Scooterotica

I had a look at a friend's 1960s vespa GL, it has a LML 150 5 port motor in it. First time I've seen it and it's not been run in 2 years. I go to drain the oil and to my surprise 700ml comes out very quickly. It does smell different than fresh oil.

My immediate thought is blown clutch side seal. But I don't know what oil was put in the first place or how much. Before telling the rider to go to the expense of an engine rebuild, I was thinking of suggesting the use it for a week or two and I'd drain the oil and see how much comes out (I put 300ml in).

From a practical stand point, what would be the symptoms you would notice to operation of fuel in the gear box? It may have been like this for awhile.

On a side note, a local rat b@5t@rd shop owner imported a bunch of LML engines he sold as new from the factory. After a rash of failures we figured out they were made up of bad aftermarket Indian parts. This may be one of those engines. But the rider is a single mom who loves her scooter but money is tight, so I want to be sure before I tell her it needs engine work.

Tx
David



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There's no harm running it for a bit. If the clutch side oil seal fails completely the scooter will either rev very high with no throttle or it will be very hard if not impossible to start. I bet the scooter was parked up with the fuel tap left on and a faulty float valve pin didn't stop it filling the crankcase and then gearbox. I think a good start would be to change the float valve pin for one than can deal with modern fuels. I can't remember what its called but it's the little brass pin that the float is connected to. Best of luck with it!

Excellent. Thanks. I noticed the tap was left on. For sure ethanol would have eaten the seat by now. And I may have a spare handy. Thanks mate!

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