In the late 1950s, VESPA was a motor scooter for boys whose daddy had money. And the local pharmacy owner's son had a baby-blue one and died when he was thrown from it in a car-scooter collision on my street. He was the first person I ever saw dead, lying very still and no blood at all. I remembered how Kenny and John looked at school and thought about how their parents would cry for months about Kenny. I never forgot that lesson about traffic.
Nice scooter, remember those from younger days. 85 now. Working on outboard, always took phone pics. Helped to remember what went where, carbs ect. Great Vids young man. Great attitude you have. God bless. 🐻👍
You're an awesome teacher! We all can learn so much from your expertise! An old scooter needed some much needed attention from someone that knows. Awesome video!
My older brother had one of those Vespa scooters This was before Honda's Motorcycles became popular, I was about ten years old at the time ... I love how you put your feet on the floor and how wide it is.... This brought back long ago memories .... I am so glad you got it running again... Great Job.
Vespas and Lambros were all over the orient when I was overseas. Well engineered and durable. I feel like riding around Rome. Wishing you the best with this one. Worth restoring I think. I can't wait for the next episode.
Can confirm. Picked up a ‘73 full original 50 Special Lusso that was in a dusty garage and untouched for 24 years. Changed the candle and went to school the next day with it.
There's a lot of crossover between VW and Vespa enthusiasts. Both are quirky little machines, but clever & reliable designs for their time. You'll find a lot of those Vespas in Italy with 30-50,000 kilometers on them. Great job getting her running again so quickly.
It seems it's been a long while since we've seen this Vespa on the bench. I get it that some projects just aren't worth following up on, but still hope to see this one rolling...or at least a post mortem describing why it's perhaps best used for good firm landfill.
hey... Coincidence i am now born and live in indonesia ... here a lot of vespa fans ... all sparepart vespa is very easy to find ... i have 1 vespa at my house ... vespa sprint 1973 ....
Nice Video thanks it reminded me of when I purchased a 1964 Vespa GL in the year of 1982 from a guy in London who also didn't have the tank feed connected, so used a two stroke oil bottle with petrol inside it to show me it was a runner. I to lovingly took the Dellorto carb apart to clean it properly. Thank you for your video.
Of course it will run. I bought a Vespa 90 which had been stored in a garden shed for 15 years. When I picked it up, I took a can of petrol with 2 stroke oil added to fill it up, and a tyre pump to pump up the tyres. It started on the third kick and I was able to ride it home with no problems.
respect this man's patience in his troubleshooting, am astounded at his technical knowledge and his depth of resources for parts and his excitement when he gets all this abandoned stuff to run. I really pay attention during these vids to pick up any knowledge that I can.
Well, ice been watching your videos for about two weeks now and I've come to a decision .McGiver can't hold a candle to you! I've watched you repair, rebuild, tear apart and improvise to get things running that haven't run in years. Things that you do aren't found in any books or how to manuals, they're only learned thru experience and you have taught me a thing or two. I admire what you do cause I try to do the same. I'm retired military , turbine engine helicopter technician. Enjoy your videos, keep up what you been doing and I'll keep learning! Happy hunting at garage sales, catch your next video, take care, Louis from Gretna, Louisiana.
Vespa = tried and true. If a Minarelli engine, then highest order of reliability assured. Thank you Mustie1 for sharing your skills with us ... I've picked up a few good tips from you. Cheers, Col, NZ.
Watching these videos gives me some ideas to use whenever I get around to repairing my lawnmower, a few old outboards, and a '76 Harley SX175 dirt bike I have.
Fantastic use of logic to determine whether it’s worth proceeding into ordering parts. We had a clay pit near us that was great for hill climbing. We, on our motorcycles, were taking a break when a kid, dressed in his school clothes, rolled up aboard a shiny new Vespa, passed by us, horn beeping, and proceeded up one of the highest hills while sitting down. The engine did not even grunt. We were amazed! He returned to our “gang” and introduced himself as Marty Cappaletti, and when we questioned him about the Vespa, he said it was the biggest Vespa made and his dad had it shipped from Italy. Naturally, we asked how fast it was. Marty replied, “I don’t know, it gets kinda scary”. Marty started brushing the dust off his dress pants, muttering “Dam! my moms gonna kill me”. From that day on it was a bunch of guys having fun, ragged motorcycles and a shiny Vespa.
