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Scooter technology is advancing so quickly that it can be difficult to keep up with the latest scooting trends. RideSite.com exists to inform you about the new types of the scooters on the market today and the exciting things that scooters are doing. For example, did you know that:
* Segway scooters are being used by the Army? * The Embrio may have us zipping around on gyroscopic unicyles by 2025? * Fuel-cell powered scooters are around the corner?
Vespa Scooter Museum in Italy
Of course, the place to start in investigating the scooter world is looking back at the history of such scooter pioneers as Vespa and Lambretta.
However, if you are interested in getting a great scooter and getting right on the road, you should look at our sections on modern electric scooters and modern gas scooters. There is a lot of selection in each category with options from a wide variety of manufacturers including Xcooter, Z Scooter and Jet Scooters.
X-treme X-600 Electric Scooter Review Scooter Tricks
The Backstabber First, you do a high one-footed manual (STOP QUICK !!!!). Then you spin your handle a 180-degree spin with one hand. Finally you grab where your deck connects to the handle and land this kick @SS move!
Belly-Bar Toe Tap Lean forward and place your belly on the T-bar, then swing your legs out in front of the bar-post and tap your toes together. Then bring them back onto the deck and roll on. Pretty sick trick huh?
Feeble Stall Ride slowly up to a curb and then Jay Hop. While in the air turn 45 degrees. Land with the front wheel on the top and the back wheel hanging off. Jump off and roll away.
Double Tailwhip A good way to learn the rotation is to stand on flat ground and spin it as fast as you can using your bars. Approach the ramp with a good amount of speed (at least medium speed, remember the more speed you have the more airtime the ramp gives you), pump the takeoff and as soon as your front wheel leaves the ground kick the board behind you as hard as you can, then continue the rotation by using your bars (this will take time to learn at first) try to land good on your board because usually at first you will land on the corner of your board on the back end, which also makes it harder for you to roll away.
Condor Grab The name comes from the BMX rider Mat Hoffman. Again, hit a ramp and the second you hit the top lean the scooter back so that the deck plate is going straight up with both feet on, you leaning over the handle bars. Then take both feet off and both hands off, swinging your arms forwards and grabbing with both hands just over the fork down the bar pole Then bring your hands back, flatten out and land.
Nothing Bar Spin Hit a jump that goes for height, not distance (like a ramp) and take both feet off the deck then spin the bars 360. At some point, you won't be holding onto the scooter at all, catch it and land.
Scooter Repair
How to Restore a Vespa Scooter
You can often find an old bike for a great deal. For example, you may find a run-down Vespa on sale in a local newspaper ad. Often times, the owner will let you have it on the spot for relatively little money. However, you may find that the engine is full of water or most of the rare parts (e.g. speedo, headlight, tail light, etc) may be broken or mission. With some work, you can give it the power and handling of a new bike.
Registration
When you start a project on a newly bought scooter or bike, the first thing you should do is register your bike. In California, this is relatively easy to do on older bikes. If a scooter hasn’t been registered for a period of time, the DMV will think that it doesn’t exist or even know of its existence. It is good to register the scooter so that it will be under your name and in case the scooter gets stolen. In addition, while you register your newly bought scooter, you can double-check if the bike may have been stolen. This can save you the expense of putting your work, time and money into restoring the bike.
To register a bike, you will normally have to fill out a various forms, which include the following:
- Bill of Sale Slip: this should have the serial number or license listed; the signature of the seller should be included with both his/her address and driver’s license number. - Application for Registration Form - Statement of Facts Form - Certificate of Non-Operation: this is not necessary but it will helpful if you plan to work on the vehicle for a few month or even years. The scooter will need to be inspected by a “peace officer” or take to a CHP center to verify the VIN number and the engine number on the statement of facts form. Once this is complete, you can go to the DMV to get a new license plate with the current registration fee for non-operative scooters.
Preparations
Since the scooter is a conglomeration of parts, make sure that all the parts fit before you start with the pain job. Make sure that missing or broken parts are replaced and that everything fits nicely together. For a restoration of a particular Vespa 1960 VBB 150, the following parts were used:
- P200E Engine, Shock - 10” Rear Wheel and 10” Hub - GS150 Forks - Early Mudguard - P200E Tank - P200E (modified) Center Stand
Check the clearances of the center stand, which needs to have about an inch welded to it. Make sure the engine fits under the side cowl an that the forks would not rub. Change the center hub of the original VBB forks (skip the GS150 or GL150 fork change). Check and see if you need to change the front mudguard because a 10” wheel will rub again an original VBB fork and mudguard combination. Strip and Paint
You can remove all grease, paint and rust of the scooter by: - Immersing the frame and other parts in a tank of acid - Local Metal Stripping Shop
If working with a tank of acid is not the most ideal for you, you can look for a metal stripping shop in your local phone directory. They can typically strip any steel part; however, all cast and aluminum parts must be removed because these materials will be melted away from acid. The tanks at the stripping shops should be big enough to fit a full-sized car, so a scooter should be no problem.
