Lambretta newbie

[IaninDorset]

Hi,

I've been a Vespa rider for many long years as my first and only Lambretta back in the 1980's being a SX200 Skelly I was given back then, nigh on killed me as it was unrideable having too much power it would literally flip and after quite a serious back injury I went back to the wasp...

But this last year I promised myself a Lambretta, old, not so old, cut down, chop or resto, I was going to get one and I found a very cheap frame and a very nice priced engine and other bits so apart from a headset and body panels really and a couple other bits I have myself a 1958 frame breather Li with a ser 3 Li125 engine, chrome Ser 1 modified forks, hubs wheels. I've done as much as I am going to really to my MKI 1986 T5 and what better than putting an old classic back on the road?

But like so many who buy with their nuts and not their head, I am now a bit daunted by it and wondering what bits go where etc, I don't know what size carb would be good for the 125 ser 3 engine or exhaust, I've got a set of forks with ser 1&2 AND ser 3 pinch grooves fitted and the frame is a chrome ring but there isn't exactly a lot of ser 1 headsets about... What legshields can I fit? Will ser 2 fit as the horncast and shields looks quite similar to a series 1? I also want to fit an electronic kit, what decent ones are out there for the ser 3 Li125 engine?

Right now I am preferring to get it up, running and an MOT for registration rather than pure "proper" looks and give it time to get the right bits like the correct headset and horncast, I'm quite an accomplished home sprayer so paint won't be an issue and I have my own small electrolysis bath for cleaning rust up etc.

Any general pointers in the right direction will be gratefully accepted

[carlos fandango]

S2 leggie's will fit , and are easier to get hold of than s1s , they will just need a spacer fitted (of about 10mm) where they bolt on behind the horncast. You may find it more difficult to get an s1 horn cast than headset though, but an alternative for a headset would be handlebars , I did some on my s1 and cost about £50 in total inc. gear change and throttle

[carlos fandango]

Oh and well done for finally seeing the light

[IaninDorset]

I never thought of handlebars, that's cool, there is a ebayer selling a ser 1 headset and horncast with all fittings including light, speedo for 240 quid but its from India as point of sale and I have experience of both very good and very bad from India lol.

Am looking forward to using the helpful rebuild guide on the main front page as I want to be sure the engine is good as its going to get so going to do a clutch, seal and bearing rebuild so I know its abs zero'd in on the essential parts, the forks have had all the links and springs replaced with new parts and I rebuilt the front hub with new bearings and seals as well and finding it less "pinhole" surgery than the Vespa has been, even the cable controls on the Lammy engine is a breeze to sort out

So going to aim for a s2 legshield, are ser 2 sidepanels the same as ser 1 as they "look" the same as I have my eye on a pair at a good price but don't want to buy something that won't fit or look hugely stupid ^^

[IaninDorset]

OK, newbies questions again...

A standard S3 Li125 engine would require what size exhaust and carb? I'm confused especially with exhausts as there only seems to be two or three types out there and all seem to be for TS1 or GP's.

Also what are the chrome rings about? My frame has a chrome ring on the steering column but I see all over the place "chrome ring" "non chrome ring" on certain parts. Is a ser 1 ring different to a 2 or 3?

Should I go for inline brake switch or bracket brake switch for the rear as there doesn't seem to be a mounting point for a switch on the strut and remembering the hassle I got with my 1961 152L2 from old bill who I used to carry a copy of the law about to show my lack of brake light wasn't a crime, I think a brake light is pretty much a "to do" hehe

Finally, the gear link bar, does this have some sort of bush inside the small hole fitting to the arm as surely that is a place for wear if not protected?

TY again, I am slowly getting to grips with it all

[coaster]

Welcome to the world of Lambretta I confess to not knowing too much about S1/S2 models but the references to chrome ring/non-chrome ring usually refer to early and late S3 models (changed around 1965 ish).

