more pulling power

[johnnyXS]

Hi All,
Someone told me to have a look at this one on ebay, anybody used this kit.
Cheers
Sta
g
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272076885294? ... 21765&cp=1

looks ok on the face of it but if you look closely you can see that the head is one of those Indian castings ....nuff said !
reading the small print it says 'Picture is generic and for illustration only'
that always makes me suspicious. Why are they unable to show a picture of what you are actually buying ?

If it were me I'd use my own barrel and have it bored out to 62 or 64mm and buy a good quality piston, rings and pin to suit and look for a used 175 head on ebay

[kennystag]

They want there heads fooking skimming. Daylight robbery. Who in there right head, pun intended would pay there prices. 15 mins to skim a small head at £72,no chance. He must think we are all stupid up in bonny Scotland to pay that for such a small job, ok there is a bit of time porting, but at £40 a hour, no chance from me. Ok rant over and back to the drawing board.

[johnnyXS]

kenny have you thought about throwing a 650cc Bergman scooter engine in there !? you'd certainly shift up those hills with that

I am facing the same dilema as you. I need to upgrade my LiS150 this spring. I bought a small block 200cc a couple of years ago when I was young and foolish . I might try and fit it to a spare engine I'm building and see iif it actually works.

I reckon the best option for a simple economical upgrade would be a simple 175 conversion to the TV175 spec. i always read great reviews by TV175 owners who say its the perfect solution for extra power and touring .

[kennystag]

Johnny,
That is what I have been looking at, a 175 conversion kit, but 2 many negative replies about the kits. I need the extra power as my lammy as is carrying a lot of weight, me at 17 stone, umpteen mirrors, but I am not telling how many , and plenty of lights, stainless steal front and rear crash bars, stainless steal 4 in1 rack, escort shocker, and more chrome bit . I am not taking any thing off, as that is all part of the fun. The only weight I am taking off is from my good self well I am trying.
Cheers
Stag

[johnnyXS]

kenny I think you'll find as many positive reviews as negative reviews about near enough anything to do with lambrettas

I think most of the problems folk have boils down to not doing the job properly . We are all keen to save money with DIY upgrades and restos etc and of course its a huge part of the pleasure of owning a classic scoot but to be frank an awful lot of DIY butchery goes on by ham-fisted owners with scant experience or skill

I intend to convert my 150 engine to a long stroke 175 aka TV175 which apparently gives a smoother ride . I need to do some research and probably seek some advice from those on the forum that have carried out this conversion.
I'm sure there have been previous threads about this ...I'll check it out later and post anything I find of interest.
You could do a lot worse than read through some of the tech advice on MB Development site
http://www.mbdevelopments.co.uk/lambretta/lt3.html

[kennystag]

Cheers Johnny.
Stag

[Marty ULC]

The quickest, cheapest and most effective way of improving the performance, handling and fuel economy would be to take all the lights and mirrors off.

[kennystag]

Marty mate,
Read below what I already said.
Stag
I am not taking any thing off, as that is all part of the fun. The only weight I am taking off is from my good self well I am trying.

[Marty ULC]

..
as that is all part of the fun.

I know I'm only messing

I had an Indian steel lined alloy kit on my 125 special. Lasted nearly 500 miles before breaking in the arse end of nowhere. Went for another 100 or so with 1&1/2 piston rings and just about got me home.
I found the other half a ring in the exhaust later, luckily it had missed the crank.

[kennystag]

Marty mate,
That is not fun stuck at the side of the road with a fooked engine. Lets be honest, we are running scooters that are probably 40 od years old. I did make up my mind what I was going to do, rebore,or kit, now I can not remember, who cares it is still running. If any body can remember was I was going to do, please let me know, as I am loosing the plot.
Cheers
Stag

[nickw]

but at £40 a hour, no chance from me. Ok rant over and back to the drawing board.

I agree it looks a lot of money but a few years ago after buying a scooter from London with paperwork the owner had paid £50+vat an hour for simple engine work. Top tuners can charge at least £1 per minute +vat. Also a local Lambretta repair person charges around £30 hr incl vat but doesn't do his own lathe work so not sure what he has to pay for these services.
I put a 175 kit from AF on a friends scooter with a new dellorto carb. Kept the original Lambretta crank. I cleaned the ports myself with a dremel and it has run very well for a couple of years. I suppose it still comes back to what you want and how much you want to pay. As much as some of the dealers are ok on eBay I strongly advise not to go that route. Far better to support an established dealer with a shop front.

[kennystag]

Hi nickw Mate,
My established dealer is 400 miles return in Glasgow, not to handy.
Cheers
Stag

[coaster]

Not to defend the £60 for skimming the head but he's doing himself a disservice as it wouldn't (or shouldn't) be a simple skim. In fact it probably won't need skimming as apposed to 'opening out' to suit the larger bore and re-profiling and re-cutting the squish band. As said, look for another head on ebay or better still put an add in the wanted section on here, someone is bound to have one kicking about.

As for the link to the 175 barrel on ebay, it looks like a caste iron one and the transfer entries look a bit rough (a long way short of being 'knife edged'. Any chance it's a Lambro barrel?

[missing lynx]

I would get a 175cc conversion piston and get some one to rebore you cylinder locally you would want a re profiled head and up jet your carb and a clubman exhaust would probably give you better low down torque then porting wise if you've got a dremmil make sure there is a smooth transition from inlet manifold to cylinder i.e no big lip and the same with the transfers between the cylinder and case also trim gaskets to match ports

[dickie]

Af rayspeed

Asso 62mm piston £60
175 head £30
Rebore £40

And you could get a clubman from them while you're at it for about £90.

[CHRIS in MARGATE]

Get the piston first ( it MUST be a 175 conversion piston) and take that to whoever you might chose to rebore your existing cylinder.

[kennystag]

Thanks for the replies. Why should I get the piston first.
Cheers
Stag

[coaster]

The person doing the bore will need to measure it in order t bore and hone to the exact clearance allowing for a 3.5 thou clearance.

Colin

[dickie]

Kenny, in case you're confused that we appear to be giving conflicting advice, we're not.

I suggested sending your barrel to rayspeed as they would supply the piston and rebore to suit. It is a conversion piston that I referred to (as opposed to tv175).

Of course others offer the same as rayspeed, but I'd notice their prices recently while trying to decide what to do with my spare engine.

[kennystag]

Hi Colin,
Thanks for your comments , I am waiting on my local engineers, Inverness, to get back to me with prices, before I buy a piston . Dickie funny enough i sent rayspeed an email this morning for prices, i will let you know. Having had a lot of info to absorb, I think I will go for a rebore, the reason for this is simple, my barrel and head are goodish, what do I mean by that, well the ports should be in the right places, the engine is low mileage, it runs smooth, 600 km yes 600.
Cheers
Stag