The bike is located in in northwest Alabama, where it apparently has been forever. The guy who had it had bought it off another guy who collected old cars in his front yard and used it to travel around his property. I was going to drive up and make a mini-vacation out of it, but a scooter buddy was heading that way with a truck to pick up an old Vespa in a city not far from where the Lambretta was. For gas money, he brought it back to Dallas for me. I was real happy when it got here.
The body was straight, the panels were sanded and primed, and there was little rust other than on the surface of the bike.
One of the weird things about the bike is the headset. Unlike most Indian and Italian GPs, it does not have a square headlight. It's got a round LI series headset. I'm told that American import Indian GPs were made this way to meet 70's DOT regulations. The bikes are apparently favored by racers in the UK because they have a lower set handle bars than Euro and Indian GPs.
My buddy Anthony and I cleaned the carb, replaced a seal and the bike started on the second kick! Even better, the lights worked! I can hear the bearings when it runs, but it runs. It has a lawn mover gas tank and no petcock, but the tank is clean. I'm OK with that for now. I can replace the tank later.
I ride the bike to work for a couple of weeks to make sure it's reliable. Other than a carb issue --- it only runs right while on choke I figure I can sort that out later --- it proves to be a solid runner.
I ponder whether I should paint the bike. That's going to cost money --- cash that might be better spent keeping the bike running right.
A professional paint job on the bike would set me back $1,200 --- about what the bike is worth. Not doing that.
A rattle can job would set me back, what, 40 bucks? I've seen really good rattle can jobs on my friends bikes. But that choice has its issues too. You have to be really careful with rattle can paint --- spill gas on it and it bubbles up. And rattle can paint doesn't age well. Maybe.
And I can always paint it myself with a sprayer. That'll cost me about $200 in supplies. And it could take a weekend to get it done, or it could take months. The paint might look great, or it might look awful. Get it right and I'll have a durable paint job that will stand up to regular scooter use and abuse. It's a roll of the dice. I'm a gambling man by nature, so I step up the craps table. Click, click, click. Let's paint this beast!
I ride the bike to work for a couple of weeks to make sure it's reliable. Other than a carb issue --- it only runs right while on choke I figure I can sort that out later --- it proves to be a solid runner.
I ponder whether I should paint the bike. That's going to cost money --- cash that might be better spent keeping the bike running right.
A professional paint job on the bike would set me back $1,200 --- about what the bike is worth. Not doing that.
A rattle can job would set me back, what, 40 bucks? I've seen really good rattle can jobs on my friends bikes. But that choice has its issues too. You have to be really careful with rattle can paint --- spill gas on it and it bubbles up. And rattle can paint doesn't age well. Maybe.
And I can always paint it myself with a sprayer. That'll cost me about $200 in supplies. And it could take a weekend to get it done, or it could take months. The paint might look great, or it might look awful. Get it right and I'll have a durable paint job that will stand up to regular scooter use and abuse. It's a roll of the dice. I'm a gambling man by nature, so I step up the craps table. Click, click, click. Let's paint this beast!
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