Modern Vespa

So I decided to put a BV500 engine in a lambretta. I received a lot of discouragement, telling me how bad the idea was, so I decided I had to do it.

People kept telling me that it had been done once and that it was a disaster. I then found the bike they were talking about and though: "really?". It had to be possible to do a better job than this....



So I started with what I thought was one of the biggest problems... The front wheel.













Next I sent the wheel to Rocky's wheel works and had it re-trued and once back, powder coated.








Next started working on splicing forks into frame with new bearing cups and shortening fork tubes two inches.







Chop chop on frame, using stock BV motor mount.




Frame tubes bent and start to mock up











Shorten forks, to get rid of the "chopper" look


Original springs vs. new springs for two inch reduction in height.



New height with body first mock ups



widening starts.



And that brings us up to date.

Next I will be finalizing the installation of the bv bearing cups and front end connections. This will allow me to finalize connections of front frame to rear frame.

Going to be very interesting!!!

putting in the effort




could make a nice tourer , should fairly float eh

what forks are you running? stock bv?
piaggio typhoon forks fit pretty well under a stock horncast if the edges are grinded down a little. j/s

great project though.

Well done.

And those that say "it can't be done" really mean they couldn't do it!

Cant wait to see the finished product....should be quite a goer.

I went with the stock BV forks, as they interface nicely with the bv hub and disks. Didn't want to get into modifying all of that.

Also wanted the FU factor of having dual front disks.

All I had to do is change the springs for shorter stiffer ones, to shorten the forks. Wasn't happy about widening the front fender at first, but proportionally, it works better with the wider rear end.

One problem I am having now is that i need the metering module, where all the brake lines intersect. Not easy to find.

Glad those panels are out of my garage! Kick ass project too.

cool project mate

Well this is very exciting to watch go together. Thanks for taking the pics and showing us what's what as you're doing it. Very cool!

great project, i'll watch intently. its also nice to see more vintage auto projects stateside. if you're not on the series six forum i'd advise it.

what's your intent with accomodating the engine lengthwise? widening the frame past around the tail light/behind the panels or fabricating a huge bridge piece to cover the cylinder?

If you like this conversion have a look at some of the the completed projects on here http://www.lambrettainnovation.co.uk

@quaddiekev I am pretty aquatinted with that site.

@bigben what is the series six forum. is it the 300 piaggio engine in the lambretta frame??

Regarding putting the engine lengthwise... I did that to keep the gas tank and air box under the bodywork. I will sink the cylinder head into the floorboards and create a cover for the head. I am trying to minimize the presence of the head, where your feet are. Shouldn't be too much.

@derek m Thanks for the great deal on those panels. I won't hack them up....

here are the latest pictures. I am working on widening the front fender. I also lowered the top frame plate, which was drilled off of the body. I will be creating a "can" consisting of the side covers and center body. This will be on a pivot, like a car hood.












Ride height set at 29.5"

did a bunch of filling on the body can today. Actually got more done than pictured.

I also modified the frame back to create a resting point for the body can. it will make sense when you see the final.

yes and no. the series six forum is an extension of lambrettainnovations site which in turn makes the scomadi TL 250/300 that you're talking about

http://www.hostingphpbb.com/forum/index.php?mforum=seriessix

but its generally not available through the main gateway, i tend to sneak in through the sub forums

http://www.hostingphpbb.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=10&mforum=seriessix

a huge bridge piece looked like the smartest way to go. if you're great with welding, i may start up a convo with you as i'll likely look to get a customized glovebox setup for my own project, a gts250 engine in a lambretta frame

doing an update on the forks graft.

Ended up deciding to weld in the cups, vs. brazing and spot welding the tubes. I did this becuase I noticed the connection being a little compromised and didn't want to take any chances.

I did the bottom welding and part of the top tacking, with the forks in place, but i am getting some slight binding in the last 10 degrees of rotation to the right. Frankly it probably wouldn't make much difference, but I might try a little copper hammer on the top cup, to shift it ever so slightly.

Really starting to try and consider how to jig for the connection to the rear.

