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Post by rockynv on May 10, 2016 4:20:52 GMT -5
As far as the rubber is concerned, I'd say it depends on where it has been stored for the last 8 years. No matter how well stored, probably not quite factory fresh..........but.........I made a somewhat similar purchase last fall. It was a 2006 Ural, had never been registered, 40 km on odometer (24 miles)......I had the same concerns about the rubber components. Only put 800 km on it last fall, and so far everything is fine...no leaks, drips, or seepage anywhere, tires look good too, no cracking of any kind. I feel I can afford to replace a few seals if the need arises, for I paid less than 1/2 of the price of a basic, current year model. 
Hey, have a bone on the Old Chopper Guy for that great Ural! I've only seen a couple of them, and never up close, so I know little about them. Is your sidecar wheel powered? I see you have a telescopic front fork, which is better today, than the Earl's fork on the earlier Soviet models.
Anyway, THAT is one SWELL modern-day, old-school sidecar rig!Ride safe! Leo in Texas Co-worker has a vintage one with a side car and claims most things that do go wrong that can't be solved with a shot of WD40 can be fixed with a can opener and a scrap from an old belt or boot. Keeps chugging along. Only real issues he has are in Florida if you don't wear through the tires in 3 years your taking your chances if you run them at over 30 mph. |
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Post by rockynv on May 10, 2016 0:02:36 GMT -5
You can clean the drive face with a fine nylon scouring pad with a very little bit of brake clean on it. Once clean you can put a metal machinists ruler across the drive face from the center to the outer edge and if you can slip a 0.3 mm feeler gauge between the metal rule and any spot on the drive face then most would consider past end of life.
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Post by rockynv on May 9, 2016 11:47:19 GMT -5
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Post by rockynv on May 9, 2016 4:22:47 GMT -5
If the drive faces are worn on the variator it won't close enough to ride the belt out however if the sheeves on the clutch are not opening all the way that will also prevent the belt from riding all the way out on the variator and a wider belt will only make this worse. You really need to verify that both the clutch and variators drive faces are not overly worn out and that the clutch is not sticking so that it won't open all the way up preventing the variator from closing.
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Post by rockynv on May 7, 2016 1:12:44 GMT -5
The Seattle based Lambretta International's last model update was in 2006 and they stopped posting news on their site in 2009 7 years ago. They did sell upscale bikes with a 2 year warranty however none of the dealers they have listed on their site appear to be offering anything branded Lambretta.
SIL in India bought out Lambretta lock stock and barrel way back in the 1970's and has the machinery all in India however they were making Lambretta bikes since the 1950's. They still make their own bikes using Lambretta engine designs and provide replacement parts for the Vintage Lambretta. Any serious return of the Lambretta brand would in my mind have to involve them to some degree.
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Post by rockynv on May 7, 2016 0:57:30 GMT -5
You probably have a defective variator if it always flips in the same slot. I never had a problem with the Hoca variator I put in my Lance and it really was not that much more costly compared to the DMC. Sometimes you do have to spend a few extra dollars in the drive line to get a good value. Cheapest is usually not the best value and what you put in when you need the bike running so you can sell it.
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Post by rockynv on May 7, 2016 0:51:47 GMT -5
Mike - 12 gram is what Hoca recommends as the baseline roller in their variator for the 150 and to me that felt just about right. In a stock variator I would probably go with 12 or 13 gram sliders depending on your weight and the weight of the bike.
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Post by rockynv on May 5, 2016 21:23:16 GMT -5
Lambretta had the rep for being torquey even with the smallest engines which they used for the 3 wheeled trucks that tradesmen and farmers relied upon. The 125cc in the trucks would still haul over a ton while the 300cc would haul more than a full sized American Pickup. The 50cc truck was used more for local deliveries of groceries and light loads of produce with the marble and stone left to the larger ones. A 70cc Lambretta scooter should have little issues with hills if they stay true to the nature of the originals.
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Post by rockynv on May 5, 2016 21:12:00 GMT -5
Sport City just came up on Craigs List for $1,300 and it has low mileage too. Only trouble I have had with mine is from a local dealer selling old stock belt that shredded after 2,500 miles. At 30,000 miles everything is tight and even the clutch still looks like new. Lighting on these things is phenomenal too. My daughter when I follow behind her car refers to them as "Lasers burning into the back of her head".
