LambrettaMalaya

Lambretta LI2 Body Parts

2009-11-16T06:22:00.000-08:00

Selain daripada "tubular" metal frame yang ada pada lambretta LI siri yang kedua (pergh bahasa melayu memang mengkagumkan!) terdapat juga "body parts" yang melengkapkan badan lambretta tersebut, apa yang unik bagi lambretta LI siri yang kedua adalah bentuknya yang lebih bulat dan merupakan lambretta yang terakhir dibuat dalam bentuk bulat, maka semua LI siri yang kedua merupakan pengeluaran lambretta berbentuk bulat terakhir termasuklah jenis biasa iaitu LI150 dan juga TV175. Gambar ini diambil daripada internet bagi mengingatkan betapa banyaknya body parts lambretta LI siri yang kedua agar tidak lupa nanti atau hilang di kemudian hari. (p.s thanks to whoever own this picture, it helps me a lot!)

Bearing- Where To Get It

2009-11-15T07:50:00.000-08:00

Bearing plays a major role in any engine whether the engine belong to the vehicle or machine, in lambretta engine several sizes of bearing can be found and these bearings can be divided into two kinds, first is the normal bearing and the second is needle bearing, although bearings can be found in several shops in KL, but most of the time, some shop they don't sell particular bearing with particular size. I normally look for bearings either somewhere around Sg. Besi or Loke Yew and these is a place for you to find specialist shop for bearing like SKF and NTN.

Among the brand that you can choose for your bearing is NTN, SKF and NACHI. The bearing is located in several parts in lambretta engine like rear hub bearing, flywheel bearing, casing cover bearing, drive side bearing and many more, at RAG we always try to find the best, if we can't find the best, then we will go for the second best. Life is always about seeking for the best.

this picture shows the engine part before being reassemble at RAG.

Mengilatkan Engine Casing Cover.

2009-11-13T19:08:00.000-08:00

Salah satu perkara yang membuatkan enjin lambretta kelihatan cantik adalah casing covernya, ramai diantara pemilik lambretta yang berusaha untuk menjadikan casing covernya kelihatan berkemilauan dan berkilat. Antara cara untuk mengilatkan casing ini adalah dengan membasuhnya dengan minyak petrol dan kemudian menggosoknya dengan autosol, tahap kekilatan casing cover sekiranya digosok dengan autosol mungkin hanya dalam lingkungan 60% sahaja, selain daripada menggosok permukaan tersebut dengan autosol, kita juga boleh menghantar casing cover tersebut ke kedai untuk proses "polish". Polish dikedai tidak sama dengan polish sendiri kerana polish dikedai menggunakan bahan kimia dan menggunakan mesin yang lebih berkeupayaan tinggi untuk mengilatkan casing tersebut, cara yang paling terbaik untuk mengilatkan casing cover adalah dengan menghantar casing cover tersebut bagi proses "chroming". Salah satu tempat terbaik untuk proses chroming di KL adalah di jalan Chan Sow Lin, tetapi harga yang dikenakan adalah agak mahal bersesuaian dengan kualiti chrome nya.

RAG Bergegar Kembali

2009-11-12T17:09:00.000-08:00

After being quite some time, or shall i say dormant. RAG is operating again with a new spirit, adding to this spirit is an eagerness of RAG member to complete the restoration of their scooters as soon as possible before the Kuala Kangsar Scooter Festival that is going to be held in April next year. Another thing that has really influence us to "get our hand oily" again is the beauty of Pa'din SX 150 that has already being the major reference to our scooter restoration.

Gambar diatas menunjukkan Chief Mechanic RAG sedang membuat allignment body SX150 beliau sebelum dihantar untuk dicat. RAG yang kini mempunyai "Support Frame" untuk menyokong frame lambretta agar mudah apabila kerja dilakukan untuk membuat allignment dan sebagainya.

