New (to me) scoot

Post by **ericalm** » Tue Mar 06, 2012 5:18 am

(Old pic—the ET kickstarter has been replaced with a proper one.)

Euro-spec 1986 PX125E-EFL. It was abandoned at a dealership at least 8 years ago. It stayed there gathering dust. A few of the mechanics tinkered with it, but no one wanted to really get it going. Three years ago, one of the techs, just for the heck of it, tried to kickstart it. It started right up. The shop's owner wanted it gone, so the tech took it home. But he doesn't have a garage where he can really work on it, was running out of space and wasn't doing anything with it. He sent me a message and now it's mine.

What's funny is that a couple people I talked to know the scoot or remember it from being in the back of the shop for years. "Oh, you have that one now?!?"

The good:

mostly original, all Italian
starts and mostly runs; engine seems strong
new 19mm carb
new coil
electrics all work
some Euro-specific parts like the horn cast, taillight and speedo
frame is solid
it's got character
great bike for me to get into to learn some stuff
never been registered in CA so no back registration owed and I can leave it off the books until it runs
it was free!

The bad:

only gets up to about 35mph, stalls at revs
had a disintegrating Euro front brake different from US version; now has no front brake
needs some trim, proper brake handles, rear signal lens (nothing pricey)
never been registered in CA so could be a pain to get restored once it runs
some dents, some rust but nothing horrible

More pros than cons!

Honestly, I may never get this thing running right on my own, but I'm going to try! Starting with seals and rings, checking out the exhaust.

All else fails, I can always try dropping another engine in it. P200?

Lostmycage · Post by **Lostmycage** » Tue Mar 06, 2012 6:09 am

Very cool find! You're probably looking at a carb rebuild and replacing the hoses and you'll have it running right. A little hammer loving and some Bondo and you can repaint it to whatever hue you wish.

Keep us posted on your new project.

Syd · Post by **Syd** » Tue Mar 06, 2012 6:37 am

Can you say Scooter Cannonball?

Skootz Kabootz · Post by **Skootz Kabootz** » Tue Mar 06, 2012 6:45 am

That is in way better shape than I expected. Nice!

Post by **ericalm** » Tue Mar 06, 2012 6:48 am

Syd wrote:Can you say Scooter Cannonball?

And in goes the P200 engine!

This is pre-mix, too. None of that fancy later injection stuff. I'd have to be much more mechanically adept before taking this on something like that. Which is part of the point of doing this, I guess!

I kind of like the beater appearance for a P-series. That's why I keep scratching the Stella!

Post by **ericalm** » Tue Mar 06, 2012 6:51 am

Skootz Kabootz wrote:That is in way better shape than I expected. Nice!

No kiddin'!

I pushed it in the back and popped it up on the stand, then thought I'd kick it over, listen to it for a bit. Started right up. Idled okay. I thought, WTF, took it down the block. Stronger than expected! Shifts well.

I'll almost be disappointed if it only needs carb cleaning and hoses. Will probably do seals anyways.

Skootz Kabootz · Post by **Skootz Kabootz** » Tue Mar 06, 2012 6:57 am

ericalm wrote:
Skootz Kabootz wrote:That is in way better shape than I expected. Nice!
No kiddin'!

I pushed it in the back and popped it up on the stand, then thought I'd kick it over, listen to it for a bit. Started right up. Idled okay. I thought, WTF, took it down the block. Stronger than expected! Shifts well.

I'll almost be disappointed if it only needs carb cleaning and hoses. Will probably do seals anyways.

Man, if you get it working before I get my scooter working I'm gonna be pissed

You might as well do a complete tear down regardless. The rubber, hoses, gaskets etc are all 25 years old. They're bound to be brittle.

The body looks to be really clean with the exception of the front fender. You can hammer that out and clean it up without too much trouble.

What a great project!

BuddyRaton · Post by **BuddyRaton** » Tue Mar 06, 2012 10:36 am

DUDE! SWEET SCORE!

Welcome to the wonderful world of two stroke smoke!

If it is starting and running...you can get it into good shape on your own! Start hanging out at MV NSM...lots of good help there.

Yeah you can drop a p200 lump in there but I would either run it stock or kit it out. I'm going to be running a kitted 83 p125 on the CBR. Once gone through that should be a solid motor!

You can't beat the price for a scooter to learn on.

Oh yeah
OIL INJECTORS ARE FOR CHUMPS!

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Tue Mar 06, 2012 12:38 pm

I dig the gunmetal color. I bet it will be a blast once you've done the maintenance!