As for exhausts, the TS1 barrels (ali read valve 225cc) have a different mounting on the barrel as do the RB and Super Monza kits. All others for small or large block have the same mounting at the cylinder and will fit S1/S2/S3.

One though does occur to me though especially as you have been riding a T5. You may be a little disappointed in the performance from the Li 125 engine. You T5 will probably get you up to 60+mph but the Li will only be good for 45mph max and will be criminally slow away from the lights. You might therefore want to consider adding a cylinder kit to you build, there are plenty out there and lots of knowledge on here on setups as well as opinion on which is best

[IaninDorset]

Yes, the T5 is quite swift, even more since putting a new Simonini on the reedie engine in it, quite perky it is too Does about 65 but gets there rather rapidly, played up all the way down and back from Weston and couldn't see why it was running so rubbish and then the end can fell off the Polini exhaust... mystery solved!

I'm still in the pre-registration period & process and from what I been told, DVLA may want to inspect the vehicle so I don't want any issues from them on that so it will be kosher 125 and then I can whack on a 185 or something sometime down the road

Most miles I do is local anyway if I want real speed I can always jump into me Del Boy van which does a respectable 90 on the flat and there is nothing on this earth like running down a dual carriageway at speed in a three wheeler with ever bump feeling like its going to be the last thing you felt hehe

Thank you for clearing up my confusion with exhausts, as I have my eye on one and now I can go ahead.

[carlos fandango]

OK, newbies questions again...

A standard S3 Li125 engine would require what size exhaust and carb? I'm confused especially with exhausts as there only seems to be two or three types out there and all seem to be for TS1 or GP's.
Should be 18mm

Also what are the chrome rings about? My frame has a chrome ring on the steering column but I see all over the place "chrome ring" "non chrome ring" on certain parts. Is a ser 1 ring different to a 2 or 3?
Series 1,2,and 3 all have chrome rings, later S3, from 67 ish changed, to "non chrome ring" ie they didnt have one. S1,2 and 3 chrome rings are all different.The chrome ring is fixed in place with a grub screw at the front of the frame, in fact, S1 and s2 rings are the same , apart from the s2 one is fitted 180 deg to the S1 and has the grub screw locating hole is drilled on the opposite side.

Should I go for inline brake switch or bracket brake switch for the rear as there doesn't seem to be a mounting point for a switch on the strut and remembering the hassle I got with my 1961 152L2 from old bill who I used to carry a copy of the law about to show my lack of brake light wasn't a crime, I think a brake light is pretty much a "to do" hehe
The switch is mounted through the two oval holes on the front strut

Finally, the gear link bar, does this have some sort of bush inside the small hole fitting to the arm as surely that is a place for wear if not protected?
no , no bush and yes it is a place for wear. However the rubber boot covering it, and filled with grease, dose a pretty good job at minimizing wear

TY again, I am slowly getting to grips with it all

[IaninDorset]

Ah ha, got you now, I see the steering lock is in different places on 1 and 2 chrome ring headsets so cooking with charcoal on that one.

Haven't got any holes on the strut I can see so easily remedied as I can see where the switch goes to the flat section on the pedal.

Hopefully once I got a carb sorted and a stator n flywheel I can start working it up, front hub is all overhauled now, new seals, shoes and bearings and I can't see anything wrong at all with engine, good compression, no leaking on backplate, clutch working, gears all change smoothly as well, no play at all on main or con bearings, piston and bore in very good nick as are rings, chucked a pair of shoes on the back, checked the engine rubber mounts, only thing is missing is the rebound exterior rubber for the kickstart and I am not too sure about the swivel as its quite loose.

Greased up the nipples I found as well, fresh rock oil in the casings although the stuff that came out werent too rotten so hoping to get her up n firing at some point soon.

