Indholdsfortegnelse for October 2021 i Scootering

The Kickback shirt is a soft cotton casual shirt on the outside and a technical riding garment on the inside. Oxford’s description of this item is modest; it’s packed with features, made from durable cotton and is fully lined with 100% DuPont™ Kevlar®. It also has hidden structure stitching, Coats nylon-bonded thread and overlays (hidden extra layers of material). I chose to complete the item’s road test on a clear day, because it’s simply not designed to be worn in inclement weather. I already knew that the shirt was packed with as much protection as possible, so I wanted to see if it could bridge the gap between the temptation in warm weather to ride without the use of protective clothing or the feeling of being obliged to wear a…

It’s a long time since I have donned a textile jacket and felt this comfortable and secure. By secure, I don’t mean it doesn’t make my bum look big, I mean that I have every confidence in the construction quality, materials used, safety rating and body armour fitted, sufficiently to inspire confidence when riding. It’s comfy too. The comfort side of things is actually a huge relief, as when I first lifted the garment I was surprised by its weight, however once worn and out riding, it was simply unnoticeable. The Adventure-X is billed as the Pro Series and is RST’s flagship adventure jacket. As with any safety garment, you are always trying to find a balance between comfort, safety, style and price. RST has balanced the equation well with…

Throughout our scooter experiences we’re always trying to make improvements to our machines. Whether the development is self-taught or through other opportunities, the increased knowledge and experience we gain usually works to our advantage. As a teenager, having developed an interest in scooters, Shaun Bailey was lucky enough to drop on an SX150 being sold by a friend. “I’d been talking with my mate and during the conversation the subject of scooters came up. While we were chatting my pal explained that his brother had a scooter in bits. He told me I could have it if I wanted so I wasted no time in accepting the offer!” Initiative The opportunity Shaun had been given was twofold; on one hand he’d got a scooter for virtually nothing (£15) and because…

As Mike is a major importer of parts from Europe, it’s fair to ask him how Brexit has affected business. So far, it’s been a mixed experience but on one point he’s certain. “Since the changes, the only way anyone can offer quick delivery is to have items in stock.” When I looked puzzled, he gave me a crash course in retail supply. “Before Brexit it was possible to trade with no stock,” he explained. “As long as the seller had a trade account and offered a seven-day turnaround, they could advertise an item, take the customer’s payment, order the item from Europe, receive it in a couple of days and post it out in time to meet the promised delivery date. Profits were small but as no money was…

Name of scooter & reason: Niki Lauda, tribute to the late F1 legend. Scooter model: Vespa TX200. Date purchased & cost: August 2020 for 900 euros in sunny Spain. Inspiration for project: After seeing the film, Rush about the rivalry between Niki Lauda and James Hunt. I loved the colours on the Ferrari and the determination of Lauda. Time to build & by who: Four months on and off between other projects, all work carried out by me. Any specialised parts or mods: By me @ Pole Position Scooters. Widened side panels, shortened forks with PK shock, custom rear master cylinder set-up, custom seat incorporating fuel cap, custom-made drop handlebars with modified speedo cluster, custom spoiler with fog lights, custom carbon fibre work and steering damper. ENGINE SPEC Kit: Malossi…

The last night of the Wigan Casino. What could be more iconic to many of us in the scooter fraternity? Francesco Mellina, the photographer, was there all night and has a collection of photographs which have been published in a book. We were lucky enough to grab him for a chat, a coffee and to tell us how a chap from Polistena, in the southern Italian region of Calabria, became an iconic photographer and wound up recording this historic event. At an early age Francesco taught himself English by listening to The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. At 16, he began a pan-European trek which ended with his settling in Liverpool. Francesco studied photography at Liverpool Art School and began to take pictures of subcultures in the clubs of the…