It's Been A Long Time

2009-03-23T20:28:00.000-07:00

It’s been a long time! Dah lama betul rasanya tak update blog ni, sampai kawan-kawan telefon ingatkan yang blog ni dah mati. Sebenarnya aku memang dah lama tak dapat peluang untuk menghadap computer lama-lama macam ni, banyak sangat halnya sampai banyak kerja yang dah terbengkalai. Especially untuk update blog!. Hari ni aku nak ceritakan berkenaan progress lambretta aku yang selama ni juga terbengkalai. Di RAG, kebanyakan lambretta yang dalam proses restorasi memerlukan lebih ruang untuk proses tersebut, maka akhirnya ahli-ahli RAG telah bersetuju untuk membuat restorasi kepada lambretta mereka di halaman RAG, and we might want to call it “Halaman Innocenti” oh what a name! Pa’din, sebagai master welder di RAG kelihatan dalam gambar sedang membina frame untuk meletakkan body lambretta. Wan Kechik sedang membuat proses “Paint Stripping” untuk casing enjin lambrettanya, Mat DH pula sedang mengeluarkan magnet dan coil daripada casing enjin lambretta aku manakala Pesa pula sedang memasang racing chain tensioner kepada LI3 nya.

Sandblasting Process.

2009-01-28T23:50:00.000-08:00

Proses sandblasting merupakan antara proses terpenting dalam restorasi kenderaan-kenderaan lama, ini kerana dengan menjalankan proses sandblasting, permukaan besi akan bebas daripada cat lama, simen dan karat yang boleh menyebabkan proses mewarna semula permukaan besi tersebut menjadi sukar. Berikut adalah sedikit maklumat berkenaan sandblasting yang aku jumpa dalam wikipedia :-

Sandblasting or bead blasting is a generic term for the process of smoothing, shaping and cleaning a hard surface by forcing solid particles across that surface at high speeds; the effect is similar to that of using sandpaper, but provides a more even finish with no problems at corners or crannies. Sandblasting can occur naturally, usually as a result of particles blown by wind causing eolian erosion, or artificially, using compressed air. An artificial sandblasting process was patented by Benjamin Chew Tilghman on October 18, 1870.
Historically, the material used for artificial sandblasting was sand that had been sieved to a uniform size. The silica dust produced in the sandblasting process caused silicosis after sustained inhalation of dust. Several countries and territories now regulate sandblasting such that it may only be performed in a controlled environment using ventilation, protective clothing and breathing air supply.

Maka kalau mengikut penerangan diatas, proses sandblasting ini sebenarnya bermula secara natural sebelum proses sandblasting ciptaan manusia diadakan dan kemudian apabila manusia mendapat idea untuk meniru sandblasting dari alam semulajadi maka terciptalah proses ini pada tahun 1870.

Disebabkan kekangan kewangan aku hanya mampu untuk menghantar beberapa bahagian (yang difikirkan penting) untuk dihantar menjalani proses sandblasting ini, bahagian-bahagian tersebut adalah

a. Frame / Rangka Badan

b. Mudguard Depan dan Belakang

c. Fork

Proses tersebut mengambil masa lebih daripada 24 jam untuk dibuat dan hasilnya boleh dilihat seperti dalam gambar.

Premier Support- Tun Razak And The Lambretta Factory

2009-01-18T22:34:00.000-08:00

Tun Abdul Razak B Hussain is our second prime minister, he was known as the father of development in Malaya (the old name of Malaysia) at that time. With his leadership he has brought Malaya towards a better country and his dream is to see Malaya at par with other country that has achieved their independence from the British. This is the picture of him riding a lambretta motorscooter when he officiated the opening of lambretta assembling plant in Johor. In this picture Tun Razak was riding Lambretta Special X 150 model, a model that is very rare and hard to find nowadays. I keep on wondering if the lambretta he rode in that picture is still exist and running until today. We in Malaysia should pay our tribute to this great machine as what Tun Razak did at his time previously.

Skelly Anyone?

