen cars I do see are all having a good look, a double take, wtf was that. The 4th gear was still jumping in and out and the handling was not that flash as the front tyre needs a fair bit of air, all tyres do, but the front especially, will do that on my expedition on Sunday. More tomorrow.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Unregistered Vehicle Permit sorted.
I've arranged an unregistered vehicle permit after talking to the local bike shop, this will allow me to ride the bike from 0700 until 1900 over the next 28 days, allowing me to iron out any issues and slowly run the engine in before I get the road worthy done and register it. As long as I ride directly there and back....yeah right.
And so it begins.
The SPV landed in my driveway at 5pm yesterday, on the back of a ute in a box that had seen better days, old mate and I man handled it off the ute and I began the quite easy task of dimantling the box, I say quite easily because the box had just about fallen apart despite the 8700 nails it had holding the cracked ply and kindling together. The scoot arrived unscathed, not a mark on her, and that was all I was concerned about.
Once I got all the paper, foam and plastic off I began the initial inspection.
First up I reminded myself that it's a 40 year old bike and it's not going to be perfect.
Second I noticed that the sticky tape they had used to hold all the packing had left glue marks all over the paintwork, annoying but ok. the bike was generally dusty and there was quite a bit of dried dirt in the tyre tread, luckily quarantine missed that one.
I then began to take a closer look at the engine, I remover the RHS cowl and apart from the dust the engine looked ok, I took the flywheel and gear selector cover off and that bit that encases the cylinder head, the cylinder cooling fins had a small amount of surface rust and the head looked new, I took the spark plug out and it was obviously old and was covered in black sooty type stuff, from what I could see of the cylinder head it looked pretty clean, I replaced the spark plug after checking the spark was ok. The compression felt good too. the head cover had looked ok until further inspection, it was damaged at the back and almost worn through in one spot so that will have to be replaced in the near future.
The gears didn't feel right and the selector looked to be a bit rusty, but it turned out to be dust in the grease, it will need to be cleaned and re-greased. All the cables could probably do with a bit of adjusting, both brakes responded well, although I will look at adjusting those after I ride it and see how they go.
I drained the oil and replaced it, the oil that came out didn't look that flash so I'm glad I did. The tyres are all new but all the tubes didnt have the little dust caps, so I will be getting new tubes to be on the safe side, I'll check all the wheel nuts when I change the tubes. What I could see of the fork and front end looked new and in good condition, the speedo has 67.2 kms on it and there is a green light above the speedo that I'm not sure what its for, i'm thinking lights. the light switch box on the RHS seemed ok, the little square hole where the kill switch should be was blank, I think this is because the 12volt upgrade has an ignition/off under the front of the seat, this probably acts as the kill switch now, the horn was bloody loud though and I'll check the lights once I kick it over.
The steering lock seems to turn ok but wont push in or out because the little flap that covers the keyhole seems to be blocking it, I will look into this a bit further though. The fuel tank looked quite clean inside with only a bit of oily residue. the little cleats that hold the fuel cap have a bit of rust on them though, as does the seam near the rubber on the RHS cowl and near the locating pin as well, there is also a little bit of rust near the engine mounting bolt on the LHS too otherwise the paintwork looks ok. Thats it up to now. will throw in some fresh fuel and oil and kick her in the guts..watch this space.
Once I got all the paper, foam and plastic off I began the initial inspection.
First up I reminded myself that it's a 40 year old bike and it's not going to be perfect.
Second I noticed that the sticky tape they had used to hold all the packing had left glue marks all over the paintwork, annoying but ok. the bike was generally dusty and there was quite a bit of dried dirt in the tyre tread, luckily quarantine missed that one.
I then began to take a closer look at the engine, I remover the RHS cowl and apart from the dust the engine looked ok, I took the flywheel and gear selector cover off and that bit that encases the cylinder head, the cylinder cooling fins had a small amount of surface rust and the head looked new, I took the spark plug out and it was obviously old and was covered in black sooty type stuff, from what I could see of the cylinder head it looked pretty clean, I replaced the spark plug after checking the spark was ok. The compression felt good too. the head cover had looked ok until further inspection, it was damaged at the back and almost worn through in one spot so that will have to be replaced in the near future.
