Assembly Starts

I'm finally getting to assembly. It's taken a while to get all the little parts. Lambrettas sure have a lot more parts than Vespas. I started assembling the chassis, but can't get very far without installing the fork so I can route the wiring and cables. The fork and hub are done. Because this hub was apart when I got it, I'm glad I had the TV175 to check to ensure I assembled everything correctly.
The chassis parts are (mostly) painted, but the body parts are still in primer.

Distractions

Life's too busy to get much done on this scooter right now, but I got some time on on it before school, work, bike racing, etc got in the way. The frame and most of the smaller parts are painted. Still to be painted are: Sidepanels, legshield, floorboards, and front fender. Before stripping to the metal, the sidepanels looked very clean. After all the paint and filler was removed, it was clear that both panels have seen some time sliding down the road after an unintentional ejection. A little pounding and a lot of iterations of spot filling and sanding, and I think they're straight and smooth again.

The frame had some small cracks at the rear rack holes. Someone must have carried some heavy stuff back there!

The cracks welded up fine so the problem is gone. It's always good to go down to the bare metal on projects like this to see what we're really dealing with. After stripping, welding, and painting in new white, the frame looks really nice!

The motor is buttoned up all except for the top end. I still need to get the cylinder bored out for the 70mm piston before sealing up the top end. I was able to trade the SX200 gears for some TV200 gears so I can have all the TV200 quirks. Hopefully the stage 4 225 will provide enough oomph to push such a tall 4th gear.

The front hub is fully rebuilt. I was missing a few parts, and a little confused about how it went together. I eventually found the needed parts and luckily I have the working TV175 as a model. When I tried to take the TV175 hub apart, I found out that its disk is seized. I'll need to rebuilt that one too since one brake pad isn't really optimal braking.

The fork links damper studs were messed up. On one, the threaded hole was stripped. On the other, the stud was welded into the link. I was thinking about getting new links, but instead decided to weld up the holes and redrill and tap. Once that's done, the front end can be reassembled.

Colors

I've been planning my colors. A lot of ideas have been tossed around, but at least one of our Lambrettas needs to be red and white. I found PPG paint codes for original Lambretta colors and decided on New White and Coral Red. TV200's came in New White with several different color options on the sidepanels including Coral Red. Unfortunately after getting the paint mixed, I saw that Coral Red is even more orange than I expected. It's also very close to the red used on Ming's TV200 and I don't want our scooters to copy him.

I then decided on 2009 BMW Melboune Red which is much darker with a bit of pearl in just the right light. It goes very well with the New White.

Here's a possible colorway. The light gray represents chrome.

Way back when, in the mid 1980’s I got a my first scooter. All my friends had Vespas but this was something different. For $300 I got a 1965 Lambretta TV200 in original condition. I quickly rattlecanned it red and white and rode it all the time. It had a host of Lambretta and TV related problems that I slowly learned about over a few years. Some issues were fixed, some never got fixed. Eventually it got a nice paintjob with real materials and a tuned cylinder, 30mm Dellorto carb, and Fresco expansion chamber. A photographer named Mark Rabiner took pictures of a bunch of us around 1986. Here's his shot of me back in the day.

After a few years, I sold it to someone in California. Big mistake. I went through a series of other Lambrettas and a few Vespas. I had a Series 1 Li125 with a Dave Webster tuned 190 motor, a Series 3 Li125 with the same motor (damn that was fast), a P200E, a J100 Cento, a Primavera, a GS160, a 1966 SX200, another GS160, and a TV175, plus several others that I can't remember. But my favorite was always that damn TV200.

Twentysomething years later I bought a 1965 Lambretta TV200 in pieces from Craig through LCUSA that is in far from original condition. The body is in great shape but the silver paint could use a little updating. Several of the bits are chromed. This isn’t the coolest thing right now but I can appreciate the 80’s aesthetic. I’m keeping the chrome and embracing the era. The motor needs a full rebuild, but at least it’s original. Being a basketcase, there is a host of missing parts, but all the important stuff is there. The plan is to build up a scooter similar to my original TV200, but with a higher quality build that I was never able to afford back then. A standard red and white two tone with chrome bits and a slightly tuned engine. I’ll be using a mildly ported GP cylinder bored out to 225cc, a 28mm BGM PWK carb, and a PM expansion chamber. 12V electronic ignition is also a must. It won't be fully stock or original, but I don't think this particular one really should be.