2009-01-15T20:22:00.000-08:00

Our body is consisting of Bone and Flesh. The bones support the body and all the organs while the flesh cover the bone and protect it. Skeleton (some people call it skelly) is the term use for the strong framework consist of bone that support the body, therefore if we talk about skelly scooters, it refers to scooters that has been strip off to its minimal and the only thing left is the frame and engine. The question is, what so special about skelly scooters? This is what I found in wikipedia:-

“A cutdown (sometimes known as a skelly) is a customised scooter (usually an Italian Vespa or Lambretta) with parts of the bodywork removed or cut away. Cutdowns were popular amongst skinheads and scooterboys during the mod revival of the 1970s and 1980s. While the style-obsessed British mod youth subculture of the 1960s prized the glamorous, metropolitan image of scooters, many skinheads and scooterboys viewed their bikes as simply a form of transportation.[1][2]
While some scooter enthusiasts have focused on the stripped-down look, with just a bare frame and visible motor and mechanical parts, some scooterboys put back almost as much hardware as they had taken off, by adding customized chrome-plated accessories and racks.” - WIKIPEDIA

The picture above portraying the next step of my Lambretta LI Series 2 restoration process, I’m not going to turn it to skelly scooters but to strip it off so that I can send it to the next process which is the sandblasting process. Many of us are aware that lambretta frame is made of tubular metal and this make lambretta had more parts comparing to Vespa. I found out that the previous owner of this lambretta has weld the double stand of this lambretta and this has make it very difficult to strip it off from the body frame and I have to grind the welded parts to separate them.

Also in the picture is two most prominent figures of RAG, Mr. Pesa and Mr. Pa’din studying the process of striping off the scooters from the book “Spanners Workshop Manual For Lambretta Slimstyle Scooters” wrote by Martin Sticky Round.

Lambretta In The 60's Malay Film

2009-01-12T18:49:00.000-08:00

The Roman Holiday has been a remembered film due to the appearance of Vespa especially in a several scene in that movie. The strategy of having Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn to ride Vespa in that film to portray the vehicle that has been used as a daily ride of the Italian in the city of Rome is really a romantic one. But far in the east, the Malay Film also applies this strategy to pull people to watch the Malay film and also to ride on the popularity of scooters as a mode of transport in that era. The film “Che Mamat Parang Tumpul” is the first film I guess, to use lambretta as a prop that reflect the durability, elegance and style. With the happy go lucky personality of “mamat” acted by Wahid Satay the reporter cum private investigator that has been given a task to investigate a triad group of “Kumpulan Tangan Hitam”, he ride lambretta in that film to move around to fulfill his task and later to destroy the sinful business of that triad group. As a fan of lambretta I really mesmerize watching this film as the song sung by Wahid Satay as a tribute to Lambretta LI series 1 make me want to sing along. You can watch this video when you click this adress http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PK-Xg0shrf8

Wahid Satay make another appearence with Lambretta in the film "Dua Kali Lima". In this film Wahid Satay rode white Lambretta LI Series 2 with Siti Tanjung Perak, what make me laugh is that in this film you can see a camera trick where the lambretta scooter flip over 360 degrees at the end of the song sing by Siti Tanjung Perak. You can always view this video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sex21GPT5Oo

Another film that also featured Lambretta as a prop is “Muda Mudi”, but the appearance of Lambretta in this film is not as prominent as the appearance of Lambretta in “Che Mamat Parang Tumpul”. In one of the scene in this film where a group of agogo band is playing their song by the sea side, several of their fans sitting on their lambrettas LI series 3 watching the band performs.

Vespa gain more popularity than lambretta later in the end of 60's and malay film featured more vespa than lambretta after the 60's era.

Ready To Be Cleaned!

2009-01-11T08:11:00.001-08:00

The dismantling process of my lambretta engine is what I can say as not an easy task, due to a rusted part and parts that is stuck together for quit a long time has contributed to the level of difficulties in dismantling all the engine parts. I don’t have any experience in dismantling either lambretta or vespa engine before and as far as I’m concerned the only two wheels vehicle that I’ve ever dismantle all the body parts is my bicycle when I was small! Therefore, being able to learn this process is a very good knowledge for my future undertakings (well, at least to fix it up again if nobody is around me!) The lambretta engine parts is actually covered by the engine casing which look like butterfly cocoon, inside the casing you will find the clutch plate, tranmission gears, drive chain and all sorts of small things that i cant even remember the names. Suprisingly according to Mat DH, my piston and con rod is still in good condition and i dont have to replace them, however, the kick starter shaft of my engine has been weld to the casing and this make us unable to take off the starter pedal.

