Recently we rode our Vespa scooters from Wellington to New Plymouth where we caught up with Blair. He showed us his restored 502, progress on the J-Zeta 350 and other projects he had on the go, in his shed. The 502 looked great in the pictures posted to the site and was restored to a very high standard. Blair had painted it and done most of the panel, electrical and engine work himself.
Thornton, another NZeta.com member and 502 owner, was lucky enough to take it for a quick ride up the street. Like a lot of 2 stroke engines they can flood easily when starting them and if the battery level is down, the electric start won’t turn the engine over enough, to fire it up. When running, it idled nicely and was fairly quiet. It had the larger single muffler and a reconditioned standard motor, bored to 1st oversize, which provided a good spread of power. The LCD auxilary light is a good idea as the factory headlight has some limitations.
Utilising local knowledge and people has been key for Blair to complete the 502 to such a high standard and like all of us, there just isn’t enough time to complete those projects with work and family commitments. The J-Zeta (A Jawa 350cc engined NZeta) project when completed, should be an absolute stonker, if what he has done so far is anything to go by.
Thats a beauty ! Lovely to see another restored 502.
Great job, that’s a cracker!