After the strip work, the frame will be clean and it will need a good amount of sanding with fine grit wet/dry sandpaper. For any internal part that cannot be reached with a gun, pour some thinned out primer down the cable tunnel to coat these parts. Make sure to thoroughly clean the frame before spraying the primer on it. You can spray a two part epoxy primer on the scooter. This may take a few hours and you may even need a respirator to apply the primer. Be sure to do this in a well-ventilated room or outdoors. If the frame has small stretch marks, the use of a sandable primer is recommended.
12V Conversion for a Vespa
You can build a new wiring loom from scratch if you want to add an air horn and route the new ignition switch into the handlebar unit. If your scooter uses a P200E engine, you can mount a battery inside the left hand cowl, which runs the rear light directly. A P200E rectifier is also a good thing to use to charge the battery. Your entire system may run perfectly for over five years!
In order to use the original VBB handlebar switch as an ignition or horn switch, you need to use relays because the original switch will typically not take the current. What are relays? Relays are small boxes that act as automatic switches. When a low current of 12V power is put into the relay box, it will trigger a larger switch that can handle the current to power the horn.
10” Wheel Conversion for a Vespa
The 1960 Vespa will originally have 8” wheels that have smaller brakes and handling that is worse than 10” type wheels. When you change to a P200E, the engine may come with a 10” wheel so it would be best to change the front wheel to match. If the old Vespa already have a working 8” set up, you will need the following parts for the 10” wheel conversion:
- P200 bottom steering race - 10” forks from a GS150, GL150 or Sprint150 - Blowtorch - Flathead screwdriver - Mallet - Drill (possibly) - Tools to drop the old 8” forks - 11mm wrench or socket for mudguard bolts
There are companies that sell Bajaj scooters made with 10” forks online; this will make it easier to garner the necessary parts for the conversion. The procedure will require you to remove the existing 8” forks from the bike. Once the old forks are out of the bike, make sure to keep all the loose bearings; you will need them to install the new forks. The mudguard needs to be removed as well.
Heat up the ball bearing race and using the flathead screwdriver and mallet/hammer, tap that the bottom of the dust cover and force the bearing race off the forks. Tap evenly from each side so that it comes off squarely. The dust cover may be destroyed when you’re doing this. If this happens, don’t worry; they are available at a very affordable price from any scooter shop. With the bearing race out of the way, remove the three 11mm bolts at the top of the mudguard and in the side of the mudguard.
If GS150 forks are the best 10” forks you can find, this will work fine. GS150 have different fork stops to prevent them from turning more than 45 degrees in either direction. A quick dry fit of the forks in the frame will let you know if they have to be reworked. Though the side bolts (through the fender) may not align with the fork holes depending on the model, the 8" mudguard should fit over the 10" forks. If the forks and fender do not align, you can add a steel flat bar to the forks by welding it in place and then drilling new holes where needed. Be sure to tighten all the bolts that hold the mudguard against the forks. Use nylock nuts or split washer to hold them in place.
The old bearing race from the original forks needs to be placed on new 10” forks. The distance between the frame and fender on these forks will be different than the original one. If you use the 8" fork race alone, the mudguard will rub against the frame. If this happens, you can space apart slightly. To do this, install a P200 race first and then follow it down with the original 8" fork race. Tap the P200 race down until it is flushed with dust cover. This will help make the top threaded section of the fork better align at the fork tube head. If you use the existing 8” race, you will have some problem you will encounter is that some will have free bearings, which can be a pain to install. You can make things a little easier by applying grease to the bearing race to stick the ball bearings in place. Use as much grease as you like; the grease will all be pushed out anyway when the forks are installed.
Handle and fit the ball bearings one at a time. Many of the older 8" large frames will take 22 ball bearings in this race. Once you have them all in position, carefully raise the forks up into the frame. Once the head of the fork tube sticks out of the frame, turn the locking nut a couple of turns so that it won’t drop out. Now, carefully ease the forks into the lower bearing race. Use your hand to hold the upper fork in place and tighten it. When they are in place, take the scooter off its supporting frame. Take a sit on the bike and get the upper fork tube bearing and some grease ready. By placing your weight on the scooter, the lower steering bearings will be nicely in place.
Next, remove the upper steering fork nut and grease up the caged upper bearing race to install it in the channel. Tighten the lower race nut (this one should have a groove in the bottom surface) using your hand. Then tighten it with the help of a set of vise-grips or a hammer and screwdriver. Place the scooter back onto its support stand and turn the mudguard from side to side to double check that the steering feels free but solid. If it feels too tight, it will make the scooter weave when it is in motion. If it is too loose, the forks will shudder when you brake.
