Introduction

Firstly I'll introduce myself. My name is Jim Leonard and I've been a keen motorcyclist for quite a few years now. I also follow motorcycle road racing and have been a big fan of road racing since I was a kid, one of my biggest idols was Joey Dunlop. I've seen Joey race many times and also met Joey many times throughout the years.

Joey Dunlop was and still is to this date the most successful rider at the Isle of Man TT where he holds 26 titles, he has also held numerous records at national level. Joey also had a shy side oozing with brilliant human nature, he made many trips to Eastern Europe throughout their troubled times where Joey delivered clothing and food to those effected by war and strict government rules.

On the 2nd July 2000 whilst racing on the Pirita-Kose-Kloostrimetsa circuit near Tallinn in Estonia Joey Dunlop was killed instantly after crashing in the 125cc race. The world of motorcycle road racing was was plunged into mourning. Over 50,000 people attended Joey's funeral in Ballymoney Northern Ireland.

I decided a couple of years ago that I would build a tribute of some sort, a tribute to Joey who gave us so much joy watching him do battle on the race circuit, more often than not taking the chequered flag. This tribute was going to be a little different, different to me and different to other tributes I had seen. Thinking of the many scooters I had seen over the years, many with painted tributes to musicians and other famous faces, most of these looked really nice so I decided that my tribute would be a Vespa scooter. But first I had to acquire a Vespa, one that preferably needed work done to it.

This is the story of My Joey Dunlop Tribute Vespa.

Why a Vespa?

The scooterists amongst you might ask why I chose to use a Vespa. I guess there are a couple of reasons, one I like the shape of the PX model, I had ridden one in the past and liked the feel of it. I do like Lambretta's too but the Vespa is what I needed, which brings me to the second reason, the shape of the Vespa is perfect for what I had in mind.

The 'right' Vespa

After browsing around looking for a suitable Vespa I came across one closer to home. My brother Martin had bought a PX200 a few years previously but had not used it for some time. This PX had sat out in the garden in all weather for a few years and was the worse for wear, it needed a lot of attention, but it did have potential.I took it home :)

The strip down.

Once I had the Vespa at home I set about taking it apart so I could get a closer look and see if the rust had done any serious damage. I took the seat off, this was water damaged and would need replacing. The front mudguard was damaged so a new one would be required. The petrol tank internally was in good condition.

There was rust and corrosion throughout but thankfully the rust had not decayed through the floor. Both the front and rear shock were seized and only fit for the bin.

Frustration, Ideas & Plans...

The more I looked into this Vespa the more I realised that the task of restoring it was going to be much bigger than I expected. Looking at the amount of rust and corrosion and realising the amount of work involved was now beginning to weigh down on me, did I take on a task that I will not be able to complete? I turned to Angie for support and thoughts. Angie has an artistic streak that she inherited from her mother who is a well known artist. Ideas of paintwork and design began to come together, I felt invigorated again. but scooters were something I've never really worked on, yes I had ridden them but I have never stripped one down and rebuilt it again. I knew I had to contact someone to help me. First stop was the paint design.

Contact

I sat about for a week or so thinking about the restoration. Restoration can actually be defined as returning something to it's former glory or look. But this restoration was a little different, the Vespa was being restored and transformed. Time to seek guidance. First was to see what would be required to get the frame and panels ready for painting. I spoke with my mate Paddy Duffy who is well known for his spray painting skills, in particular his work on motorbikes.

The scooter would need a complete strip down, to the bone so to speak. Next stop would be to speak to someone who has experience at working on scooters. I joined the online forum of the Vespa Club of Ireland, there I made contact with Steve Staunton. Initially I was looking for a second hand front mudguard and Steve had one for sale. We agreed a deal and I went to meet to pick up the part. We got chatting and I told Steve all about the plans and ideas for my Vespa. Steve offered to call over to my place and take a look. The plan was looking good again.

