badly fitting GP headlight rim.. what can I do?

[adriang]

This is Italian, bought from SR, fitted to Italian headset top and bottom.

I don't want to 'force it' for obvious reasons. Any ideas?




One of the downsides to living in OZ, is that everything is mail order, so it's hard to know if I'm buying the right thing or not, so if I have to buy another that will fit, recommendations most welcome.

[Nic]

I too have found a small gap at the bottom of my GP headset similar to the one you show with my SR rim, albeit not quite as bad as yours. My only guess is that while these rims are NOS they may have been pattern parts from the period (as in the difference between CEV and Bosatta with rear headlights, if you know what I mean). SR should be able to tell you.

That said, headlight rims from SR are far and away better than all the others, IMO. I have four unusable Casa Lambretta rims from different suppliers currently sitting on a shelf in my garage that can confirm that ("Oh no we can't!", "Oh yes we can!")

I would very gently sand down some of the painted areas that the rim will fit over to see if it will fit on more snugly. It gave me an extra 1mm, which made all the difference on top and narrowed the gap at the bottom.

Maybe there's other suggestions?

[TheSeeker]

I think you're really lucky to get it that tight! I bought a SIL GP headset top as the threads on my original were knackered. It won't sit properly and when you tighten the main screws the whole front (headset top + light + headlight surround) lift right up. The bottom of the headlight surround is nowhere near the headset bottom. I needed it in a hurry to get to a rally and it just about works but I still haven't solved the problem.



Best regards

Ben

[paul213]

you can dremel the inside of the rim have done this a couple of times .when I rebuilt my gp I screwed the top and bottom together and took it with me to a parts fair and went round the stalls till I found one that fitted , needless to say 12 mnths later the chrome was leaping off .
I have 2 original rims did have 3 but a friend took one to get it chromed with some of his bits and the chromer lost it, now very reluctant to lose any more.
none of the repro ones i have tried fit properly no matter where there made even the casa ones which I was asured were a perfect fit .

[Knowledge]

The GP headlight rim is an essential for a dry-build prior to painting. Some work with the dremmel on the inside of the rim, and a square edge file on the headset-lip can help re-dress the issue, but these are a consistent bone of centention and it is often necessary to settle for a best-fit, rather than a perfect fit.

It would be a tolerable problem, if only the GP headlights put a decent beam of light on the road. They don't! They never do.

Bring back the round headlight.....

[Doom Patrol]

The only GP headlight rim I have fitted successfully was a cheapo Indian one from MB. Mind you after a single winter the chrome was all flaking off. But bearing in mind that it was an excellent fit and decent enough quality I thought it worthwhile getting it properly chromed and so far at least I am very happy with it.

[Andy Pickering]

The main problem you have is your headset top an bottom are painted and you dont want to damage paint so you might have to take any excess metal off the inside if the rim..Ive got my indian SIL fitting pretty well with scooter restorations rim but it did take a lot of fettle to get it that way, after re-painting it doesnt quite sit as well as it did pre dry build..

[adriang]

With Martin giving me a spanking over the dry build...! It was actually a strip, paint and assembly of a working scoot.

It was a bit of a last minute thing to put that rim on, as the original went missing in action.

Only thing that was a bugger to fit was that back brake inner, can't recall where I got that from but I should mention that I didn't have the instructions....

Trying Indian rims is worth a try that's for sure. Not worried about the chrome, with the climate here it's expected that it will flake off. I've tended to use the silver heatproof coating from the guys who did the piston as an alternative. Not come across a decent chromer here.

[joey]

...file the head set all round and try as many different rims as pos.......