Lambretta Lui 50CL (75cc) - Brian Burrows, Liverpool / France

Brian bought this scooter from us and decided that he wants to use it for touring on! He and his mates partake in all sorts of mad escapades where they travel long distances on small capacity motorbikes. Whilst he is a keen Lambretta collector, he also has a penchant for Yamaha FS1E’s and that’s his usual choice for these mile munching jaunts. However, after reading about RLC’s Jollyboy outings to Greece, UK and Albania using Lui’s, for the next event he has chosen to use his new Lui.

In it’s standard format, this scooter, whilst looking cool, is going pretty much nowhere….very slowly. The 1.5bhp engine is so slow the scooter could actually take root. Brian didn’t want to change the whole show and wanted the bike to remain outwardly intact as it is EXTREMELY well conserved and all original (the Lui has less than 1000km’s on the clock!). Here at RLC we have done dozens of Lui’s and know the scores on the doors to give them a little extra pazzazzzzzz.

The ‘Upgade  Recipe’ is pretty much the same each time and consists of ; Casa 75cc barrel kit (X3), RLC close ratio gear cluster (RLC056), 3 plate clutch set-up (M131), 15T front sprocket (X29), Iwis 76 link chain (M141bz), 6 pole J125 electrics and normally we’d fit a 15mm carb kit (X15). The only slight change, for an increase in power, was the addition of a Series 3 20mm SH1 carb and a Vega 75 filter box (B54), with  extra holes added and Malossi filter sponge placed inside to replace the standard (restrictive) cylindrical paper filter. At the time of building the scooter (Oct.2015) Casa Lambretta didn’t have a big bore exhaust option for the Casa 75cc kit when fitted to a Lui (the J range equivalent exhaust ‘X42’ will not fit a Lui). However, all that is about to change as the lads in the RLC workshop built such an exhaust - and after extensive testing on Brian’s scooter it will now go into production as it works perfectly.

Back to the plot, the scooter was stripped own 101%, meticulously cleaned and then mirror polished with just a few items being ‘blown in’ where needed. All the fasteners have been replated. All the running gear such as cables, steering components, tyres, tubes and brakes were hanged. The engine received the same treatment and after cleaning, was sent off to have the gasket faces lightly skimmed to ensure a gas-tight seal everywhere. It was then rebuilt with all the upgrade goodies as listed hereabove. The only other additions were a 75cc dual seat for comfort on long distance rides, front dampers and a rear carrier.

During the rebuild the only fly in the proverbial ointment was a reasonable sized smack on one side of the scoters legshields. As we had some NOS turquoise paint in a ‘Lambretta’ tin sat in the stores, this was used to blow in that area once our bodyshop chaps had sorted out the dents. They did us proud by getting the shields back into shape and perfectly flat – and all without even the faintest hint of filler or bondo. The original cellulose paint matched the scooters paintwork to a ‘T’ and it’s now (literally) impossible to see where the repair has been done. The scooters bodywork was then mirror polished and it’s certainly looking a very pretty (and shiny) sight. Brian asked us for front dampers to be added and we’ve done as requested. The top brackets were welded on and at the bottom we’ll be using Omega made 70’s accessory wheel nuts that were produced specifically for fitting dampers to J range and Luna line machines. RLC has now remade these special nuts and the code is RLC064.

We’ve tucked the electrics away up around the rear mudguard and even managed to retain the original 50cc electrical cover mounted on the flywheel cover. This gives the scooter an authentic, original look and hides the fact that (Vega 75cc) 6 pole electrics have been fitted. To finish off nicely, we fitted a 75cc NOS headlight and switchgear. A NOS central wheel carrier was added and that will be used to house a bottle of 2 stroke oil when Brian does his top- to bottom French ride.

Now the scooter is finished it runs as well as it looks and the additions requested by Brian really do add to the overall picture.  The market for Luna line machines has gone ballistic and the request for parts reflects this. When the overall results looks as good as this scooter and believe us when we say that riding this is mega FUN, it’s easy to understand why!

Modello:

Lambretta Lui 50CL (75cc)

Proprietario:

Brian Burrows, Liverpool / France

Motore:

Casa 75cc barrel kit (X3) 

RLC close ratio gear cluster (RLC056)  

3 plate clutch set-up (M131)

15T front sprocket (X29)

Iwis 76 link chain (M141bz)

Vega Lui Cometa 75cc airfilter box unit (B54)

6 pole J125 electrics and normally we’d fit a 15mm carb kit (X16)