pbas - post byron anxiety syndrome
Coming down from the Byron trip was'nt easy, but was made a little better by driving over to my bro's and seeing my Vespa as naked as the day it was born. Garren had stripped 99% of the Italian stalion while I was away, and it was awaiting its delivery to the paint stripping man. Whilst this was a surprise and a major step forward in its rebirth it demonstrated that its past was less than favourable. Some loon had pop rivetted a piece of galvanised tin over a large hole, err crater, on the scoots front bottom section. The headset also had a small chunk missing - which would be more serious as it was aluminium, and thus required special welding, ugh. Oh well, acceptance is the first step to recovery. (Current mood: glass half missing)

byron bliss
I had to ditch my Vespa plans for 4 days whilst I was dragged like a screaming child to a 5 star resort at Byron Bay by the colonel and a select few of her high achieving workmates. I dreamt of pulling out the steering column from the beast whilst playing 9 holes at the local course, and fantasised about bathing the engine in degreaser whilst I snorkled with the fish out from the bay. I was saved briefly when we hired a scooter from a motorbike store, and I spotted some Vespas in their workshop, but overall it was a miserable weekend, where excess was the norm, and a large multinational had to lay off several staff to finance our seafood bills.

first inspection
Our first good look at this twisted and rusted piece of 70's memorabilia showed that there were a lot of bits to replace. Pretty much the whole damm thing would need to be stripped, and what wasnt binned would need to be hammered back into shape.

The only highlight of the evening was a spin around the street to test out the gearbox and engine which surprisingly started and performed ok. After that, I pulled a 4 hour strip session whereby I took out the rear end, and disconnected most of the easily accessable bits. It appeared that the scoot was originally red, and then it had a half hearted paint job to turn it white, and then it had a backyard bodge job to turn it red again.

The condition was no huge surprise, but I was a bit pissed. At least it would be done well, and the way i wanted it... and it had a trapezoid headlight!
(Current mood: glass half full)

got one
After a short deliberation over a 1978 Vespa 150 VBC I had previously viewed in the northern SA town of Kapunda, I figured what the heck, ill go and get it. This move, seen and voiced by many as stupidity in the highest, was prompted in part by riding an overpriced old school 50cc, but was really due to the destructive mix of boredom and a lack of alternatives.

On the way back from Kapunda, new baby in tow, I made a call to my bro, it went something like this. "So um, do you want to work on the scooter? needs more work than I thought"... ... "Ahh awlright, I knew this would happen!". Thus, the scoot was delivered straight to my brother's operating table. He had the tools, skills, and a little more time than I to give it a proper rebirth.

Overall, I paid the chap too much, received too little, but hey, it had a trapezoid headset and it was red!

about this blog
Riding through Europe on a Vespa had confirmed in me that once home, a Vespa I would own. It also confirmed that I was a bit of a nerd with all this blogging bizzo, but I already knew that. Anywho, the ensuing posts will be focused on the obtainment and restoration of a Vespa of some variety (Ok, I already know the variety as I’ve bought one but I must start the blogging somewhere) and I hope to keep the blog image heavy and light on the theatrics. Please feel free to contribute!