Innehållsförteckning för December 2024 från Scootering

Occasionally I’ll produce a themed edition of the magazine, but most of the time a thread seems to emerge organically and this month it’s scooter sport. I had my first introduction to that world back in 1982. Having just taken out what was then a massive bank loan, I’d ordered a brand new Dyrospeed and as a reward I was offered a little ‘corporate hospitality’. If that sounds glamorous, let me assure you that a weekend spent sleeping in the back of a Ford Transit watching the proceedings at a very damp Snetterton Heath is very different from today’s Moto GP VIP packages! However, the weekend did spark my interest and for a while I harboured dreams of joining the likes of Webbo and Norrie out on the circuit. Those…

Whether it’s Leicester City winning the 2016 Premiership, a teenage Boris Becker winning Wimbledon or Greece winning the 2004 European Championship, the world of sports is filled with stories of underdogs coming out on top. However, few of those stories can match that of Baildon SC’s triumph in winning the inaugural Lambretta Offroad Cup, held in Germany on the weekend of September 20-22, 2024. Baildon Buzz The West Yorkshire town of Baildon, nestled on the edge of Baildon Moor, is an unlikely starting point for European success, but as home to one of the region’s largest scooter clubs it’s a town that’s used to small-wheeled adventures. One of the club’s most enthusiastic members is Kev Emmott, a man who has been around scooters almost all his life, and who acts…

Illustrating as well as emphasising his philosophy, Lee, known to his mates as Flee, had this to say about his recently completed Vespa street racer. “In the 14 years I’ve owned this scooter I’ve ridden it, thrashed it, blown it and rebuilt it, and all more than once. Scooters are for riding, enjoying and having a bit of fun.” With one short-lived exception, he’s always been a Vespa man. “It was a combination of getting a Vespa 50 Special when I was 15 and watching a mate rebuild a Lambretta that got me into scooters in the 80s. After the 50, I had a Vespa 90, then a PX. I only ever had one Lambretta, I didn’t get on with it, it felt like riding a breeze block. After I…

The world has changed a lot over the past couple of years and in a post-Covid world, it has become increasingly difficult to find locations that fit our club’s requirements. As such the club has needed to compromise, and unfortunately this sometimes means that our accommodation is a little more scattered about than we’re used to. Being part of such a friendly club, it is always nice to have everyone in the same place of an evening to socialise, but finding an establishment that ticks all the boxes has become a real task. This was especially the case with our late summer rally; with several false starts and a lot of time and energy invested without reward. Then by chance, we dropped lucky, by thinking out of the box, well,…

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 GP 200. 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 manufacturer’s websites, this can vary between manufacturers depending on what methods are used to test their machines. For example the…

NEXT MONTH In next month’s issue: We kick off our 40th anniversary celebrations in style with Happy Black, the latest creation from the ever-talented Michael Zinnen. Travelling back in time we revisit Shadow Catcher, a custom Vespa brought back from the dead, and tell the story of how Indian production brought Lambretta back to the UK. Speaking of Lambrettas, we’ve another reborn classic in the form of Bogey Man. We’ll bring reports from EICMA and Motorcycle Live together with a look at old-school tuning techniques. All that and all our regular selection of news, reviews and technical features. On sale Friday, December 27.…

Krzysztof Szews’ fascination with scooters began way back on a Vespa, because, as he put it: “As a 16-year-old, if you wanted to look good and attract girls, then it had to be a proper scooter.” Sticking with that philosophy, he has owned several different models since, but as of late his allegiance has changed to Lambretta. This was a significant move because it led him to build the machine you see before you. Together, Krzysztof and his friend Philipp Ludwig have been organising motorcycle sprint races in Europe since 2022 under the name Rocket Race Club, which has a growing membership across Europe. Many entrants have built weird and wonderful motorcycles to compete against each other, including at Glemseck 101, which around 50,000 spectators attended. Keen to get into…

Various Artists: Proper Ska Those of you with a good memory may remember a handful of ska compilations that came out around 1990 which featured the best of contemporary bands. Compilations such as Gangster of Ska, The Fifteen Commandments of Ska, the Skanking Around The World series and A Full English Breakfast. This three-disc set has a lot of the feel of that era, focusing on bands old and new who used that version of the genre. Referred to as ‘proper ska’, it’s the sound of bands from the back end of the Eighties, rather than ones that owe to JA or to the modern punkier stuff. A slightly softer and more danceable sound, perhaps, than The Specials but with a similar drive and intensity. Bands of that era, such…

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…

Since 2011, the last weekend in September each year sees this quaint little town taken over by scooterists for one of the scene’s best-kept secrets. Over the years that it’s been going, it’s expanded from a small gathering that would pretty much fit into a reasonably sized pub car park into an event which this year required the town centre to be closed off, with scooters of all shapes and styles shoved into any available parking spot that could be found. The pavements were lined with restorations and chops, ratters and full-on custom show winners and scooter owners who mingled happily with the locals who turned out in their hundreds to watch the ride-in. The road to the parking area was lined two or three deep with onlookers as the…

If we study performance cars, even ones that have evolved from a basic model, you’ll notice many changes to the bodywork. Most of these aren’t cosmetic, they’re designed to improve aerodynamic efficiency. The same principles apply to motorcycles; look back in history, and it’s easy to see how this part of the machine has evolved. When it comes to the Lambretta, the final model to be designed was the GP, and although the legshield shape is woefully inadequate in the aerodynamic department, it was an improvement over earlier models. Why are aerodynamics so important? The answer is that the more aerodynamic a vehicle is, the more efficiently it cuts through air. This brings many benefits including the need for less power to propel it, better fuel efficiency and it also…

