Innehållsförteckning för June 2023 från Scootering

I’ll confess to having an off/on, love/hate relationship with Quadrophenia. On one hand the film was a cultural phenomenon that changed a generation but on the other it’s spawned numerous clichés. My own introduction to Quad’, on an afternoon that literally changed the course of my life, was courtesy of a Who-loving neighbour; and I still think it’s the band’s best work. That was around nine months before the film was released and perhaps that’s my problem, I’m an album guy. Sorry, but the film was a disappointment to me. It never lived up to my interpretation of the album, and few of the characters were as I’d pictured them in my mind. Indisputably Phil Daniels made the role of Jimmy his own, but I was totally unconvinced by Sting…

Hot off the press and straight in at the top of the Amazon books bestsellers’ chart within days of publication is Stuart Owen’s latest book, Lambretta Street Racers, The Builder’s Guide. Regular Scootering magazine contributor Stuart Owen is a prolific writer of books about scooters – predominantly, but not exclusively, with Lambrettas as the subject matter. There’s a series that looks at all the aspects of every Lambretta model produced from Series 1 to Series 3. Others spotlight technical developments and innovations, as well as an in-depth history of certain aspects of the one-time worldwide scooter phenomenon. During his time as a competition rider, both racing and even more so as a sprinter, Stuart formed the 100mph Lambretta Club; his latest book draws on much of his own, first-hand experiences,…

By the early 1980s a Lambretta tuning bonanza was in full swing and with it a new language had evolved. To those performing the tuning the ‘Stage’ designations were an essential part of the tuning process and indicated how much power the engine could create. For owners it was a different matter: Stage Four, Five, Six or whatever you wanted to call it were magic numbers that meant your machine would go faster. Each stage was more impressive than the other; if you had Stage Five or Six, there was little doubt that you were the top dog in any club. In our club, Steve wanted to be the top dog. This was fine, he was the oldest, and his Serveta 200 had just finished its Mod phase and was…

WIN a smart Scootering T-shirt with your photo For your chance to win a stylish Scootering magazine T-shirt, email us your HI-RES pics to: suys@scootering.com and the least crap snap wins! For full terms and conditions, visit: www.scootering.com/comptc DATA: Protection of your personal data is important to Mortons. Your data will be stored securely and only be used for the purpose of processing the competition and notifying the winners. Data will then be destroyed. Least crap snap…

PRACTI CAL SCOOT ERING TECH TIPS Part five I’ll be the first to confess, last month’s jobs on the engine were boring but they’ll now pay dividends as we port the cases and cut the crank. In terms of tools, I have a full set of air-powered die grinders and porting burrs that could be used on the engine, but to be honest, Vespa casings are easy to port and even a little electric Dremel, which many readers will have at home, will go through the casings like a hot knife through butter. In fact, although the casings have a thick top edge on the gasket face, if you look at the outside edge of the case you can see how thin they are. It’s like one of those…

There has been somewhat of a resurgence for the Spanish-produced Lambretta scooters over the last few years; and what has been for far too long considered Innocenti’s poor relation is now afforded the attention it deserves. There are many resources now available for the enthusiast of the Español-manufactured Lambretta with several good Facebook groups, and probably the most important item for many years, the fantastic 368-page book Eibar Lambrettas from 1954-1989. This work is dedicated to the marque and was produced out of a serious obsession with the brand by Jaime de Prat Salomone, of Supereibar Performances, over there in Barcelona. After Jaime found out I had the NOS machine, he contacted me and asked if I could supply him with as many pictures as possible, so that he could…

H aving just watched the Sunday rideout at the Mod Weekender event, my friend, Chris Warden, suddenly confessed that he had always wanted to take part in the rideout. So right there, he decided he was going to find a scooter, get it restored and, one day, join in. It took quite a while to find exactly what he was looking for; it was important that the scooter was an original Italian Lambretta and have matching numbers. Ideally he would have loved an SX or TV but, as these are getting so rare, he eventually bought a Lambretta Li Special (pictured left). Chris is particularly proud that all of the panels are original − which means they must be around 60 years old now. [If any readers can help with…

Having recently moved into the world of adding trade accounts to its extensive retail offering, Barnsley based Ron Daley’s is pleased to announce its appointment as a Polini dealer. With a range of products that covers both classic and modern scooters, the status of authorised dealer sits well with Ron Daley’s existing portfolio and expertise. As we go to press new items are being added to the website and will be available from stock. www.rondaleyscooters.co.uk…

