While I Await The Italica Bulldog's Key Switch Repair ...

... I've finally decide to do a little risky wrenching myself.

Remember the 50cc Italica Grace scooter?

I had big plans for it. Replace the air box with a performance filter (done). Redecorate it in festive style (done). Replace a mirror I broke accidentally laying it down while at a full stop in sand (done). Lighten the CVT weights for (not noticeably) increased top speed (done). Install an 80cc bore kit, new, bigger carburetor, performance exhaust ... not done.

Here's what it looked like pre-mirror-replacement:

I was really afraid to tear into the thing, because it was my transportation. I was burning down the road on it, and probably burning the engine up. It made 80-mile trips, and shorter ones but kind of unreasonably long / fast road ones for what it is, as well as getting me around town. Before I got up the nerve to actually try being a mechanic on it and maybe messing it up beyond repair, I decided to just go ahead and move up to the Italica Bulldog 150.

My youngest rode it around the neighborhood for fun, until he went down on it after whizzing around a traffic circle multiple times and swore off for a little while. He'd also managed to get the turn signal switch stuck.

My plan was to scrap it, but then Tamara asked me about the box taking up space -- the box with the new carburetor and bore kit.

Well, if I was planning to scrap it anyway, why not do the work on it first?

If it comes out really well, go ahead and renew the tags ($24, IIRC) this November, see if that youngest wants to finally get his license and have a "50cc" scooter (actually 80cc, but who would know?) to get around on for real?

Yesterday, I made sure it still runs, fixed that signal switch, and stripped the fairings.

This weekend or next, I'll roll it over to my mechanic friend's house and ask him to advise me as I install the bore kit and new carburetor.

If that goes well, I'll order the exhaust (and, while I'm at it, a new plug and coil and if necessary CDI) and decide whether it's worth sand-blasting and repainting the fairings (to the kid's preferred scheme) or if I should look for cheap replacements. That's probably close to $100 that I'm not going to spend in advance.

If it doesn't go well, it will be completely screwed and not really worth saving anything from, so I'll roll it onto my mechanic friend's trash trailer and pay him a few bucks to take it to the dump next time he goes.

Either way, I'll know a little more than I did about working on small engines and scooters/motorcycles.