Reminds me of my 1963 Vespa 150cc which I bought new from the Douglas company in Kingswood Bristol England, where I worked and where Vespa were made under license from the Italian Piaggio company. We made the 150cc machine body in house and the assembly was completed from engine and other units imported from Italy. This model was called the Sportique. There was another model imported called the Super Sport which was 180cc's I think. My bike had a twin seat so my girlfriend rode on the back, no crash helmets in those days, and of course she wore a mini skirt.... memories, what memories. Love this channel
A very long time ago back in the 60s I had a SS 180 Super Sports it was always breaking down and not going always in the repair shop I only wish I'd your knowledge to repair and fix I enjoy your videos you make it so simple but so complex for people that do not know as I've got older I realise there was an alternative
I never get tired of watching you bring an old, neglected engine back to life. The government should give you a tax credit for every hunk you save from the landfill.
I think you need to find a "water buffalo" (GT 750 Suzuki) at one time I had 8 of them- got all of them working rode them all. I donated all of them to Suters Speed Shop in Verona Wisconsin.
Hey Mustie1. Your easy style of instruction and video production is superb. You have a very analytical mind which is perfectly suited to troubleshooting. Your videos present a "ride along" quality which is very refreshing. You chat to the camera in a way that is reminiscent of a journeyman instructing an apprentice. My only complaint is these things are so addicting I find myself watching several of them per day. Thanks for your time, effort, and amazing tutorials. Well done.
Great job mustie runs very sweetly, just as you say just a final fettling she'll be spot on!. PS. dellorto cards are very high quality carb,and compete equally with weber.They have been standard equipment on ,or an option on many of the European performance and race car applications . Regards limey b.
That dinged up thread would have had me throwing wrenches and packing it in...I'm calling the Vatican, there's miracles being performed in a garage in New Hampshire.
If you're going to work on old equipment you need a good set of thread tools. I'd chase the thread personally, but the way this one was booger'd I see why he used the thread file. I'm not sure how he got it off with it looking like that.
As a mechanic, I chase threads on the regular, it’s far from a miracle. But a great thing to know if you work with nuts and bolts. A tap and die set is a must have tool, would have chased both set of threads and it would have been butter.
Vatican had some very bad people representing them in Center Harbor, went to school down there for a year, and believe me, just brain washing lol.. Mustie's bringing back the good , besides the pope might commandeer the Vespa. Once you learn how to deal with grungy threads, and invest in a tap n die set (invest meaning borrow from friend ), they aren't a big deal, it's not his first rodeo with this stuff, we do vintage ducacti's , hit these snags all the time.. patients is a virtue lol.. New Hampshire is so packed with amazing stuff, from Kangumangus Hiway, the gorge, skiing Cannon, mt Washington, the lakes, I'm rolling down thereon my monster as soon as the border opens again..
My fav thing is that your language of parts matches the age of the vehicles and engines you work on.. wish I had a neighbor like you! Lot of projects we would/could do together. I just never get around to do nearly as much as this guy.
I had one just like it 54 years ago used really dependable thanks for the memories . Oh by the way my first time out I went thru a hedge and hit a house , its a wonder kids make it thru their teen years, I like the way you dive in no fear and get the job done. thanks bill
There is something satisfying about hearing an engine run after doing some work to it,especially an older one,that hasn't had fuel in the cylinder for many a moon..the sound,and smell..I tried to explain it to my wife.,she just gave me one of those looks that say "OK just nod & smile,it makes him happy"..my son though.. His smile like mine,as he bliped the throttle,.. A father son moment over a series 2 Li 150 ..priceless...
Seeing the thread file (which I'd never heard of before) being used, rather than just throwing out and replacing the cross-threaded bolt/stud, really shows that you enjoy and care about the craft, as opposed to it just being a means to an end. That's cool.
27:02 Make your own ultrasonic cleaner using those buckets. Just need something to warm it up, and then go to amazon and search for an "Exciter" in electronics. An exciter is basically a speaker voice coil without a paper cone. You attach it to whatever you want, and it becomes a speaker. (provided it doesn't shake itself apart from the vibrations) Once you have that installed, hook it up to a stereo system and play some sweet jams. .... or get a tone generator app on your phone, hook it up to the stereo's input, and play with the frequency to see which one resonates well in the gunk bucket. 😉
Found your videos by accident and really enjoy them! You have a great attitude and very light hearted way of solving problems and fixing things. Keep up the great work and keep posting!
Brings back memories. I bought a Vespa 90 stored in a garden shed for 15 years. On the day of collection I took a tyre pump and a can of petrol with the oil added. I pumped up the tyres, drained the tank and put in the fresh fuel. It started on the third kick, and I rode it home. On another occasion I bought a Vespa 125 with no front wheel and it would not start, so I collected it in a van. Having fitted a new wheel, I opened up the magneto and found an incorrect condenser dangling from a wire. After fitting the correct Vespa condenser it started up and ran fine. The only snag was the front suspensionm link was worn out. A new one cost nearly as much as I paid for the scooter, but a friend with a press fitted it for me for free.
i have same vespa like this but made from 1964, it's very bulletproof.. the engine never give me a single trouble.. drove it in the middle of bad traffic jam or long touring 200 miles no problem at all.. i'm gonna keep it as long as i can.. pretty machine!!
