'73 Vespa Rally 200 off road since '77

[doggbhoy]

very nice bikes and very lucky boys to find them

[shamrockexpress]

What has happened to the sidecar ?

a project for the winter.

[storkfoot]

Interesting that your wheel rims were in a right rusty state too, SE. Mine were terrible although the tyres looked in really decent nick. Nice Rally

My petrol leak seems to have stopped this morning__ not sure why. Clutch is still trying to throw me into hyperspace though

[shamrockexpress]

What has happened to the sidecar ?

a project for the winter.

[shamrockexpress]

Interesting that your wheel rims were in a right rusty state too, SE. Mine were terrible although the tyres looked in really decent nick. Nice Rally

My petrol leak seems to have stopped this morning__ not sure why. Clutch is still trying to though me into hyperspace though

forgot to mention clutch was lurching like mad so i replaced corks,steels and springs its brilliant now.
also put on a new seat cover other than that it will remain like this, the 6 volt battery is charging fine as all the lights are good not one blown bulb. Also replaced brake shoes greased all axles keys and locks,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,sometimes it would fall out of gear (2nd) will try a new selecter spring but its minor detail.
Nice to see a few original scoots survive.
ps I DO PREFER YELLOW TO RED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!but ufortunately the old guy only had one didnt get a choice.........

[goldeneye]

Beamy from our club got a Rally 200 with 400 miles on the clock! I didn't believe it at first, but on recommisioning it, everything was like new, and hadn't been apart. same as the first post, I had to replace the exhaust with a NOS piaggio P2 pipe, as the original had rotted from the inside and it wouldn't rev cleanly. great find by the way, keep it as it is. (on giving the scoot a thorough service , I found it had a B6hs short reach spark plug cross threaded in the cylinder head, and wouldn't run properly, maybe why it was laid up so soon?)

[CPH Lambretta]

I love yellow Rallys, would wish I could find one!
First ever scooter I can remember seeing was a yellow rally with what looked like two hippies on it that rode through my village ,i can remember i liked the way it leaned around the roundabout. I thought "im going to get one of those when Im old enough"
Ended up with an original paint red GP200 electronic instead as my first scooter, but thats the way it goes . I can still remember throwing the original electronic seat in a skip and fitting a shite Snet seat from MSC

[DigDug]

Is that what they call a 'birdscreen' ?

[rbgaz]

brings back nice memorys, i brought a 75 rally 200 blue in org con in about 84 from a local old boy for 60 pounds in running order best vespa i ever had

[scooterslag]

This is a '73 Rally 200 that, as far as I can ascertain, has been off the road since '77. It was registered to Westminster Motorcycles, Chester, initially but the guy who bought it lived a few miles outside. The plate is a Chester number.

I got hold of it a couple of months ago for a pretty reasonable price it has to be said. The speedo says it's only done 1500 miles, however, the amount of dirt in the wheel arches and on the engine indicates more. It's far from pristine.

I have replaced the wheel rims and tyres (Michelin ACS with a new 4 ply Dunlop as the spare) but I'm keeping hold of them. There is surface rust through the paint at points but, most importantly, the frame is completely solid and in keeping with it being in a damp shed or garage since the late '70s. I've just spread ankor wax everywhere to stop the rust getting worse. I've also had the carb ultrasonically cleaned and replaced the exhaust with a Sitoplus as the original, I think, was rusted inside and was stopping the engine revving properly. The inside of the petrol tank took a serious amount of work and acid to get clean.

Plans? Paint and rusty bits are staying exactly as they are. Get it running properly (clutch issues and still petrol coming out of carb box despite cleaning and replacement of float and needle) and trundle around it for a bit. I can then decide whether it does need a full engine rebuild (hard to believe the seals would have survived so long??).

I'll post up some more pics in the weeks ahead when it's properly finished and on the road.

Paul

Truly lovely I think out of the lardie Vespas, the only two worth having is a MK1 T5 and a Rally 200, fantastic find chap.