New Shipment!

I got a package today. But sadly, it didn’t include the float. I tried sealing the one I have with “Seal All.” That didn’t work at all. It didn’t even last long enough to not flood the engine while I tried kicking it over. I don’t really get it, but that just means I have to break down and buy the float.

The sad part is that nobody actually has it in stock. I called five shops. West Coast lambretta Works has the part listed on their site, but they won’t get it for THREE MONTHS! One place, Scooters Originali, said they will have some in a few weeks. The big unveiling will have to wait until then.

That gives me some time to work through cosmetic issues. For example, I got new tubes and tires and am going to paint the rims, which are rusted so bad the tire won’t even come off. I also replaced all my cables. It’s something I’ve been meaning to do for a while and it makes me feel better about trying to ride the bike around.

I had a chance to mount my new horncast, and my horncast grill is soaking in a solution that will take off the paint. I got to give a shout out to Casa Lambretta on that one. $20 for the grill. Those guys are awesome. If you do anything with a lambretta scooter, those are the people to talk to. Suzi will take good care of you.

Here’s a picture of the mounted horncast. BEHOLD:

 

On a side note, my clutch cable went out on the Stella while I was doing 40 on 3rd Street (Laramie). I had to drive home in 1st, 2nd, and neutral. Anyway, I bought a $3 part from Casa Lambretta (they deal in Vespa stuff also) and got it back on the road the same day.  The replacement took like 15 minutes. Now that I know what I’m doing, it would take less than 5. I only mention this because I was looking at a Stella a long time ago that a guy was selling for $1500, which is a bargain. He was selling it way below normal asking prices because his clutch cable went out. He was having trouble getting it sold too. For $3 and a little grease on his hands, he’d easily get $2000. (Here’s where I extol the virtues of Handymen) Because he was selling a broken bike, he’d have to wait for somebody to show up with enough balls to just try to fix it; somebody who isn’t afraid to. I think a handyman isn’t somebody who is good with machines. I think he’s somebody who isn’t afraid of them.

That lack of fear, or what the french call a certain I-don’t-know-what, is quite a money saver. How about $500 more for that bike or saving the $100 for having a scooter shop do it.