Hey Everyone,
Right now I'm tryign to start a 1980 p200e that sat in a garage for about 7 years. Its really in great shape, with only 610 miles on it. So far, I've replaced the battery, cleaned out the fuel line, and checked out the carb which seems to be really clean. I get an ok spark from the plug when i test it, but i should probably get a new one. I expected it to start in its current condition, but i just won't. Did i miss anything, or does anyone have any other ideas on starting it?
Steve,
A p200e is a scooter. This is a moped forum. Try this site
Sorry John, but I'm gonna haveta help ol Steve out here.
Steve, you pretty much did everything right. Clean out carb (new needle and gaskets is good idea), gas tank, and fuel screens. Decoke the engine is a good idea too. Basically take off the cylinder head and clean the piston & head using karosen/gasoline. Rotate the fuel tap to point up (reserve tank). Turn the key on, the kill switch to run (on the right handle-bar), pull out the choke and kick it over. It might be flooded so I would also recommend "bump" starting instead. Have everything turned on, shift into neutral, push like hell, jump on the bike, shift to first while it's still rolling, throw the clutch. This will engage the wheel to the engine and turn it over. It simply turns the engine over more times than kicking it. If you feel the bike slowing down and not starting, jump off and keep pushing it with the clutch out. If it's gonna start, it will this way. Once it's started, push the choke back in. Hope this helps. By the way, what city are you in?
Thanks roberto...Im in milwaukee and madison wisconsin. And hey, the vespa isnt even mine...im still trying to make a batavus fast....
On a single, you should put it in second gear and push the scooter backwards til you feel compression. Start pushing forward and when you get to a good clip, jump on an pop the clutch. Make sure the ignition and stop switch are on.
The reason for pushing backwards against compression is so that the flywheel will turn the furthest distance when going forward, storing up inertia for when it hits compression. Otherwise it will have a tendency to stop the bike if it hits compression on less than a full revolution.
Using second gear gives mechanical advantage to your pushing and is less apt to stop when the engine hits compression.
If all is well it should fire up.
Jim C.
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