February 2012
2 posts
January 2012
1 post
from declan
a vespa guy from st. louis shared a link from vespa-ciao.nl with me about the super bravo 2. here are some of the highlights that differentiate super bravo 2s from other vespa mopeds
first off, super cool 80s styling
then there is the crank length difference.
the superbravo technically runs a stationary toothed belt that actually fits in the grooves of the drive implements (unlike other...
November 2011
4 posts
this is a voicemail my friend nick left me as he...
ciaos all around
so for a long time i was planning on painting that green ciao frame…but i found this square seat post frame. it’s in great shape overall and i decided it was way easier to just buy this frame and save some money on powdercoating and such. plus it’s a SQUARE seat post frame!! i’ve never had one of these style frames, i’m super pumped (and so is jamie, i think).
in...
October 2011
2 posts
slowly but surely
i’ve been slowly converting my vespa magnum to disc brakes. first i sold off my SI mag wheels and bought some pit bike forks from ebay.
the stem on the triple tree is about an inch and a half shorter than the bravo steer tube. so i hacked the bottom off to match. the really lucky thing about the whole procedure was that the headset bearings match the vespa ones exactly, so they mount right...
September 2011
2 posts
derek visits pittsburgh!
we powered up sycamore ave, #8 of the pittsburgh “dirty dozen.” It’s a pretty steep and windy road. made me really want to try canton ave. here we are at the top of mt. washington overlooking downtown.
here’s derek/brandon’s ciao (not really sure whose to
say it is…oh well). complete with hydraulic pit bike forks, disc brakes, and sunglasses. after just...
August 2011
9 posts
braaaaaap
i was looking online for pit bike forks and found my australian counterpart. my favorite part is when he says “we’re on all the social media networks, we love it, braaap it up! braaaaaa”
pitbikeforks.com
anyways, i was watching a set of forks on ebay that came with a disc, brake assembly with calipers and pads, and lost it…i was on my friend’s iphone at a party and...
one good bottom end out of two sets of bad ones
well, i had a set of cases where i went through when case matching, and another set of cases that the drill bit caught and shattered the intake. here’s the first set with a good intake but bad transfers, this is the case after i took the dremel and angle grinder to it.
basically i cut away a big chunk to attach to the other set of cases to fix the broken intake. it’s no the...
case matching and a busted intake...again
i spent most of yesterday afternoon case matching a stock bottom end to my 43mm polini. everything went real smooth and i was pleased with how everything matched up.
i extended the boost port channels to the back of the case sleeve area, as seen in the picture above.
but then the bummer happened. i went to port the intake window and spigot. i got the intake window done up right and it...
almost a 3 seat trike
bravo frame + 2 hacked up ciao frames = vespa trike!
not sure if this ever got any farther than this last image, as the post was from 2009 (off vespa-ciao.nl) but definitely a sweet creation!
July 2011
1 post
ciao luv
i’ve just about finished modifying the frame to accept the kickstart parts. i had to grind down the section where the pedal shaft sits, i might have taken off 1 to 2 mm more than i needed to, but we’ll see after the powdercoat raises it. i’m still having trouble getting the engine into the subframe now that the flywheel is on. i might have to make the holes on either side...
June 2011
3 posts
willy glaces!
via french ebay.
in other news, found a guy in italy, guido, who has the kickstart parts and is just waiting for me to send him the money. we’re gonna wait till we sell my car first though.
rebuilding wheels + transmission + clutch!
so i bought a set of SI wheels for 80 shipped and it came with the rear variator and transmission. pretty awesome deal, right?
well, they definitely needed an overhaul, which i don’t mind doing to save some money.
as you can see, the brake plate and spring are completely shot. i had to hammer and pull quite a bit to remove those rusty old parts. i rigged up this little stopper thing so...
May 2011
5 posts
peg boards and cabinets. yes it's true
i finally cleaned up the shop, and made it legit.
i got this sweet cabinet from construction junction, it’s that light blue thing with the cork board. it’s definitely team zissou-esq. more pics to come of better pinned up artwork and all the goodies i have inside!
i also had salvaged all of these vintage drawers from my neighbors trash months and months ago. I built a little bench...
a great success!
went on a ride with jordan. started right up. minimal flywheel rubbing! still need to shave a little more off, but still a success.
jordan picked up this PA50 II, and according to the previous owner it needed “a new engine” as it had lost it’s power. jordan adjusted the points and boom, back to full power, then he promptly bought his second proma pipe
and now he’s...
was that the rapture, or just my flywheel melting?
well, it was still rubbing, but not very much, so i thought i’d go ahead and see if it was “golden richards” as jordan likes to put it.
unfortunately, that little rub put the flywheel against the subframe in one section, just a tiny little bit.
i had just gotten it going and was about to go on a little ride around the neighborhood with jordan when it felt like it ran out of...
some pics
so does anyone think this’ll be a problem? i just barely started to port this side, it might work out that through making the finger port it will eliminate most of the nicks.
here’s the two sides compared to each other, obviously i need to clean things up a bit.
mappin
got the pinasco lightened flywheel coming my way.
i tried getting my piaggio cdi flywheel to work but no dice. it starts up once and then rubs on the case somewhere and i’ve had it machined once (for free) and now it’s just time to upgrade/get a flywheel that actually works for once. it’s been a long time since i’ve been able to ride the bravo/magnum around. since the sHs...
