Troll Update - So close... Electronic Ignition

Well, last week it turned out all things weren't quite as equal as I'd hoped. Two problems had arisen that prevented Ivo and Roberto finishing the Troll -
a) the stator was no good, and:
b) the foot brake bowden cable didn't fit.

Fortunately neither of these are insurmountable problems. Powerdynamo in Germany manufacture replacement ignition / generator systems for many German vintage vehicles. It only took a day to turn around the order and they are shipping a new 12 volt generator system directly to the Vespa shop. All up this is something of a blessing. IWL and MZ had to make do with rather weak and unreliable 6 volt electrical systems that only got worse with age so Powerdynamo's 12 volt conversion kit comes highly recommended by other IWL and MZ riders. The kit basically replaces the entire original "lichtmachine" and regulator and comes with all the necessary wiring. The kit is being airfreighted so I'm expecting it to arrive late this week.

The bowden cable however is something of a problem. The new replacement is 112 cms while the original is 100 cms. The original is in pretty bad condition so we're not really keen to use it. Attempts to contact the suppliers in Germany haven't been so successful, but (in desperation) I have managed to secure a second hand bowden from another Troll. It too is being airfreighted and hopefully it will solve the problem, but then again it is second hand and there is no guarantee that it won't be in any better condition than my original. Gotta take the chance though.

So, if all things go well (crossed fingers) and both the generator and the bowden arrive on time as expected... we could ... COULD be looking at completion by the end of March!

A Quick Update
Having only ordered the new generator on Thursday evening you can imagine my surprise when I logged into my emails at work on Monday and found a status update from UPS advising me that my package had been unexpectedly delayed at Perth Airport due to a quarantine inspection. Excuse me? Already? Definitely. The package had already travelled from Berlin to Cologne to Mumbai to Bangkok to Singapore and was now here in Perth. At 8.41am Monday morning it had just been released from quarantine inspection and would shortly be dispatched from the UPS office. Talk about speedy delivery. Although it turns out this is the normal service Powerdynamo use I can't help but be impressed. Some parts I've ordered have taken over three months to reach me from Germany so even in the best case scenario I was expecting it to be week.

And the bowden cable? Turns out I was sent the replacement bowden for a Berlin which is 15 cms longer than that of the Troll. It wouldn't be the first time I was sent Berlin parts that didn't fit. These include a tacho bowden and a whole Berlin exhaust system, which, given that it completely doesn't fit a Troll was something of a disaster for me. It was too expensive to ship back to Germany for a refund so I've ended up keeping it. If you're in Australia and you need a new Berlin exhaust, I've got one for you - it hasn't even been unwrapped.

So, I've managed to find the correct bowden and I've ordered from a different vendor this time. Only problem is I couldn't complete the order online so it's back to polite, poor German emails. I hope they respond quickly....