Vega project

Hi Mike, sometimes it is safer to have function over form .  I do think you've made the correct choice tho. Start banging away into that penny jar ...Steve

That was a good shout on the dampers Steve Mickey, you might be surprised at the return value of those Kwaka struts there's plenty of Lambretta parts pages on Facebook where you don't have any fee's like Ebay . Bike is looking good by the way

thanks again Steve and for the positive comments Thackers.
looking at your avatars we are a turquoise Luna Crew.
Steve was definitely correct about the safety issue with those Kwak dampers and I should have spotted this myself when looking at them for the last 18 months or so.   selling them would provide some funds for better dampers.
I have given the scooter a prison wash / bed bath in the cellar which has made it look surprisingly good - I'm quite pleased with the powder coat / rattle can combo.  I'll try to use the money saved on painting as justification for some fancy dampers.  but will see how it feels with the Escorts 1st.    
I'm also a little worried that my wheels don't appear in line.  I've got series 3 tubeless rim on the back and standard on the front.  I'm not sure whether its an optical illusion due to the fatter back end but will get the MOT guy to check this properly.
I just want to attach a mirror on the throttle as I much prefer a rear view when riding as well as the required look over my shoulder.  I will also wait for the predicted cold snap to pass before venturing out for the MOT.  I'll also see if I can get my eldest lad to put it running on You tube - it does sound nice!

Put a mirror on and quite pleased with how it looks and most importantly, the field of vision is surpisingly good. ittp://s1274.photobucket.com/user/mickecowell45/media/image_zpsja1pnj7r.jpeg.html][/url]

So the scooter finally left the cellar ready for its MOT


(I still have too large photos)
The good news is that it made it to the garage and didn't fail the MOT! BUT it didn't pass either, for some reason the MOT guy couldn't do the IT bit with DVLA via the frame no which has been fine with 2 imports  he has done for me previously!

Scooter also ran really rough on tick over & low revs but good in mid range. Also very oily, so much so that I killed a brand new spark plug. Unfortunately it took me 1 hour outside the MOT centre thinking something drastic had happened to explain why it wouldn't run! Eventful day and great fun when I was riding it! Still some tweaks and setting up needed but I had hoped to do this whilst waiting for DVLA to process the registration. Hope to be legal soon!

Hi Mickey, chuffed you finally got her out - Very nice sir    . The mirror & toolbox look great. The toolbox should hopefully save your leggies from the almost inevitable vibration cracks that appear on the creases .

Regards the oiling up, has it been stood fuelled, did you pre-mix & shake in a can or did you fill straight into the tank putting oil in 1st?

The reason i ask is with mine i learnt that if i fill & put oil in 1st, the oil sinks & goes thru & mine does exactly the same as you describe - very oily/smoky/boggy & won't run at low revs. I find it best to put 1/2 petrol in - half oil & then repeat, also always give your Luna a good shake at every fill-up or if it's been stood about to give the petrol/oil a good mix up!!

It may still need tweeking but because they are such small units they can particularly suffer from petrol/oil seperation, confusing you into thinking it's an over rich mixture? Hope this helps & looking forward to some more positive updates - nearly there now mate ....Steve

Yessssssss, liking that very much. Good idea with the toolbox whoever came up with that idea ?? A little tip for the back of the leggies inside the toolbox, stick some Ether foam cut to shape on them, it helps cut down the vibration and stops any tools rattling against the metal. Keep us posted

Looking good Mike. Well done.

Is that your rear brake cable I can see hanging down? Might be worth thinking about shortening it?

thanks very much as ever for the comments and the advice & suggestions. Trotsky - it has been stood fuelled up for several months and I did only give it a cursory wobble - I'll give it a full on shake to try to mix the petrol and oil up. plus i'll follow your tip on re-fuelling. Hopefully this will get in running well enough until I get enough miles done to get it on a dyno.

Thackers - thanks also for the tip about the foam padding - I've not been fast enough yet to assess the vibrations but at 30 / 40 mph it was pretty solid; but I am worried that above this the fabled Luna vibes will start to really kick in! I did use silent blocks / bushes recently manufactured from a New Zealand lorry so I'm hoping these perform better than Luna ones - this was before Casa re-made Luna ones.

I should also credit everyone I've blatantly stolen ideas from - such as the tool box. but basically the whole scooter is a mash up of ideas and improvements I've freely stolen from the wise folk on here!

Good spot Ed too - I have shortened the rear brake cable and tweaked / tightened stuff up. I'm really pleased with the braking actually - that Sunny rear hub and bigger shoes means I have to go easy to avoid a nice back end slide!

my two main problems are getting the MOT sorted but will phone DVLA today to get some advice on how the MOT tester can test the scooter on the frame number alone - although he has done this before for me, neither he nor one of his computer savvy mechanics could get it sorted.

the other problem is powering the SIP speedo- its a really nice piece kit INMO and working really well - except when I put the headlight on! there is obviously not enough power left on the 12 volt section of the Sunny stator! As much as I would love the variatronic kit - I cant justify £300 odd. Especially as I need to get the house roof fixed! I do have Vega stator, AF light flywheel, starstream and vega flywheels etc. but the electrical engineering involved is way beyond me. Does anyone know a dealer, auto electrician. mechanic etc. who I could commission to do the 12 volt electronic conversion and maybe put a few extra coils of copper to give a little more watt output?

thanks again

Jem would do it, I believe it was his idea in the first place on how to do it - but it really is not as hard as you fear. If I can do it, anyone can!

