This 1963 Gilera 106SS was brought to us for a full restoration. At intake it appeared to be complete and in fairly decent shape. Gilera was an Italian company first started by Giuseppe Gilera in 1909 but was later sold to Piaggio in 1969.
As with most restorations, we began our work by completely disassembling the motorcycle. We then shipped out various parts to the appropriate specialists. A few months later, parts started trickling back to us and the assembly process began. We started by lacing and truing the wheels with stainless steel spokes from Buchanan’s Spoke and Rim and mounting Michelin City Pro tires.
For this project the customer brought in two fuel tanks to restore. One of the tanks we believe to be the original (left), and the other is off an unknown model (right), as pictured below. The paint work was performed by Matt’s Color Lab and he did an excellent job with both tanks. In addition to the tanks, he also repaired the rear fender by welding a crack and painted both fenders a gloss black. To prevent rust, they were also treated with an undercoat product.
As usual, we relied on Jason at Performance Powdercoating to coat the frame, swingarm, kick starter, and pegs all in gloss black. For some contrast, the wheels and hubs were coated in a metallic silver.
The team at Custom Chrome Plating did a fantastic job reviving the fork covers, headlight ears and ring, shock springs, and other miscellaneous parts.
While we don’t always need machine work done, this job called for it as the valve guides in the head were worn and unable to be used. Thankfully, we were able to outsource this to a talented local machine shop ran by Dale Kohler. He fabricated new valve guides and installed them in the head.
We then had a fantastic looking rolling chassis and were ready to assemble the motor. With the cylinder head reassembled and the cylinder honed, we began installing the top end. Unfortunately, when we went to install the piston we found play in the bottom end of the rod. This indicated that we needed to rebuild the crankshaft.
We split the bottom end and removed the crank. Finding crank components proved to be one of our most challenging tasks yet, and hours of online searching yielded no viable leads. Eventually, we shifted the plan to purchasing an entire crankshaft assembly in good running condition that we had come across during our previous efforts that were unsuccessful at sourcing individual parts. These types of purchases can often feel like a big gamble but, thankfully, the used crankshaft we received was in excellent condition. We reassembled the motor with no major hiccups aside from unanticipated additional time needed to shim the transmission for proper clearance.
After the motor was repaired and back in one piece, it was time to install it in the frame. Due to the simplicity of this model, this process went quicker than most. Next, we reinstalled the carburetor, fuel tank, exhaust, and seat. We also wired the lights and ignition systems. We prepared the bike for its first start by giving it fresh gas and motor oil.
After several unsuccessful attempts to start it, we began troubleshooting and unfortunately found that it had no spark. We checked wiring, grounds, coils, and just about every other thing we could think of related to spark to no avail. After a few frustrating days that left our mechanics stumped, John had an epiphany. Unable to think about much other than this peculiar problem, a possible explanation came to him while watching TV in bed. This is often the case for complex presentations at the shop and it is common for him to solve especially challenging cases in this way- at home, in bed watching TV. It occurred to him that this model might operate similar to mopeds we’ve serviced in the past.
Uncommon but not entirely unheard of, some models run a hot wire through the taillight due to DOT safety regulations. When this is the case, a simple tail light being burned out (or missing altogether) will cause the motorcycle to not have spark, and therefore not run. After replacing the bulb, we were thrilled to find that we then had spark and the bike was running well a few minutes later.
We recently took it on its first test ride since reassembly and were please with how it performed. Although we have a few loose ends to tie up, this project is near complete and will soon be reunited with its owner!
Have a project you’re interested in having restored? Shoot us an email through our Contact Us page or call (740) 747-2299 during normal business hours!
