As we get closer and closer to this monumental adventure, I am starting to feel a little anxious about a few things - not least, the reliability of my scooter.
Now I have absolutely no evidence to say that my scooter is not reliable. I have not yet been let down by it (*touches wood as he types*), but I have only done only a few hundred miles on it since a major rebuild..... by an amateur.
And so it was with a sense of urgency that I serviced the front brake this weekend (actually I was also keen to get the back-plate painted - it was the only remaining task from the rebuild project)
Once stripped down I was interested to see the condition of the stub axle. It certainly showed some signs of wear (slight pitting on the bearing surfaces) but the bearings seemed good. I wondered what the acceptable level of wear is for a stub axle - According to Haynes;
"If this is worn or indented it must be renewed or the new bearings will be rapidly destroyed. Unfortunately, the stub axle is integral with the suspension link, renewal of which is a job for the dealer"
Was my axle "indented"? What if I'm NOT renewing the bearings? How rapid exactly is 'rapidly'? Do I really want to strip out the whole suspension and get it to a dealer?
I made a decision (based on an assumption that there must be hundred of thousands of vespa front axles worse than mine running perfectly happily in India) to reassemble with lots of grease and be done with it.
[I also noted with interest that Piaggio in their infinite wisdom decided not to put any grease nipples on the Vespa, where as Innocenti in their infinite wisdom did on the Lambretta.]
That night, I tossed and turned. Had I done the right thing? what if it all breaks up in the middle of some Tuscan mountain pass? I wondered how long I needed it to stay together for, and I made some calculations;
Wheel outer diameter = 16.5"
One wheel revolution = 1.44 yards
Wheel revolutions per mile = 1,222
Wheel revolutions for this trip (approx 1000 road miles) = 1.2 Million
Oh crivens! thats a lot of revolutions (*touches wood with crossed fingers as he types*)
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