After all the parts inside the engine casing has been take out and arranged in one place, i bring the engine to Maju Jaya Motor in Sg. Besi in order to replace the rubber mount of the engine. According to Uncle Chai of Maju Jaya Motor, he could not find the originals lambretta rubber mount and replace it with rubber mount that is usually used for cars, he told me that this rubber mount will work better than the original and last longer, in the end i have to pay him RM110 for getting and fixing the rubber mount to my engine (Can't do it myself as the process need to use a special machine). Another thing that Maju Jaya done to my engine is to reweld the kickstarter shaft and replace it with the new one, not original but made in India.

All the parts like trasmission gears, chain, con rod, piston, clutch plate that i've already arranged in one place is cleaned using petrol and special chemical called engine degreaser which you can buy at Hardware Shop. There are several "wear and tear" parts that i have to purchase like needle bearing, clutch plate and not forgetting all the engine bearings which i plan to replace it with the new one as i dont even know when is the last time the previous owner replace all the bearings.

Proses Menurunkan Enjin

2009-01-02T05:02:00.000-08:00

Setelah berjaya “dengan tangan sendiri” membuka sebahagian daripada bodyparts lambretta aku, aku dengan bantuan Mat DH telah “mengorak langkah” untuk membuka enjin lambretta yang telah berusia puluhan tahun ini.

Langkah pertama yang telah dilakukan adalah dengan menanggalkan semua sambungan wayar elektrik yang menyambungkan magnet dan junction box yang terletak disebelah kiri badan lambretta. Kemudian setelah semua sambungan dibuka, batang atau shaft yang menyangkutkan enjin dengan rangka lambretta dikeluarkan dengan membuka nut dikedua-dua belah shaft tersebut, namun begitu disebabkan shaft tersebut telah begitu lama tidak dibuka, aku dan Mat menghadapi masalah untuk membukanya, mujur Pesa yang begitu bersemangat dengan tukul besinya mencuba dan mencuba sehingga beliau berjaya mengetuk shaft tersebut keluar daripada alurnya. Setelah shaft tersebut berjaya dikeluarkan dan nut yang terdapat di penyerap hentak belakang dibuka, barulah enjin tersebut dapat “diturunkan” daripada rangka lambretta tersebut.

Setelah enjin lambretta tersebut berjaya “diturunkan”, perkara pertama yang dilakukan adalah membuka tayar belakang yang masih terlekat di hub belakang, setelah tayar belakang tersebut dibuka, hub tersebut perlu dibuka perlahan-lahan dengan mengetuk hub tersebut keluar daripada “casing” enjin tersebut, namun begitu, sekali lagi kami mengalami masalah kerana hub tersebut begitu “degil” untuk dikeluarkan, setelah beberapa hari disembur dengan WD40, barulah hub tersebut berjaya dikeluarkan.

Setelah semua bahagian yang bersambungan dengan bahagian “casing” enjin berjaya diceraikan, barulah casing enjin tersebut dibuka, operasi membuka casing enjin tersebut hanya mengambil masa lebih kurang setengah jam sahaja oleh Mat DH, semua bahagian tersebut kemudian disusun setempat agar mudah untuk dibersihkan. Walaupun mengambil masa yang agak lama untuk membuka enjin ini namun aku betul-betul berpuas hati kerana dapat membuka sendiri enjin tersebut dengan bantuan Mat DH.

An Extra-Ordinary Sunday

2008-12-22T06:36:00.000-08:00

Sunday is not always sunny. Even if it is sunny on Sunday not everybody would like to rise and shine as early as they normally do on Sunday, and as a norm to many of the people on Sunday, people would love to sleep until the sun is 90 degrees above their head as what Malays said “tidur sampai meninggi hari”. Last Saturday I’ve received SMS from my friend informing me that there will be a gathering for those member of Malaysian Classic Scooter Online Forum that will be held at Amcorp Mall. My heart at first were very divided whether I want to join this gathering or not. But at last I’ve decided to join it as to show my commitment towards the forum and to meet those who have the same enthusiasm as I do. I’ve arrived at amcorp mall nearly at three and there were several Vespas by the side of the lake. We move to A&W restaurant just in front of the amcorp mall, as what history has been written this A&W located at Taman Jaya is the second outlet of A&W in Malaysia and among the famous outlet in Malaysia especially in the 60’s (I can imagine those youngsters riding their lambretta and vespa visiting this outlet in the 60’s as what we did that day). To know more, this is what I found at Wikipedia:-

