Category: Innovations & Ideas

Monkey Fingers Bungee

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Planning any trip requires luggage of some sort and this always includes working out how to hold it all on the scooter.

I’ve used all sorts of cords and Bungees and they’ve all done their job, but adjustment of standard Bungees usually consists of wrapping the cord over and over to the required tightness and it’s sometimes hard to get it just right. It’s either too tight or too lose. Another gripe is when you need to access your luggage on the road. It’s a task in itself trying to get to something that’s held on with wrapped Bungees.

While planning for my France trip I was on the look out for something better. As stated, I’ve already got a selection of Bungees, some better than others, but I wanted something easier and quicker to use than the standard bungee.  I came across “Monkey Fingers” by Dura Plastic.

They are adjustable from 6″ to 60″ and have a strong hook at each end. Incorporated on the back of each hook is a channel that takes the excess cord that isn’t required. All you have to do is connect each hook to the location of choice, pull the bungee as tight as you deem necessary and loop it back on itself through the channel and it holds tight.

It’s just as easy to undo, you just unhook the cord from the channel. You get the added bonus of not getting whipped in the face from a taught cord slipping from your hand

I have four of these and used them for my France trip of which I had bumpy roads, hot weather, wet weather, a crash and they held the luggage firm without a bit of movement.

The only place I’ve found them available so far in the UK is Homebase.

 

SIP Squeeze Oil Bottle

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Mixing oil with the petrol is a bit of an annoyance, especially when you fill up on a regular basis. Until now, there was only a small measuring jug in which you poured your oil, then emptied it into the petrol tank. It’s not only time consuming, but messy. I always carried rolled up kitchen roll in the jug and after a long run or rally, it was very messy and 2 Stroke oil everywhere in my toolbox by the time I got home.

Now SIP have released a measured squeeze bottle which has a locking lid. It holds half a litre and is marked for 2% 3% and 4% mix ratios. 

I was a bit concerned it would be too fat to fit the small gap between my saddles. It fits, but at a small angle. Nothing to worry about.

My only concern is the measurement marks and that they may eventually rub off. For the time being I’ll sit the bottle in a bag to help preserve the markings. This is a small point on an otherwise good idea that make petrol stops less of a mess.

The SLUK Clip

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There’s many things about working on a Lambretta that make us question our sanity. Take fitting a bridge piece, a part of the Lambretta bodywork that’s removed and refitted, a lot. I used to think it would have been easier to dislocate my
fingers to fit it.

Things got easier some years ago when a Bridge Piece Fixing Kit came on the market. A great idea and welcomed by many, but it still meant drilling and riveting a bracket onto the frame.

SLUK have now produced a clip that saves all the bother of drilling and riveting. It’s so simple to use. No drilling, no prep work. Just push it on over the frame strut and that’s it. just sit the bridge piece in situ to make sure the clips are in the right place, move them if necessary and screw the bridge piece on.

The screws and clips are Stainless Steel and they’re very strong. Sticky did a test with a Torque Wrench to see which would give first. The screw or the clip. The screw thread gave way, leaving the clip thread in perfect condition to be used again without fear of getting a screw stuck.

You get 2 clips, 2 screws & two self adhesive rubber washers.

It fits all Series 1, 2 & 3 Models.

SLUK are taking pre-orders Here and will be posting these out on the 1st June.

Taylor Tuning Leak Down Test Kit

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“Some people say it’s a new fad and we got on fine before but in reality we didn’t or we were lucky”

“Leak-down test hysteria, another internet hype”

Two quotes from Social Media. One is sensible.

Contrary to what some people may think, a leak down test can be one of the most important jobs to carry out on a Lambretta. It will expose any leaks around the cylinder or cylinder head, mag housing, inlet manifold, exhaust port and both mag side seal and drive side seal. Any leak from these areas can make correct jetting and set up almost impossible and may lead to serious damage to your engine.

I was introduced to the leak down test by Darrell Taylor of Taylor Tuning through a couple of social media outlets. Up to this time I wasn’t aware such test existed, let alone anything for a Lambretta.

I’ve battled jetting on many occasions and one particular time that stands out was when I was trying to jet my 250LC. Rich low down, lean on high revs. Whatever I tried, I just couldn’t get the jetting right. The fault was only discovered by Alan Terry of Diablo Moto, on my way to Mersea Island Scooter Rally in 2012. There was a crack at one of the barrel studs on the casing, causing an air leak. This ended the journey.

A leak down test on the engine build would have spotted this.

So, fast forward to 2016 and I purchased one of Taylor Tunings leak down test kits as well as a blood pressure gauge.

