Sorry to hear you let your wing go- I bought mine in June- an '80 with (supposed but I have my doubts 6900 miles). Bike has definitely been garaged at least since '81- I bought it from the 2nd owner who bought it less than a year old. I've been riding her over to his place to try and get his '80 Vespa going again and he gets upset if I even leave her out in direct sunlight- he wants me to pull her into the shade if that happens- He doesn't even like the fact that I wash her with actual WATER.... I guess I'm supposed to brush her, rub her down with ointment, and cover her with a soft blanket every time I go for a ride....
You're right, though, a 30 year old Wing is going to take a lot of attention- Hey- if you can't put up with it, there are lot's of dealers willing to sell you a new bike with a warranty. If you read my posts it's been a real learning experience for me but the more I ride her the better it gets.
I travel a lot so I don't get to ride every day- last Saturday I checked her over, brakes OK, oil OK, tires OK, had the battery maintainer on her while I was gone, pulled out the choke and she fired right up. Cool! Getting ready to leave on another trip that afternoon just wanted to get one good ride in before I left. Got my chores done, put on my gear, backed her out of the garage and fired her up no problem. Coasted down the driveway, looked both ways then pulled out only to have NO throttle, backfiriring, no power- then she died- I mean I made it like 50 feet. The lights on the instruments were flashing, with the ignition switch on I'd go from 'oil light, bright light ( cause I ride with it on in the daytime), and Neutral- then everything dark no starter no nothing. At least I was barely 50 feet from the end of my driveway...
Pushed her back into the garage- uphill- damn I'm getting old, if my 80 year old neighbor hadn't helped me I don't thing I'd have made it. Got her in there- I'd have dash light then nada- I reached down and wiggled the connector from the ignition switch, kill switch anyway the 4 pin connector throught the starter solenoid- and everything started working. Bike started- bike rev'd- told my neighbor thanks, and went for a nice 20 mile ride ( I wanted to keep going but my wife was sitting in the car waiting for us to leave).
The thing is, with a 30 year old Wing, you have have to be willing to certain amount of attention- for me it's worth it- for some others- maybe not but, hey, whatever, to each their own...
