So I thought they were finished. They looked amazing, not a scratch during assembly and everything was fettled a fitted to perfection. Now check out the first picture…! As you’ll see, the 90 degree brass inner tube valve hits the pivot bolt nut. I’ve since found this to be a common problem with the Lambrettas as well, the answer being a 45 degree valve.

I have to admit, my heart sank; the thought of disassembling the wheels all over again really got me down and for the first time since I started this project, I lost a bit of interest. It didn’t help matters that I simply couldn’t find a 45 degree valve tube that was on a 9″ x 2.75″ tube. I looked everywhere, not even a straight fitting rather than a 45.

Eventually I settled on a 10″ x 2.75″ tube with a straight steel valve, I checked it against what I could see and in theory it would fit.  Today I got round to fitting it (only the front as I didn’t have time for both), and hey presto it works!!