Ready to go
It’s been a couple of editions since Stan updated us on the progress of Project Targa and he’s got some embarrassing admissions to make….
When I last reported on Project Targa it was on the eve of a trip to France. There were several niggles to be resolved and with departure time rapidly approaching I’d entered panic repair mode. Obviously coronavirus intervened and the trip was cancelled. Although lockdown caused plenty of other problems it was a blessing in one respect as it gave me time to do things properly.
Before anyone starts rolling their eyes at my stupidity, I want to raise my defence. At Scootering, we’re inundated with new products to test and I can forgive any reader who thinks that they’ve been specially prepared. The truth is that 99% of the time we get exactly what the customer buys, straight off the warehouse shelf. However our Targa engine is an exception – but not in a good way. The engine (Targa spotters may like to know that it’s number 25) is a few years old, originally coming to the UK for a buyer who had more ambition than cash. Since then it’s been something of an orphan, having passed through the hands of several dealers and each of these has experimented with possible applications for the Targa. Notably it was dry-fitted into a Scomadi frame and exhibited at Newark in 2018. Far from being specially prepared, both Dan and I have been playing catch-up. We’ve identified missing parts and fitted the occasional upgrade so it’s more representative of Tino’s current products. However, as is so often the case, the final yards are often the hardest.
I’ll admit that I’m better at building frames than engines and after a few final tweaks I was happy with the LI’s overall condition. However there was still an issue with the kick-start, which was failing to return properly. In my pre-trip panic I’d decided that the actuator pin was sticking and prepared myself to remove the chain case. Sitting down with a mug of tea, I noticed that the alignment mark I’d made on the shaft was no longer true – I’d slipped the lever into the wrong spline! Exactly two minutes later the pedal had been moved up a notch, the spring was correctly tensioned and the kick-start functioned perfectly. In haste it’s easy to miss the obvious…
With the scooter now ready to roll and Dan pulling rank, the Targa headed back to Scootering HQ. Why is it when the boss’s eyes are on something it always goes wrong? As I kicked it over, petrol gushed out of the right carb. A strip down revealed that the float had perforated, allowing over-fuelling. With a new float fitted we tried again and the motor reluctantly fired into life. Sadly the problems didn’t end there. The intention of this project was always to build a ‘street sleeper’, so Dan had opted for a clubman exhaust. This is an uncommon fit for the Targa and looking at the jets it was clear that the carbs were set up for an expansion chamber. Thanks to lockdown I’d only taken the Targa on short jaunts, mostly on cool days, so I’d written off any bogging down to the engine not warming up correctly. A hot day had pushed the motor too far and as I type these words Dan is tinkering away with carb settings.
That should see our street sleeper finally ready to crunch some miles. It’s been a long journey for engine 25 but finally it’s ready to hit the road.