Sounds great, not only running but the darn thing settled into a idle.... That's a runner there, get the other missing bits and your golden.. My nieces husband has been into vespas for years, he's got a three wheeler with the vespa engine (and this sort of pull lever starter thats just an extension of the kicker) and a few odd bikes, a Fuji Rabbit (Subaru basically) scooter which is very 60's japanese and boxy looking. This is looking good for a incomplete barn find. Good luck with it, thanks for sharing!
Music to my ears when that started--------great job again !!!! Back in the early sixties my buddy had one and what stories it could tell . Also had a sidecar for it and we used in the winter too. Always was blowing head gaskets-----homemade just didn't last-----thanks for the memories
Man I love the small engine community. I am still in highschool and looking to start a small engine repair business this summer. I have been watching roadking and musties videos for over a year now and worked on tons of small engines to get them running (my grandpa was a small engine mechanic as well and has plenty of engines to work on). Anyways I thought I would just say thank you for convincing me to go in my grandpa's footsteps.
$360.00 must have been a big chunk of change back then. My dad purchased our house in LA for $3,000 just a few years prior in 1963. Buying a Vespa must have been a truly luxury purchase back then.
I picked up an abandoned 1960's Vespa that is going to need mucho help. ..It has great seats and spare tire like new. One frozen brake handle but great engine compression. Gonna watch this video again to see what I can learn. It looks like what I have is a 150 Super VBC around 1966 (they were made until 1979). So far , no spark, missing engine cowl but it has the control switch that Mustie1 is missing and My current goal is to free up the front brake handle, rear brake pedal and get it started!
compression, fuel and spark gotta love old school! nice find, good work sounded really good thanks for the video looking forward to seeing more of the Vespa
Hey wanted to say thanks to you I was given a Qualcast 35s rotary mower and was able to get it running through watching how you stripped a carb and cleaned it. Thanks again.
I have a 1958 Vespa 150 I've owned since 1995..last time I looked it was worth upwards of £5,000. These Italian gems will only increase with time. Good video buddy and thanks for sharing.
My first motorcycle was an early '60s Vespa 50 just like this one! It was fun to see all those familiar bits and pieces. To get it running after sitting for years, I had to just clean up the points and change the spark plug!
It was obvious you enjoyed getting this little girl to run. The carby rebuild was very instructive, especially when you forgot where everything went. We have all been there...
When doing something like taking apart a carb and reassembling it, I always take a piece of paper and make drawings to show where things came from so that when I have to put the thing back together I don't have the problems you encountered. Also, if you have a set of gasket punches, the kind that make holes, you can easily make a new gasket for something like this. You can use a pair of tiny scissors to cut the larger holes. The kind with curved blades work the best for this. I have even used brown paper from an old bag, well coated with soft Permatex rubbed into it to make gaskets for a project like this. It works very well.
This video is almost at a million views. He probably sold it as is on craigslist for a couple hundred bucks just to make way for another project. RU-vid is where he makes his coin.
I know this comment is two years too late :D .These were ubiquitous in India, we had tons of these here made by "Bajaj" who were licensed by vespa to make them here. They were called the "Chetak" , 150cc two stroke 2 port . The older ones had Dellorto carbs. Even now you can get genuine spares for all the "bajaj" vespa two stroke scooters. Just search for "chetak" two stroke parts.
Great job fixin it, hope to see you finish it sometime soon. Got a 70 Vespa 50 special myself, going on the bench in the near future, but got to learn a few nice electrical things from you in these videos. Keep up the good work, all are nice to watch when I'm not in the garage :)
these "will it run " videos are boring.... we all know anything he gets in his workshop will run.. in truth I love seeing something brought back to life, good work sir
Enjoy your videos so much! they also teach me a lot as im 17 and doing mechanics at college, but your channels helps me learn more when im at home. Thankyou keep them coming!
I purchased a Vespa (wasp in Italian) P250E for my younger brother, when he was 14. It was pretty beat up, had 1970s British "mod" stuff on it. It was fun and fast! I dont think I ever drove it. The Pasadena cops busted him twice, but they just made him walk it home. Remember the Schwinn "Whizzer"? ...I've suggested it before: it would be cool as hell if you could dig up a Simplex Servi-Cycle. And/or other (pre-1970) motorized bikes and scooters.