The youth of today probably take photos on a phone and keep them in some sort of digital album or app I guess. But back in the day I’m sure many of us kept scrapbooks. I had several, but in my formative years had a general activities one as a teenager where I kept entry tickets, bus trip tickets, programmes and certificates, but in my mid-teens I started a music one which became one dedicated to The Jam. I had almost forgotten about it but while decorating recently I found it hidden behind some other books in a cabinet. I appear to have started sticking things in it in 1979/80 although a few things are earlier. There is a sheet of the trio’s autographs from the Sheffield Top Rank in…

SCOOTERING BOOK CLUB What makes this story so spectacular is that it’s not one of those corporately sponsored riders engaging in false jeopardy for the benefit of a TV crew, this is adventure riding in the raw. At the start of 2009 Nathan Millward, an ordinary lad with a home in the Midlands, found himself with 20 days to get out of Australia and a hatred of flying. The Long Ride Home is the story of how he made it back to the UK using a motorcycle that at best could be described as ‘inadequate for the intended purpose’. I’ll make a declaration here, although I wouldn’t describe Nathan as a close friend, I’ve met him a few times and he’s one of the nicest people in motorcycling. Since the…

Robbo’s Skegness Scooter Rally has the additional tagline of Back to Basics, which always rings true to serve up a bank holiday weekend that’s crammed full of fantastic entertainment. The rally takes place at the Suncastle, which is conveniently located on the promenade and throughout the course of the weekend it’s the home to the parts fair, custom show and what I’ve christened ‘Skegstock’. Last year I’d stayed in digs out of town, which wasn’t the best choice, so this year I’d got myself booked into a B&B located centrally on North Parade. Sharing the accommodation were other groups of scooterists and the Junction 25 Casuals; who, along with Dave and Minxy Porter from Scooterists Radio and the Misdemeanours SC, form part of Robbo’s Crew’s support team. Friday evening’s entertainment…

The owner of The Classic Scooter Company on Pershore Road in Birmingham is a lady called Wendy Lloyd – business entrepreneur, TV camera operator, philanthropist, stunt double and petrolhead. A woman with so many different hats, metaphorically speaking, that she could open her own milliner’s emporium. Originally from Lichfield, a cathedral city to the north of Birmingham, Wendy started out as a camera operator at the very young age of 17 back in 1999. Her job was to film football matches, then run outside with the tape at the final whistle, hopefully beating the crowds, before handing it to a motorcycle dispatch rider who would whisk it off at high speed to be edited and then presented in the highlights programme on Sky Sports the very same day. Since that…

The most often ridiculed part of the Lambretta, even among enthusiasts, is the speedometer. Often it doesn’t work at all or, if it does, the needle swipes to and fro like a windscreen wiper. Though the speedometer unit can sometimes be to blame, more often the fault will lie with the cable drive. The system is straightforward, with a handful of components, but when problems occur they can be awkward to solve. The best way to look at fault finding is to break it down by the two major components and ensure they both work correctly. 1. The drive The problem with the speedometer drive is that to gain access it’s necessary to take the front hub apart. One way of testing its operation without disassembling the hub is to…

✎ Classic Scooterist, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6LZ ✉ mauspencer@classicscooterist.com ☎ 01507 529408 My SX150 Here’s a picture of me on my Lambretta SX150, taken a few years back. Marty Bryce Early adventures My GP150 from around 1982-ish which I bored out to 175cc. It was turquoise blue and white until I painted it this colour on my mum’s lawn (as you do); you could see outlines from her bedroom all summer. Scooter was bought from the old Dyrons shop in Leeds (can’t remember how much for). Rode it to school a few times; then one day trying to bump it off, the engine picked up and dragged me down the street, right into a brick wall (luckily I had my brother’s helmet on or I’d have been…

SCOOTERIST EVENTS March 25, 2023 The town hall in Leamington Spa was the location of the Vespa Club of Britain’s AGM and it was from a meeting back in 1963 that there was a discussion about organising a run from London to Brighton, specifically for the old Vespa models. This resulted in the first run being held in April 1964 and the subsequent formation of the Veteran Vespa Club. Unfortunately, after many happy times spent in the Warwickshire town (and due to circumstances beyond our control) the VVC needed to find another location. So it was decided that now was the right time to look at a fresh town to find something suitable, interesting, but yet still within the same band of the country, thus making the AGM as accessible…

