Tearing it apart

The weather and my schedule finally cooperated and I started pulling the GS apart. Lots of notes and pictures during disassembly should keep things organized. I've been picking up parts that I know I need all summer. One good score was a NOS horn cover to replace the rusty one that bulges around the spotwelds.

I pulled the taillight, gloveboxes, seat, tank, and engine today. Most parts look in usable shape with few surprises other than it was easier to do than I expected.

Lots of cleaning to do on this motor before it comes apart.

Next step, take apart the front end.

Floor Strips

I removed all the floor strips and the outer ones are each broken in two, but other than that, they're all in good shape. My plan is to clean, straighten, and polish them, and try to weld the outer ones together. If the welding works, I'll have the correct floor strips and they'll fit with minimal fiddling. If the welding doesn't work, I'll have to continue my search for decent GS floor strips.

I've cleaned a few of the strips up and they straighten and polish right up. The endcaps also look good with a couple of minutes at the polishing wheel. I have access to the correct riveting tool for the floor strips so reinstalling the strips shouldn't be too much of an ordeal.

Nice ride

With very little effort, I was able to get the GS running reliably for the summer. Carb cleaned, new plug, cleaned up wiring and it likes to start in 1-2 kicks. I keep finding more grease to clean out. The thick grease tended to keep the rust down so I guess the dirt isn't so bad.

The biggest performance issue was a shuddering front brake combined with a blown front shock. The shuddering front brake was caused by a rust spot in the front drum. Easily cleaned out. After looking around at various front shock options, I found another old front shock in decent shape that will go on when I pull the front end apart. When the current shock comes off, I'll probably try to put new seals and oil in it.

The other annoyance is that it doesn't like to kickstart when warm. I often end up pushing pushing it and it starts right up.

The GS gets up to about 55 and is a bit slower than my TV175. It's much more torquey than the Lambretta, but doesn't like to rev up. Hopefully a rebuild this winter will give it some more pep.

Here's a shot of the my GS in the front along with my TV175 and a nice original roundtail GS Mk1.

Locks

I lucked out with the locks on this scooter. It turned out that the steering lock had a key broken off in it. I was able to pull out the key with a bit of work and get replacements made at the local locksmith for only $8. The glovebox locks were more expensive because neither lock had a key, but I was able to pull them both out and leave them for a day at the locksmith. Now the scooter has two sets of new keys for all three locks.