Meet the Vespa

Here is my vintage Vespa!

Now totally disassembled!

After long hours of  work and dirty hands, here is the result:

A kind of puzzle.

I even got courage to disassemble all the engine.

I made a support for the engine in order to assemble it and tune while the other parts are used to digitalize and to build the molds.

Later the process of  making the molds will be explained.

 

Presentation

Hello to everyone!
I´m Luis Pedro Sousa from Leiria, Portugal.
I´m currently attending a Master of Concept and Product Development Engineering in Polytechnic Institute of Leiria.
The final thesis which I’ll defend is related with the structural behaviour of a Vespa’s vintage monocoque chassis.
I will compare the behaviour between an original steel chassis and one that I´ll build made of epoxy resin and carbon fiber.

This chassis made of carbon fiber will be completed with motor, steering column, etc. until I get a new vintage vespa. I will sacrifice my ’68 Vespa in the name of science.
Mudguards, side panels as well as saddles will also be made of carbon fiber.
The goal is to create a replica with an ultra-light structure, corrosion resistant, but simultaneously with the structural behavior equal or better than the original made of steel.
Is it possible? I hope so!

Rheologic analisys will be done in both chassis (Steel vs. Fiber), as well as road tests. In our Institute we use the Ansys Software to simulate the forces and stresses aplied in 3D structures. It will be helpful to take decisions in order to reinforce the structure.