The temptation though is still there to switch to LED for those nights I find myself out in the deep wilderness areas where one has to watch out for bears, puma, deer, boars and the occasional flock of buzzards. The puma running along side you in the dark are barely perceptible and you don't want to be out there on anything less than a 250 because in a sprint they can catch a 150.
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Post by rockynv on May 5, 2016 21:06:36 GMT -5
In Florida those tires are dangerous. Riding on them here would be like playing Russian Roulette and potentially just as lethal. Rule here for cage tires is toss them after 5 years and 2 or 3 years for motorcycles. With the Ozone issues from the Florida Sun and constant year round daytime temps well over 75 degrees most of the year tires take a beating here.
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Post by rockynv on May 5, 2016 12:06:37 GMT -5
I didn't think I could afford the Aprilia until I walked into the dealership during a factory event and was able to buy it for about $300 more than 250cc Chinese Scooters were selling for locally. Today you can get a Sport City 250 on Craigs List for about $1,500 and end up with a bike thats barely broken in.
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Post by rockynv on May 5, 2016 4:50:47 GMT -5
I started with making what I had work right on my 150 meaning adjusting valves right, cleaning and adjusting carb, etc. Once I had the bike all sorted and running correctly for a proper baseline then I just upgraded the CDI with matching High Output Coil for a better spark to get easier starts and a more solid idle which it did. Next I upgraded the scored variator with a Hoca and left it at that because that gave me all I really wanted from the 150 for relatively little cash.
Incremental to me starts with identifying any existing problems with the bike and dealing with them before or possible one at a time while considering upgrades.
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Post by rockynv on May 5, 2016 0:00:47 GMT -5
I am just partial to oil coolers. The suped Fiero loved it, and it's water cooled!!!!!!! But it also had a Honda turbo and high flow manifolds with high comp heads and a custom cam. I have used water wetter for a long long time. Love the results. The oil cooler would be more for my own piece of mind. The added volume of oil would help, as would the addition of a real oil filter. I just figured since I had most of the parts, why not?? Can't hurt anything if I do it right, and every thing we can do to help these Chinese motors is good, right? I know they aren't high performance machines, but figure if it's good for high performance engines, it's got to be food for ours, right??? I have to say I am spoiled with the Piaggio 250 in my Aprilia since it is designed from the ground up for synthetic oil with a full flow oil filter and very tight machining. Performance from the high compression 4 valve fuel injected engine allows it to keep pace with 500cc to 850cc bikes. Even at the 6,500 mile scheduled oil change the oil is never what I would call burnt or smoky and actually looks like it would be good for quite a bit longer. The charging system is pretty over built and can support even heated grips along with plenty of extra lighting without modification. On that bike I still would not consider an oil cooler however on my Fiat 124 Spider with the Turbo Diesel yes I would consider an oil cooler due the the heat load and coking that turbos are prone too. |
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Post by rockynv on May 5, 2016 0:00:22 GMT -5
Usually the Evans goes into a new or freshly rebuilt cooling system where the block has been drained bone dry after being pristinely flushed out and all new hoses, thermostat, seals and water pump have been installed. If it leaks or gets contaminated then it is flush and refill time. Its not supposed to expand as much so water getting into it is not supposed to be an issue unless the cap on the overflow tank has failed badly. Actually you can use Evans prep fluid, blow out the hoses with compressed air (as per manufacturers instructions) and replace the standard product with Evans coolant. Using the Evans Prep and blowing it out is part of pristinely cleaning out the system yes. To do a good job of it you really need to pull the thermostat to ensure you get all the water and old corruption out too. At that level you with what you have invested in the Evans Prep, Evans Coolant and time its prudent to protect that with at least new seals on the water pump, new thermostat, new hoses and clamps. The Prep Kit is around $20, Prep $35 and Evans Power Sports Coolant is $30 (only 64 onces so two are required) which comes to $115 for the conversion to the Waterless Evans Coolant to do it by the book. Renewing the cooling system on a Chinese Scooter can cost substantially less than the Evans Coolant and some may consider it worth while to protect that rather heavy investment in coolant and prep materials. |
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Post by rockynv on May 4, 2016 12:07:57 GMT -5
If they maintain the bullet proof durability and get rid of the stationary front fender that would be perfect. The complaint my relitives still in Italy had about the Lambretta was the stationary front beak stuck out too far giving them an overbite that caught on things when manuvering in tight spaces.
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