Reassembly Update #1

The front shock has been attached to the fork and the front hub has been out back together with a brand new pivot pin. For the roller bearings in the pivot pin use a thick "sticky" grease to hold them in place -- kind of a grease glue, for lack of better description.

The rear shock is being rebuilt and then the steering column will be mounted and the engine will follow.

I will post some pictures and more details as soon as I can. Feb. is going to be a tough month for me so not a lot of detail expected until later in Feb.

Rear shock spring

It is time to rebuild the rear shock so we can install the engine in the chassis. Just back from Christopher Markley today is our stock MeCur spring powder coated black to match the color the factory would have produced for this bike originally. It cost $12.50 for the paint and it looks great (there is some dust on it in this photo, but the paint is perfect)!

We will use the same motorcycle shock oil in the rear shock as we did in the front. It may help stiffen the ride a small amount and help cut down on drifting.

I was so dead-set on using a performance spring, like TaffSpeed, and I am glad I learned that drifting is not entirely due to the shock.

Lesson learned:One side on the shock was NOT powder coated and I asked Christopher why that was the case. Here is the answer I got:

"You beat me to the e-mail. Put those ends facing down. When powder coating,
you can suspend the part on wires or let it stand on its own if it has a
flat surface. Regardless, wherever it touches, no powder. Seems on the
springs that shortly after installation, the powder or paint if you use
paint will quickly wear away as the spring seat grinds around against the
shock spring support. So I opted to not suspend the parts on wires, since
the suspension points would have been on a visible surface of the spring.
This way, they look pretty and the part without powder would have lost its
coating anyway in use. If you're worried about it, a smear of thick axle
grease where the springs meet the shock could postpone corrosion, but it is
inevitable at those mating points eventually."

Rear shock update

Replaced the rusty stock spring (rear shock) with a MeCur spring. Dropping it off at Christopher Markley's today to be powder coated black. Need to rebuild the rear shock so we can install the engine in the frame.

Powder coat cost = $12.50

Photo of rear shock stock is on Technica page #51. Click the page to enlarge. It's a good idea to study these photos from time to time when restoring an SS180 so you can remember what the finished bike should look like . . . for example had I revisited the photos I would have known where the junction box goes and I would not have thought something was missing . . . see previous post: "Engine - Missing Fastener?".

My second purchase: R1 shock conversion

(Sorry I rotated the picture before I saved it, but Blogger did not accept)

My second purchase is items needed for converting a Yamaha R1 or R6 rear shock for the Lambretta. Pictured above is a "184" shock from Century Springs and brass bushings. I spent a total of $40.00 on these items. A nice fellow from Lambretta Club USA named Jake posted a request to do a big order and I went in with him to cheapen the price of the springs.

For "detailed instructions on converting an R1 shock" copy and paste this url into your web browser:
http://www.lambretta.org/index.php?pid=13

I am NOT big on mods at all, but did not have a rear shock included with my TV when I bought it and I wanted a inexpensive performance shock. I will powder-coat the spring black to honor the factory look -- at least an effort to.

Now all I need to do is place an order on eBay for the rear shock. I hope to buy a $30 or less practically-NIB (new in box) R1 or R6 shock since some Yamaha riders upgrade their shocks before they hit their first 100 miles.

Fork & Shock Disassembly

It's my intention to rebuild the front fork according to the "how to" link in my "Resources" list in the Blog navigation bar. I also plan thoroughly clean and baum spray my forks. I will Zinc plate my shock housing, according to Tecnica this is how the original shock was done.

When rebuilding the shock use the parts book for GS/SS from www.scooterhelp.com and the diagram is far more detailed than the SS one is.

First, I ordered a replacement dampner seal for the front shock for $10 (very hard to find) from Motor Sport Scooters and I purchased the second to last one in existence & from what I later learned the last one was also purchased. Suggestion -- you'd be surprised with what seals and rings your local vintage motorcycle shop has in stock. I know that a local vintage motorcycle shop my buddy, Ted Witmer, frequents specializes in "suspension" and he has found a hard-t0-find piece of rubber for my shock there as well when every single scoot shop I called did not have the part. Next I need to replace the pivot pin (pictured to the left) -- part #47 in part book drawing below. From what I understand it is not the easiest part to find; therefore be careful when removing in case you need to reuse. I will follow-up to this post and report on my search for this part #55271.

To disasemble the fork from the shock, you need to remove the cotter pin "screw" (#47 in the part book drawing) located near the grease nipple, then just push the pivot pin sideways. You can loosen the nut and put a socket behind the pin and pressed it out with a vise. Once the tapered pin is out, the pivot pin should just push out with your fingers. Try not to damage the tapered pin -- as stated it may be difficult to find a replacement, but if you can throw the old pivot pin and bearings away and get a rebuild kit.

A BIG thank you to Flaco, Trace, The Self Presevation Society, and all others from Scoot BBS for the help.

Note: more information to follow as it is completed.