By the time you read this comment, the largest event on the scooterist calendar will have taken place. The Isle of Wight International Scooter Rally traditionally regularly attracts between 6000 and 10,000 scooter riders and their families from countries all around the world. This year was no exception and it was made more historically significant, mainly for two different reasons. In 2020, the event was cancelled due to the worldwide Covid-19 situation, meaning that this year – 2021 – was to be the first opportunity for scooterists to let their hair down. What also made this year stand out was the new venue chosen by the BSRA after the future of the long-standing Smallbrook Stadium venue came into doubt because of possible redevelopment plans. With this threat hanging over the…

From a standing start Royal Alloy has become one of the best-selling scooter brands in the UK. It’s a situation that should improve even further with the arrival of its Euro 5 compliant 300 models. It’s accepted wisdom that part of complying with increasingly severe emissions regulations means a reduction in power. Thankfully no one has told that to the technicians in Royal Alloy’s development department. When the next batch of new 300cc machines arrives in the UK later this year, the RA engine’s output will have risen from 16.6kW (22.26bhp) @ 7250rpm to 18.5kW (24.8bhp) @ 7500rpm. There’s also an impressive amount of torque, with Royal Alloy quoting 23.0Nm @ 5000rpm. Admittedly those figures will be taken at the crank, but nevertheless an increase of just over 2bhp isn’t…

This information is provided by Stephen Hattersley, of WildWood Legal, a firm of solicitors specialising in claims for injured scooterists. Stephen, a qualified solicitor for 25 years, has been riding scooters for more than 30 years and has acted for injured riders across the UK. He knows the tricks and pitfalls that insurers use and pulls no punches in his dealings with them. He rides to work every day and understands the challenges you face out there. Q. I’ve done some minor mods to my scooter. Do I need to tell my insurer? A. The short answer is yes, your insurers will always need to be informed about any significant modifications. Bear in mind also that their definition of ‘significant’ may differ from yours so if you’re not sure whether…

Being a former authorised Arai dealer, in a previous life within the motorcycle industry, I needed no persuading as to the benefits and qualities surrounding this brand. Budget constraints are something which affect most of us, and Arai never claimed to be the cheapest… but they are good, very. I won’t bore you with all the geeky tech-info surrounding Arai’s own in-house safety tests, five-year limited warranty, multiple shell sizes, ECE 22-05 approval, washable/removable interior, and facial contour system… it would take too long, and I don’t want to lose you before I get to the stuff which matters. To put it bluntly, the Tour-X 4 is an extremely versatile helmet; no matter the riding conditions, the Tour-X 4 is the helmet you want to be wearing. It can be…

There’s a long-running tradition of British crime comedy caper films going back years. They include films such as The Ladykillers, The Lavender Hill Mob, The Italian Job, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Layer Cake, Snatch, and Love, Honour and Obey. After watching Love, Honour and Obey, then a trip to Brighton in 2003, Pete Meadows hatched an outline idea based around speculating on what happened next to the characters, specifically Jimmy, in Quadrophenia. At that stage, he had no idea what moving forward with those thoughts would have in store for him. Pete, with no previous experience of writing, came up with an outline rough draft of his storyline for a novel, with the intent for it to become a film. He sent it off to The Who’s management,…

I was at the beach a few weeks ago and I saw them, you know… the comedy Mod type, well, two of them. Pork pie hats, flight jackets, the usual ensemble… with The Who, Madness and the 2 Tone man embroidered on. One was carrying an open face helmet, the other was hobbling along with a stick. Then I saw it, a mobility scooter that was all ‘modded’ up. It had a cradle backrest with two whip aerials, a fox tail, tassels off the handlebar and six mirrors. Vinyl lettering emblazoned it with a target, 2 Tone checkers, Bad Manners logo, Motown logo, and a large Mod Squad sticker on some sort of fabricated Perspex fly screen affair. Oh yes and let’s not forget the whitewall tyres on the mobility…

