A friend of mine has some really nice Lambrettas, and is slowly downsizing his collection. I recently helped broker a sale of this really original and tidy GP150. This is an original Italian one that was first sold in the UK. Note that the Italian market version would have the "DL 150" badge, rather than the GP. I'm working on making a gallery for this scooter, and once I get the time to build a page, you can find other photos here.
I agreed to help the new buyer of the scooter by getting it running for him. The GP is in great shape, but it has been sitting in my friend's collection for many years. He guessed that he had not started it in at least 10 years. So there are certainly going to be some cobwebs to clear out.
Things I immediately noticed were that the tires were dry rotted, and the clutch was stuck. Opening the gas tank released a toxic brew of fuel gone bad, so that would need to be sorted.
More below the jump.
First, I got the cowl off to inspect the innards of the beast. Everything looked nice and clean. Note that this is a late model GP, and has the original black plastic glovebox. Many of those are long-gone.
Next, I turned my attention to the carb. I pulled the fuel line, and confirmed that fuel was flowing through the tap. That's good, so I know I likely won't have to replace the fuel tap. Did I mention how smelly and nasty the old gas was?
Since I knew the fuel was bad, I knew I had to get the carb off for a good cleaning. I'm glad I did. Here is the gunky sludge that was in the bottom of the float bowl. All the jets were clogged with this gelatinous muck.
Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter in our GP 150 Lambretta saga!
WOW ORBIT ORANGE GP150! Much of the literature ignores they ever came in this colour. How late is it? Only ever seen/owned early ones. UK model so assume it has a battery tray. What about the seat, SILME?
I'll get some more pictures up of this scooter as I dig into it a bit more. I have the original UK registration information, so I'll have to look at it for the year of first registration. This one does have a battery electric system. I'll have a look at the seat. The plan is to remove the original seat (which is in very good condition, apart from a smal tear at the front), and put on an aftermarket seat for regular use. The original seat will stay on a shelf except for special occasions.
-Paul
Thanks I'll keep my eye on the site for some updated pictures. Curious to know how late it is by frame number and other tell tale signs; plastic fuel flap, choke/fuel levers and hex bolt (not allen key)oil drain, rear light rubber gasket and if the seat frame is SILME or Giuliari. From the photos above it doesn't have the small ball end levers or the darker non-metallic grey paint on the hubs/forks/rims so I assume it not end of production but given this is a rare colour the trainspotter in me is curious as I've only seen/owed early examples('69) before. Thanks!