It's all about engine bearings

Background reference: great information on bearing choices can be found here.

When restoring my wife's 1967 Vespa VSC. I quickly took to two mentors, because I am a total newbie. Those guys are Christopher Markley and Tom Giordano. They are referenced a ton on the blog restore of the Vespa. For this Lambretta I have added to mentors to my list, Stuart Werner and Mike Analt. So now I have four teachers. I am in the process of learning everything I can about the bearings that go inside a Lambretta engine. I don't like to just do things. I get obsessive and want to know about each piece before installing it and without a doubt bearings are parts that play an integral role in the performance and safety of your scooter.

First, I spoke with Gene Meredith and learned he sells URB bearings, but of course he explained
we can get any bearing you want. we normally use URB, which is a good high quality bearing, but if you insist on SKF I can get it, although it will be more $ and also NO guarantee what country the bearing was made in (SKF supply whatever is sent to them from whatever country is making x bearing at that time - which is why we prefer URB which is a good European bearing - used around here by most motorcycle shops and we use and have had no problem with them. they are EC which is extra capacity rating.

Secondly, I spoke with my mentors and got a greatly detailed answer that taught me exactly what I needed to know.

For the crank, you want to use an ECP (extra capacity) bearing. If you can get that from SKF, great. If not, go with the best quality bearing you can find. But then again, SKF has plants all over the world, and I'm not thrilled with their Indian production. Some of the Vespa Crankshaft bearings you get these days are SKF Indian, and I have seen several cage failures (and NEVER saw a cage failure on anything BUT these indian SKFs).

I've had good experiences with ZKL bearings.

But remember, the magneto side bearing is a two-part roller bearing. N204 or NU204 (I can't recall right now which). The rollers are held in place by a cage. Most N or NU 204 bearings made these days are made with plastic cages. But if you hunt, you can still find ones with bronze or steel cages. You want to use a bronze or steel cage bearing.

For a few years, (a reputable very shop) was selling plastic caged bearings. I had spoken with the Technical Service people at SKF, who said that the plastic cages were not meant to be used in constant contact with fuel. I raised this issue with (the very reputable shop owner), who spoke with (very reputable Italian distributor and Lammy Lover) about it. (The Italian Distributor) said he had been using them for years with no ill effects, and continued supplying plastic cage bearings. I decided to only use metal cage for my rebuilds. I think -- but am not sure -- that (the very reputable shop) has changed their policy and that their magneto bearings now only come with metal cages. I have not bought one lately, so I don't know.

You will not have an option to use metal cages with some of the needle rollers in the Lammy transmission. Some only come in plastic cage these days, but it does not matter. The transmission does not see gas -- only oil. So plastic is not a problem here.

Tom

When I lived in Harrisburg, PA I purchased my bearings from an industrial company, but I can't recall the name off the top of my head.

I have also been told that Power Transmission Services in Baltimore at 410-354-0010 is good and sells ZKL as well.