LCGB Forums

What is it with aftermarket Lambretta parts not fitting properly?

I've only owned my lambretta a few months but virtually everything I've bought has needed altering or buying elsewhere.

I'm not one to name and shame manufacturers but please!

1. TV inboard disc pads too big! Needed grinding
2. Bolt supplied for the inlet manifold with 25mm carb kit. Too long needed 3mm taken off it.
3. Solderless nipple supplied with above kit too small.
4. Ancillotti "copy" exhaust spring for the manifold interferes with the head cowling so I can't fit it.
5. Rear plastic mudguard comes without metal sleeve spacers.
6. Inlet manifold shocking quality that it was virtually unusable.

The list seems to go on as I do more jobs. I don't really understand why suppliers don't check things and then bin the poor manufacturers

Moan over.

I know how you feel
I've boughts parts from dealers
And it's crap

My frustration is it could be someone new to lambretta who invests their hard earned in buying parts that don't fit and then getting a crap response from the dealer when they complain. They ain't going to be in to lambrettas for long on the back of what they receive. Most of us have learnt from experience where to buy parts from, Scootopia being my preferred choice for quality and service. Also I'm in a position to alter and rework parts (although I hate doing so). Although the last part I had to rework was a head cowling from a top dealer in North Yorkshire where the spark plug hole wasn't in the right position.

Trouble is you're buying aftermarket parts for a machine that was manufactured in its modern guise from 1957/1958 - 1970 in Italy and then the tooling moved to India and was used until the 90's.
Very little fits perfectly and some is just dreadful but we have to make use of that word "fettle".
It annoys me but I derive great satisfaction when I make things fit and I'm very particular.
It's generally body parts and accessories that are the worst but I have had problems with cylinders that struggled to locate smoothly down on the studs and ended up machining the 4 holes in the cylinder head open so it can fit.
It's an old design with sadly some poor quality control on replacement parts.

modster79 wrote:My frustration is it could be someone new to lambretta who invests their hard earned in buying parts that don't fit and then getting a crap response from the dealer when they complain. They ain't going to be in to lambrettas for long on the back of what they receive. Most of us have learnt from experience where to buy parts from, Scootopia being my preferred choice for quality and service. Also I'm in a position to alter and rework parts (although I hate doing so). Although the last part I had to rework was a head cowling from a top dealer in North Yorkshire where the spark plug hole wasn't in the right position.

Well I am new to owning a Lambretta. My father was a mod in the 60's and owned a TV175 it was only a matter of time before I owned one. Admittedly later than I thought but I got there in the end.

I got bored of ducati 's. Yamaha's and Honda's and sheer speed that it took to keep them running properly. in the past I have Imported 80's race parts from Japan, Italy and the US but Maybe I was spoilt with parts for superbikes. But I have owned a Bsa and a Triumph of vintage also. but the workmanship for the lambretta stuff is shoddy to say the least and bloody expensive. The welds on the exhausts are like rabbit shit! Bolts and nuts made of cheese, I thought Suzuki stuff was but this is another level. I'm struggling with it all. But I will persevere

Well, if it's any consolation most of us have found out the hard way. In the end you just learn who the good dealers are and stick with them. Scootopia are very good. And I like the fact that they have control over the quality of their stuff.

Two of the items I've bought from Scootopia arent great! The inboard pads and the exhaust.

I'm surprised by that. Are you sure it's an original disc brake?

Yeah original brevettato

Welcome to the world of Lambretta...........Merry Christmas !

Guys, worry not. i have worked in the aerospace industry for the past 25 years and almost all parts for assembly are "fettle-to-fit".
Even in the age of CAD design and CNC machining, there will always be tolerance stack up, and manual intervention required.
So, when the parts come from india, italy, indonesia or wherever we are dealing with master tooling that is over 50 years old and copies from 3rd generation reverse engineered tooling there will always be the "fudge factor" to contend with.

Kristof Lammy pie wrote:Two of the items I've bought from Scootopia arent great! The inboard pads and the exhaust.

Personally speaking I've bought from most of the big and small dealers over the past 20 or so years and Scootopia are generally pretty hard to beat when it comes to quality and price. They are also very good and genuinely interested at listening to feedback on the few occasions that things haven't been right, so I wouldn't write them off.

Aftermarket disc pads have been an issue since at least the 80s, I've never had a set that dropped right in from anywhere that I can recall...

I did speak to Scootopia about the pads. And they responded by saying I was the first person that they heard of that had a problem!

Knowing that was highly unlikely I couldn't really be bothered to respond.

That's because they'be always been like that everyone expects to have to grind them to fit...

In a lot of cases you are trying to fit an "after-market" part to another "after-market" part, the chances of them matching are slim. if you want a trouble and hassle free machine a Lambretta is not top of the list.

rossclark wrote:That's because they'be always been like that everyone expects to have to grind them to fit...

Funny, says in there description that the pads don't need grinding!

MickYork wrote:In a lot of cases you are trying to fit an "after-market" part to another "after-market" part, the chances of them matching are slim. if you want a trouble and hassle free machine a Lambretta is not top of the list.

Not in my case. I really don't agree.

I expect breakdowns and running repairs. What I don't expect is to pay 120 quid for a part which is crap in quality and fitting needing to be adapted. Your attitude is probably why manufacturers turfing out sheer crap!

Kristof Lammy pie wrote:

MickYork wrote:In a lot of cases you are trying to fit an "after-market" part to another "after-market" part, the chances of them matching are slim. if you want a trouble and hassle free machine a Lambretta is not top of the list.

Not in my case. I really don't agree.

I expect breakdowns and running repairs. What I don't expect is to pay 120 quid for a part which is crap in quality and fitting needing to be adapted. Your attitude is probably why manufacturers turfing out sheer crap!

So it's my fault ?

fair enough you don't agree but i don't think the manufacturer's are manufacturing to my "attitude"......it's probably your "attitude" they're manufacturing to, as you're the one buying the bits.