April 2011
1 post
woo that's hot
the moped gang (still unnamed) has assembled…for the most part. and now, i roll out our first group ride video.
we still had some kinks to work out with dave’s moped (the light blue bravo), so we stopped to change the jet and look at the spark plug A LOT. but we wanted to be on the safe side. we still haven’t quite figured out what’s going on. but after a little...
March 2011
5 posts
about ready to sell this one...
a little bit of a sad day, but i think it’s gonna go to a good home.
it has new gazelles (still have to put the front one on), tecnigas classic pipe, whtie buzzetti sidestand, 13:13 carb, ported intake, kinetic top end, triple tree from a bravo, peugeot fork tubes, grande headlight ears, low rise bars, i lowered the seat and took out the springer function, single speed transmission with...
i'm thinkin something like this...we'll see if...
found some photos from last fall (and beyond)
here’s dave helping to loading up the bike before the wedding
and here’s a close up of the intake side
which includes:
24 Flatslide mikuni
Lomat reed block (originally for derbi)
Parmakit intake manifold.
the idea was not mine, rufus did it first, i just flipped it around so that it was facing forward which made my pedals functional. here’s a picture of the lomat reed...
ciao kickstart, aka jamie's bike!
first i followed a forum post over at vespa-ciao.nl and marked out the area to be cut from the frame.
i always see these types of photos on jason’s blog, and seeing as how i got the kickstart parts from him, i thought i’d give you guys an action shot!
here’s the small case half just resting in the frame. it’s got this special crank with a toothed section on the end.
...
February 2011
6 posts
Watchmy friend ben made this video the other day while i was working. he was just messing around with this homemade crane, capturing whatever was going on while we were just hanging out on the front porch. in fact, i didn’t even know he was filming all that much, which means that it’s all very natural. anyways, good job ben! i think it looks great.
64 in february!
the first day off i’ve had in a week and a half and it’s so nice out! as my friend lydia put it, seed catalogs and mopeds, must be spring. i got busy with both yesterday as i worked outside on my ciao.
i put the euro rear clutch i have with the 100mm rear plates on and noticed better acceleration and better top end. which is weird, because i only expected better low end. i think...
straight from italy
i’ve really wanted to get one of these tail lights for jamie’s bike, all i was able to get was the lens, but that’s not a big deal as i can easily make a good light out of parts i have from a tractor supply rear light. i also got two sets of these ciao side cover emblems. they clipped in on some later models of ciaos. here’s some photos showing you how these things look
...
January 2011
9 posts
6 tags
3 tags
Watchit works! although needs to be tuned quite a bit. we had to start it on the home depot sidewalk near my house as they had salted it quite well. whereas it was icy everywhere else! 24 degrees out
6 tags
lightened flywheel and seat!
this is the vespa stator. i received a grab bag of parts last december from a german ebay auction that included a stock flywheel that had been milled and substantially lightened. when i was putting together the engine for this bike i was disappointed to find that the flywheel did not fit over the coils!
as you can see in this photo there’s a suspicious brown rubbery substance...
4 tags
made some adjustments
that’s my finger in there. i thought i was gonna use a torch to bend the pipe, but decided it was just easier to make an sorta bolt extension piece out of some random pipe i had in the shop. so i can’t use my pedals at all, put that’s ok i suppose. i think i over-reacted with my last post, it’s just not quite what i was expecting in terms of mounting.
still working...
4 tags
my winter bike
so i’ve been working away on the ciao, trying to get it ready to ride this winter, as winter’s not so bad in pittsburgh. yesterday i split the cases and opened the intake, replaced the busted crank, the seal, and got it all back together before modern family.
i did however discover something of a bummer. i bought the vespa tecnigas classic pipe from treats a couple months ago....
5 tags
variated ciao cover!
forget paying tons of money for one, just cut a hole in your single speed cover, ya turkey!
6 tags
jordan got a moped!
crappy cell phone pics
and here’s an update on the ciao.
i flipped the bars down, putting new grips on, and ditching the springer seat for a tiny tiny motorcycle “back support” cushion. i think i’ll be modifying the rack so that it’s the same size as the seat and cutting the support brackets to match up with it. basically i’m making it an even smaller...
4 tags
3 tags
new shop new blog
i have a new space to work in, it’s the basement of my old house. there was a bunch of crap i had to move to clear this spot, but it was worth it. all my moped stuff is in one place, i can leave things out, i can put a bike up on a work table, and i brought my speakers over, so i have some music as well.