The Sears 124 was the big brother to the ever-popular Sears106. Made in Italy, the 124 was everything the 106 should have been. It had an extra 20 cc of displacement and a 5th gear which gave it an extra 10 mph in top end (65 mph up from 55 mph). It also has a battery. You would think the battery is there to keep the lights bright at a stop sign. Actually the lights are direct like on the 106. The battery supplies the brake light and horn. Its real reason for being, however is to provide a parking light, a legal requirement in some countries in the 60's. Internally a steel camshaft gear replaced the nylon one that liked to crack in the 106. Other refinements included a 1" larger front brake drum for better stopping power. This ambitious restoration started with a hulk that had sat in the rain for years. Bearings were obtained locally, gaskets and seals came from Bob Wright's Gilera Parts and Service in England. I painted it with a red frame like it should have been rather than the drab English-style black frame that it came with from Sears Roebuck. Internally the workmanship in the motor is top-notch and a joy to work on.
November 2002. Lots of rust andwhat is left of a rattle-can paint job.
Engine looks bad but the roller bearing bottom end was good.
Dec 2002. Bead blasting cleaned up the cases. New bearings and seals and its good as new.
January 2003. Coming along nicely. All painted parts were bead blasted to bare metal and painted red with acrylic enamel. The 17" rims were found in a Honda parts catalog and laced up perfectly. Tires were from JC Whitney catalog. Finally, the Denfield seat is off a Sears Twingle but was easily made to fit the 124. It will have to do until the right seat shows up.
February 1 and just about finished. Runs great.
February 11 tank badges in place and a battery. The tank badges were made on the computer and printed on photo paper. Click here for a copy of the official Sears artwork. The battery is actually a 3.5 AH maintenance-free battery in a plastic box. The original B49-6 battery is hard to find.