“A&W's first store in Asia Pacific opened at Kuala Lumpur's Batu Road (now known as Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman) in 1963. It was also the first fast food corporation from the United States to set foot in the country. However, A&W had a declining business era from 1997 - 2000. The most famous A&W outlet in Malaysia is undoubtedly the drive-in outlet near Taman Jaya, Petaling Jaya, a satellite city of Kuala Lumpur. It opened in 1965 and quickly became a favourite gathering place for students, especially from the nearby Assunta and La Salle Secondary Schools. The unique A&W root beer mug was often "collected" by these young customers. It was also a favorite filming location for Malaysian movies during the 1970s and early 1980s. Customers from the 1970s will recall Tuesdays as Coney Dog Day. Just like in Bangladesh, the food at Malaysian A&W outlets is 100% halal.”

This gathering has set another milestone to the Malaysian Classic Scooter Online Forum and I really hope that I can join more gathering like this in the future. To all my new friend, thank you for sharing your precious knowledge with me. Walaupun pak cik yang dekat tasik tu panggil vespa aku macam beca tapi aku tak kisah sebab aku memang suka style vespa yang macam tu. “We are the mods” hehehe.

First Striping Project. (This is not a strip show!)

2008-12-20T05:51:00.000-08:00

Internet has been a very good source nowadays for you to get as much information about restoring Lambretta. Not only that, you can always watch videos at youtube in order for you to know how to strip Lambretta body parts, I’m quit amaze when I surf youtube website and found videos about how to strip your Lambretta off and what amaze me more is that this videos is originally from the 60’s, you can always check this videos out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR2IesJHFU8.

After inspecting my engine and body parts, I start my restoration project with striping off the rear footboard, fuel tank, carburettor, air filter and fuel cork, this process took me about 2 hours to get it done due to my inability of understanding which parts to be stripped off first (first timer is always like that!). The fuel cork is still the original fuel cork that came together with this Lambretta when it was made in the year 1961. The air filter is totally wrecked! Therefore I need the new one to replace this. I can see that the fuel tank especially at the bottom of the tank is full with dirt and rust (No wonder it’s always stuck at the fuel cork). Nothing much I can do at the moment since I need more info about stripping the lambretta body parts. I don’t want to become as what we Malays say “Macam tikus membaiki labu” or “Like rat fixing the pumpkin” to portray those who don’t know how to do things but just do it until it become horrible.

Dirts, Oil And Lots Of Miles!

2008-12-17T20:24:00.001-08:00

This is the engine of my lambretta, it looks old but still running (provided that you put a new fuel cork in and clean up the carburettor). The transmission system is still working even though not as smooth as new. But looking at the physical appearance of this engine, I can see that this engine has been worn up to the limit and need some overhauling in order to make it run again in a good manner if not as good as new. My plan is to strip the engine off and clean up all the rust and to replace all the wear and tear engine parts with the new one, moreover, in order to make this engine reliable again, I have to make sure that all the electrical system especially that is related to the magneto and the coil of the magneto. The rear suspension of this scooter is already worn out, due to this I have to replace it with a new one and I plan to change it’s colour to red. For the magnet cowling, I plan to send it to be chromed so that it will complement the engine casing that I plan to polish up.

Walaupun enjin lambretta aku ini nampak begitu buruk pada pandangan sesetengah mata, namun aku percaya bahawa kalau sudah minat dan mempunyai keazaman yang kuat untuk menyiapkan motor ni, InsyaAllah motor ni akan siap juga. Aku sebenarnya pernah tengok lammy yang lebih teruk daripada motor aku ni bertukar kepada lammy yang macam keluar kedai, dan macam yang aku cakap pada awalnya tadi, keazaman kita itulah yang akan membawa kita kepada kejayaan, Kalau nak main lammy ni orang kata tidak boleh cepat mengalah kerana untuk restorasinya sudah pasti akan mengambil masa yang agak lama.

