1. Take lots of photos!
When stripping your scoot for restoration, take lots of photos of the machine before you lay a spanner to it. This will help later when you need to run the cables, wiring loom and fitting funny shaped items. There is nothing worse than having to re-run cables because the steering snags the cables. Besides, before and after photos really impresses your relatives and is good fodder for your blog 🙂
2. Need a woodruff key?
Stuck for a woodruff key for the Lambretta? Use one from a Honda small engine bike. (i.e. CB250) They fit perfectly and no-one will ever know.
3. Upjetting?
Upjetting the carby on a Lambretta? Delorto jets are very expensive, especially when you need several to choose from. Kawasaki Z900 jets look like the real thing and are much cheaper. They start from about size 120.
4. Wheel Rim tips
When you take apart the wheel rims and you find that the thread is rooted/stripped, you can fix this by replacing it with an allen bolt that has the hex bit ground off. Get your local mechanic with an oxy-acetylene welder to braze it on for you.
4. Bags, bags and more bags
Still stripping the scoot? Put the nuts, bolts and bits in separate bags ( lunch bags or those resealable ones that you buy your drugs in) relating to areas on your bike (i.e. headset or engine) While the frame is getting painted, take your bag collection to a bolt shop and buy new ones to replace those ones that are looking a little daggy. Where possible, get ones that are the same size as the original. Use zinc plated or stainless steel, never buy plain steel – they start rusting before you put them on.
5. Rememeber to spray!
When you are fitting new tyres, spray a bit of WD-40 or RP7 onto the wheel rim bolts, this will lessen the chance of the nuts rusting on.
Check back tomorrow for more restoration tips!
my husband and i found an electric scoother, with flat tires at a salvation army for 45.00. w want to know if there is a market for reselling these items, can you help me?
Nice tips, please update me on any new info. I am in the process of restoring a lambretta li 125 in Goa, India.
Also there are quite a few bikes like mine around here in non used state. Maybe of use for spares.
I also own 2 jawas 250cc 1973, 2 BMWs R 26 1960, 1 NSU maxi 175cc 1959 and a vespa 150 1974( indian version ) and I will need your help with parts for my other bikes.
I need a rough ideal what to charge to restore a 1974 vespa?
Great site, Danny. Can’t wait to watch the restoration progress.
Hi Scott, thanks for your kind comments!
Don’t worry I will keep posting as soon as I get some time to work on her.
Hey, nice site you have. Good luck on the resotration and keep posting about it, I want to see it go!