Great Project.

Continued.

Cumps.

please tell me you're using a lammy headset and not BV handlebars.

looks good though, a bit wide for my tastes but innovative nonetheless. beats another restoration thread anyday.

The only part of those handle bars I'm using is the neck clamp. I will be drilling out the lambretta tubes and replacing them with new 7/8" tubes, which will connect with the BV bars neck clamp. Just connecting these bars to move the front wheel temporarily.

Did some more work today... Front meets back. These pictures are getting close to final positioning of body. As you can see, you won't have much head to deal with, or much extension to the back.

little bit of metal finishing moving forward. I must say that I am pretty rusty.

No pun intended.

them bars look vega-ish

Looking good!

Man, you are a BOSS!

Awesome project thats gonna set the standards man.

kia kaha!

pm'ed you btw

Let me start by saying Geometry sucks. It has taken a week of screwing around to finally come up with a configuration that will allow the shocks and engine to travel.

So photoshop modeling wasn't working out and I tried the Disney method.

Then I finally, with the help of a more skilled frame builder, established the method of deciding where to mock the frame for weld. That is the median point of shock travel. With that I welded on a mock wire for shock end position. Now I could rotate the frame can and establish clearance.

Once i have moved the frame components about 300 times, I found the sweet spot.

With that I was able to do some initial tacking. Now I take this first part of the assembly to a real welder to have it straightened and welded.
Next I will do the nominal mock up for connecting the front to the rear.










Nominal riding position

Maximum shock compression.









This obviously isn't how the bike will be connected. The rear is still independent and this is showing maximum shock compression.

I wish I had a workshop like that this build rocks my socks off..!!!

Oh and one other thing..:
That front-brake.. hahha that will sure stop this bike, the disk looks massive on that small wheel.

Funny you should say that, about the brakes, I am a little concerned. Might be a little too much stopping power. I just couldn't resist the dual 10 inch disks.

Small update: Shot a laser across the rear wheel today, for reference, and now the first part of the frame goes in for welding tomorrow. With this first section welded, I can connect the rest and weld the side covers on.

One of the most intriguing projects ever!

quick update. have established extension length and patching in filler. Looks a little messy, but should grind up nice.

.duster

Last edited by joshzingzing on Fri Feb 07, 2014 5:16 pm; edited 1 time in total

update.

Dropped first part of frame to be welded. When I went to check, everything crooked, so I spent a couple hours giving the welder a crash course in how to make something straight.

I put the first section in and it was still a bit twisted, so I had to heat the main tube and rotate it a couple of degrees.

I discovered that BV500 rear shocks are offset, so I had to weld up the left bracket and relocate the hole so that the shocks line up.

Next step is to install the shock mount on the rear, then set it with a temporary spacer, to allow for the frame to finally be connected. I have laid in the tube and it looks good.

shocks finally getting connected to frame

Following this one

finnaly arrived at the connection length. The only issue is that the engine mounting bolt is 2/3rd covered. Will work it out.

It's going to be a rocking Bretta !

I'm lovin' it.. the front wheel/disc brake setup you did is killer! Very cool

brilliant, amazing work.

struggling with multiple issues. wheel alignment, frame rail twists..... Damn it.

We are officially on wheels

after about 100 hours of online research, I have arrived at how I am going to address the hydraulics.

Originally I was going to get remote reservoir levers and put the reservoirs inside the headset. The only financially viable options were in china and I wasn't confident about that.



So I decided go go with a cable activated Remote master cylinder.

Next I looked at remote master cylinders, like the Grimeca. The problem is that the stock bv has a 12mm piston master cylinder and the Grimeca is 11mm:



Next I looked at Karting cylinders, which have bigger pistons, but they are very large and can only be mounted in horizontal direction:



I finally stumbled across this. It is 12.7mm (larger), American, and the price is right.



SO!!!!!!! If anyone has the stock levers, shifter sleeve, and throttle for a GP headset. PLEASE hook me up!! Also need the headlight and ring.

What a job! Hey try here .

http://www.scootersoriginali.com/