vespa fuel tap and how to avoid flooding the engine.

[henro]

hi all,

I recently flooded the engine on my vespa by accident and didn't have the foggiest of how to get it back going again. Anyway... I read somewhere that leaving the fuel tap closed when you are not using it will reduce the risk of flooding.

I have since done this but it takes a few more kicks to get it started when i do this.

Is there any real merit in leaving the tap closed when not using it?

Cos obviously I would prefer it to start with as few kicks as poss.

Any info much appreciated,

Henro

PS for all of you who saw my last post I have the vespa registered now!!!!

[markja]

if you don't turn the fuel tap off and it floods then it won't start with a hundred kicks. turn it off for now.

to cure the problem you will need to sort out the needle valve in the carburator. this raises when the fuel rises in the carb and at a set level stops the fuel from flowing until the level drops a bit. (i.e. the engine uses some.)

before renewing the needle valve & seat check the float height and that the float isn't leaking.(fuel inside it affects how high it floats ) it's a similar idea to the ballcock and valve in the loo cistern.

there are loads of small bike garages that would do the job fairly cheaply. if you're near west london i know a few that would help.

[stanleyman]

For safety you should always turn off the fuel when parked up. Allow time for the fuel to fill the carb as it will probably have evaporated away and use the tickler if it has one. If the engine is flooded, don't use the choke but give it full throttle to get more air in until it fires.