Lambretta Atau Vespa

2008-12-14T22:39:00.001-08:00

Vespa atau Lambretta, pada aku kedua-duanya mempunyai keistimewaan tersendiri, walaupun telah memiliki kedua-duanya namun masih lagi ada sesetengah orang berpendapat bahawa salah satunya adalah lebih hebat daripada yang satu lagi, tidak salah untuk mengkagumi apa yang kita miliki cuma walaupun semahal mana Vespa atau Lambretta kita, kita tetap satu dalam persaudaraan skuteris.

Engine Test – It’s still working!

2008-12-14T21:03:00.000-08:00

Just after one week this lambretta arrived at my house, I’ve already put some effort to fulfil my curiosity whether this lambretta is worth buying or not. With the expertise of Mat DH the chief technical officer (CTO) cum chief mechanic of RAG motori, we try to find out what is the faulty that make this engine unable to be started. First of all we start with the spark plug, after several kick; we found out that the electrical system of this scooter is working in a good manner where the spark plug fired with blue fire. But still the scooter is unable to start. According to RAG CTO if the faulty is about starting the engine, there are two things that always contribute to these scenarios, first is because the spark plug won’t fired or the carburettor is not working properly. Therefore with go to the second assumption, Mat DH take out the whole carburettor to be cleaned and checked whether there are any dirt stuck at any of the air intake . After he has done with the cleaning and put all the things back again, he found out that the fuel is not flowing properly to the carburettor. This is happened because of the fuel cork (the original fuel cork) is stuck with dirt from the fuel tank. In order to solve this problem, RAG CTO has come up with an idea to use old ketchup bottle to supply the fuel directly to the carburettor without using the fuel tank of the fuel cork (please refer pic b). This idea is proven a brilliant one when after several kick the engine start working and the smoke come out from the exhaust. Aku memang happy gila bila pertama kali dengar enjin lambretta ni. Selepas RAG CTO menunggang skuter aku ini, aku pula terus mengambil alih dan terbukti lambretta ini masih lagi boleh digunakan dan membuatkan aku lebih bersemangat untuk projek restorasi seterusnya.

THE LUCKIEST FEW

2008-12-11T05:51:00.000-08:00

In Malaysia not everyone has the opportunity to owned a Lambretta scooter. The luckiest few as what i refer to the lambretta owner is the luckiest few from the number of the whole scooterist. To own a lambretta scooter is like to have a piece from the big part of our motoring history. You can easily find vespa motorscooter if you attend any of the Scooter Fest or Jamboree in Malaysia but only a small number of that large attendees were lambretta owner. The question might arise as to why there are only a small number of Lambretta left in Malaysia, the answer is simple, this "old metal horse" not only has been sent to the junkyard or scrap metal yard to be destroyed but also this precious machine has been sold outside Malaysia especially in Thailand. With a very loose regulation in Thailand many of our LI's and TV's has found a new home in Thailand and has been given tender loving care by it's new owner. I'm not trying to be hero with my effort to save the last few lambrettas in Malaysia but just to contribute what i can in order to keep this heritage to be seen by our next generation.

Selamat Datang Lambretta!

2008-12-11T01:51:00.000-08:00

Lambretta bukanlah skuter klasik pertama yang aku miliki, sebelum ini, aku telah bergelumang dengan dunia Vespa walaupun tidak menganggotai mana-mana kelab Vespa. Minat terhadap Lambretta sebenarnya datang sejak mula-mula aku mengenali dunia skuter klasik, filem quadrophenia yang dikeluarkan pada tahun 1979 yang memaparkan skuter dan budaya mods sangat menarik hatiku, cuma aku tidak menyedari bahawa dalam filem-filem melayu juga terdapat begitu banyak lambretta terutamanya filem melayu "lagenda" peminat-peminat lambretta iaitu "Che Mamat Parang Tumpul".
Setelah puas mencari, akhirnya aku berjumpa dengan Lambretta pujaan hatiku (sekadar memetik kata-kata aziz sattar dalam seniman bujang lapok). Lambretta LI siri 2 keluaran tahun 1961, nampak begitu gagah ketika pertama kali aku menemuinya. Masih lengkap seperti keadaan asal, lambretta ini dibeli daripada seorang peminat lambretta daripada Kuala Kangsar, walaupun "besi buruk" ini dibeli dengan harga yang tidak setimpal dengan "rupanya" namun aku tahu bahawa nilai dan nostalgia skuter klasik ini begitu mengusik jiwa.