Model: SX/GP200
Engine size: 225ccs
Base colour: Blue
Contrast: Yellow
| I wrote on the Lucifer Sam 4 page that it was to be the bike to overshadow all the previous ones - and it was. So now that Sam 4 had been stolen what could I do next? The answer was to make an even faster bike using the recovered Sam 4 engine, but to bias the paintwork towards a more mature quality. Although my previous bikes had been well sprayed, with a good coating of smooth cellulose car paint, this bike was an attempt to tidy up some of the unseen areas where the other bikes were less than perfect. I wanted this bike to be more 'grown-up'. |
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I think that I was successful. B&Y had fewer 'tacky' features but the bright blue and yellow colour scheme stood out even more than the other bikes. The blue was actually brighter than depicted by the photograph, it was very similar to the blue at the top of this page. Note that I invested in GP200 sidepanels and front mudguard for this bike. I removed the chrome 'horn' because it spoilt the bike's lines, but otherwise it remained much as you see it in the photographs. |
| A closer look under the sidepanels revealed a greater attention to detail and I was very proud of my achievement. Even so, some people thought that the colour scheme was over the top. I thought so too while I was spraying it, but once it was complete I was thrilled. The bike had terrific presence but seemed, somehow, to be more mature. |
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This photograph shows that I still kept up my tradition of tatty spare wheels. It was pointless keeping a beautifully sprayed spare on the bike because it would get stolen immediately. A barely legal tyre and dirty wheel paint was needed to deter thieves. Well, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it! |
| I purchased a brand new frame for this bike because then I was able to register it as a completely new machine with a new K registration. This would double the value of the vehicle immediately. The page on bike restoration describes the process that I used in detail. I used the engine from Lucifer Sam 4, but rebuilt it to give a few more bhp. I haven't a clue what power it eventually developed, but it was pretty amazing for a scooter. |
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This is my flatmate Barrie giving my bike a spot of routine maintenance. At least I think it was routine because the bike was very reliable. It should have been too - this was after at least three years of experience at building and tuning Lambrettas. |
I put all my skill into tuning this bike. Here is the list of tuning items or tweaks which I used: rebored to 225ccs, primary compression raised by padding the crankshaft with cork epoxy-resined into the balancing holes, cylinder head skimmed to raise compression, swish shape re-profiled, piston shaped on the crown, exhaust and inlet ports enlarged, all ports smoothed, 32mm Amal 'concentric' carburettor, and a better exhaust fitted. I believe that this was of a type called 'Ancilotti'. The carb was much too big for decent low down performance although I developed a trick which overcame this. Most of my friends couldn't get it to respond quickly, but the trick was to open the throttle slowly and let the revs build up before giving it full throttle. If you did it correctly, which was easy when you knew how, the performance was incredible. Well it accelerated much better than a 250cc Honda Superdream 4-stroke motorcycle. Top speed was not all that impressive because the gearing was too low. The real glory was the amazing pull at main road speeds in top gear. |
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This very poor photograph shows the Amal 'Concentric' carburettor sticking out of the side-panel. This arrangement was identical to that on Lucifer Sam 4. |
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