Archive for the ‘Garage Wrenching’ Category

Winter Projects

Monday, December 13th, 2010

Well. I’d say winter is definitely here…booo.
So now I have to decide what my next project is going to be.

Anyone who has ever seen my bike shed will know I have more ‘projects’ sitting around than I can handle.

Currently there are four I would like to get finished.

1) 1962 VBB
2) 1962 Super Sprint 180
3) Lamby S3 (Spanish)
4) 1983 P200 E

I have 95% all parts for all projects.

The S3 would be the most ambitious as I have had a custom concept ready for several years now, which also makes it the most work but probably would be the most satisfaction for me as I would be doing a full custom airbrush paint job myself.

The VBB would probably be the easiest as I had almost completed it several years ago, but raccoons broke into my shed and proceeded to ruin it by crapping all over the new un-clear coated paint and knocking several heavy object off my shelves and denting it in several places (including cracking a brand new speedo glass. (Doh).

The super sprint is a new addition to my herd (thanks NiNi) and is in fairly good condition but the engine is slightly buggered and I’m fully aware how rare parts are getting for a carb-induced vespa these days (and yes the carb body is warped so will need replacing)

Last but not least is ‘old blue’ the P200e. My very first scoot. (Previous owner Neil Glenister one of the UK lads who was attending rallies back in the 80’s).

I’ll try and get some pics up shortly, maybe that’ll help folks vote on what I will do next. Opinions and comments are welcomed.

Happy scooting/building all.
Christopher.

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Found this at work

Sunday, July 11th, 2010

A gift from nancy a couple of years when she was in Europe.

D

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Lambretta parts stored for the winter.

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

Stored parts in the garage

Stored parts in the garage

There is still some snow outside, but I figured I’d check out the garage. The only reason I have gone there lately is to get the shovel or snow blower! I just took a photo of the space above the garage door, maintly to show the end of season parts in storage. One day these parts will be on the road…. hopefully on two wheels. It would be so nice to have a sand blasting cabinet.

Gotta remember where I left off end of season in term of maint work on my scoot. The Lambretta was running a bit rough near the end, I had to kick it over longer and longer as it got closer to Novemberish. Definetly will have to have a look see in the engine and a bit of scooter tune up. Ugg… timing issues… The garage is a f#@ken mess to boot. Gotta make some room to work around in if I am going to have any chance of working on it before the season starts.

David

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Scooter Work Bench 2009

Sunday, August 23rd, 2009

For a work bench this year I used a portable folding table.  It was 3 x 5 foot, not ideal to work on scooter stuff.
It was deeper than necessary which takes up valuable space in the garage.  And lower, so working at the table for a few hours would be tough on the back.
I initially had plans to make a work bench during the summer.  I looked on the web for some work bench drawings for some ideas as well.  Due to some set backs, I spent most of my available time working on the Lambretta.
Now that my lambretta is road worthy, I decided to get some wood and give it a go.

50 bucks worth of wood, mitre saw, screws and some time, a few hours and I now have a 2 foot by 6 foot work bench.  Yeah!

I’ll add some upgrades later, like power bar, back board to hang stuff, etc.

David.

Posted in Garage Wrenching, Rebuild 2009 - David | 1 Comment »

B7ES – Spark Plug for Lambretta

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

Here is a NGK chart.  We basically use B7ES, but I thought this chart was interesting.  It shows a break down of their spark plug naming.  What B7ES actually means.

David.

NGK Spart Plug Guide

NGK Spart Plug Guide

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Carbing – Flat slide 28mm Mikuni

Sunday, June 21st, 2009

I decided to get a new 28 mikuni flat slide, I gave up on the OKO.  The Mikuni was very easy to put on. I down jetted to 160 main from the standard 180, kep the standard pilot jet after testing it out for a bit. I took a notch down on the needle jet to lean out the bottom end.

I’ll save the OKO for another project.

Right now I am looking to get a Mikuni cable choke conversion kit.  It will be a pain to keep taking the side panels off every time I have to kick the lambretta over.  I’ll ride around the block over the next week  to be sure that the carbing is working well.

David.

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….$^%$*%!!!!!!

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009

Wouldn’t you know it…

So we put building my Series 3 off of this project as trying to get all 3 bikes bikes done for Niagara was threatening to derail getting any bikes done for Niagara so I pulled mine, leaving Dave and Nialls bike. Much more ‘do-able’.

So I spent Sunday in my own shed with my contingency plan…my much loved Series 2.

I cleaned the piston up, replaced the barrel and head, cleaned the carb, new plug etc. Wiped the bike down and retired for the first fairly early night in weeks.

Monday after work I decided a good test would be to ride up to Dave’s and help out some more.

The bike ran fine (a bit boggy but I could adjust that when I got to Dave’s)…turns out that ‘bit boggy feeling was actually my big end bearing attempting to escape my engine via the exaust port! The bike locked solid about 50 meters from Dave’s house,  Nice.

So here we are 3 days from the rally and me with a completely screwed Gp crank. Lets see how this turns out shall we…

More later. 

Chris

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Last Weekend done.

Monday, May 11th, 2009

2 scoots are going to be completed before this weekend.

We tried for 3 but its just too much to do with the limited time we have available. I have this week off so I will be putting in as much time during the day and hopefully the guys can keep working each evening getting parts ready for me to assemble.

Here are some pics of the bikes and how much is done

Niall

dsc000982 lammy badgedsc000953

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Rebuild 2009 – Parts Order of odds and ends.

Monday, May 4th, 2009

Chris adding to the shopping basket.

Chris adding to the shopping basket.
◄ Back
Picture 1 of 2

Chris and I prepared an order for the stuff we know is missing.  I did the best I could to include the stuff I know that is missing.  We are going fedex as time is short.  If I miss anything i’ll be stuck fabricating something out of elastic bands, duct tape and zip ties (again).

The order was sent out one hour ago.

  1. Tank drip tray felt gasket
  2. Rear sport shock bush set
  3. Rear shock nut
  4. Panel rubber
  5. Stand rubber feet
  6. Stand support hooks and plates
  7. Speedometer cable
  8. Speedometer drive shaft
  9. Headlight bulb holder clip CEV
  10. Wiring loom 12V no battery
  11. Flywheel dust cover circlip
  12. Floor strips set
  13. Fork bearings set 

D.

Posted in Garage Wrenching, Rebuild 2009 - David | No Comments »

DIY Lambreta paint room.

Wednesday, April 15th, 2009

Last night Niall and Chris came by and we finished setting up the paint room.  Amazing what two rolls of $10 plastic, cardboard and half a garage can be converted into.

Chris had borrowed an air compressor and spray gun from his bro (Vespa dad)  and brought it over for our painting experiment.  Thanks Neal and Jen!  We did some spraying using Tremclad primer thinned out with mineral spirits.  We tried it on some test pieces and were pleased with the results.  We are going to attempt Tremlad painting based on what we saw off the web.  If it can be done with a car (Mustang), then Tremclad on a scooter is worth a shot.  From the pics you can see the plastic sheets that we stapled to the garage door frame.  Total time 45 min.  Chris sprayed the first test piece using a paper mask, right afterwards he used a proper respirator mask (in case you were wondering).  Most of the time afterwards was spent sanding and priming parts.

At the end of the night we had a few suds and went over some ideas on how we could make it to the 2009 Niagara Rally this year on two wheels.   Time is not on our side.

See video – Paint Test – Rebuild 2009

D.

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