That was it. I had had enough. While changing gears on my bike it kept jumping out, the clutch kept slipping, the thing was really hard to start, the brakes were dangerous because they simply did not stop the bike, and it really lacked in power. Phew. Lots of problems.
A long stretch of road in Argentina.
I loved the bike but these things were starting to get to me and I knew that if I was going to start riding it some long distances then they would cause even more problems. Argentina has some very long stretches of road with nothing in between. If I broke down on one of those stretches then it would be a long long way to walk to get help.
Mr. Verdun's Report
That was the point that I decided it would be better to get the help of an expert. So I took my bike down to Mr. Verdun who is an expert in Siambretta motorbikes. At something around seventy years of age, he has been working on these bikes since they started selling them in Argentina back in the 50's. In one of his comments, he shared that he was even one of the official Inocenti mechanics for their Siambretta range of bikes. Since then he has never stopped working on them, and his yard shows the years of collected bikes, frames and other bits and pieces.
Part of the graveyard at the house of Mr. Verdun.
A man the likes of Mr. Verdun would soon be able to sort out all of the things wrong with my bike and get it up and running again in good condition. So it did not surprise me when I took the bike down to him that he started to identify areas that would need to be looked at. We dug around in various parts of the bike, and chatted about different areas that needed help. At the end of our chat he climbed aboard and rode around the block to check it out. His report was actually quite promising.
There were certain things that we knew had to be repaired on the bike. These were the obvious things, such as the clutch and the brakes. The gears also seemed to need to be replaced too, but after his ride I was told that only 3rd gear had a problem. The lack of power was due to worn rings in the cylinder, and the bike sounded like an chainsaw because of an old exhaust pipe with lots of holes in it.
Mr. Verdun, the Siambretta man.
My newly hired mechanic was now going to pull apart the bike and assess the rest of the problems that may exist inside the gearbox. Things like the chain, gears, bearings, and other areas all needed to be inspected. My task was to return at the end of the day. I did, and by the end of the assessment there was a list of things that needed to be replaced, repaired, or re-manufactured. One of the things that I love about Argentina is that if they do not have it then they can easily make it.
This was my list of things needing fixing:
- Front and rear brakes
- The clutch and clutch basket
- Piston rings
- Exhaust pipe
- Bush for the gear change shaft
- Replace points for electronic ignition
Bits of my bike.
Amazingly the gears were all in good condition and the problems with them was due to the worn bush and somebody putting a gear in the gearbox the wrong way. The chain was also in very good condition and did not need to be changed, however the clutch inner basket was just about to self-explode and destroy everything in the gearbox. The points were no longer available so changing to electronic ignition removed the need to use points, and I have organised to put some side mirrors on the bike too because of the troubles that this causes on the highways without them.
Having Mr. Verdun look over the bike gave me a lot of confidence in knowing that the work would be done well. His experience and understanding of these bikes will ensure that my bike will last the distance when I start on some of my journeys. It will be great to have the bike working well too. The only things left after this work is the shock absorber and a speedometer. Then I will be ready for the road.
My bike disassembled for inspection.