Highways Hero! Hi Dan While riding my RA GP300 on my 60-mile round trip commute, I’m constantly having to scan the road for the demon potholes rather than watching the traffic or my speedo. Some of the craters are larger and deeper than scooter wheels and are a deadly hazard to all of us on two wheels. With the amount of heavy rain we’ve had, things have only got worse and you find yourself wondering whether you’re approaching a very shallow puddle or an Olympic-sized diving pool that Tom Daley could practise in. The A17 resembles the dark side of the moon, with some badly filled-in potholes that are already deteriorating again. On a recent ride to work I seemed to be on a slalom course, doing my best impression…

Leigh Squires has been around scooters since he was a kid. Naturally, when Leigh turned 16, he wanted a scooter and his dad suggested a Vespa 50 Special. “The scooter was in our garage, and he’d built it for my mum to learn on. At first I laughed because it had crash-bars, racks and lights all over it, which would have made it extremely embarrassing to turn up at school on. However, it did have a 110 kit and after some decluttering and a race paint job it went well. A year or so later it had a 135 engine, it flew, and it was my trusty steed for college.” By now Leigh was hooked on scooters and over the years he’s tinkered with and tuned various models. In the…

Name: Bob Slater. Scooter club & town: Swindon Incrowd Scooter Club and the Tilehurst Massive. First interest in scooters: 1967 – it was my only transport. First scooter: TV175 Series 2 – they weren’t cool in 1967. Favourite style of custom scooter: I like to personalise them, but I’m not really into custom scooters. First ever rally: Isle of Wight. How did you get there: Scooter of course – is there any other way? Favourite rally: IoW, I just love the island, there’s always somewhere to see that you haven’t been before. Furthest you’ve ever ridden on a scooter: From Basingstoke to Sheffield to see my grandparents, when I was 16, on my TV175 Series 2. I kept stopping to let it cool down – took ages! I went again…

Playing it Nice-ly Most musicians are lucky if they spend part of their career in a nationally known band, even fewer feature in an internationally established one. However, legendary drummer Kenney Jones hasn’t been in just one internationally renowned band, not even two; no, Kenney has occupied the drum stool and stick-wielding role for three. First, it was Small Faces, next The Faces, later followed by The Who. If that wasn’t enough, add to that his contributions to countless sessions with various acts and artists throughout a career spanning more than 55 years. Over this time Kenney amassed an amazing archive of unissued studio as well as live recordings. In many instances Kenney has in his possession the only known remaining master tapes of those sessions. He was spurred on…

Early 60s memories This is a picture of me with Lance Fullard at Robin Hood Camp, Rhyl, North Wales, in the early 1960s – great times I will never forget. Lance is no longer with us, but will be always remembered. Ken Holt Clacton memories Haappy times at Clactonon-Sea during 19 984. I still haave hair, by the way… Matthew Phillips Leicester Scooter Sporting Club Members of Leicester Scooter Sporting Club practising and training on the famous hill climbs at Tilton on the Hill, Leicester (that’s me in the middle) during the summer of 1966. We were preparing for our first hill climb which took place on June 12, 1966. Our second hill climb was on September 10, 1967. Ha H dy dyn Red edfer fern ‘The Wasp’ I loved…

Model: 1959 Lambretta Series 1. Engine: Cast barrel, Stage-5 SX210cc, 60x110 crank, 26mm Dell’Orto carb, AF Clo5e ratio five-speed gearbox, Readspeed five-plate clutch. Ignition: Rewired and worked stator (by me), 12v ignition with supply for accessories, Ducati CDI with Agusto 6000 retard unit. Exhaust: Undecided yet, but Clubman style modified. Paintwork: Powder coating, Ford Canyon Silver (with extra sparkle), Black gloss internals and Candy Red metallic. Tyres: MC20 all-weather tyres.…

As I was there already, it would have been rude not to give it, at the very least, a little attention and let it see the light of day. So, while I sat basking in the beautiful sunshine, sipping on a freshly ground espresso (Aldi’s Alcafé to be honest), admiring Innocenti’s second incarnation of the ‘Turismo Veloce’, Julian nipped off to change his clobber into another one of Pete Whelbourn’s Modclothin outfits. NORTHERN CONNECTIONS The stalwarts of the scooter press readership may have noticed that this particular machine seems familiar, and well done, you are quite correct as this machine was featured in Scootering magazine back in 2010. It was initially first produced to a wonderful standard by a guy called Ralph from Glasgow. He reportedly took his inspiration from…

