Innehållsförteckning för February 2024 från Scootering

If you’ve ever been to an event organised by VFM, needed a scooter repairing while at the Isle Of Wight rally, or asked for scooter mending help on an internet page, there’s more than a fair chance that you’ve encountered Wigan Tim. His sudden and untimely death shortly before Christmas has left a hole in the scootering world that can’t be filled by a single person. Some people go through the scooter life in complete anonymity, and when mentioned have a tendency to raise a ‘who?’ comment when discussed. Not Wigan Tim. It’s fair to say that he was known of by many more than had ever actually met him. Although a bricklayer by trade, St Helens based Wigan Tim (the nickname being something that he’d acquired after being a…

For many, the most iconic of all European rallies was the legendary gathering on the Isle of Elba and the good news is that it’s back for 2024. In conjunction with Scooterismo.it, The Green Onions SC is pleased to announce that the Isle of Elba will once again reverberate to the sound of scooters over the weekend of May 3-5. The venue will be the Mandel Club, Morcone Bay at Capoliveri. There will be bars and food stalls directly on the rally site, all-day-long beach DJ sets, two all-nighters at Mandel Club and a market area with records, spare parts, vintage and classic clothes and accessories, not to mention the obligatory custom show. More than 10 accommodation options ranging from hotel, camping, bungalow, B&B or apartments have been arranged and…

For the perfect mix of practicality both on and off a scooter, it’s difficult to beat an armoured softshell jacket, and Weise is a undoubtedly a brand to trust. Created for commuting and urban rides, the new Weise Axel mixes softshell comfort and casual street style with CE-certified impact and abrasion protection, together with full weatherproofing. CE-approved Level 2 shoulder and elbow armour and a Level 1 back protector come fitted as standard. All five pieces are removable, so the Axel can be washed and there’s also a connection zip, with a comfort stretch panel for attachment to riding trousers, which helps stop the jacket riding up. A fixed waterproof, windproof and breathable lining keeps out wind and rain, while allowing perspiration to escape. The high-quality YKK main entry zip…

249cc Triumph Tigress Sleek overhead valve twin-cylinder scooter providing comfort and economy with a high standard of mechanical and exhaust quietness. Outstanding cleanliness of line is but one striking feature of the Triumph Tigress TW2, most recent creation from the versatile Edward Turner’s drawing board. Beneath the Tigress’ sleek bodywork (finished in metalescent blue) is a lusty 249cc overhead valve, twin-cylinder designed more on car than on orthodox motorcycle or scooter lines. Among the more unusual features of the power unit is an oversquare bore and stroke ratio (56 x 50.62mm). A single light alloy die casting is utilised for the cylinder block, crankcase and gearbox shell and the cylinder liners are cast in. Lubrication is on the wet sump principle with the oil contained in a deep steel pan…

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…

A‘barn find’ is the term given to discovering an old vehicle that has been stored, often unsympathetically, in an old garage, hut, shed, greenhouse or, as the name suggests, barn. I have discovered many of these lucky finds way back in the day, and it was always exciting chasing up some story you had heard about – that so-and-so had this or that. But since the social media tidal wave and everyone now an expert, gaining a BA (Hons) in Scooterism and Chartered Valuation after completing a few hours scanning the prices of auction sites, these barn finds of legend have become few and far between. But sometimes things are just meant to be, and it would appear that Phelim Lennon definitely has the fabled luck of the Irish. Phelim…

PRACTICAL SCOOTERING Sometimes a customer brings a scooter in that hasn’t got any obvious issues, but experience tells you, something just ain’t right. The trick then is, figuring out what the hell the problem is… A chap recently arrived at the garage with a scooter that wanted a tweak to the carb on the dyno, he’d explained that he’d been running a new Scootopia 185 kit with a 22mm carb and a Clubman pipe, but it just kept spluttering, even with a small main jet. As he’d wanted to upgrade anyway, this was his cue to fit a 30mm YSN PHBH style carb and a ScootRS expansion, yet still, he was having the same problem. Finally, after much trial and error, road tests, re-jetting and so on, he eventually got…

Two-stroke tuning is my bread and butter. It’s something that I’ve been into ever since I read my first tuning book (by Graham Bell) when I was aged just 16. In a nerdy way, I loved the maths and physics behind it all, and the fact that you could use formulas to project power increases. Even as a spotty youth, I could make improvements to my 50cc cylinder with a hand file and some bigger jets. It was so intuitive to me; I loved it. But when it came to four-stroke engines (in a two-wheel chassis) I just never felt that same passion. To me, four-strokes were inefficient, soulless, and somewhat limited in their appeal; even more so if they were an auto! They just didn’t sound, smell or perform…