Darrell Taylors Kit comprises of various bungs for various sizes of inlet manifolds and round and oval blanking plates & rubbers for the exhaust outlet. You can also buy an upgraded version that includes a pump, but as I already had the blood pressure gauge, I didn’t need it.

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I’m currently building a TS1 230 engine and it was time to do the leak down test. Using Threebond on the gaskets, the first test was done with the pressure pumped up to approximately 300 mmhg or 6PSI. The gauge was dropping very slowly at 1PSI over two minutes. I could have let this pass as acceptable, but I couldn’t find the source of the leak so didn’t want to leave it. A brief conversation with Colin Jenkins and he suggested Drive side and mag side oil seals. He was right. A squirt of soapy water revealed the Drive side oil seal was the culprit leaking.

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Replacing a drive side oil seal isn’t the easiest repair on a roadside, so I took the top end apart and put in another seal. The air pressure held held this time.

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One good point Darrell recommends with any engine failure, always get a Leak Down Test done before stripping the engine.  This will save time and money and may point you to the source or cause the failure!

Benefits of a Leak Down Test:

This test will help find the potential problem rather than trying to find the problem of a leak without knowing it’s source, which in turn could lead to a wrong diagnosis, causing further engine trouble.

The leak down test gives you confidence with your engine build.

It should also be used to find the cause of an engine component failure, again with a better chance of finding the real cause rather than a guess.

So why wouldn’t you? Nearly all good quality engine components are not cheap, so it pays to protect the engine.

 Taylor Tuning Facebook Page

JB Fabrication Lambretta Engine Stand

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For a number of years, I’ve got along stripping & building my Lambretta engines with the usual huff and puff when I always have to turn the casing around, working on different parts of the engine.

Apart from when I had big enough space to build my own workshop to store and work on my Lambrettas, I’ve always found it difficult to utilise work space for a workbench, but recently I built a small bench on wheels that I can use for working on my Lambretta engines.

So with this I was looking for an engine stand that was suitable and there’s now a few to found. I was aware of John Betts of JB Fabrication and his work and when I found he was making the engine stands, it was the obvious choice for me as he has a reputation for quality workmanship and innovative.

The engine stand comes with two bolts. One holds the base to the engine stand and the other holds the swivel in any one of the 8 positions. You will need 2 bolts to fix the engine stand to your bench.

Fixing to the workbench is simple. Two bolts through the holding bracket to the bench, but make sure the bracket that holds the engine has space to rotate and protrudes from the work bench an inch or two. (see images at the bottom of the page). The longest bolt holds the two pieces together and as previously stated, the short Allen bolt keeps the holder in any one of 8 positions.

When fitting the engine to the stand, the rear shock bar goes through the hole and the engine mount goes over the other side. Then fit the engine bar through. Make sure you fit the necessary nuts for added safety. You’ll notice in the images I didn’t use nuts as the engine fitment was for photographic purposes only.

All I can say is this makes all the difference and everything is far easier when building a Lambretta engine. The 8 positions mean that you can do just about any work on the engine without the hassle of tipping the engine or having to stick something underneath to support it and no more nipping fingers turning it over.

JB Fabrication also sells these with a bracket that bolts the stand to a wall.

Jon’s work doesn’t limit to Lambretta tools and Lambretta fabrication work. He also does a wide range of work for cars and bespoke parts.

JB Fabrication Facebook

AF Mammoth Head and Taylor Tuned TS1

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This week I was pleased to get my TS1225 barrel and crank back from Darrell Taylor @ Taylor Tuning. Darrell has done a light tour tune.

Before porting the barrel Darrell degreased and sonic cleaned the cylinder and it looks like new.

Along with upgrading the 60mm crank Rod for Yamaha 11omm version, he has drilled and pegged the barrel for fitment of a Mammoth Head from AF Rayspeed.

This is for engine #3 TS1 230

The Mammoth Head from AF Rayspeed is designed to help reduce the Lambretta running temperatures. This is achieved by the increase in size of the head.
AF Rayspeed say that the Mammoth head will increase the cooling capacity and have an increased resistance to quick temperature fluctuation.

The head has a M4.5 threaded placement for a SIP/KOSO CHT sensor.

As stated earlier, there are two dowel positions drilled for better head to barrel alignment.

The Mammoth Head is available for other capacity sized Lambretta engines 66mm for standard 200cc and also RB20. 70mm for  225cc and 72mm for 250cc.

Along with the Mammoth Head there are fitting instructions.

I will update with information once the engine is up and running.