The latest offering from the Lambretta history series is a technical publication on essential maintenance for your Lambretta written by Scootering columnist and tech expert Stu Owen. It’s full of important information about keeping your Lambretta on the road and in perfect working order – anything from general checks to fault-finding and diagnosing. This A4 book, containing 130 colour images within its 40 pages, is available worldwide through the Amazon print-on-demand platform so is continuously in stock (£12.49), being the first publication in its Lambretta technical series. To order simply go to the Amazon platform in your country and type in ‘the Lambretta technical series’ and it will bring up the publication.…

Fitting a Lambretta horncasting, with those troublesome side rubbers to contend with, often presents a challenge; so to deal with the problem MB Scooters has redesigned them. Mark of MB explained: “The inside part is longer and the outside is tapered, which cures the age-old problem of the rubbers moving as you’re struggling to get the screws in. The upgraded items are also longer than needed, so you can trim the shape to whatever horncasting you’re fitting. Just heat them up in boiling water, spread the rubbers apart and push them in place; when they cool down they should stay put!” The items fit all Series 2 and 3 models and are available in black or grey. More info: www.lambrettaspares.com…

Rudy Mills/ The Crystalites – John Jones/Bombshell (0006) The Cobbs – Joe Gibbs Mood/Hot Buttered Corn (0007) Lloyd And Glen – Mini Skirt and Go Go Boots/What You’ve Got (0008) Following their excellent Hot Sauce (Vol 1) compilation album, very much reminiscent of the Trojan Tighten Up series of the late 60s/early 70s, Harlem Shuffle is back with a trio of scorching 45s, due for release individually throughout the summer. Discovered and mentored by legendary Jamaican producer Derrick Harriott in 1967, singer Rudy Mills cut many tracks that fall into the boss-sounds/skinhead reggae category. Unquestionably his best known is the classic track John Jones, first issued on the Trojan imprint Big Shot in 1968, later featuring on arguably the very best compilation in the aforementioned Trojan Tighten Up series, Volume…

Name: Jörg Rademacher. Job: Master butcher. Scooter club & town: No club/living in Aachen. First scooter: Vespa PX200. Any funny stories: I bought a VBB last year. It looked great (at the barnyard), at home it transformed to rubbish... but thanks to my friend Michael Zocher (ZokZok) it is now on the road again and makes a lot of fun! Furthest you’ve ever ridden on a scooter: From Aachen through the Eifel highlands to the Green Hell Nürburgring and back, a group of irradiated Vespaheads, it was the best! What do you like about rallies: The feeling, style and the people. Name of scooter & reason: Die Sau. Scooter model: Vespa PX200. Inspiration for project: Race project, the Jaguar Racer from Marc Leiskau, built by Z-Design. Time to build &…

Pubs were a central part of life in the early Eighties, much more so than today. When we were aspiring Mods, still at school or just started work, we would visit The Railway (now a nursery) where the scooterboys who actually had scooters drank. Of course, under-age drinking was just as illegal then as it is now, it was just that the social view was a little more relaxed. Police raids were a regular occurrence though, and I was in The Railway on two separate occasions when it was raided. As the police went in the front door, those of us who were under age went out of the back door. When the police had done whatever they were doing they left by the front door and we trailed back…

