TARGAline Lambretta shock absorber

I've had numerous Lambretta shocks over the years i.e. Bitubo, Taffspeed, R6, Escort etc. but my current shock leaked nasty oil/fluid all over the casing and back tyre outside the post office last week. Fundamentally all other shocks have failed in many ways leading to some interesting riding and cornering. So I purchased a TARGAline shock absorber from Stuart Owen at 100mphlambrettaclub (actually Supertune Ltd) which is destined for my touring GP250. BTW this is the most reliable Lambretta I have ever owned, ridden Lambrettas for 30+ years. It's reliable because I only use quality parts from reliable, trust-worthy UK dealers.

The West Midlands is 2.5 hours north from my gaff and being an Englishman, born in Aldershot, I'm inherently north-a-phobic (Tottenham Court Road is too far north for me!) However I was very impressed with Stuarts customer service, shop and workshop facilities, expertise and professional approach. I'd also had a previous recommendation from a seriously anorak, fussy fucker mate who has a TV200 fetish and only trusts Stuart to touch his extensive collection - praise indeed!

First impressions of the TARGAline shock were the incredible quality. Apparently it was specifically designed for Lambrettas (not ting-tong or converted motorcycle shite) so having a rear shock that was acting like it was made of cheese on my only running road scooter, I brought one on impulse. Not cheap @ £180, but cheaper than similar options and again obvious quality!

NOTE: I'm not a small gentleman and am forced to ride my GP250 at slow speeds on motorways when away with the Doris (over 60 mph gets me a punch in the kidneys and shouting/screaming/crying from behind) With all her crap make-up, clothes, shoes, hand-bags, duvet, pillows etc. strapped to my pride and joy the overall payload easily tips the scales at >200kg i.e. 16 stone and 10 stone respectively (on a good day) plus crap luggage. This probably explains the failures of other shock absorber systems!

So this is my first impression of the shock before fitting. First off it comes very well packaged in a plastic case, which has a convenient carry handle!

Unfortunately I don't speak Italian, if I did the packaging would make some sense which is one of the only gripes I have, along with a distinct lack of fitting instructions!

The kit contains two (2) C-spanners, an additional spring, three (3) collars and the shock itself. The inside of the packaging contains more detail, but is in Italian and a form of English that I'm not familiar with. Babelfish didn't help much, but it basically seems to be marketing crap anyway. That aside you can tell the quality of the system straight away - this is a serious work of art!

 

I like to think I'm pretty familiar with series III Lambretta's but called Stuart for more information as my last visit was so rushed that he didn't have time to explain the ins and outs for setting up the shock. 

The spare spring provided is no good for my application (fat and heavy) but is a nice touch and could be suitable for lighter riders and those wishing to tighten up the rear suspension for better rock hard handling characteristics and skipping across the tarmac through corners etc.

Luverly bit of kit

First thing I appreciated was that the head of the shock absorber simply unscrews and the supplied spacers are inserted to adjust the length of the shock - nice feature! You can see the three (3) supplied collars in the second pics below.

Unscrew me for adjustment. This is the top.

What other Lambretta shock does this?

As my Rapido 250 has no frame/carb clearance issues, I used the smaller collar and screwed the top back on.

Smallest collar fitted

Then simply adjust the rings to 20-30mm (1/2") and tighten up - that's it basically, so far! 

Few more pictures below showing the amount of adjustment you've got available and pictures of the indecipherable instructions.

Loadsa adjustment. The function of the brass adjuster valve at the bottom (which faces the rear of the scooter) is unknown. The so called instructions mentions it is adjustable (18 posizioni apparently)

What?

I'll be fitting the shock to my GP250 and have a 100+ mile round trip mid-week so a good road test. Will report back sometime after that, don't hold your breath though!

So far this has a Lloydy's Lambrettas rating of 8.5 out of 10 for quality. Lack of instructions let's it down but a quality product nonetheless. Expectations are high and I want to see a noticeable change for the better re: handling and comfort of the vibration-monster that is my GP Rapido 250!