The gears didn't feel right and the selector looked to be a bit rusty, but it turned out to be dust in the grease, it will need to be cleaned and re-greased. All the cables could probably do with a bit of adjusting, both brakes responded well, although I will look at adjusting those after I ride it and see how they go.
I drained the oil and replaced it, the oil that came out didn't look that flash so I'm glad I did. The tyres are all new but all the tubes didnt have the little dust caps, so I will be getting new tubes to be on the safe side, I'll check all the wheel nuts when I change the tubes. What I could see of the fork and front end looked new and in good condition, the speedo has 67.2 kms on it and there is a green light above the speedo that I'm not sure what its for, i'm thinking lights. the light switch box on the RHS seemed ok, the little square hole where the kill switch should be was blank, I think this is because the 12volt upgrade has an ignition/off under the front of the seat, this probably acts as the kill switch now, the horn was bloody loud though and I'll check the lights once I kick it over.
The steering lock seems to turn ok but wont push in or out because the little flap that covers the keyhole seems to be blocking it, I will look into this a bit further though. The fuel tank looked quite clean inside with only a bit of oily residue. the little cleats that hold the fuel cap have a bit of rust on them though, as does the seam near the rubber on the RHS cowl and near the locating pin as well, there is also a little bit of rust near the engine mounting bolt on the LHS too otherwise the paintwork looks ok. Thats it up to now. will throw in some fresh fuel and oil and kick her in the guts..watch this space.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Delayed delivery...
I will have to wait until Monday or Tuesday, which is ok I suppose, it's pissing rain and not looking like letting up. I was hoping to spend the weekend going over the bike. So for ease of my one finger typing i'm going to refer to it as the SPV, until i feel I have a name that's appropriate, but for now I will just have to be patient and wait.
I have used an importing agent to assist in getting the SPV off the ship, out of the container, inspected by customs and quarantine and transported to my front door, this was an extra cost for sure, but living in country Victoria, having spent little time in Melbourne, and the logistics of having only one car, a young family and a wife that works only certain days at the hospital, the extra cost I can justify because of the inconvenience of hiring a trailer, taking a day off work, driving 4 hours each way and bluffing my way through the Melbourne traffic and dealing with the red tape at the warehouse and inspections. I can live with that.
A couple of days...waiting.
I have used an importing agent to assist in getting the SPV off the ship, out of the container, inspected by customs and quarantine and transported to my front door, this was an extra cost for sure, but living in country Victoria, having spent little time in Melbourne, and the logistics of having only one car, a young family and a wife that works only certain days at the hospital, the extra cost I can justify because of the inconvenience of hiring a trailer, taking a day off work, driving 4 hours each way and bluffing my way through the Melbourne traffic and dealing with the red tape at the warehouse and inspections. I can live with that.
A couple of days...waiting.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
On its way!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
What to expect.
This is going to be about my adventures, good and bad, that I have with the scooter. All the problems as they arise and how I overcome them to get back on the road. I will start by saying that my mechanical knowledge is minimal, my mechanical experience is also minimal, I am far from an expert on scooters or everything to do with them and this will become quite evident as I bluff my way through this. hopefully someone will learn something from this some day..
Welcome
What can I say to get the ball rolling on this one. Some history perhaps....
Well it's hard to explain what it is about something that sparks an interest that leads to a hobby and finally onto something that's close to obsession. My interset in scooters probably started subconsciously as a child, I remember hanging on for dear life whist sitting on the fuel tank of my dads motorbike as he did a few laps of our street, that feeling of speed, the excitement of the wind in my face and just really wanting to get off...that was in the mid- seventies in the N.S.W. country town of Lthgow, where I grew up.
As I grew older, some friends had the small Pee Wee dirt bikes, but I wasn't allowed to have one, which now being a father to two small boys can fully understand. These changed into bigger bikes as we all grew, so did the bikes and although I never really rode one by myself, I was always on the back, I still had the same feelings, not in control, hanging on for dear life and still just wanting to get off. Again these bikes grew into big road bikes and to be honest I just had no interest in them.
