Hopefully we’ll find loads of cool new parts and accessories to ship back. We’ll update the details here.

 We’ll reopen as usual, flights being on time, on Wednesday 13th of August. Don’t forget you can make a parts order online and will ship it out on Wednesday. Anything you can’t see on the site, just make a note in the comments column and we’ll contact you about it on the Wednesday.

 -A

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 I did my best to answer the phones on my own, but I know I missed a few calls. I am sorry. At least Gene’s done his service and hopefully won’t get called for another couple of years. Hmm…did I just jinx him?

 -A 

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This is a trial run, so lets hope it works out.

-A

Listen to it HERE

-Gene

Problem 1. The server that hosts our online store database is having problems. The rest of the website seems to be working fine (for now!!), but the online store is erroring out.

You’d think it would be easy enough to pick up the phone and call us on our free number to place your parts order, right? Not so fast, Sunny Jim That brings us to…

Problem 2. High winds in NJ on Thursday night have played havoc with our phone lines. This always happens when we have high winds here. Line 1 has a lot of static with the talking. Line 2 sounds like Doctor Who’s arch nemesis, the Daleks, every time some one speaks. A tech from those lovely people at Verizon sent some one out on Friday. He told me he had fixed the problem, only for me to test the lines and find we had absolutely no line 2 at all. No dial tone or anything. He fixed that, but still the Daleks were present, hijacking human voices. (Actually, on his way back from running an errand Gene caught the guy in his Verizon van, seat reclined all the way, napping, when he had told me he was looking at the main switch box!! He was working on our phones for about 2.5 hours allegedly. I had sight of him for about 15 mins. I wish I could take nice long naps at work- Hey Gene, how about that?).

 The tech then told me that he couldn’t fix the problem on his own and would be back at noon on Saturday with a work mate, as he couldn’t fix the problem at all on his own. By 1.30pm on Saturday, he still hadn’t turned up, and a call to Verizon showed that the wonderful man had actually booked the problem as all fixed. So, they send another guy, who really was genuinely nice. He takes one look at the lines outside and says he can see the problems, but he needs a cable guy with a bucket to test the connections at the top of all the poles.

 So, no fixy today, and I have the joy of dealing with Verizon for a 3rd day. It  gave me a headache dealing with them all day on Friday, mainly from banging my head against the wall ;) When I first reported the problem, the call centre said they would do a line check. When they called me back they informed me that their tests showed there was nothing wrong, I answered them, and they actually told me they couldn’t tell what I was saying because of the crackling, but still said there was nothing wrong. Doh!

 I have no idea when the database for the online store will be available either, but you can bet I’ll be keeping a close eye on it.

 -A

 Update at 5.45pm EDT, Sat. March 22. Thanks to the wondeful Phiya at Dreamhost, the Online store is back up and running, AND as a bonus, this smart tech gave me tips on how to fix it myself next times it happens. I love that kind of help. You reading that Verizon?

Anyway, if you notice anything else odd going on with the website, leave me a comment on the blog. I get the comments on my cellphone. See why I need naps at work now? ;) 

 -A

If you put your scooter away in good running condition, and now that its time to grab a quick ride on a warm winter day, and it won’t start. Here are some simple things to check so your day isn’t ruined!

Keeping in mind that two-stroke scooters require 3 simple things to run, it’s easy to check through them quickly to see where your starting problem might lie.

Air – Spark – Gas.

In most cases, either a new spark plug, or just a quick clean of the pilot jet will get you back on the road.

Air – two or three months isn’t normally enough time for some small animal to take up residence in your scooter and block the air hose with acorns. So it is probably not air flow to the carburettor.

Spark – remove your spark plug cap, then unscrew the spark plug (check the end for gas – see below). Push the cap back onto the spark plug, and holding the HT lead while dangling the spark plug with its “sparking” end resting on something metal, gently kick the scooter over. You should see a spark. If you don’t, make sure the ignition is turned on and any kill switch turned off and try again. Still no spark, try another plug. Still no spark, check your points gap if you have points. If you still don’t have a spark, check your HT Lead to make sure it isn’t loose. If you still dont have spark the problem could be something more involved, for example - wires loose internally, a coil has gone bad, etc all things you wouldnt expect if your scooter was running when you put it away for the winter.

Gas – If you have turned on the ignition switch, opened the choke, opened the fuel valve and tried to start your scooter and its not starting, the first thing to check for is spark (see above) and gas flow. When you first remove your spark plug, you can also check the end of it to see if it is wet with gas. If it is not, then the culprit could very well be (and is in many cases) a blocked pilot jet or more rarely, blocked fuel line.

On both Vespa and Lambretta you can check fuel flow by loosening the inlet banjo *briefly* to see if fuel flows out. Open the fuel tank to check that the breather hole in the gas cap hasn’t corroded over.

When a scooter sits, any gas in the carb will evaporate over time, leaving behind a residue, particularly bad in pre-mix scooters, but not limited to just them.  The pilot jet is easy to get to on most stock, older Vespa and Lambretta and involves just a couple tools.

Vespa: a regular screwdriver will remove the cover, filter and the pilot jet so you can get it out to clean.
Lambretta: a regular screwdriver to loosen the air hose, then a 8mm socket to undo the carb clamp, wiggle it off and then a regular screwdriver to under the bowl.

On a Vespa the pilot jet is the smaller of the two jets near the big opening

On a Lambretta the pilot jet is the one on the far left if you are looking at the carb in its mounted position. Another way to tell is that it is not the one in the middle, nor the one under the choke mechanism.

To clean the jet, you need to be very careful, as the part that is blocked is the tip of the jet, similar to the pointed tip of a needle. To clean this out, you can, very gently, use a single strand of old cable, preferably an old throttle cable as the strands are thinner. Just poke it in the hole to clean the gunk out. Don’t wiggle it about too much, or run the cable strand through repeatedly or you will damage the jet and could cause other problems.

Reassemble, check your tire pressures, and go for a ride!

-Gene