"Pearson Hurst" (phurst)
06/02/2015 at 16:28 • Filed to: None
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"Pearson Hurst" (phurst)
06/02/2015 at 16:28 • Filed to: None | 7
| 12 |
I recently completed my first ever !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! on a free Craigslist find. A friend of mine showed the pictures to a friend of his who had purchased his own project moped some time ago and hadn’t done much with it. Next thing you know, it’s loaded into the back of a car and headed my way. This one is an Italian made 1975 Garelli. Cute little thing. It’ll get the same treatment. Complete disasembly, clean, strip, repaint, reassemble. This one also needs a complete rewire and the top end put back together. All the parts are there though, so in a few months, I should have a nice pair of restored mopeds, all for the price of some paint and a lot of hours doing something I enjoy.
shop-teacher
> Pearson Hurst
06/02/2015 at 16:36 |
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Cool!
Patrick Nichols
> Pearson Hurst
06/02/2015 at 16:39 |
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I think the cheap old moped route will be my first attempt at learning some basic mechanical things. Plus no matter how goofy a 6’3” 20 something looks on one, they are a lot of fun. How hard are you finding full restoration to be? Finding parts?
Klaus Schmoll
> Pearson Hurst
06/02/2015 at 16:47 |
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Why repaint? Why not do an oily rag resto or only fill it with clearcoat? Patina is all the rage right now, and I can only agree, original paint and stickers can not be replicated. Plus it will save you some time.
I had a Simson Schwalbe (East German 50cc scooter) a while ago, which got a nice coat of Ferrari red, then got stolen and trashed etc.... (not my picture, but pretty close)
I will get another one sooner or later and this time I might preserve its battle scars.
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Pearson Hurst
> Klaus Schmoll
06/02/2015 at 16:51 |
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The first one I did was REALLY nasty, and I didn’t really have a choice but to completely redo it. I had actually considered leaving this one with some patina, but likely my wife will be on it and she doesn’t get the whole patina thing. Shiny and new (looking) or nothing for her.
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Pearson Hurst
> Patrick Nichols
06/02/2015 at 16:57 |
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It really wasn’t too bad. The first one I did doesn’t get much love as a brand in the moped world, so parts were hard to come by. Thankfully MOST of what I had to source were generic things like tires, pedals, cables and some hardware, so they were pretty easy gets. Garelli does have some support in the community, so it shouldn’t be too hard at all. They even make a 70CC kit for it which I’m seriously considering. The actual restoration wasn’t too bad either. Like anything else you’re going to completely dissasemble, take a crap ton of pictures along the way, and bag and label EVERYTHING. The only real pain in the ass about the whole project was the need to paint things as soon as I stripped them. I’m working out of a shed with no AC in the humid south, so if I didn’t, there was a decent chance of a little flash rust showing up overnight. As a result, things took a bit longer than I expected because I had to pick a part, strip it, wipe it down, paint it, then pick another part and repeat instead of just stripping it all and then painting everything in batches.
I highly recommend it as a way to learn about turning wrenches.
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Pearson Hurst
> Klaus Schmoll
06/02/2015 at 16:58 |
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That’s a gorgeous bike, by the way.
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Patrick Nichols
> Pearson Hurst
06/02/2015 at 17:08 |
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As I’m from NH where these aren’t too popular and have very little experience, I’ll probably look for a more common model (seen a lot of Puchs around) so I might be able to find parts and have some forum support.
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Pearson Hurst
> Patrick Nichols
06/02/2015 at 17:22 |
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If they’re not too popular up there, maybe you can get one cheap :)
Puchs are definitely well supported, that would be a great choice.
Captain of the Enterprise
> Pearson Hurst
06/02/2015 at 23:36 |
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I just finished rebuilding a riding lawn mower someone was giving away for free that didn’t work and was in barn find condition to running condition, do you think a moped is a good next project? I don’t want anything too expensive but enjoyed the last experience and am looking for something new.
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Pearson Hurst
> Captain of the Enterprise
06/03/2015 at 10:17 |
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It’s certainly no more complex than a riding mower. Chains instead of belts, 2 wheels instead of 4, etc., but good lord, if I can do it, anyone can.
Nice job on the mower!
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Captain of the Enterprise
> Pearson Hurst
06/03/2015 at 10:44 |
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Thanks it was my first restoration project, I’d done work on cars before but it was the first time I took a machine from dead to running. I’m proud of it and might do a write up for it.
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Pearson Hurst
> Captain of the Enterprise
06/03/2015 at 13:56 |
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If you do, let me know. I’d love to read it.