Model: TV175
Engine size: 225ccs
Base colour: Orange
Contrast: Black
Others: White
| I bought this bike from an old school friend in a bit of a rush because I was about to sell Interstellar Aubergine to a close friend. This next bike was to be my most ambitious undertaking. I was planning on overshadowing the performance of Interstellar Aubergine which had been my fastest bike so far (225ccs), and at the same time I wanted to put all my previous bikes into the shade when it came to eye-catching presence. |
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This photograph shows that I had succeeded in making what was, arguably, the most outrageous scooter on the roads of Cardiff. Luckily, this is one of the better photographs that I have of my bikes which I scanned in from a three inch square print. The colour is starting to fade, but that's probably excusable for a print that is about 29 years old. In the background you can see my mate's bike - Lucifer Sam 3. |
| All my tuning experience was thrown at this bike but despite this it was reliable and I kept it quite a long time. It started with the original 175cc TV engine but I acquired a damaged SX200 engine cheaply from a dealer. The crankshaft had broken and smashed through the crankcase. You have probably guessed already that this didn't stop me. I stripped the engine completely and cleaned the casing thoroughly with solvent. Why? Well then I could patch it up with epoxy resin, of course! I hammered the jagged bits back into shape approximately and then applied the 'Araldite' to the inside and outside of the break. After allowing it a couple of days to set I ground the inside to shape with an electric drill attachment. I then re-assembled the engine as it was (well I bought a new crankshaft, obviously) and put it into the bike. A few kicks and it started. Off I went and the rest, as they say, is history. That engine was superb, so much so that it made its way into Blue & Yellow at a later date. |
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This photograph shows the bike (a TV175) immediately after I had bought it. Viewing the original photograph closely shows that the front fork dampers were present, but had been painted black. |
| I had three bikes with this name, Lucifer Sam, Lucifer Sam 2, and Lucifer Sam 4. I have no photographs of the original Lucifer Sam, pity. |
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Unfortunately the bright red/orange paintwork proved to be too attractive to a thief and it got stolen. It was recovered by the police in a totally stripped down form and the thought of rebuilding an old bike (note the number plate) was too much for me, so I bought a brand new frame and started again from scratch. In effect, this bike became the nameless 'Blue & Yellow' - my final scooter after over three years of happy biking. |
| During the final few months of ownership I noticed that some other people had copied me by giving their bikes the same names. Quite why the owners of Lucifer Sam 5, and 6, copied me I do not know, because I was never able to stop them and ask! This meant that I had to find a new name for my next and final Cardiff scooter; but I never did name it despite riding it for several months before selling it to buy a car. |
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The photograph shows the Amal 'Concentric' carb sticking out of the side-panel. This was the only visible evidence of tuning which this bike had undergone, but inside there were some significant changes as well. I had to replace the damper unit with a stiffer one because going over a large bump caused the engine to rise and the carb to hit the sidepanel. This made the panel flip upwards and fall off! |
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