Vespa 50R 1973 sold!

Remember my blogpost about my brother's daughter who fell in love with our Vespa 50 from 1973?
After she tried it she nagged my brother to ask my son to sell it.

This year she became 15 years old and the urging got stronger.

After a long time my 18-year old decided to sell it. I agreed, under conditions. When she gets tired of it, they have to sell it back to me!
In April the Vespa travelled 600 km's up north, and in May the girl, Alva, managed to get her moped-license (you have to have that now, a new law). All her girlfriends have brand new and modern 50 cc scooters. That was never an alternative for her. A modette to be?

  

Such a happy and proud face!



Lambretta brothers united

A Lambretta Li 150 in front of my TV 175.

This Lambretta Li 150, in Sweden they were called "Milano", from 1959 is living on Gotland, its latest MOT was in 1975...

The owner is an old scooterist from the 60's, and has owned a number of scooters.

This is his last one and he intends to keep it. Some restoration work has begun on the front fender and the handle bar housing. My guess is that it ends there...

The Lammy is running and the only thing that stops it from having a new MOT is non working horn.

I thought it was fun to reunite two series 1 Lambrettas, the big brother and the little one... 

Levers with a hook, "mod style" saýs the owner.

Not clean, but working. Original colour under the Orange respray.

The correct place for the Agip sticker, mine is on the outside...

  

Two series 1 Lammys in the sun.

Some "new" Vespas discovered

Alexei, to the left, found this Vespa Touring 1959 (150 cc and 6 hp) recently. Here he is with Hampus for a first examination. Sorry about the crap picture, actually the Vespa is brown.

Fortunately the re-spray was done with paint out of a can. Alexei has started to remove the ugly brown. First he tried with white spirit, then he carefully applied brake fluid and the suddenly the original metallic blue started to show. Yes, it fires up, so getting it on the road won't be that difficult.

The second Vespa I paid a visit to is hiding in a shed. The owner hasn't been riding it for five or six years. It was restored in the beginning of the 90's when the owner was a mod. Now he has promised to get it on the road again!  



The 1959 Vespa 150 cc with the brown paint partly removed.

A 1958 Vespa 125 lurking in a shed. Soon on the road?

Lambretta TV 175 in pictures

Just before the disaster, only 29 km's to the ferry.

As I told you in a former post, I had some carburettor problems. And some Picasa problems that prevented me from publishing photos. Now I can publish the photos from my vacation. Part of it were spent on my Lambretta TV 175 from 1958.
Some trouble with the lid that holds the arm that lifts the throttle was finally solved. To make it to the ferry I had to find an alternative gas wire since I didn't want to ruin the original. 50 meters from the breakdown I found a rusty piece of steel wire on a lamp post. I attached it to the hook that lifts the throttle and was able to accelarate with it between my legs. As this took some time I missed the ferry to the island of Gotland, but managed to get on  the next one. In the town of Visby I borrowed a better wire from my friend Ronny, a keen scooterist who also owns a bicycle repair shop. In it he stores his very nicely restored "faro basso", a 1954 Vespa 125.
In our rented cottage I phoned my oldest son who stayed in our house. He managed to locate a spare part in the chaos of my garage. Then he posted it to me and all was back to normal. But now I have a non-complete Dell'Orto MA 23 BS5. Too bad!

The lamp post with rusty wire.

The rusty wire coming directly from the throttle.

In the stand-by queue, after missing the booked ferry.

Inside the ferry.

Got another wire in Visby from my friend Ronny.

Ronny has a nicely restored Vespa 125 from 1954.

The spare part.

What about the Vespas?

Forgot to mention some Vespas in the previous blogpost. The first was a 1954 Vespa 125, painstakingly restored by Ronnie, who has a bicycle repair shop in Visby. Next one was a 1959 Vespa Touring, newly found by Alexei, his first scooter! Repainted some time in an awful brown colour. But at least it started! Then Tobbes "new" 180 Rally, a very fine low mileage Vespa. I haven't seen the last one, a 125 from about 1959. Have to check it out later. Pictures later...

Lambretta & Vespa report

I have some trouble with Picasa. Didn't use it for some months, and then Google made some changes I guess. So, no pics right now.
I'm on vacation on the island of Gotland, halfway between Sweden and Latvia.
I rode the Lambretta TV 175 series 1 to the ferry. Suddenly the arm joint to gas wire and throttle broke. Had to find a steel wire as I didn't want to remove the gas wire.
I found a rusty wire on a lamp post, and proceeded by lifting the throttle directly.
But I missed the ferry, but had only to wait 2 hours to the next one.
On Gotland I phoned our oldest son and asked him to remove the arm from another Dell'Orto 23 mm and post it to me. That worked out, but now the second carb is useless. Anyone having spares?

A mod to be, maybe?

Above is my youngest son, sporting a cool hat and a Ben Sherman jacket on a cool scooter.
Below is Jim and me, he is helping me with the rectifier, later we also changed the condenser. Now the Lambretta TV 175 series 1 goes much better!
Last a summer picture from my backyard, Lammy-wreck, the TV and my Vespa GS 150 from 1961 (VS5).
Well, time for the Euro2012 final. Forza Italia!