Good afternoon everyone. I'm new to LCGB and Scooters in general, so please be patient with me.
I've traditionally bought and restored motorbikes (sports bikes, tourers, etc), but I've always fancied a Lambretta, so earlier this year I bought myself a 1963 Li125 Project from Marco at the Scooter Emporium. I'll be honest, I' a little disappointed with quite how much was wrong with it, as it's much worse than they made out. That's another story however.
Before I get to my question, I should probably point out that I'm not a 'purest' when it comes to Lambretta's as I can't afford to be. I simply don't know enough about them to be a purest. Therefore, the restoration project I'm working on is not perfect, it's costing my soooo much money, they colour(s) aren't original but I'm falling more and more in love with it, every minute and every penny I send on it.
There, you now know to look away if you insist that scooters should be kept 100% original. On to my question:
As per the attached image, looking down over the rear end of the scooter, where the rear light and number plate should be, it appears to be twisted out of shape. I'm assuming this isn't 'normal' so I'd really appreciate any advice on what and where to get this sorted. I had an idea that I could try and straighten it myself using a long length of wood attached horizontally across the back of the scooter to twist it back straight. Is this a stupid idea?
Also, having a nightmare trying to get the gear changes working. I've lined it up in neutral, tapes in position, run the cables "front to back and back to front" as per the advice, but it just seems really sloppy and often does change (the scooter doesn't run yet so this is a dry setup on the stand). Is it normal for cable alignment to be a bit troublesome?
Thanks in advance
Dalton