How to use the guide We’ve divided the market first by capacity, and then alphabetically within each category. We can’t possibly give values for every classic scooter, there are far too many variables for that, but we have included data for three of the most common machines; a Vespa smallframe, Vespa PX and Lambretta GP200. These should allow comparisons between ‘then and now’ and help anyone switching from classics to modern scooters, or vice versa. We’ve started with models from the usual suspects but over time we’ll be adding more models to widen the range of information available to you. The data Most of the data is taken from manufacturers’ websites. This can vary between manufacturers depending on what methods are used to test their machines. For example the type…

The J Range Lambretta is a little like the Vega range in that they have spent many years being unappreciated, while most other Lambrettas were very much coveted – Series 1, 2 and 3 machines especially. Funnily enough, the first Lambretta I (part) owned was a J125. I bought it with a mate when we were 14. I don’t recall exactly where it came from, but most likely the garden or shed of some old fella round the corner. My mate Dave and I shared it, and I vaguely recall giving him a tenner from my evening teen job in a supermarket car parts concession. It was brush-painted grey when we got it, had no lights fitted, and an exhaust that was hanging off and very noisy. I remember a…

Q. I was knocked off my scooter by a van driver. His insurers have admitted responsibility. I am self-employed and lost a lot of work during the time I was injured. How do I go about proving this and recovering these losses? 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. A. Sorry to hear about your accident. It is common to…

No matter how we look at it, the classic scooter scene, healthy as it may be at this moment, is living on borrowed time as the bulk of enthusiasts that love such old machinery are now well into their 50s. It’s not a pleasant thought but, one day, our loved ones will have to dispose of the machinery that we have treasured, often for decades. Hopefully, some other fanatic will step in and look after what was so cherished; and that’s just what happened when VMSC member Fred Openshaw died. His fellow classic scooter enthusiast and clubmate Brian Crook took over the responsibility for Fred’s labour of love and vowed to complete Fred’s Tigress in his honour. A restoration story There’s no better person to tell this story than Brian…

★ STAR LETTER ★ Badge appeal Hi Stan, I wonder if you can help a scooterist who is going through some hard times? Many people will know my good friend Andy from Solihull who owns Heavy Soul and Saint scooters. Sadly, he’s battling the big C at the moment and is collecting scooter club stickers as a distraction. If anyone has any stickers to spare I’d be grateful if they can send them to me and I’ll make sure he gets them. Thanks. Peter Scollick (24 Bretton Court, The Crescent, Buttershaw, Bradford BD6 3TX. Peter, We all hope that Andy gets better soon and have already dug out a few stickers from down the back of our filing cabinet. We also hope that he looks forward to the prospect of…

PRACTICAL SCOOTERING To tube or not to tube? Hi Rhodz My clubmates are all running tubeless tyres but I’m not convinced they make much difference, what are the benefits of them over tubed tyres and rims? Kulraj, Birmingham Hi Kulraj, Firstly, the all-important safety aspect. Should you have the misfortune of getting a puncture when riding on a tube-type tyre, ( I certainly have !) due to the way inner tubes are made, as soon as the tube goes pop, all the air escapes rather rapidly with little or no warning. If this happens on the front, the result could be catastrophic. However, with a tubeless tyre that’s perfectly sealed on the rim, the air escapes gradually. This happens whether or not the offending item remains lodged in the carcass,…

Last month we fitted an exhaust and filter kit but saw no performance increase; this was the predicted result as already explained to us by Tasso. The key features of the exhaust, when fitted in isolation, are that it looks and sounds far better than the standard item, by a long chalk at that, and saves over 3kg in weight too. The key to releasing the power in our RA125ac engine, fitted with its new components, is seated in the ECU and that’s where this month’s instalment begins. The remap is done at Tasso, so all we had to do was unclip the two cables, undo two bolts, pop the unit into a padded envelope and insert the printed remap request sheet. I posted our ECU off first thing Monday…

The excitement of coming across an old barn find is filled with great optimism that you have unearthed a piece of history. Once you have, you’re desperate to share the news with all and sundry, but there comes a point when it becomes an old story that everyone is bored with. Al’s barn find was an old Pacemaker Li150 Special, and by the late 1980s a rare beast indeed. I had forgotten how he came across it, which is strange because he told me the story a million and one times, perhaps trying to blank it out being the reason. Don’t get me wrong, I was glad for him, but the hope now was he wouldn’t find another as the story would never end. He was a keen Lambretta enthusiast,…