I know it's not a super classic, but the 80's were a long time ago now (a fact my age keeps reminding me of) and certainly it's a member of a bygone era.

neotrotsky · Post by **neotrotsky** » Tue Mar 06, 2012 2:47 pm

On the one hand, I am TOTALLY stoked for you!!! That is going to be an awesome project.

On the other, it makes me hate myself for having to give up my P200 just a month before finding a house that would allow me to work on a scooter

Can't wait to see it running!

jrsjr · Post by **jrsjr** » Tue Mar 06, 2012 3:02 pm

ericalm wrote:
Syd wrote:Can you say Scooter Cannonball?

For that job, a 220 kit with a Vortex carb & premix FTW!

Nice-looking scoot BTW, maybe the nicest-looking freebie ever.

PeteH · Post by **PeteH** » Tue Mar 06, 2012 4:11 pm

Maybe a little o' this:

.. or ..

AWinn6889 · Post by **AWinn6889** » Tue Mar 06, 2012 4:17 pm

Very nice, I love that gunmetal color!
If only there were awesome old scoots to be found anywhere in upstate NY... for free.

Tocsik · Post by **Tocsik** » Tue Mar 06, 2012 4:33 pm

AWinn6889 wrote:Very nice, I love that gunmetal color!
If only there were awesome old scoots to be found anywhere in upstate NY... for free.

Ditto. Free is my favorite price range.

Raiderfn311 · Post by **Raiderfn311** » Tue Mar 06, 2012 10:34 pm

Cool project Eric. Have fun.

JHScoot · Post by **JHScoot** » Wed Mar 07, 2012 4:23 am

cool scoot. where will it gather dust next?

Post by **ericalm** » Wed Mar 07, 2012 5:29 am

Making a list of new tools I'll need. (SWEET. NEW TOOLS.) Got the workshop manual.

The scoot now has a name: Dave.

Dave was the name of the stray cat that took up residence in our yard a couple summers ago. He belonged to no one. He drank out of the pool. He did whatever the hell he wanted. And my wife LOVED Dave. So, in the hopes of winning her over, I said the PX is the "Dave of scooters." Not sure if it's working.

JHScoot wrote:cool scoot. where will it gather dust next?

Currently, my backyard! After that… uh…

LunaP · Post by **LunaP** » Wed Mar 07, 2012 7:14 am

ericalm wrote:Making a list of new tools I'll need. (SWEET. NEW TOOLS.) Got the workshop manual.

The scoot now has a name: Dave.

Dave was the name of the stray cat that took up residence in our yard a couple summers ago. He belonged to no one. He drank out of the pool. He did whatever the hell he wanted. And my wife LOVED Dave. So, in the hopes of winning her over, I said the PX is the "Dave of scooters." Not sure if it's working.

I like that XD

This is a super awesome deal. I hope you have a fun time with your new project bike... He may or may not admit it, but this is exactly the kind of thing Lokky would have a ball with, if he didn't have to buy the bike. He loves tinkering. And he loves that gunmetal/pewter color.

jasondavis48108 · Post by **jasondavis48108** » Wed Mar 07, 2012 2:12 pm

That's awesome, I'd think it would be much easier to learn how to do the really i depth wrenching on a free scooter which is not your main transport. Looks great too btw, I'm sure once you get it running well you'll have a balst on it. I'd love to get an old scoot to wrench on especially at that price

Post by **ericalm** » Wed Mar 07, 2012 8:06 pm

Oof. The most expensive fix may be that front brake. Not easy to find a complete unit—disc and caliper. Hard to even find a replacement OEM caliper—much less the Euro one this originally had!

Post by **ericalm** » Thu Mar 08, 2012 7:43 am

ericalm wrote:Oof. The most expensive fix may be that front brake. Not easy to find a complete unit—disc and caliper. Hard to even find a replacement OEM caliper—much less the Euro one this originally had!

Duh. Not a disc. (An '86 with a front drum? Yeah!)

Backplate is fine. Just missing the weird actuator and adjustment bolts for this model. Found the parts pretty cheap. I'll pull the hub apart and check everything, but the spring seems fine. Whew.

Swordsman · Post by **Swordsman** » Thu Mar 08, 2012 6:44 pm

Dude, you can't go wrong with a FREE vehicle. Period. Lucky!!!

~SM

PeteH · Post by **PeteH** » Thu Mar 08, 2012 6:52 pm

Swordsman wrote:Dude, you can't go wrong with a FREE vehicle. Period. Lucky!!!

We in the IT world have a saying: "Sometimes free isn't cheap enough."