The strip-down continues

Steve called over to my place as planned. He took a good look over the scooter and agreed, or more like confirmed that it needed a lot of work and offered to help me. This was great because I have to be honest that at this stage I could see that a lot of parts were fit for the bin. The shocks as already mentioned, all the cables, fuel lines. Steve was pretty sure that the deeper we went into this job the more parts were going to need replacing. I thought about the cost, the cost of parts, the cost of time. But Steve was re-assusirng that it was possible. Paddy had a good look at the frame and panels and also agreed that the job was do-able.

It was time to get the hands dirty again and Steve was a great help. I was in new territory regarding two wheels. My previous experience was many years on regular motorcycles.

The strip down continued..

With the scooter now stripped to the frame and panels I could go and organise these parts to be sand blasted down to the bare metal then primed ready for painting.

Surprise..!!

Whilst the frame and panels went off for sandblasting and priming it was time for me to get back into study. At the time I had been studying for a Grad. dip in EMS so the project and to some extent my family were pushed a little to the side. But I guess the Joey tribute did not leave somebody else's mind...

On the day of my last exam Angie placed an envelope into my hand with an instruction not to open it until after the exam had finished. I figured by the feel of it that it was a card.

So the exam went very well, I was happy and went straight to the coffee dock to meet with my classmates. Just as I was about to order coffee I remembered the card, how could I forget?? So I took the envelope and went out to the lounge area beside the library in college, I took the envelope out to read my card.

Well I was right, there was a card, a well done card, but inside the card lay another envelope, a yellow envelope with the number 3 on it, Joey's famous racing number. My mind was wondering, what could it be, then I thought, yes a voucher for one of the scooter parts suppliers.. But how wrong was I...?

Inside the yellow envelope were plane tickets and hotel reservations for Tallinn in Estonia to include a trip out to the Pirita circuit where Joey lost his life. I sat there not knowing what to think, overjoyed? I sure was, but amazed too. We were flying out in a couple of days.

Joey was killed on the RUMMU tee stretch of the circuit, and at the point of that crash there is a memorial to Joey. Many race fans and adorers of Joey have visited the memorial which is kept in great condition by the locals. This trip was to be my first to Tallinn, thanks to Angie who had carefully planned it months in advance and kept it a secret until that day in college.

The following photos are taken on the circuit. The first photo is the stretch of road on the circuit approaching the point of the incident.

The image below is of me and my thoughts as I reach the spot where Joey's accident occurred

The photo below is me at Joey's memorial

Ready for Painting

The trip to Estonia was amazing, what a country. I would recommend you put it on your list of places to see. The trip got the thoughts on the tribute Vespa back on a positive note.

Soon after returning home it was time to pick up the panels following sandblasting.

Next step was to get the frame and panels to Paddy Duffy so he could start working his magic on them. First thing was to address all the areas that had previously suffered from rust. Using an anti-rust stopper filler then some fine sanding in preparation for painting

The floor section of the frame and sections of the top part needed the same treatment, the water logged seat had caused some corrosion on the top of the petrol tank and the frame edges around the tank.

Other parts needing attention

With the frame and panels now primed and ready for painting it was time to address other metal parts. The external area of the petrol tank needed attention

The flywheel cover, the carburettor cover and the steering wheel cover all required attention

A few new parts

Whilst Paddy worked on the frame and panels it was time to get working on the rest of the Vespa. Between Steve, Angie and me we carefully went through everything, Steve's expertise on the wiring & engine and Angie & me looking at what we might be able to salvage.

The wheel rims were badly corroded so they were fit for the bin. All the cables needed replacing, I guess these would have been replaced anyway as they were old and frayed in places. All the fuel and oil lines were hardened from age and from sitting in all weather. The handlebar grips were old and rotten so they had been cut off and binned.

The front brake disc was badly scored so a new disc was put on the list.

The ignition was in poor condition so a new one was placed on the list. A test by Steve showed the regulator to be also faulty.
Whilst working on the engine Steve noticed that the clutch cover was cracked, another one for the list.

Almost every nut and bolt broke or had to be drilled out during the strip down, the list of new parts grew and this restoration was beginning to look like a nut and bolt job.

The orders were compiled and placed in order of how much I could afford to spend at once :)

The new parts began to arrive.