So I turned to a pushbike, which I enjoyed a lot, this period overlapped the motor bike years and I started small, following the normal trend of a trike, a small kids bike, a BMX and finally a road bike, The Macquarie, it served me well through high school, getting me to and from school, there was a group of us that lived in the same end of town, or on the way, and it was fun riding in a group, sometimes racing, always laughing. It all ended as did high school and cars took the place of the trusty two wheelers, which were sent to thier inevitable rusty, spiderweb covered end. I had the Macquarie for years, stored safely under Mums house and in the garage when she moved house. Years later I revived my trusty ride when I was living in Sydney, but a lengthy overseas holiday saw us part ways, some low life decided they liked my old bike more than me and stole it from the backyard of my then girlfriends' parents house. Wankers
A few years past by and a new girlfriend and a friend of hers decided they were going to do an extended bicycle tour through South East Asia, I invited myself to join them, as the time to depart drew near, tragically, my girlfriends friend was killed in an accident when her bike was hit by a car while she was training for the trip, a couple of months later we decided to go anyway. As anyone who has done any research into push bikes will tell you, it is a can of worms, mind boggling at the array of and difference between all sorts of bikes and the gear you can get for them, cutting a long story short, mountain bikes were purchased along with all the gear, flights booked and we were on our way to KL.
Thirteen or so months later, 11,260 kms, countless tire and tube repairs, 5 countries and the odd bowl of noodles and I was home. What I had learnt was that all that riding was both a lot of fun and good for you, I also learnt that it could be bloody hard work. A well known fact was that asia has millions of scooters and motor bikes and a few hybrid thingys that will remain nameless. Nice looking scooters stood out from the crowd and I found myself looking out for these gems, mostly Vespas, I think this planted a seed in the back of my mind, but thats where it stayed. On one occasion we hired a scooter to travel the 30 odd kms from the small village we were staying into the nearby city for lunch, a look around, go to the bank etc. This time I was in control, wind in my hair, I didn't want to get off, nor did the smile that was spread across my face.
It all became clear to me then, I wanted a bike that wasn't about the speed, but the easy riding and pleasure of not having to pedal, but going slow enough to enjoy what was going on around me and of course it was also going to be about finding the right classic style of scooter to do it all on. It could only be a Vespa.
Fast forward a couple of years, and two interstate moves and getting married, it was time. I was living in Perth and needed transport, the choice was easy, licence laws in W.A meant I could ride a 50cc scooter on a car licence, so I found myself in Franzones, a Vespa and Piaggio dealer, who also worked on Jaguars and other prestigious European cars, I had a chioce to make and being low on coin meant the choice was simple, Piaggio Zip, purple blueish and the joy was instant. I began looking further into scooters and the history, admiring bikes I saw and found online, the old stylish classic bikes and stories of adventure, rallies and the whole lifestyle that came with it began to interest me, I thought if I could find a 1971 Vespa that would be an exciting day.....one day. Over the next year or so I clocked up over 13000 kms and had very little to complain about, except the traffic trying to kill me, The wife and I decided to move back East to be closer to our families as we'd discussed kids and thought it would be better to be closer to our parents. I thought "well if I need to get a licence to ride the Zip, I may as well get a bigger bike" so I got my Learners and bought a black Vespa GT200. We moved East and I got my full licence and I attended a few rallys, met other like minded scooterists and had a great time, things started happening, changing jobs, having two children, building a house, a rabbit hutch and a dog kennel, scootering things got put on hold.
UNTIL NOW.
With the wife back at work for a year after my youngest son was born, two pay rises for me and everything forming some sort of routine. I was able to get up to a national rally in Qld, same deal, I had a great ride up and back and a fantastic time, saw some fabulous bikes and met the great people that owned them. When I got back I thought I'd put it to my wife the possibility of trying to find that elusive 1971 Vespa, under the guise of my 40th birthday next year, she though it would be a great way to celebrate turning 40, on a vintage Vespa as old as I am. Naturally I agreed.