Proceed to fit the lock washer and ensure that the tab is in the groove. Refit the final nut and tighten it down using the same method as the previous one that was used for the lower nut. Then refit the headset by flipping it over and then install and tighten the main pinch bolt. Use a lock nut on the pinch bolt so that it won’t get loose. Before tightening the pinch bolt all the way, look down from above and make sure that the headset is aligned with the mudguard.
Changing the P200 Kickstart
When you put in the P200 engine in the VBB, you may find that the modern look of the P200 kickstart isn’t too appealing to the whole package. Although it has better leverage and makes it easier the scooter to start, it gives people a dead give away about the restoration. It lets everyone know what engine type your scooter is running on, taking away from the classic look of the scooter. It is easy to change this with an older Rally style or 60s style kickstart when you are rebuilding the engine at any time. However, you’ll need to do an extra step of splitting the cases to do this conversion. You will only need a new Rally kickstart shaft and integral gear and the kickstart itself to complete the conversion.
Before we start, this is basically how the kickstart works: it has a half-moon shaped gear that is welded to the spline inside the engine casings. There is a small beveled area that interfaces with a small engine on the input shaft. When the kickstart is in its normal position, this beveled area slightly lifts the gear away from the input shaft and enables the gears of the input shaft into a free rotation. When the kickstart is pushed, the bevel passes the smaller gear and drops down onto the input shaft with the help of a spring. The bevel then engages with both the input shaft and the teethed face of the half-moon shaped spline gear.
Once the cases are apart, drive out the old kickstart spline through the flywheel casing using a rubber mallet. When the kickstart spring releases from the casing, you will hear a noise. Take the spring off the old spline and place it in exactly the same way on the new one. Drive the kickstart spline almost all the way into the casing. Then, relocate the kickstart spring end in the hole into the casing. You can make this easier to do using a large screwdriver. You’re done – all you have to do now is rebuild the engine and conncet the new kickstart lever to the outside spline.
Engine Case Split
When you split the casings, you will have access to the crank, oil seals, main bearings and transmission components. On a P series engine, you will need only a few specialized tools to do complete this task. Older engines may require a heat source (e.g. heat torch) to help split the casings. Splitting the casings in a scooter can be very handy if you are replacing a shift cross or gear.
To begin, drain the oil from the transmission. Removed the cylinder cowl by removing the single flathead bolt near the spark plug and the two bolts on the top and bottom of the flywheel cover. Remove the series of small bolts around the rims to remove the flywheel. The gear selector cover will come off along with this. Remove the exhaust. You can leave the stator plate connections and coil in place or you can disconnect them as well. If left connect, this will means that the flywheel side casing will be able to hinge away from the scooter rather than be removed all together.
The next step is to remove the cylinder head using a 13 mm socket. After that, pull the cylinder off the studs. You won’t really have to mess too much with the top end if you are splitting casings of a Vespa scooter. It is important to remove the two flywheel side barrel studs so that the barrel will stay in place while allowing the casing half to be removed. So you don’t have to mess around with the removal of the barrel, refit of the piston, compression of the rings, etc.
There is a small locating stud on the bottom of the barrel as well. To remove the stud while in place, use the lock nut trick by using two 13 mm nuts and threading them onto one of the two studs that are farthest away from the scooter. With the help of either two 13 mm wrenches, or a 13 mm wrench and a 13 mm socket, tighten the nuts against each other. Once they are tight, loose the upper nut; this should allow the stud to turn and unscrew form the casing. You can simply leave the two nuts on the stud since they can be used them in the reinstallation after completing the engine work.
When both of the flywheel side-casing studs have been removed, the barrel needs to slide up about ¼ inch. Room is necessary to allow the small locating stud in the barrel to dislocate from the casing.
Before the casings are split, the gear selector box must be removed. This is bolted onto the flywheel side casing with two 11 mm nuts. Loosen the nuts and removed the lock nuts and washers. Store the loosened parts in a safe place. Don’t lose them! You will need them later. Grab the gear selector handgrip on the headset and turn it as far as possible toward 4th gear. This should help pop the selector off the casing. You don’t have to mess with the disconnection of the control cables.
At this point, all the crankcase bolts can be released. In order to get to the crankcase bolts that are around the main crank, the flywheel and stator plate must be removed beforehand.
Next, loosen all the casing bolts by using an 11 mm socket. There are casing bolts that pass through the engine; their ends are D-shaped and thus, should not rotate. Casing bolts that do not have accessible ends are only the casing bolts that are directly around the crank. The last type of bolt is a through bolt that travels the opposite direction than all the other bolts.
You have now reached the moment of truth where you can refit the kickstart and tighten it down. Start by placing one hand behind the flywheel air scoop that is located just below the carb box; place your other hand on the kickstart. It shouldn’t take too much force for you to get things moving. Once the casing is clear from the crankshaft, it can then be removed completely.
If you find a single spring and a kickstart gear falling out of the engine when the casings are split, this is completely normal. At this point, the casings should be apart and you are ready to replace the bearings, replace the shift cross or gears, replace the kickstart, etc.
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