BUCKS TIN SOLDIERS SC Meet every Saturday from 9.30am at the Gifford Pub MK14 5QN; also new regular Wednesday evening meets at the Scots Club, Bletchley, MK3 5BX from 7.30pm. Info via Facebook page: ‘Tin Soldiers Scooter Club’. . DORSET POOLE INNERCIRCLE SC We are a mixed club of Lambrettas and Vespas. We meet at the New Inn, Poole on the first Wednesday of the month with a rideout every month. More info via Poole Innercircle Scooter Club on Facebook. ESSEX CLACTON SCOOTER COLLECTIVE For information on rides and meets, locate us on Facebook and join us. ODDS & SODS SC Based on the Essex/Suffolk border, we meet first Wednesday of every month at the Abbey Arms, St John's Green, Colchester CO2 7HA. All welcome to join. Contact Ray Smith…

One of the reasons we’ve shifted our scheduled Lexicon featuring the Lambretta Lince is the subject’s complexity. Fortunately Jaime de Prat Salomone, aka SuperEibar, is coming to the rescue of equally confused souls with his new book, the 160-page Fibreglass Lambrettas 1980-89. Many readers will be familiar with his previous book, the ground-breaking Eibar Lambrettas 1954-1989. In this next volume, Jaime turns his attention to the later models which, you’ve guessed it, featured glass fibre bodywork. Produced in a limited edition of only 350 copies, advance orders are already being taken so if you want to secure a copy ahead of its release at Euro Lambretta in June, you’d better get your name down quickly. www.supereibarperformances.com…

Feedback, Scootering magazine, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6LZ or feedback@scootering.com ★ STAR LETTER ★ Feeling frustrated Hi guys Hope you are well. I’ve been buying Scootering since the very first mag. Whether it be sporadically out of various shops or having them delivered by yourselves. In the last couple of years I have been buying them through supermarkets. I know it costs less to order direct but I have found that in the last four months Scootering has not been available in any of the supermarkets I go to; Tesco, Sainsbury’s, both superstores in the Whitstable, Herne Bay, Ramsgate and Ashford areas. Can you shed some light on this please? Matt Honour Hi Matt, Firstly, thanks for being so loyal, it’s genuinely appreciated. I’ve allocated quite a bit…

Whether it’s full-blown murals and chrome or state-of-the-art tuning we all love to admire a high-end custom scooter, and thank goodness for those with the vision, skill, time and money to produce them. Unfortunately for most of us, owning such a machine will forever remain a pipe dream and there’s also the reality that prices of classic scooters have risen to unprecedented levels. Earlier this year we started our Budget Scootering feature to show that there are ways to get on the road without breaking the bank, but never in our wildest dreams did we expect to find a custom Lambretta that went from a standing start to daily rider for under a grand. Which is why Frank Brown’s project is so intriguing. Admittedly it helps that Frank can wield…

To be fair, the month started off well; I completed a lovely budget build for a chap, using his old small-block casing and gearbox, then put together a tidy little BGM 195 build with a nice selection of components. I think handing that one over to the customer was the last time I smiled this month, after that, it was a cascade of customers with component failures, all of which turned those supposedly ‘quick jobs’ into not-so-quick jobs… Cyclone gearbox crunch… If you read last month’s column, you may recall that I was setting up some top-end port timings on a customer’s TS1 225 (long-stroke 240cc) and had great success with that, giving a decent 15% boost in power just by sorting his squish and packer plate combo. However, I…

✎ Classic Scooterist, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6LZ ✉ mauspencer@classicscooterist.com ☎ 01507 529408 The charity adventure of 2023 It would be fair to say that most of us scooterists have taken part in a charity event at some point. But have you thought about taking that to another level and turning it into something that you’ll remember – not just for 2023, but possibly for a lifetime? Scooter aficionado Tino Sacchi is the main driving force behind an event that goes far beyond what you’d expect to encounter on your average charity ride – this will be an adventure for both you and machine (albeit Lambretta, Vespa, or in fact, any other classic scooter) testing you both to your own personal limits. What we’re talking about here is…

Over the last few years I've been watching with interest the different designs of the clutch additions for Lambrettas, ranging from complete cassette-type clutches, to replacement pivot arm and a splined rod (like the set-up in the Casa sidecasings). There’s a few to choose from and the cost of them is just as extreme from one design to another. Taking my time to decide on what to fit that will assist with my issues of aching fingers due to a stiff clutch lever, I spotted a post on social media by someone who has already had similar problems. Derek (Del) Dowling is 70 years young and took to riding scooters back in 1968 when he purchased his first two-wheeled machine (a GS160 Mk2) while serving a five-year apprenticeship as a…