1966 Gilera 106ss
Acquire Date: June 2017
Nearing the Christmas holiday time of the year when I was young, I would look over the Sears catalog pages circling and dreaming of what I hoped Santa would bring me. That was the early/mid 80's. Turn back time another 10-20 years, the mail order catalog actually sold vehicles. One of them being the Gilera Motorcycle.
I am a member of a few internet vintage motorcycle email chains and group sites. One day someone sent out a notice that space was needed in their garage; a few items were up for grabs. One of the items was a Gilera 106ss with a seized engine and no paperwork. With the motorcycle being on the small side and not taking up too much space, I decided to take on the bike as another side project. I look forward to bringing this motorcycle back to life.
The Italian made Gilera motorcycle was offered in 4 different colors: black, silver, red and blue. This one being the blue model, the color may change.
The 1966 Sears Allstate Gilera 106ss is an Italian manufactured motorcycle that was specifically sold to the American market through the Sears catalog. The 106cc 4-cycle engine delivers up to 9 HP @ 7500 RPM and has a listed top speed of 60 MPH. Compression ratio is a modest 8.5-1 with a four speed gearbox and runs on a 6-volt magneto electrical system. The 178 LB single cylinder bike can travel up to 96 miles on a single gallon of gas.
Unfortunately this bike will have to sit on the sidelines for a minute before I can start working on it.
April 2018
Cylinder/Piston: Due to the engine being "frozen", I removed the valve-head assembly to see what the piston dome looked like. Sure enough the rings and top of piston are rusted to the cylinder wall. I soaked in Marvel's Mystery oil for about a week and tried to whack it loose with a wooden dead blow; no movement at all.. Next I soaked the rust in automatic transmission fluid for a few days, this must've helped because I started tapping the piston head and it freed up right away.
I honed the rust away along with as much of the pitting I could within reason. I was able to find a set of rings on eBay that was one over. I purchased and installed them while grinding the end gap down to size. The piston/sleeve tolerances are a bit loose, I may get some slight piston slap at startup but at this point I'm just looking for a running bike.
After re-assembly, the piston moves freely and I'm happy with the work.
I honed the rust away along with as much of the pitting I could within reason. I was able to find a set of rings on eBay that was one over. I purchased and installed them while grinding the end gap down to size. The piston/sleeve tolerances are a bit loose, I may get some slight piston slap at startup but at this point I'm just looking for a running bike.
After re-assembly, the piston moves freely and I'm happy with the work.
November 2018
Spark: I've been messing around with the bike trying to get some signs of a heartbeat. One of the main things needed to get this thing running is spark. No battery on this old girl, she's got a magneto tucked away with the points plate. No spark... To be continued...
May 2020
More Spark: The Gilera will not show signs of life. The magneto coils do not hold a proper current and I am unable to source one for the bike. My options are purchasing used, which look worse than what I've got with no guarantees; or a an expensive modern pointless system. I am not willing to do either at this point. I can try to build a new one, but that'll take too much of my time - also with no guarantees.
June 2020
After careful deliberation I've chosen to part out the bike. I've put a few hundred bucks into the bike. With all of the time and hard stops I keep running into, the bike does not look like it has a future. There are quite a few more things wrong with the engine aside from the spark at this point. Then, there's the mild restoration of the drive line components. I just don't see it happening at this point. Not worth my time and money for a 106cc bike. At this point I just want to recoup what I've got invested into the bike and let it go. The parting out begins. -- A sad ending to a potential fun restoration.
Sale date: July 2020