Name of scooter & reason: Madspeed 116 (it’s Dave at Madspeed’s 116th engine). Scooter model: GP150. Date purchased & cost: 2015, £1500 in bits (engineless). Inspiration for project: Dave Madison as he actually built it for me before his accident and I completed it as a tribute to his resilience and fight to get better. Time to build & by who: Myself and Dave Madison, about 3-4 years in total. ENGINE SPEC Kit: RB225. Crank: Madspeed 58-107 High Performance race crank. Carb: 34mm flat-slide Dell’Orto. Exhaust: PM Tuning ‘Fat Mamba’ with carbon-fibre straight end can. Clutch: AF six-plate race cassette. Gearbox: Li150 – 16/47 sprockets. Porting work by: Dave Madison at Madspeed. What brand of oil do you run: Putoline MX9 @ 4%. CHASSIS SPEC: Tyres: Dunlop Scootsmart. Rims: SIP…

Name: Ronan. Job: Tattoo artist. Scooter club & town: Celtic scooter club. First interest in scooters: 25 years ago. First scooter: PX125. Favourite scooter model: Lambretta Li150 Special. First ever rally: Penn Ar Bed scooter rally, Brittany. Favourite rally: Rally Des Gones/ Woolacombe, England. Funniest experience involving scooters: When I go to England with a couple of friends for Woolacombe and Weston-super-Mare. What do you like about rallies: Friends, beer and custom shows. What would make the scene better: Nothing apart from Covid so I could travel outside of France. Name of scooter & reason: Dropkick Murphys, I am a fan and friend of a member. Scooter model: Lambretta Li Series 3. Date purchased & cost: €2300. Inspiration for project: Dropkick Murphys and Irish style. Overall cost of work and…

Name: Leigh Squires. Job: Engineer. Scooter club & town: Been dormant a few years, but tagged along with the A5 and Happy Jacks SC. First scooter: Vespa 50 Special when I was 16 years old. It was originally built for my mum by my dad, at first I was hesitant to use it as it wasn’t ‘cool’ and was covered in lights. But after a racy paint job and a Malossi 135 engine I was hooked. Any funny stories: Once got stung on the scrotum by a bee, thought it was an electric shock at first! Favourite rally: Mersea Island, everything you need is in walking distance, and there’s a good selection. Funniest experience involving scooters: On the Thursday night before the IoW rally sharing a two-man tent with a…

Name of scooter & reason: Doris – I didn’t have a name for this Vespa before but then, and I don’t know why, I dreamt about naming it, long story short as it was a strange dream! Scooter model: PX200E. Date purchased & cost: Six years ago, for £1500, but I must have spent twice that on it! I bought it from my mate Pete – he’s been trying to get it back ever since! Time to build & by who: Modified bit by bit over the six years I’ve had it. ENGINE SPEC Kit: Quattrini 244cc. Crank: Quattrini race crank. Carb: SI 26/26. Clutch: SIP Sport Cosa. Gearbox: Standard. Porting work by: Target scooters. Dyno done by: Shiny Red Tuning. What brand of oil do you run: Castrol fully…

THIS IS THE MODERN WORLD An exhibition of the biggest ever collection of memorabilia spanning two decades of Paul Weller’s career will open in Brighton in the summer of 2022, taking place at Valley Gardens, St Peter’s Place, Brighton, BN2 9QB. This is the Modern World will run from July 29 until September 2, 2022 and will be a must-see exhibition for fans of The Jam, The Style Council and of course Paul Weller aficionados. It will feature the personal archives of Paul Weller, Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler, the Weller family, Mick Talbot and Steve White from The Style Council; devoted Weller fans worldwide have also shared their extensive rare, mainly unseen collections for this show. Curated by Nicky Weller, Paul’s sister and former head of The Jam’s fan…

I became a Mod after seeing an older lad with a strange haircut, wearing a parka. He said he was a Mod and started on about his hairstyle, saying he couldn’t go to a normal barber and went to a lady’s hair stylist to get it done; l privately laughed, but the idea of being a Mod interested me (except for the hairstyle)! I asked where I could get a parka, then too ok the bus into Gloucester and found The Army & Navy Store. A salesperson said: “We’ve sold out of the parka you’re looking for, but we have another dark green parka you might be interested in?” l tried it on and it went to well below my knees; l spent ages looking in the mirror at it.…