Funny how things happen. As I was writing my post on indicator gloves, the Lambretta that kept coming to mind was the Serveta Lince (or Lynx). And then, browsing eBay for Lammies (just window shopping I’m afraid) I come across a Lynx. Can’t remember having seen one for sale online before, and certainly not one in this condition… basically “as new”, unsold form the dealer!
Now, back in the day, I remembered being pretty anti this Spanish revision of the classic Lambretta look… The previous Serveta’s 125 and 150 Specials and Jet 200’s… had classic Italian good looks. With the hexagonal headlight trim, from the front, on a good day people thought you might be riding an SX.
But, in my opinion, the Lynx (I’ll continue to use the English translation, rather than the original Spanish “Lince” name) was the Lambretta equivalent of a Vespa PX. An improvement over what went before in many ways… but just fugly. (Sorry all you PX owners and riders, but I never liked them. And although they too have now gained classic status, they are still not quite my cup of tea). Improvements like 12v electrics and electronic ignition are things we take for granted now, but were exotic, and fairly expensive modifications back in the 80’s. Or they seemed expensive to me, if memory serves. They came as standard on the Lynx, but weren’t enough to overcome the styling issues. Serveta’s, at least amongst my circle were a step down from a genuine Italian Lammy too. Of course, they weren’t as bad as a “curryburner”, SIL GP… which had a pretty poor (and probably undeserved) reputation at the time. Back to the Lynx though… and modern consensus has it that the Serveta build quality was as good, or better than that of the Italian originals.
But, perception is everything. And while the PX line took off and did great things for Vespa, (and continues to with the 2010 relaunched PX range) the Lynx withered on the vine. I’ve got the feeling (can anyone back me up on this?) they were significantly more expensive… and they were certainly harder to get hold of, with only a few dealers having demonstrators. While the PX was an all new bike, fresh from the ground up, The Lynx was another facelift for a classic Lambretta, and, for a Lammy, it just wasn’t pretty enough.
With the benefit of hindsight, I think the Lynx looks pretty good. They definitely have a retro 80’s vibe going on. Their initial unpopularity has become a plus, rarity being a tick in the positive column these days. And if you want one, you can get one, on eBay today. You might even attract more attention than a restored SX on a scooter rally. And certainly more than a PX!
So did you own one? Do you? What is your opinion / experience of this overlooked 80’s classic from Spain?
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I own quite a rare black 200 lince all original paint/stickers and unrestored.The red one on ebay i could have owned for £1300 from germany,i took to long to decide about it and before i knew it ,it was sold.damn !
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hey spoony finally got around to putting the serveta back together
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That Yellow one you have on the page was mine.
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Serveta Lince 200
Do I want one?? Sad to think that this model signifies all that stood for the Lambretta mark. The Spanish continued to build Lammys , holding out on the passion until the collapse in 1990.
I own 1950 era Lambrettas , & thoughoughly enjoy these LD’S , eventhough they are slow , but may I say pretty.
When I saw a Lince 200 for sale , I thought I want to restore one back to its former glory. Just to say thumbs up to Serveta SAL for all that they tried to do. A VERY PROUD OWNER OF A SERVETA LINCE 200
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I have a Lince frame here (it’s actually a Serie 80, though pretty much the same as a later Lince I think?) I purchased it from Siobhan a few years ago. I would actually love to build it up as close to the way it left the factory, though I suspect certain parts may now be a struggle to get hold of??
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Cool! Any adventures planned this year Siobhan?
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i have had mine for 33 years in various states of repair and disrepair been to a few euros on it and loads of ordinary rallys on it both in ireland and the uk i got it in may 83 in dublin in a small bike shop local to me . the owner had got it in as o one off as the main lambretta dealer would’nt stock them for another 6 months, it was the first one in ireland and it as badged lambretta exclusive all the later ones were either lince or lynx, i drove it down to the isle of wight in 83 and it got a lot of attenion there was actually a jet set with a feature on the new spanish lambretta due out for sale think i might have a copy somewere. so it was well photographed so if any one reading this has any knowledge of iow 83 pics of my bike i would love to get a copy
the scoot honestly it was my first scooter so as you coud imagine it was rose tinted but the electrics were crap the wires pulled out of the switch on the gearchange the key was at the back so it kept bending and breaking it was soon moved to the headset as the 3 in one rack blocked it it wasnt fast like the gps and li.s my mates had but it looked in my opinion anyway stunning and still does to me iv had ts1;s stage four 175s 200s gps li series 2;s 190.s cutdowns chops etc but i stll keep coming back to the serveta it currently in a new rebuild stage for italy 2017 as i type the new ignition just arrived from beedspeed so just off to get new decals made
couple of pics i put up on my old website 25 years apart
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Nice one Maz… though only one pic came through… send us the other one!
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cheers
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same bike same place same rider
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