m.o.t woes !

[wills]

Hi guys, i bought my first vespa last week. The guy says it was an ´92 p80x (electric).. until he put in a T5 motor (kickstart only), and racing drop bars.. he gave me a "T5 Flash??" exhaust also but its totally illegal for street use here in germany !
 Its been sitting for 2 years and i´m presently trying to prepare it for its mot.. i´ve finally found, i think.. all the electrical problems, but one. I´m still waiting for the manual from the uk, so if this is a totally retarded question forgive me.. but should the front brake lever activate the brake light ??
 I think i done pretty well so far considering my lack of vespa knowledge, but the mot (TÜV over here) is tomorrow and the manual is still in transit..
 any help would be great, thanks in advance.

[Worz]

Yes, when you pull the front brake lever on a T5 the brake light should come on. The switch is a very simple unit and fairly easy to get to. Undo the four (if it still has four) screws from underneath the headset. At the bottom of the forks, locate the speedo cable and push it upward into the forks. This will lift the headset top and allow access underneath.
 
The front brake outer cable is in two parts and the brake light switch sits in the middle and should have two small wires attached to it. If you are lucky, one of the wires has come off. If you are not lucky the switch will have to be replaced which means the front brake inner cable will have to be completely pulled out so you can change the switch.

[wills]

Thanks worzel, i´ll check that tomorrow... i was told from another source that only the pedal should activate the brake light as the frame wasnt the original T5.. i´ve been tearing my hair out here.. the dead battery was still attached although i dont need it and all the original wiring is mixed up with the new and so many dead ends !
 I just wanna ride !!  :(

[Worz]

I believe the front brake light switch law was passed and affected all new motorcycles/scooters made from that date within the EU. Although I don't know what year it came into effect. You may be correct that your 1992 PX80 frame doesn't need one but my PX200E is 1996 and had one fitted from new. I would say the best thing to do is phone up a local motorcycle MOT centre and ask.
 
Good luck with the MOT though, I know it is very strict in Germany. Strange really that the country who makes the best tuning bits, has the strictest laws against tuning/modification.

[wills]

Hey dude, i popped the cover again, (had to chuckle at your post.."if theres still 4 screws", i´m down to 2 !) but could see no sign of the switch where you said so i guess thats one less worry.
 I was looking online for a spares supplier that could ship to germany if you got any ideas on that ?? Now on to the mot station.. back later. thanks again.

[Worz]

Well if you couldn't see a switch then it probably didn't have one fitted so your scoot was made before the EU law was introduced.
 
I've found that Beedspeed International (based in UK) are a good scooter shop and they have a good postal service. You can find them at
 
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www.beedspeed.com

 
If you would rather order stuff from within Germany there's always:
 
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www.sipscootershop.de

[wills]

ive got 1 hour before they close and another problem. I bought a new horn.. 12v, the usual ? but it just rumbles a little bit but all the other lights are being totally drained when i press the button !! any ideas ?

[Worz]

It's normal for the lights to dim when the horn is pressed (12v is correct). Try revving the scooter (throttle open a bit) and try the horn with the lights on then.

[wills]

The horn was ok, it was trying to run off the engine, but it has to run off the battery. I´ll have to buy one just for that !
 Well, it failed.. but the electrics all worked  :confuseds
 1. A side stand and smaller side mirror was added and not declared on the scoots papers and the mirror is too low down. Interesting reason for raising the mirror though.. the guy said that when you turn a bend, you cant see behind you.. who the hell looks behind themselves when they´re turning a f*****g corner !! Only in Germany !
2. The steering has a point in the turning arc that rubs or knocks.. something needs replacing.
3. The swing arm not only swings up and down but a little side to side too...hmmm.. i must admit, i did feel a slight wobble doing 125 down the autobahn on my way there.. oh yeah, thats kmh of course  
4. Rear shock is leaking oil very slightly, i´m praying that can be just a seal gone.

 I´m tinkin´this might cost me a pretty penny.. Thanks for those links by the way.. i´ll probably be needing them.

[wills]

I was talking to a couple of guys i met at the bike shop today, they had vespas.. I was thinking about what you said concerning the mods available here, so i quizzed them. They told me that the further north you go in Germany, the more lenient they get with the mot. And you see a lot of tweaked and custom jobs on the streets around Cologne and Berlin. Dont know if its true but i found it interesting.

[Worz]

Well I know the Berliner Rollermods have a lot of tuned scoots on the road and they seem to be ok with mot's so I guess it can't be that bad in that area.
 
If you pull a Vespa wheel side to side you'lll find that most of them have a little movement. This movement is allowed by law (not excessive) because Vespa hubs are splined. You'll find that most motorbikes don't have splined hubs and therefore fail the m.o.t if there's any movement. but Vespa's & Lambretta's are supposed to be given a bit of leeway (tolerance).
 
With the steering, take off the horncasing and turn the handlebars both ways. You will be able to see where the forks stop in the metal housing underneath. The side where the steering is going too far, hit it with a hammer and a tough screwdriver to bend the metal in. That will stop the steering from turning too far.
 
I think your biggest problem is the horn. On a normal T5 (which don't have a battery) the power comes straight from the stator under the flywheel to the horn. It passes through the horn and goes back to the 12v regulator box and then back out to the indicators and other lights. The 12v regulator stops the bulbs blowing but the horn can take a lot of voltage. So somehow you have got to get the engines output to the horn first and then to the regulator box after.
 
With the rear suspension.... Put the scooter on the stand and push the rear of the scooter down. Then let the scooter go. If the scoot bounces up and down then the rear shock needs replacing. The rear shock should move upward and stop. Scooters are built so that only the upward movement of the shock absorber it dampened. The downward bounce of the shock is regulated by the spring.

[wills]

The max turning points on the steering are fine, its when you turn the bars through the full axis, at the point where the wheel is pointing directly forward you can feel a resting point..
 The rear wheel does have a little play and it knocks slightly when you do the side to side action.. but no visual movement.. sounds like its between the wheel and engine maybe ?
 The rear spring is coated in oil and crap, but only the middle section is wet.. The top and bottom of the spring, has a healthy layer but is dry.. There is also a slight drip under the engine, so was wondering if the damper is leaking at all ! The side of the engine nearest the spring is also wet, just below the airfilter... and still no sign of my repair manual today in the post !

[Worz]

The resting point you mention in English is called notching. Basically you need to remove the forks & change the steering column bearings.
 
With the rear wheel, make sure the rear hub nut it tight. If it is then the movement is caused by a worn rear hub bearing and it needs replacing which means the engine has to be opened up to get the old bearing out.
 
The oil on the rear shock could be coming from the clutch housing. If not it's probable that the seal in the shock has gone. Vespa shocks are not made to be servicable so you will need a new shock.

[wills]

Thanks a lot for the help dude, i´ll check that all out and try get it back to the mot next week.. I´ll let you know how i get on. Have a great weekend.

[Titch]

How did you get on??????????????

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