Keep the Total Cost of Ownership in mind as you progress through the bike's rehab, and best of luck with it.

Post by **ericalm** » Thu Mar 08, 2012 8:18 pm

PeteH wrote:
Swordsman wrote:Dude, you can't go wrong with a FREE vehicle. Period. Lucky!!!
We in the IT world have a saying: "Sometimes free isn't cheap enough."

Keep the Total Cost of Ownership in mind as you progress through the bike's rehab, and best of luck with it.

This will never be a free vehicle!

It will probably take at least $300 (mostly parts) to get it really road-worthy again. Let's say $50 for the front brake assembly, another $50-$75 in hoses and rubber, at least $50 in tools (some of which I need for the Stella anyways), new cables, seals, gaskets. It doesn't have a battery. A lot of $5-$25 things that will add up.

Once that happens, I need to get it registered and insured. Another scoot on insurance will be cheap. Registration will be a pain. Someone who worked at the shop where it was abandoned said there was a Maine title for it somewhere there. Of course, she worked at the shop 6 years and one owner ago, so who knows? I'm going to slap a paper dealer plate on there for my little test rides around the block.

siobhan · Post by **siobhan** » Thu Mar 08, 2012 8:23 pm

I don't know how much of a pain in the arse the DMV is in California (it wasn't when I lived there and had a 'classic' car), so you may want to go to the route of registering the bike in VT and transferring registration to California. I've done it for a bunch of bikes that didn't come with a title or an old reg.

Register in VT, transfer to RI, no worries. You do not need to live in VT nor have a VT address to register a vehicle there. Sometimes I think 'Live Free or Die' is on the wrong state's plate.

Title service prices have gotten out of control. Little VT is still very reasonable. If you want more info on this, PM me.

Post by **ericalm** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 12:05 am

siobhan wrote:I don't know how much of a pain in the arse the DMV is in California (it wasn't when I lived there and had a 'classic' car), so you may want to go to the route of registering the bike in VT and transferring registration to California. I've done it for a bunch of bikes that didn't come with a title or an old reg.

Register in VT, transfer to RI, no worries. You do not need to live in VT nor have a VT address to register a vehicle there. Sometimes I think 'Live Free or Die' is on the wrong state's plate.

Title service prices have gotten out of control. Little VT is still very reasonable. If you want more info on this, PM me.

A vehicle has to have been registered and owned for 6 months in another state before it can be transferred into CA. Interesting idea, though. Someone else said that might be why it was previously registered in Maine. Getting the title would be the best thing, of course.

Post by **ericalm** » Mon Mar 12, 2012 1:51 am

And so it begins: Just picked up a PX150 cylinder, head, piston, rod, crank, etc. off Craigslist.

Don't know if I'll use them at first but they were so cheap ($20 for everything!) I had to snag 'em. SO… maybe a 150cc upgrade after I do the initial rebuild. Whenever that happens.

michelle_7728 · Post by **michelle_7728** » Mon Mar 12, 2012 4:38 am

Nice find, Eric! I know you have been bored lately with nothing to do, so this is just the ticket!

Lostmycage · Post by **Lostmycage** » Mon Mar 12, 2012 5:17 am

Nice Eric. Things are definitely lining up for you and this scoot of yours.

neotrotsky · Post by **neotrotsky** » Mon Mar 12, 2012 5:19 am

ericalm wrote:And so it begins: Just picked up a PX150 cylinder, head, piston, rod, crank, etc. off Craigslist.

Don't know if I'll use them at first but they were so cheap ($20 for everything!) I had to snag 'em. SO… maybe a 150cc upgrade after I do the initial rebuild. Whenever that happens.

Nice score!!

As for the front brake, when properly adjusted and when you take to sanding the surfaces of the pads and drum yourself before install you'll find the front drum has plenty of grip. Those who bitch about the fronts being worthless just don't have enough vintage bike riding experience

I personally think the front drums on P-series scoots get a bad rap from people who don't know how to maintain them. In fact, the brakes were the one thing that I didn't get grief with from my P200

Syd · Post by **Syd** » Mon Mar 12, 2012 6:34 am

I see the new scoot isn't listed in your profile yet. If you are conflicted about keeping it, I could maybe be talked into taking it out of your site. You know, out of site, out of mind and all that.

Post by **ericalm** » Mon Mar 12, 2012 6:15 pm

Syd wrote:I see the new scoot isn't listed in your profile yet. If you are conflicted about keeping it, I could maybe be talked into taking it out of your site. You know, out of site, out of mind and all that.

Fixed that.