For years I have scoured EBay, Trading Post and all the bike sales websites, I read just about every post on every scooter website and forum, looking and learning on the way, I bought magazines, manuals and dvds on scootering history, travel adventures, maintenance and restoration and once I got the go ahead I was ready. I'm not sure why I chose the path I did, especially since I've read all the bad experiences people have had buying scooters from SE Asia, I read some comments on a forum that put me in touch with someone who was happy with the bike they got from overseas, a few others had positive things to say as well as two or three other people that were also in the same boat as me, wondering if they should bite the bullet, but needed a little reassurance. This got me thinking maybe, just maybe I should look into it, It went against my better judgement, against all the things I'd read and I weighed up the risks. If the bike is stuffed I've done my wife and my hard earned cash but I might be able to sort it out over time, if the frame is ok and the engine stuffed, I'll have a project rebuilding the engine, dissapointing but better than nothing. If the bike is all good then I have the model and year I wanted, with a new engine and the colour I wanted. Fuck it I'll do it I said.
That was two months or so ago, I did more research into the exact model I thought I wanted and with some guidance decided on the Sprint Veloce, 1971 and if I had a choice it was going to be british racing green and in as close to original condition I could get it. I made the first contact with a guy in Vietnam that I was recommended, He is an Aussie and his business is to source old Vespas and restore them, I thought most of the Vespas he had on his website were from the 1960's but I wasn't sure if he could find me a Veloce. He had three a '74, a '78 and yes I was in luck he also had a 1971. Cool, I was preparing myself to wait months, years even until I could find one and I found one straight away. That wave of nervous excitement crashed over me, once I committed there was no going back. I did and after what was a pleasant transaction, all my stupid questions answered, my dollars deposited, the weeks of restoration and transport, importation, customs and quarantine inspections and a truck ride from Melbourne, my 1971 Sprint Veloce arrives in my driveway tomorrow. Let the adventure of owning a vintage Vespa begin.....
Well it's hard to explain what it is about something that sparks an interest that leads to a hobby and finally onto something that's close to obsession. My interset in scooters probably started subconsciously as a child, I remember hanging on for dear life whist sitting on the fuel tank of my dads motorbike as he did a few laps of our street, that feeling of speed, the excitement of the wind in my face and just really wanting to get off...that was in the mid- seventies in the N.S.W. country town of Lthgow, where I grew up.
As I grew older, some friends had the small Pee Wee dirt bikes, but I wasn't allowed to have one, which now being a father to two small boys can fully understand. These changed into bigger bikes as we all grew, so did the bikes and although I never really rode one by myself, I was always on the back, I still had the same feelings, not in control, hanging on for dear life and still just wanting to get off. Again these bikes grew into big road bikes and to be honest I just had no interest in them.
So I turned to a pushbike, which I enjoyed a lot, this period overlapped the motor bike years and I started small, following the normal trend of a trike, a small kids bike, a BMX and finally a road bike, The Macquarie, it served me well through high school, getting me to and from school, there was a group of us that lived in the same end of town, or on the way, and it was fun riding in a group, sometimes racing, always laughing. It all ended as did high school and cars took the place of the trusty two wheelers, which were sent to thier inevitable rusty, spiderweb covered end. I had the Macquarie for years, stored safely under Mums house and in the garage when she moved house. Years later I revived my trusty ride when I was living in Sydney, but a lengthy overseas holiday saw us part ways, some low life decided they liked my old bike more than me and stole it from the backyard of my then girlfriends' parents house. Wankers
A few years past by and a new girlfriend and a friend of hers decided they were going to do an extended bicycle tour through South East Asia, I invited myself to join them, as the time to depart drew near, tragically, my girlfriends friend was killed in an accident when her bike was hit by a car while she was training for the trip, a couple of months later we decided to go anyway. As anyone who has done any research into push bikes will tell you, it is a can of worms, mind boggling at the array of and difference between all sorts of bikes and the gear you can get for them, cutting a long story short, mountain bikes were purchased along with all the gear, flights booked and we were on our way to KL.
Thirteen or so months later, 11,260 kms, countless tire and tube repairs, 5 countries and the odd bowl of noodles and I was home. What I had learnt was that all that riding was both a lot of fun and good for you, I also learnt that it could be bloody hard work. A well known fact was that asia has millions of scooters and motor bikes and a few hybrid thingys that will remain nameless. Nice looking scooters stood out from the crowd and I found myself looking out for these gems, mostly Vespas, I think this planted a seed in the back of my mind, but thats where it stayed. On one occasion we hired a scooter to travel the 30 odd kms from the small village we were staying into the nearby city for lunch, a look around, go to the bank etc. This time I was in control, wind in my hair, I didn't want to get off, nor did the smile that was spread across my face.