I tried Jem but he's not able to do it although he did give me some more advice when i find someone to do it.

There's some good threads on here about the 12v conversion, it uses a PK coils which are grafted onto a vega stator plate etc, it is relatively easy if you take your time. Try using led bulbs where you can as this reduces electric use, but you probs know that already.
Do Vega brake shoes work with the sunny rear or did you have to use J shoes?

Also Mike, what carb are you using? I think the advice from Trosky is great and something I didn't know about (so I will be looking to do this to with mine) but if its boggy at higher revs that's a classic symptom of a too large main jet. I dont think you are using a std sh1/20 carb so where did you get your jetting set up from? Did Martin at Chiselspeed recommend something to you when he did your engine build?

Honest its dead easy. By far the hardest part is drilling out the boss and making sure you locate the key way in the correct place. Placing the PK stator on the vega plate was so easy I cant even remember doing mine. As I said I am more than willing for you look at mine as a reference. The worst that can happen is that it does not work and you have to go back to your old set up (assuming it does not fall apart, the flywheel spins off the boss and cuts a great big hole through your leg )

Cheery thoughts Ed about leg being chopped off by a flying flywheel - ironic as I'm off work following a knee op. This does mean I have some time on my hands so am coming round more to the idea of giving it a bash - i'll have a look at the threads on here and maybe buy a PK stator!

1st however I have ordered some LED rear light bulbs to see if they will leave enough juice left over to power the speedo. I did have a LED set up earlier in the project but like a fool got really excited when running it off a car battery - as soon as it was running off AC stator it was sh*te and then blew up!

Thackers - I'm 99% sure I used J range shoes (it was ages ago when I fitted them) and I don't remember any problem fitting them. I also used a starstream (is it called a?) pivot arm. This has let me use a Series 3 front brake adjuster so setting up and adjusting is a piece of cake.

As for the carb set up - its a Pollini reed valve and I literally know nothing about these. I did strip it but cant see any numbers / jet sizes etc. I'm going to have a hcta with Martin and Chiselspeed to get some advice about increasing the pilot jet (or equivalent) but he has also suggested just bringing it over to his dyno which I will take him up on, especially as I have some time on my hands currently. its a shame as I cant ride it due to no MOT and dodgy leg to get more than the 5 miles currently on the clock before it gets thrashed on the dyno.

You lucky sod. I wish I had a dodgy knee!

Would you really want to drive it to Leeds? All that up hill when running it in? Think a van is better option

oh its definitely a van job - I wont be riding anywhere for a few weeks, never mind the scooter. one of the perks of a dodgy knee is having some time off work to fill, a trip to Leeds will do a day.

After much faffing (about an hour) the now rather miffed MOT guy registered 'ProjectVega' with the DVLA.

He failed it for no brake light - which is fair enough but also the horn which is obviously crap - I am really struggling with lack of power / watts.
I've therefore ordered one of these much to my embarrassment:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01E6YBG8U

luckily my 8 year old will think its great when it 'falls off' my Vega - although I suspect future bike rides may not be very peaceful!

I've also got a problem that the scooter is literally eating spark plugs - literally kills brand new plugs within 3/4 miles. At first I thought something like a failed coil or stator issue but replacing the still new spark plug for a brand new one, gets a spark before it too then dies in a few miles. the scooter is very smokey when starting but clears (I'm pretty sure when riding). I've taken the air filter off and gone down to 3% fully synth but really don't want to go much lower than that with 10 miles on the clock.

Mike your link does not work, but are you saying you have purchased a squeezy air horn?



If so that has made my day. Just recalling all the comments you used to make about my 50 Special....

BTW I dont think these are now allowed as a means to passing MOT's. Probably best to check.

No idea about the spark plug issue...

It's not a squeezy 1 - bit better; a battery powered one for a push bike! Still awful tho.

I'll post a thread on lcgb forum re the plug munching !

I have a battery powered bicycle horn as a fail safe come MOT time. It velcros onto the handlebars. The horn thing is a bit more complicated. One continuous sound is the requirement unless over a certain age then a squeezy bulb horn is ok. Or am I making this up?
Your plug issue reminds me of a similar set of circumstances I had a while back. It turned out to be a faulty brand new coil. Failed as soon as it got hot.

You need to do that electronic conversion Mike. My horn is like an ocean going liner..

Well kind of.

Thanks for the suggestion regarding an iffy coil Paul! Given mine is nearly touching the head cowling & close to the exhaust - it won't be the coldest place on the scooter! (That was my fingers yesterday!)

As for the electronic conversion - I am becoming more resigned to it; I can't find anyone who I can commission to do it - all have been high end techno stuff & reluctant to do a bitsa / bodge!

Can I just check my thinking pls? Given I currently have a Sunny flywheel, could I not use this boss instead of breaking a rarer original vega 1? And same question re stator? (Although I don't have a spare stator)

Sorry Mike cant comment on the Sunny parts as I have never had either.

I didnt want to break a vega stator myself and searched for some time to find a broken one (without success). Having said that, there was no proper electronic conversion when I did mine, now there is the existing points stators are of less value - not just monetary but also usefulness. Not quite to the extent of large frame stators, where I suspect you cant give away points based ignitions, but worth bearing in mind as you destroy yours

If you're on the facebook site Rob Devlin is selling the parts required to do a 12v conversion

All true Ed. I do think the sunny flywheel boss should be fine, it fits my crank! Perhaps pointless (deliberately bad pun) to keep the original flywheel if I'm butchering the stator but I'll feel slightly less bad when the inevitable mechanical cock up occurs!