FRAME NUMBERS

[dave81]

Had my GP mot'd last week at the same place I have been to for the past three years. It is convenient as only half a mile from where I live although it is a motorbike shop. He recognises me but still asks me where the chassis number is and can I remove the panels as he might damage /scratch them. Having been involved with commercial vehicles for years I would rather take my scooter or car to a test station that tries to do the job properly. I know everything is ok then.
As for the restamping of the number you should be very wary of doing it. Can you not ask what you can do about it? At least you know then if you are doing the right thing.

[Rich Oswald]

Does anyone know if these are legal? Seems like a good idea for numbers that were unclear. I just thought that it would be classed as tampered with?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2x-LAMBRETTA- ... SwiCRUl80I

They are certainly not illegal but would be disregarded by L.C.G.B. for dating and by DVLA and their inspectors for registering,

Rich'

[CHRIS in MARGATE]

Kenny stag.
You signed off as "Sag"

[Andyf]

I remember reading that one of the Indian Lambretta models used a vin plate apposed to stamping the frame, I think is was a API lammy.
Cheers
Sag

https://www.flickr.com/photos/31105097@ ... ed-public/

[kennystag]

Thanks Chris ,
Sag Must have forgot to put my specks on.
Stag

[ladsdad]

Hi all

Something I think you should consider that I don't think has been already mentioned is the consequences if you decided to sell your scooter... Ask anyone's opinion on here about buying a scooter with a tampered with/ restamped frame number & the answer you will ALWAYS get is , walk away buy a different scoot. After all it's not like Lambretta's cost £20 anymore , anyone parting with £1000s is going to want it spot on. My Li suffers from a similar poorly stamped number but I managed to make it slightly more readable by cleaning out the stamped numbers with a small pick & coating the number with grease. Not ideal but honest to anyone looking. On the subject of frame no's & mot's , the only reason a tester would'nt look is if they are lazy.... after all how else are they going to know the scooter they are testing is the one the reg number say's it is?

Good luck Mark

[Wob8s68]

apparently UK dealers were issued with a set of frame stamps from Innocenti. A set turned up on ebay about 6 weeks ago. I didn't see what they sold for.
The odds are that many frames were restamped or overstamped back in the 60s and 70s for one reason or another.
So the answer is yes they do exist but they are likely to cost more than a replacement frame

You could try phoning around some of the older scooter shops see if they have a set of stamps .

You can buy punch sets but they will probably not match the font style .Do a search for 'number punch kits' top of the list is RS Components who have lots of sets

They weren't original stamps, someone had put some stamps in a box that had innocenti on it , the font was wrong and included letters that were never used , think about it , if innocenti made s set of stamps would they m ld the full alphabet or just the letters they used ?

[xenia1]

Ive got a set of frame stamps, however as others have mentioned wouldnt try to interfere with the original stamping as this could cause all sorts of problems ref resale. Tv1 n.o.s frame and n.o.s engine case and side case all without numbers but i left well alone as theres no way of getting the numbers factory correct and youre only going to get one hit with the hammer...

[Jim Rose]

How much metal have you taken off the frame with the sandblasting you've had done? If the VIN number is fading away then it suggests a fair bit. If we carry on doing this to our frames the structure is likely to get compromised!

[wurzel]

The numbers are pretty clear after i've raked them out with my scribe and rubbed my pencil over them.
Maybe that's the way to go, I'll forget the spray job and just colour it in with my pencil instead