New GTV

I just sold the grey GTV and bought a Siena Ivory one. It unfortunately came with the horrible Sava tires. At least they have no wobble issues. I ordered a new Audicator, tax plate, Jettin dipsticks and wing. I also want chrome wheels, but they want 700 euros for them!!!

Audicator (s)

I always forget the turn signals on, and after I saw the Audicator on Modern Vespa, I had to have one. I ordered two, and they arrived in two days from the UK! They were very polite and fast.

Installation was very easy on the Vespas, through the alarm wiring. I only needed a lead to the brake, also easy on the GTV, but the GTS needed opening of the headlight-instrument assembly. The installation position next to the horn was as it is designed for it. It is programmable, you can change the sound, delay and every other setting through the brakes.

It stops beeping when you brake, resumes when you release! Overall an excellent product, I ordered another two for jealous friends.

New tires for GTV and GTS

It was finally time to get some new tires, after 7000 Kms for me, and 4000 Kms for Chris. This is what I saw after removing mine... Almost! I got me some Michelin Pilot Sport, Chris got Metzeler 7 Teen. The only problem is that the Metzelers are rated for 120 Km/h, the Michelin ones are rated at 150 Km/h, like the originals, and as Piaggio suggests. I need the higher rating more than he does, as I use the freeway daily, going at top speed. At 130 (real) Km/h, 143 indicated, where the rev limiter cuts off (constantly). Both sets work much better than the OEM Savas.





















The front Metzeler.














Rear and front Michelin.






































GTS disassembled.

The others

Both George and Chris got new Vespa GTSs, and we had a group photo taken. George got the red one, Chris the black one. Damn, mine is so much prettier!

New grips, heavier weights for the topbox, more than 4000 kilometers in 4 months.

New topbox for Vespa

I believe they're very ugly, but I needed more space, so I got a matching one. Some resonance problems were fixed with a little rubber strip. Everyone that sat in the back said it's much more comfortable now.

Great weather!

Due to the continued great weather all through January, the Vespa has 3700 Kms on the odo, and the Dax reached 1500!

Vespa ride

The weather has been great the past few days, warm and sunny. I had to go on the beach to catch the last rays of the year. The Vespa has 2300 Kms on the odo already. I have to check my car's battery soon, or I'll have to ride in the rain.

Honda CB750

I've been searching for a CB750 K0-K4 (1969-1974) to restore, but no luck yet. There are lots of them in the US, in great condition, some don't even need more than a carb repair and tune, and they're very cheap to boot. Unfortunately, the shipping costs from US to Greece are prohibitive, so I'm looking around Europe, where the bikes are very few and usually in much worse condition.

But I can dream:

Vespa GTV pics

What can I say? I'm in love!

Ornaments

The original piston, clutch, cam and cam chain from the Dax. They're now on my fireplace.




Wow, the new Blogger allows 1600x1200 pictures! Me likey!

Head problems...

My poor Dax suddenly started burning oil and smoking last week, so on Friday we disassembled the cylinder head, and had it checked. It turned out that the intake valve's guide had cracked, letting the seal move with the valve, letting oil in the cylinder.
The shop told us it was non-repairable, that new guides would not fit and be loose, so I asked George, the mechanic, to get another used head and fit new guides. He, however, tried another shop, where they told him to get genuine Honda replacement guides and get back. He did so, and in 3 hours we had my original cylinder head good as new! I also changed the sprocket to get lower ratios, it was screaming going 80Km/h.
I am now using the Dax instead of the Vespa for everyday commute, to run it in again...

Photos

Some photos of both my babies.














More photos here

New bike!

I felt very guilty about using the Dax daily, it already has 1400 Kms on the odometer, so today I got me one of these. It's a Vespa GTV 250i.e., a commemorative edition for the 60 years of Vespa. It's a great ride, stylish, fast and comfortable. And has a leather seat!

Seat sign

Some years ago, I found a very old Honda badge on the street. It probably came from a bike tank, or a car. I glued it back there yesterday, and it looks great. There's no original Honda seat anywhere with this shape, the silkprint failed, I needed a "Honda" in the back!

Final order arrived today

Almost a thousand...
























Lots of small parts, reflectors, grips, rubber parts, front suspension rings, throttle assembly, fuel cap. I hope I predicted any wear or damage for the next thirty years!








The new SHINY fenders!















A new headlight, now I can go for a ride at night! The old one was so dim, it was barely visible, and I kept on falling in road traps...

The Sign of the Beast!

350 KM, some mods

Yesterday, Chris and I violently removed the silencer from the exhaust. A lot of hammering and cutting was involved... but the bike is breathing much better. It sounds slightly louder and much deeper now.










































I also cut the key I had made, to fit to the original key cover I got with the second order. The original keys were lost looong ago...

Carburetor

Yesterday we installed a new carb to test, a 24mm Mikuni from a two stroke Yamaha 125! The bike runs really fast with this, I was afraid of breaking the speedo after going past 95Km/h!

I have the motor from the Chally, I'm thinking of modding that on September to make the Dax seriously fast.














Basically, I want to freeze Chris' ironic smile when he passes me with his Gilera Runner 125. Like this... :)

Good news

Today we started checking what went wrong, and it turned out to be the circuit breaker. The plastic part on it had melted causing a short circuit. NEVER use a non Honda part!!!
I took the bike for a ride, and it was running rough and smelly. After further examination, the spark plug was also faulty, probably from the circuit breaker's short.
Now the bike is running smooth again, I'll ride home tonight to check it out.

Bad news...

I decided to take a longer ride yesterday, but after 25 km the motor stalled. I had to take it back with the road assistance. It's probably the original '70s coil, which I didn't change...

I forgot to take photos of the bike on the truck.

Next week I will have checked everything needed for the final order. Mainly the fenders, so that the rusty ones can be painted to something close to the original Silver Cloud, which was silver paint over chrome, impossible to replicate.

I need some hand-cream. My hands are like sandpaper...

More photos

The oil leak turned out to be nothing, a seal in the clutch.

First ride!

I rode home today. A small oil leak means that tomorrow I'll have to visit the mechanic again.





















The ugly carburetor is temporary.