Scooterists are a strange bunch. We’ll spend a fortune on goodies that promise to extract the last amount of power from our motors, but when it comes to riding gear we’ll happily soldier on with what we’ve used for years. Despite plenty of evidence to contrary, many seem happy to ride in a pair of old denims, or even ‘safety shorts’, yet there’s a perfectly viable alternative available off the shelf. This month we try to dispel a few myths and get some buying tips from Ian Wilson, a man who knows the riding jean market inside out. Scootering: Back in the 1980s and 90s I rode thousands of miles in Levi’s (other brands are available) and never had a mishap. They’re comfortable, stylish and don’t look out of place…

If riding jeans aren’t quite practical enough for your riding needs then Roadskin’s armoured cargo trousers might just fit the bill. We all know that finding the perfect pair of trousers is crucial for a comfortable and safe ride. But with so many options on the market, finding the right pair that ticks all the boxes can be challenging but these cargo trousers are not the type found at the local surplus store. Fully lined with 340gsm 100% military-grade aramid lining, this high-strength material is five times stronger than steel, providing superior abrasion resistance in case of an accident. Designed to give you full freedom of movement without sacrificing protection, these trousers are also breathable, making them suitable for all but the warmest weather. Also included are CE-approved Level 2…

In the years just after the Second World War, motorcycle production in Britain, and indeed most of the Commonwealth, was dominated by prominent British manufacturers who had a stranglehold on the market. The likes of Triumph and BSA, it seemed, could do no wrong; however, there was a looming threat to their throne with the advent of the motor scooter. When the Vespa and Lambretta had first landed on British soil the industry had viewed them as something of a joke, but the public had thought otherwise, and the Italian manufacturers soon became a huge problem for the British firms. The choice they faced was whether to ignore the craze or join in and try to compete. That was a dilemma that faced many big companies, and by the latter…

The 45bhp a Casa SSR can deliver out of the box is enough for most people, but not Dennis. No, he wanted more: the 20hp boost that nitrous (NOS) injects at the push of a button sounded so tempting. However, NOS on a two-stroke is not as user-friendly as it seems and, as Dennis found out, SST pistons can be expensive… Back in t’day… Following the standard practice of cutting his teeth on a Vespa 50 as a 16-year-old, Dennis couldn’t wait to turn 17 and own his first Lambretta. As things were back then, it was with great enthusiasm that he duly chopped up his pristine SX200 to fulfil his dreams of owning a Lambretta chopper. After a while, the chopper was sold on to a mate, while Dennis…

SCOOTERING ‘Enjoy yourselves’: The AONSC end-of-year do For the close of 2023’s season AONSC put on a superb show and in the process raised £2800 for charity. Back in November 2022 we were contacted by our old friends from Rugby-based band Special Brew who told us they were getting back together for a 20th anniversary reunion show and asked if they could play at our 2023 end-of-year do. They also suggested that a Mod band might be a suitable support act. We already had a few ideas in the pipeline, so had to do a U-turn on our proposed plans if we were to accept the offer from Special Brew. We had a Mod band in mind – Solid Bond, a four-piece acoustic band from Rugby – and we’d been…

PRACTICAL SCOOTERING TECH TIPS I was as surprised as anyone this week to see the DVLA swiftly send us out a V5 for this scooter. By my own admission, it had been a long time since I had last registered a scooter with DVLA and the process has been updated slightly since then. So last month’s guide to getting a V5 was, in part, slightly experimental for us; thankfully we had done our research properly and everything went to plan. Hence, the V5 dropped on Stan’s doormat with no glitches at all, result! So, if you need to register a scooter for yourself, the guide in our January edition is bang on, as is our advice to utilise the services of gents like Rob Skipsey and/or Gary Seale (respective adverts…

How did you get into scooters? “I’d seen the older lads riding round on them, wearing scooter gear and looking the part. At high school Mr Roberts was my metalwork teacher, we weren’t allowed to mark the outside of our text books, but if you had them covered you could doodle or draw on them. In my down-time I’d drawn several sketches of scooters on my text book, which Mr Roberts saw. Completely out of the blue he said: ‘I’ve got a scooter, you can have it if you want, otherwise it’s going in the skip.’ In a state of disbelief, as soon as the school bell went I rushed round to get it and rescued it from inevitable destruction.” What sort of scooter was it? “A Lambretta Cento 100.…