[IaninDorset]

Spent tonite carefully salvaging the floor mounting rubbers and the original loom and cable straps which are all intact being stainless steel by the looks of things, fitted the forks and they are spot on and managed to grab a bushel of parts including a Li electronic stator, exhaust and a pair of manifolded carbs plus bearings, gaskets and seals, so my list of required parts is reducing rapidly

Applying a gallon of kurust and wd40 on various places as I am eyeing the petrol tank that it may be salvageable being only surface rust on the inside, managed to save the toolbox door hinge as that was a bit winky and dremiled off the remains of the old shock at the back on the top mount without damaging the thread so will have this week a mobile project having it on both wheels.

Definitely no holes for a brake switch anywhere so will measure up where to put the switch and drill through, I am still tempted to get the whole frame electrolysis bathed as the loop whilst having quite a bit of visible rust seems to be intact and its a lot gentler to the metal than blasting and I have a small 12v bath I use for cleaning wheel rims and stuff and it does work exceptionally well, the paint, rust, grease all just floats to the top leaving clean metal so finding a electroplater that has one big enough for a whole frame is the next step.

There are a couple dings in the sidepanel channels on the lip edge, does anyone have a tip for making a shaped piece to correct the channel so its properly shaped for the side panel? My panel beating dollies won't fit in there being more for cars but I can hopefully using a curved section reshape the channel into its proper form.

Here's some pics, its looks a lot grimmer in the photos but I have tapped all the rusty areas and haven't found anything but general surface rust, so it looks bad but once that's stripped down and gleaming, powder coated and ready to go then I will be happy to go to the rebuilding stage

















Heres a pic of me T5 which didn't look too nice when I first got that either...



And me old Bajaj...



And the glorious interior of my "ahem" car... yes I am a Del Boy van driver too

[IaninDorset]

I am prob not the first to say or spot this but isn't the series 1 very much like the NSU Prima.

[Wack]

To straighten the panel channels use either a piece of round bar that fits the channel and a small hammer or pipe grips working your way along the channel, or weld the bar and a curved piece of steel to a set of mole grips to squeeze the channel back to shape.

[IaninDorset]

Cool, will do that, am getting it arranged for its stripping and wanted to do it before it went to the metal finishers.

I've found a pair of welding molegrips with flat plates instead of the usual jaws, do you think I could use these better than a hammer to reform with a rod or bar for forming?

[JETEX]

Don't use the brake lever side of that front hub. It's the weak one which may break under heavy braking and throw you over the handlebars.

[IaninDorset]

It is?

I do have an identical but never used chrome one but I didn't know there was an issue with hub plates

It has been serviced fully just haven't cleaned the outside since I did all the bearings and stuff, any particular backplate I should aim for?

[IaninDorset]

The box that keeps giving...

Years ago I bought a box of parts because it had Vespa flywheel and other tools in amongst it for about 8 quid and so far it has yielded full set of top hats, top and bottom sets of bearings and collars, brake adjusters, brake pedal clamp, new legshield front bolts, a stem clamp and another points stator for a early engine plus another pair of sealed unused front bearings.

Looking at the prices out there, that 8 quid did go a looooong way indeed.

[coaster]

It is?

I do have an identical but never used chrome one but I didn't know there was an issue with hub plates

It has been serviced fully just haven't cleaned the outside since I did all the bearings and stuff, any particular backplate I should aim for?

It was well documented on the old forum with photos (Mark are you reading this?). Basically its the u shaped locating channel which on the series one and early series 2 was quite thin and has been known to fail under braking resulting in winding the brake cable round the front wheel with undesirable consequences. Changing to a later thicker type is essential.

[IaninDorset]

The spare one I have doesn't have the grease nipple on it and seems marginally thicker on the link retaining slot than the one fitted, cheers for the heads up there

[peejay]

this is the suspect one





this is the one to have

[IaninDorset]

Ah the second of your photos is the exact same as the spare NOS backplate I have, has the thicker slope to the U section and is solid so guess am going to be stripping down all again lol wish I knew when I serviced the damned thing but don't like the idea of spinning hubs Do I pack grease in like a Vespa's speedo as the NOS plate doesn't have a grease nipple like the other one?

Cheers for that.