The Engine

The alchemy that is Mechanicking is a real dark art to me. Don't get me wrong, I can get by with a Haynes Manual (or Sticky's book, in this case) and do basic maintenance, but when it comes to a full strip and rebuild, I would prefer to leave that to people who know what they are doing.

This is why I have just dropped my engine off at Jonsey's. Jonsey (or Grim as he is sometimes known) has been around Lambrettas for years. He is also in our club, and I knew him back in the day when we were kids too. He watched me take a hacksaw to my SX200 frame in Karl Parkinson's garage, and I recall him shaking his head sadly at my actions. Jonsey also still has every scooter he has ever owned, stored neatly in boxes in his Uncle's Loft. And I saw his garage, which some refer to as the El Dorado of the Scootering World... Original bits and bobs from allsorts of scooters are lying on shelves, or are stacked in nooks and crannies everywhere.

I had to ask Grim to take it easy on my engine... He is notorious for building things which shouldn't be built, so I told him to give mine a slight tune, but nothing which involved the removal of load bearing and or structural parts of the engine... I want a reliable scooter, not one which goes really quick until it goes bang. I want to be able to travel to Kelso or the Isle of Wight safe in the knowledge that I will arrive there and be able to get back again. A rare dream, I know, but one I am used to on the Vespa...

So, a few hundred quid lighter I gave the engine to Grim with a bag of bearings, seals, clips, tabs, washers etc. We'll see what comes back!

Back from the sprayers - It's looking good

The scoot is now back from the sprayers and I think the colours work really well for the theme I have planned. I'm not posting any pictures yet, because that will give the game away, but I love the way it's looking.

Chris Timmins did my spraying... He's the guy who did Ady's Lambretta (the Factory Records LI which Ady managed to plough the Southport Road with... Nice Job, Ady!) and he did an excellent job of Ady's scooter and he's really cheap. So I thought I'd give him a go for mine. Turns out he used to live next door to me when I was a kid... One of those wierd coincidences that life sometimes throws up.

Anyhoo... Colours were applied (colours, as in plural) and he did an even better job of mine than he did with Ady's (in my opinion). There were a couple of bits on the headset bottom where the paint was a bit light and some primer showed through, but that was due to Chris not knowing Lammys - He sprayed it upside down and the recess for the steering lock and a couple of small points where the gear indicator is weren't covered properly still showed the primer. I pointed this out and he sorted it immediately, which was excellent... He also went above and beyond on the frame, as after it was done, I asked for the small rivet holes where the Indian chassis plate used to be (above the bridge piece) to be filled. And it only cost me £320 including the prep, paint and everything! A real result! Anyhow, if anyone wants a Lammy doing, I would recommend him. A good painter who does a really good job at a reasonable price! Drop me a mail and I'll pass on his mobile...

Badges and Stainless runners

Now I have the new legshields, I can take the opportunity of fitting some of those tricky items which will damage the paintwork if (or more likely, when) I get it wrong. Ady said one of the most tricky jobs was fitting the stainless steel floor runners to the legshields, especially round the curve. So I figured I would give mine a dry fit before the paint went on. And I'm glad I did. The runners are well made, but they take a lot of jiggling (and therefore scratching) to get on. A few taps with a hammer and a screwdriver finally got the last runner in place, though... I like the way they look, however... Very special.

While damaging the legshields was on the cards, I decided to drill the holes for my fraudulent badges. The scooter is an Indian Vijay 150 Super, but I am putting Lambretta GP150 badges on it... How wrong is that? Like labelling Rola Cola as Coke... Anyway, it's my scooter, so I'm doing it. I have been taking loads of reference photographs of GP's to get the positioning of the badges right... Most of the GP's I have seen are Indian in origin anyway (there are a few telltale signs to spot 'em... It's a fun way to spend an afternoon on a rally, Indian spotting... I bored Carol senseless with that game at Cleethorpes). Anyway, I took an average of where other people put theirs and drilled the holes... I like it, anyway. I'm sure some anorak will tell me that they are in the wrong place, but it's an Indian GP... As far as I'm concerned, they look good where they are!

It doesn't fit...

Those of you who have done a few rebuilds will have undoubtedly used the words in the title of the post before... 'It doesn't fit' seems too echo from every forum in the scootering world. Now it's my turn to use the phrase.

I offered up the toolbox to the new legshield, and from above, it looks spot on... The PX toolbox was from ScootRS, and it has been shaped to fit a GP legshield.

Unfortunately, the person who shaped the toolbox has obviously never even seen a GP legshield in his (or her) life, before... I would need to take a bus between the legshield and the edge of the toolbox! It is a shame, because everything else I have got from the company looks to be of good quality... Plan B needs to come into action as soon as possible... Plan B is to put the PX toolbox on e-bay and see how much I can get for it... By the time I have trimmed the toolbox so that there is a nice, equal gap all around the edge, and I have ground off and repositioned the anchors inside the box, I may be able to fit a tissue inside. So it really is not worth having. So off it goes. *End of rant*

Forkin' nice!

Managed to get the front end rebuilt today and I think it looks really good... Had a few problems souring the locking nuts and the big washers, so I had to clean up the original ones that came of the scooter after raiding the big box of shite. Thank God I don't throw anything away!

The new stainless front shocks were a Christmas present from my mum, as I mentioned earlier, and the re-painted hub and forks have been documented before, so it was a question of getting the wheel and tyres fitted to the bits and making sure it was all safely bolted together.

The Nissin shock will need a little surgery - It scrapes against the wheel rim a little, so I reckon that I need to grind about a millimetre off the four lugs closest to the wheel... Shouldn't be too much of a problem, and I will do this at a later date.

The stainless cable guide looks well, but the big story is the tyres. These are Heidenau 'Racer' tyres and are 'K' rated to 81mph. Most scooter tyres are 'J' rated which means that they have been tested to 62mph. These are also tubeless, which means that in the event of a rapid air expulsion scenario, I have more chance of stopping without making a large, Mark shaped splat on the tarmac. I'm hoping not to test this theory out though, and I will fill the tyres with slime before test riding on them. The rims are Sterling Tubeless rims in chrome, as I have heard reports of the stainless type tubeless rims splitting. I got these from Rich Presley at last year's Cheeky Northern Monkey's weekender, but I forgot how much these were... I should have kept more accurate records...

New Leggies!

Went over to the Mod Shop and took the plunge... Bought a new set of GP legshields for a bargain price. Luckily, Jimmy Caz and Alex were there too, in their 4x4, so they took them home for me. Cheers, Chaps! At least while I have them, I can take the opportunity of dry fitting the stainless floor runners and the PX toolbox...

To the Sprayers

Took the Lammy to the sprayers today. It had already started to flash rust, so I decided to get it in as soon as possible... It should have a coat of primer by Saturday, so hopefully, it won't rot away too much.

The sprayer is a chap called Chris Timmins, and I was introduced to him by Ady, after he sprayed his scooter really well. And really cheaply. I say introduced... Chris was actually my next door neighbour when I was a kid, and he lived at 4 Brookside for a number of years before moving away. Small world, eh?

We talked colours (the scooter is going to be sprayed in one colour, but elements will be in another colour, to keep the suspense going for a while longer), and Chris said he could repair and re-weld the damaged bits, but I have been pricing up replacement legshields anyway, and for £90, I could have a new set with none of the hassle of being repaired... Not sure what to do yet.