LCGB Forums

And I think I might be one of them...!

I'm new to scootering and know very little about lambretta's other than a few basics learned from the Haynes manual. Despite normally being pretty sensible, I recently bought an LI150 Special on impulse from eBay from a seller in Vietnam.

Yes...... I now know that this could be a big waste of money and I'm pretty worried about it. The scoot has been delivered and looks great. Straight away I found a couple of things that needed doing - I drained the fuel tank and flushed it out - along with a ton of crap! The filter that should be attached to the fuel tap mechanism was floating around inside the tank. Ok... Easy to remedy, I purchased and fitted a new fuel tap. The carb looks brand new as does the exhaust. The frame stamp and engine stamp have been authenticated by LCGB. Body work looks great.

But.... I have now read a load of stuff saying NEVER buy from Vietnam along with a load of horror stories regarding the road worthyness of these bikes.

All of which leads me to this question.....

How do I have the bike checked over for road worthyness in an in depth way? Will taking it for its MOT be enough? I live in Brighton.

Any help, suggestions or reassurance would be very welcome!

Please go easy on me - I'm already aware that I may have made a newbies schoolboy error here!

Thanks

Mark

There must be someone local with some experience that could give it a once over for you.

I'm sure there might be some reputable restorers in Vietnam, but many have had problems with these imports.

The panel work and outer trimmings will often be good on initial inspection but a closer look might lead you to check deeper.

Stand at the front and the back, check the wheels look aligned with the frame and forks check to see if there's any play in them, check the brakes work. Check some of the small, detail things, look for inconsistency, different styles of fasteners etc.

Get Sticky's book and read it from cover to cover in both directions. Much more detailed than the Haynes and lots of info on how to identify and check various parts.

Well, now you've done it you've got to stick it out really. Initial impressions don't sound very good admittedly. But, you're bound to have people nearby that can help you with it. Get in touch with your local scooter club is probably the best thing.

was it from a well known dealer there or just a nobody

A normal mot would be a good place to start, this will check the general road worthiness and any major issues.

Depending on your budget and how you hope to use the scooter may make the choices for you. A 150 may be a bit underpowered if you're planning on riding any distance. If this was the case you'd probably consider "kitting" it up which would give you (or someone) the opportunity to strip the engine and change any suspect parts. To be100% certain of the body work/handling would be a complete trip down and re-build. This is quite time consuming and the "little bits" that you'll change start adding up, you may also consider a re-spray if you're going through the hassle of stripping it down......more expense.

Where are based ? You may be close to a "reputable" dealer/garage ?

Have you got a van?
I know a very good mot man, has vepas and lambrettas of his own. Not far from you.
He can check a lot frame wise for the price of an mot.

get to know your local scooter clubs and scooterists go down the front in Brighton any weekend a get talking to any lammy riders and I'm sure someone will point you to the local lambretta guru

Could do worse than lookin up the aces high .
Friendly bunch.

Thanks for all your replies and advice. I will start with a basic MOT and take it from there.

I don't own a van but I would find a way to get the scoot to your man nearby me. Do you have any contact details?

I have called a guy I know who is in a scooter club and intend to hook up with him and hopefully join up with the club.

I've also been working on the bike and doing the little bits I am capable of - which I am actually enjoying - so that is a little bit of a silver lining!

Thanks again. Any further advice would still be welcome....

Mark

Well, that's the thing really. It might not be 100%, but you'll learn a lot from putting it right.