Looking good but tire trouble

The Jet 200. Washed and waxed. Pre-trouble.

After a couple of busy weekends that have kept me away from the recent addition, my new (well new old) 1975 Serveta Lambretta Jet 200, this past weekend I finally got to put in some wrenching and riding time in with the bike.

Final fixes
Last Wednesday I had gotten the bike back from Robbie and Kevin at Scooter Bottega who, as always, did a fantastic job. Kevin had gotten the brake light working after discovering the previous owner had butchered the wiring inside the bike. This fix gave him a chance to right some of the wrongs of the rat’s nest of wires under the panels. Second, he’d gotten the original steering lock working again providing another layer of security in a city where bike security is key. The steering locks on any bike are far from the best level of security, especially on a bike of this age, but hey, it all helps and having it working again makes me feel better. I never ride the bike anywhere without a heavy chain and my Grip-Lock however.

With the brake light now working, the Jet was finally eligible for its inspection sticker. It’s first in years (the previous owner had never bothered to have it inspected.) I felt like a proud parent. Finally the bike was legitimately back on the road.

Believe it or not, this is after the wiring clean up! Kevin added the regulator stop the bulbs blowing.

One thing still bothered me however – the tires. I have had a set of Michelin S1s on order now for over a month from West Coast Lambretta Works, but due to some delays in the shop getting their hands on some other parts on the order sheet, the tires had still not come through. I’d put a set of these babies on my PX earlier in the year and the difference it made to handling and especially wet weather riding was like night and day.

Robbie also pointed out that the tires had seen better days, were showing some visible cracks, and needed to be replaced ASAP. With this in mind I rode the bike carefully home and nursed it for the remainder of the week.

These tires are old. O.L.D. old.

Saturday
Come Saturday I finally had a chance to give the bike a wash, something that it hadn’t had in who knows how long. Given it had passed inspection, it felt like the right thing to do as a sort of celebration after the past few weeks of mechanical and electrical fixes. The entire bike was covered in greasy soot from sitting out on the streets of New York City. In particular, I wanted to clean up the residue left by a couple of past persistent stickers.

The bike has a great patina and has all the dings and scratches one would expect of a bike of this age so a full soap down can only do so much. Having said that, following it with a wax, while feeling a little like overkill, gave the bike a much needed layer of protection against future scuffs and brought out a nice shine particularly in the legshields which are in great shape and now free of sticker gum.

With the bike (and sun) shining, I finally got the chance to take some decent photographs of the bike for the first time since purchase, and I’ve included several of them here. You can also see the only cosmetic issue with the bike that I want to address as a winter project – the damaged, and then hastily repaired headset that I’ve mentioned before.

One side of the hastily repaired headset. A blemish on an otherwise good looking vintage scoot.

Following the clean up I had an errand to run in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, a steady hour’s ride from home base in the East Village. Knowing the tires are at the end of their life, I decided to take the risk all the same and take it steady.

In short, a success. I had a great ride out and back without issue, and finally felt like I’d had a chance to open the bike up somewhat having really only had the chance to putt-putt back to work each day for a few blocks in Manhattan. The engine felt a little “gravelly” at speed, but I found that once the oil had worked it’s way into the gasoline mix more thoroughly the bike really started to shine. Not bad for an engine with 14,000 miles on the clock and who knows how many “off.”

Sunday
Sunday morning, and time for my weekly ride to Chelsea for my weekend classes at the World Seido Karate Organization (I’m proud to be a black belt there – a story for another time.) With a successful Brooklyn run behind me any thought of the state of the tires on the bike fell immediately to the back of my mind.

With the streets relatively quiet and the engine running really smoothly, I finally decided to punch the gas at the end of my run on West 22nd Street. She felt and sounded fantastic with great torque, smooth gearing and a buttery piston, but then… “Pop. Psssst.” Just as I’m braking down to pull over and park, there goes the rear tire.

Wow. Was I fortunate? Had I gotten a flat the day before on the Brooklyn Bridge riding too or from Brooklyn or out in Park Slope or Sunset Park it would have sucked. Better yet, thank god the flat happened as I slowed to a crawl and not at speed. It was an important lesson that I should have known better. The tires are literally where the rubber meets the road and not an area to overlook or underestimate. A flat like this at speed can be frightening at best, devastating at worst.

Fortunately I had a spare on the bike. During class I figured when I finished up karate, rather than push the bike home, if I could pick up a cheap 13mm wrench at the hardware store around the corner, I could just lie the bike down and do the tire change right there at the side of the street.

Sure enough the store had a cheap wrench (one I can now keep on the bike) and minutes later I was wrenching the spare off the back of the bike. And then… problem numero dos. The spare was flat. Damn it.

So that was that, I needed to get the bike off the street, and knowing that I would be out of town on Monday and Tuesday I knew I couldn’t leave the bike in the 20s. I had to get it home. A twenty or so block push back to the East Village.

Have you ever tried to push a bike with a flat? You need the strength of a thousand gorillas. The grip of the tire offers massive friction to movement. Thankfully, I was able to start her up and nurse the bike along in first gear with a steady hand on the clutch and a little throttle. It’s not great to move a bike any further than necessary on a flat. I didn’t want to damage the rims or the rear hub, so riding it no matter how slowly was out of the question so I pushed her by walking alongside and keeping both hands in control on the handlebars.

Let me tell you – that was twenty slow blocks. The first ten or so went relatively smoothly and the bike was able to roll at a nice speed with me jogging beside her. But after that as the rear tire worked its way loose from the rim, the bike became more and more unruly, eventually fishtailing as I tried to move her. Kind of like trying to push a shopping cart at the supermarket with a bum wheel. The final few blocks were very slow and very frustrating.

So that’s that. Tire trouble, I learned first-hand four important things, and was very, very lucky to learn them on a nice sunny day, and not traveling at speed.

1. Regularly, and I mean regularly inspect your tires. Don’t just kick ‘em. Look at them closely. Inspect for cracking and the depth of the tread, particularly if the bike has been left outside over the winter as this bike has been.
2. If you have any doubt about the age or condition of the tires and inner tubes on a used bike you have just purchased. Replace them. Your life depends on them.
3. Doh. If you ride a bike such as a P-series Vespa that carries a spare. Make sure it is regularly checked for air. Pump it up to the highest PSI required by your rear wheel. It’s easy to let a little air out at the side of the road if you need to fit the spare on the front.
4. Carry a wheel suitable wrench with you. Always.

What’s the bet my next Jet post will be about changing tires? Until next time…

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