New RMS fully adjustable front and rear shock absorbers, a new stand, carbon fibre brake & clutch levers and matching kick starter lever

New clutch cover

New brake pads, new regulator, new rear wheel plate. I ordered a new plug also and the rest of the plugs are for my RD350LC

New wheel rims & tyres, all new rubber trim for the edge of the frame and panels, also included but not in the photo are new chrome and rubber floor runners. New rear fender/mudguard and the envelope contains a nut and bolt kit to replace every nut and bolt on the Vespa

Carbon fibre look indicator lenses, bearing kit and carburettor air intake pipe

The first coat of paint

Paddy called to say he had put the first coat of paint on the frame and panels so I called around to see how they looked.

I was very happy with the progress. The filler/stopper had all been rubbed down smooth and the first coat looked really well. To think that this scooter had been in such poor condition previously then seeing the paintwork beginning to look really well made me feel like we had made the right decision to restore it.

The frame, side panel, tool box & lid, the front mudguard and little addition to the photograph to remind us that all this work is being done as a tribute to Joey Dunlop

Another pilgrimage

Joey Dunlop had bought the Railway Bar in Ballymoney train station some years ago. It was renamed 'Joey's Bar' and became a regular place for road race fans to visit from far and near. With its close proximity to the North West 200, the Mid Antrim and other popular race circuits, Joey's Bar was a favoured stop for many who wanted to celebrate with Joey after another list of race wins and to soak up the homely hospitality offered by Joey and his family

During the time it was taking to restore the Vespa we decided to take another trip to Ballymoney and enjoy some of that hospitality the Dunlops are famous for.
First stop was a visit to Joey's memorial in the garden that is now Joey and Roberts garden, Joey's younger brother Robert lost his life in the 250cc practice at the North West 200 in 2008

It was then time to call into Joey's for a few drinks and browse the many trophies and photographs on display. This photo is of Joey's wife Linda who was actually working hard cleaning the bar and dusting down the many trophies on display, which in fact is just a fraction of what Joey won during his racing career. Linda very kindly allowed me to pose behind the bar and with Joey's helmet and one of his TT trophies

Joey's RC45 perched high up over the bar

Painted and ready for re-building

Paddy was working away on prepping the frame and panels for what was going to be the final colours and design for this tribute Vespa.
Going back to the start of this blog I mentioned that the Vespa held the right shape for the plan, it had the curves so to speak.
I had spoken to Paddy about the design and if it was possible, this was back when we were stripping the scooter down. Paddy gave the thumbs up that it could be done. Angie and Steve thought the design was a brilliant idea, to be honest they both had a big input so I'm not going to take the full credit.

When I called to Paddy to see the finished job I couldn't believe my eyes. Our design was based on Joey's iconic racing helmet. The yellow helmet with the black pinstripes and lines. This Vespa was also going to have the text copied from the Joey tribute helmet issued by Arai a few years ago. The front mudguard was like a mini helmet with the stripes continuing up the horn cover, over the steering and through the frame. The side panels would have a similar look to the side of the Arai helmet. The Arai decals were replaced with a similar decal but with 'Joey' in the oval sticker. Everyone was delighted with the paintwork.

Sprayed, ready for lacquering

Decals in place, then lacquered & polished

Lacquered, polished and ready for the rebuild

On the bench and the re-build begins

After picking up the frame and the panels from Paddy it was time to call on Steve's expertise again. Steve has many years of experience at riding and building scooters and I've learned a lot from him over the time the Joey scooter was worked on.

The scooter on the workbench and the re-build begins

The front fork, hub and brake assembly had to be completely stripped and rebuilt before trying them in place

The rebuilt fork, new front fully adjustable RMS sports suspension and new brake disc is fitted along with the front fender. The main stand is fitted to allow the scooter to stand on its own to allow the build to advance

The wiring loom is put through the frame and battery hooked up to test the current going through the loom

The rear light fitted, fuel lines run through and all cables run through the frame. New rear RMS adjustable sports shock absorber fitted

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