BIG CHRIS'S CLASSIC CORNER The Vespa PX Series Special was a rare breed when it was originally launched in 2002. It was created to mark the very sad demise of the much-loved PX200; workhorse of the scootering masses, and one of the longest-running production Vespa scooters. This rather unnecessary ‘execution’ of a classic was all because it puffed out a little bit of burnt two-stroke oil. We can’t even blame Greta Thunberg for this one as she was only a kid back then. No, this decision was made after rather rich and powerful people had flown halfway round the world in their private jets, then been escorted to their fancy hotels in a motorcade, before telling the rest of us how we should save the planet and make changes, before…

If you’ve got a tyre-related question, get in touch with us and we’ll do the rest: stan@scootering.com Hi Rhodz,I had an issue with my Peugeot Django where a bulge has appeared on the sidewall. I can’t remember kerbing it, could this be a manufacturer fault which may be covered under warranty? What do I do as I’ve not long bought the tyre? Thanks Blajez, Cambridge Hi Blajez, This is a question we get every now and again, unfortunately the process can be slow if the tyre is at fault. The first port of call is to check that the tyre fitted is suitable and the correct size for your machine. The second thing to do is call or pop in to see the supplier of the tyre. They will in…

After a troubled few years due to Covid and the unavailability of facilities at Southport, the end-of-season National has finally settled into the North Wales resort of Llandudno. Although some scooterists’ hearts will forever remain on the east coast, the rally hub at Venue Cymru is the ideal location for a rally of this size and importance. Unusually, the rally is a game of two halves with the LCGB taking care of Saturday’s trade and custom show, while VFM looks after the night-time entertainment. The result could be a mishmash, but as anyone who’s ever attended any of these end-of-season events can confirm, the result is always entertaining, with both organisations playing to their strengths. Friday fun The weekend kicked off at the Venue Cymru with a stellar performance by…

There is no denying that the lucrative market for developing the Lambretta continues to evolve. It has done so since the 1960s and while a lot of it concentrates on the performance side, every now and then something comes along to improve reliability. That can only be a good thing because it makes the Lambretta experience a more pleasurable one. When a manufacturer gets it right, it’s very beneficial to them because the demand for reliability guarantees the product will sell well. Recently, I was looking through some archive material relating to the GP200 when I stumbled across the press release for the GP200 Electronic. Dated February 1971, this was for the UK release, the DL Electronic having been available in Italy since mid-1970. The press release explained the benefits…

Because of the book of the same name, the mere mention of the year 1984 brings to mind for most an Orwellian dystopia of thought police, state control, brainwashing, propaganda, global conflict and the erosion of free speech, but as none of that could ever happen here in the UK (?), let me take us through another and more enthralling facet of 1984: the entrenchment of Britain’s scooter scene. As detailed in the book Scooter Boys, by 1983 an expansive fresh and amalgamated school of scootering had risen phoenix-like from the fusion of the ongoing scooter scene, as found predominantly in the north of England at that time, and the fresh-faced newer devotees who were turned on to scooters via the mass Mod revival of 1979. Although many would stay…

Message of the month Don’t hold back… Sir, I read with interest the views of GB on the magazine’s music column in October’s magazine. I’d like to disagree with him in his assertion that no one is interested. I for one certainly benefit from it and have found many interesting releases as a result. We’re not all stuck in 1987. Perhaps he would also like to give his views on other topics. How does he feel about modern oriental auto scooters? We don’t see many of those at rallies. Or racing scooters. I can’t say that I’ve been passed by many of those on the road. Perhaps he’s a Vespa enthusiast and is sick of articles on how to build Lambretta forks? I suggest that perhaps he should be allowed…

After a two-year absence due to poor track conditions, Bonneville was finally ready to host racing in 2024. Several riders on both Vespa and Lambretta machines began entering since the governing body finally agreed to allow machines with such small wheels to race there. The two main protagonists at present are Todd Rogers and Valberto Silva, and you could say both are veterans, having run on the harsh environment the salt bed has to offer before. The last meeting back in 2021 gave both plenty of time to prepare for this year’s attempt, but the pressure was on because the event only happens once a year in September. Although everything may be planned to the finest detail, it’s on the day when it counts. This year both riders were optimistic…

PRACTICAL SCOOTERING TECH TIPS If there is one thing that really pains me, it is doing the same job twice. I’m always up against the clock, so when I make a schoolboy error and have to go back and do something again, it really irks me. I also usually throw some kind of tantrum; this occasion was no exception. You may recall that in a previous tech instalment, we fitted the petrol tank so that we could get the seat and a few other items in place. Well, that was all well and good, except for one thing: I failed to test the petrol tap for its rate of fuel flow before fitting the tank. On a scooter, I like to see a flow rate from the petrol tap that…

The BSSO 2024 season was brought to a stormy, wet conclusion at the legendary Lydden Hill Circuit in Kent, and the result was one for our record books. (Body text) Weather definitely played a part in the weekend, which brought the usual action and some brilliant racing in extremely hard conditions. Saturday brought the BSSO Championship to a formal end with the last four races to score championship points and put a full stop to the year’s official proceedings. However, Sunday’s racing was about fun and entertainment with mixed-up grids, scratch races and people swapping machines. The lottery of 45mph wind gusts, sideways rain, standing water and streams across the track added layers of difficulty for the racers and spectators alike. With the main championship places finalised there was no…