LAMBRETTA 125 SPECIAL 'E' registration. 1967.

Hello!

You are viewing my Lambretta 125 Special. This is a 1967 model that was brought into the country in that year. used then abandoned as many were. From what I can gather it was rescued in 2006 and given a complete overhaul. It was sprayed up I assume as not many barn finds have paintwork this good!!! My friend bought it in August 2009 for 3. 00ukp and has used it on and off ever since.   He took the screen and crash bars off. The scooter though still has a nice chromed three-in-one rack with the chromed spare wheel in place and a brand new. unused Michelin S83 tyre fitted. The other tyres are S83's too.

He had though a run of bad luck with it though and lost faith with it all. Rather than him give up scootering altogether I sourced a good V***a PX and he's a happy bunny again. The bad luck? We go out most Wednesdays as a small group of enthusiasts. Firstly a gear cable broke. Changed and it was OK again.  The next week the ignition went. Turned out to be a faulty CDI unit. New one fitted. All OK. The following week was fine then the week after the stator decided to pack up too so no more ignition again. That was changed. Then there was another week that was OK. but then the exhaust broke (the spot welds on the AF Rayspeed Clubman exhaust broke away) and the weight of it bouncing around damaged the cylinder exhaust stud mounting point and broke a fin off. New cylinder required. You can see the damage in one of the pictures.

To put it politely. he'd had enough!!!! So. that's how I acquired this scooter. I have never thought the starting of this engine was that good so stripped the engine out of the frame. Crank out. All OK with that. but changed the crankshaft seals for good quality new ones and retaining screws  of course. I fitted a new 150cc barrel and piston. This engine was then re-installed with new gaskets used all round of course. The carb was all cleaned up and the air cleaner blown through as pretty OK. The engine then had new cables fitted all round including the rear brake one. So. effectively what with the new stator. CDI unit. seals. barrel & piston. cables. speedo illumination etc it is pretty newly refurbished. Timing is set as 18* tick-over. 19* at all revs above that to be safe. Squish checked. All safe too. Runs like a dream. Shocked my mate who previously owned it as I let him have a go & it started first time and the tick-over was spot-on. Something it had never done before he said! Those crankshaft seals maybe? The engine will need the usual careful running-in of course as has covered probably only about three miles since the rebuild.

Brakes are the best of ANY Lambretta I have ever ridden. Shows how good a well set-up pair of drum brakes can be!!! Can't get my inboard Lambretta disc brake anything like as good. Grrrrrr. Don't let it be said that Lammie brakes are always poor. This one's brakes are incredible. Footbrake pedal sits spot on in the middle of the opening with no sideways play. Those who know Lambrettas will know many rub on the inside of the footboard opening (poor design). Not this one.

Bad points? The paintwork is good but there are the inevitable marks from a rack suction cups (slight curve shows) and the screen on top of the hexagonal headlight nacelle (a Special signature shape). The nacelle/headlight top has been bolted right through too as I guess the underside screws pulled out at one time. The paintwork is not at all bad really but if you want total A1 paintwork you'll need to spray the parts. The secondary darker blue was from my mate scratching a panel as it fell off a shelf when being worked on so he sprayed it up. I would prefer the original light blue/grey personally. The seat needs some foam inserting between the springs and the cover in my opinion. Standard Lammie issue this is for me and I just can't find the right hard plastic foam 'insert' to fit or I'd have done it (I used TV box packing material on mine; much better comfort). There is no steering lock key nor toolbox lock key but I would probably only do the tool box one and that is cheap to purchase and easy to fit.

With all the new parts fitted this really is ready to go. The MOT was done last Saturday (20th) and it passed with flying colours. I expected no less. It has a new tax disc but is tax free of course. By the way. all the parts came from Allstyles Scooters in Portsmouth. I have some receipts. All DVLA paperwork complete along with some history. previous MOT's etc.

Good luck and Happy Bidding!

PS I can deliver in the fairly local area of Peterfield and around 50 miles each way for an agreed sum if required.

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