It all became clear to me then, I wanted a bike that wasn't about the speed, but the easy riding and pleasure of not having to pedal, but going slow enough to enjoy what was going on around me and of course it was also going to be about finding the right classic style of scooter to do it all on. It could only be a Vespa.
Fast forward a couple of years, and two interstate moves and getting married, it was time. I was living in Perth and needed transport, the choice was easy, licence laws in W.A meant I could ride a 50cc scooter on a car licence, so I found myself in Franzones, a Vespa and Piaggio dealer, who also worked on Jaguars and other prestigious European cars, I had a chioce to make and being low on coin meant the choice was simple, Piaggio Zip, purple blueish and the joy was instant. I began looking further into scooters and the history, admiring bikes I saw and found online, the old stylish classic bikes and stories of adventure, rallies and the whole lifestyle that came with it began to interest me, I thought if I could find a 1971 Vespa that would be an exciting day.....one day. Over the next year or so I clocked up over 13000 kms and had very little to complain about, except the traffic trying to kill me, The wife and I decided to move back East to be closer to our families as we'd discussed kids and thought it would be better to be closer to our parents. I thought "well if I need to get a licence to ride the Zip, I may as well get a bigger bike" so I got my Learners and bought a black Vespa GT200. We moved East and I got my full licence and I attended a few rallys, met other like minded scooterists and had a great time, things started happening, changing jobs, having two children, building a house, a rabbit hutch and a dog kennel, scootering things got put on hold.
UNTIL NOW.
With the wife back at work for a year after my youngest son was born, two pay rises for me and everything forming some sort of routine. I was able to get up to a national rally in Qld, same deal, I had a great ride up and back and a fantastic time, saw some fabulous bikes and met the great people that owned them. When I got back I thought I'd put it to my wife the possibility of trying to find that elusive 1971 Vespa, under the guise of my 40th birthday next year, she though it would be a great way to celebrate turning 40, on a vintage Vespa as old as I am. Naturally I agreed.
For years I have scoured EBay, Trading Post and all the bike sales websites, I read just about every post on every scooter website and forum, looking and learning on the way, I bought magazines, manuals and dvds on scootering history, travel adventures, maintenance and restoration and once I got the go ahead I was ready. I'm not sure why I chose the path I did, especially since I've read all the bad experiences people have had buying scooters from SE Asia, I read some comments on a forum that put me in touch with someone who was happy with the bike they got from overseas, a few others had positive things to say as well as two or three other people that were also in the same boat as me, wondering if they should bite the bullet, but needed a little reassurance. This got me thinking maybe, just maybe I should look into it, It went against my better judgement, against all the things I'd read and I weighed up the risks. If the bike is stuffed I've done my wife and my hard earned cash but I might be able to sort it out over time, if the frame is ok and the engine stuffed, I'll have a project rebuilding the engine, dissapointing but better than nothing. If the bike is all good then I have the model and year I wanted, with a new engine and the colour I wanted. Fuck it I'll do it I said.
That was two months or so ago, I did more research into the exact model I thought I wanted and with some guidance decided on the Sprint Veloce, 1971 and if I had a choice it was going to be british racing green and in as close to original condition I could get it. I made the first contact with a guy in Vietnam that I was recommended, He is an Aussie and his business is to source old Vespas and restore them, I thought most of the Vespas he had on his website were from the 1960's but I wasn't sure if he could find me a Veloce. He had three a '74, a '78 and yes I was in luck he also had a 1971. Cool, I was preparing myself to wait months, years even until I could find one and I found one straight away. That wave of nervous excitement crashed over me, once I committed there was no going back. I did and after what was a pleasant transaction, all my stupid questions answered, my dollars deposited, the weeks of restoration and transport, importation, customs and quarantine inspections and a truck ride from Melbourne, my 1971 Sprint Veloce arrives in my driveway tomorrow. Let the adventure of owning a vintage Vespa begin.....
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