New arrival 3

I wasn't expecting to get this one, I saw it on Ebay, put in a lowish bid and went out for the evening. I was quite surprised to see I had won it when I returned home. It's a 1976 Simson Schwalbe 50 CC scooter. They were never imported into the UK, when I get it ready for the road it will therefore have to be registered here before I can use it.

I haven't owned a 50 cc since I was 19 and had a Honda CB50 after my Jawa outfit expired. That was not a happy experience but I am very interested in this little scooter. Although they are very rare in this country (this is the only one I have ever seen) they were truly the machine of the people in East Germany. Most ordinary working folk either could not afford anything else or were not allowed anything better. Over a million Schwalbes were built over a period from the mid 1960s to the 1980s and I am impressed with the general quality of build.
It's got a 3 speed fan cooled engine developing a heady 3.6 horsepower, apparently good for 38 MPH.
It runs very well although it is in bad need of some work doing on it. The major problem is the kick start gear keeps jamming. I thought it would be easy to do, on an MZ 150 it is a simple case of taking the primary drive apart to replace the kick start quadrant gear, but I have discovered that the crank case has to be split meaning a total engine strip down. I intend to get it done this winter, including the engine rebuild which I hope to do myself. Yet another project!