My favorite Simson Star has been written about for a long time. So much so that he is already 58 years old. And yet quite a lot has happened to him lately. But let's take a look at it one by one.
The biggest step is that the replacement of the kick starter shaft is complete. A nice mechanic friend of mine did this very professionally. I just had to take the complete block to him. Once he was there, he replaced the seals and oil seals. Of course, there was also an oil change, and the block got new intake bolts. And finally, little Simo doesn't just start by pushing anymore.
My friend Zoltán Molnár, an upholsterer He made a beautiful seat cover, and the molding was installed by my friend András's skillful wife. (No one else knew how, since the double leather also had to be punched through.)
I bought a beautiful exhaust at a dealer, which also made a big difference to the bike. It also got new tires earlier, which improved its handling quite a bit.
Unfortunately, there were still problems with the ignition, I struggled with it a lot. When I took it apart once, I noticed that the motherboard seemed to be moving. I examined it more closely and it turned out that the almost six-decade-old screws were no longer on the top. On the advice of a motorcycle mechanic friend, I measured the hole depths, bought new strong screws, cut them to size and reassembled the ignition. The engine's reliability increased by light years. When cold, it starts according to the factory specifications - three kicks without ignition, with choke, then choke back, ignition on, and kick starts. Everything was fine, but then when it warmed up it started to get harder and harder to start. I would have proudly started from the gas station or from the grocery store, but then all that was left was pushing, and my pride was gone.
I bought a new capacitor, which helped a little, but didn't completely solve the problem. The ignition coil still had to be replaced. I bought a 6-volt one that was supposed to go with it, but it's not exactly the same as the factory part. One difference is that the old screw stems have a spacer that can't be removed. I'll try to get one, but I'm not sure I'll dare to try to start it with this part.
So I'll probably put the old coil back in, so I'll stick with it for a while, and then the conversion will come, for which there are several alternatives, such as VAPE ignition.
There were still adventures though. After a successful ride, I wanted to start it again to see if it was still working, but a huge puddle of gasoline had formed under it. I wasn't happy... I immediately thought that the 58-year-old float had lasted so long - not such a bad lifespan - and indeed, it had a puncture. When I took it out, the gasoline was sloshing around in it. I bought an aftermarket one, installed it, but it wouldn't budge. I bought another one at another store. Both places told me that this one was good because everything needs one. Well, no.
However, I kept turning it until I noticed that at the base, where it rotates on the small axis, the two tentacles of the factory float, which hold the two float tanks, later start to curve outwards. The new one immediately bends out and tightens against the float housing. That's why it can't move. However, I fixed this problem with two well-aimed small filings, and the float has been doing its job ever since.
What's more important is what happened on the front near the handlebars. For a long time, I only had the factory left-side grip and clutch lever, but I cherished the hope that the right one would be the same. Then this summer I gave up. So I bought Ns Simson gas and left-side grips, clutch and brake levers, choke lever and mirrors, and what else was needed, such as bowden cables. After a little struggle, the picture came together. Well, to put it mildly, it's not factory... But it has a lot of advantages. It finally looks uniform. I can't see my shoulder in the mirrors. And I also got a brake light switch. Yes, I missed that I tried quite a lot with the factory brake light switch in the rear wheel arch. I adjusted it outside, tried it out and it worked fine. Then I put the wheel in place and it didn't budge. I played with this about three times, then I decided, less smiling, to neglect it. However, the newer Simsons have a very easy-to-use brake light switch in the front brake lever. I routed the cable there nicely, gave it a body. Then, after a little adjustment, lo and behold, my brake light works!
So here is the Simson Star. I've had a good ride with it this summer. Unfortunately, my odometer is not good again, I'll have to deal with that! But I feel like I could comfortably keep a 50-60 km/h passenger, if I didn't just go 40, of course. And its top speed could be over 70.
It's a great experience to ride such an old machine, especially since it works quite reliably and doesn't roll back on hills. Considering that my father bought it new, it's staying with us. Dad is also very happy about the rebirth of the little veteran motorcycle and my son is already interested...
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