Monthly Archives: June 2016

Fido Electric Scooter – Now On Sale

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DSC_5269editReaders with good memories may recall the Fido Electric Scooter concept that reminded me of the original ‘Model A’ Lambrettas*. Well, it’s not a concept anymore, and you can buy one of a limited edition of 25, hand assembled “Model 1’s” for a downpayment of $5,250. That’s 50% of the full purchase price, which makes them a not inconsiderable $10,500.

It’s not cheap, it will only do 45mph and has a 35mph range, and (at the moment) it’s only available in the USA. But I like the aesthetic, and think it’s a glimpse of the future. Once a main production run is up, (and that is scheduled for 2017) prices should start to come down. I know it’s going to be of limited appeal to readers only interested in old, noisy 2-stroke – you can buy a pretty decent Lammie for $10.5k – but I wish the guys at Fido well. It’s been a long road for them, I hope their hard work starts paying off.

The Fido is also a world away from some of the frankly amazing stuff coming out of Italy at the moment, such as the Casa Performance 350cc twin casing, but the guys over at Scooterlab have got that pretty much covered.

Find out more about Fido here.

*All early open frame Lammies actually, scroll down to see Marco’s D for example (or

Want to see the new Lambretta Vendetta?

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You’ll have to wait until EICMA!

Expectant Lambretta lovers may have been excited about todays date… we were due to learn  some more details about the new Lambretta Vendetta. The bad news is that hasn’t happened… the good news is the countdown for a reveal has been reset to EICMA 2016, The world’s biggest event dedicated to two-wheeled vehicles. Where is this event held? Milan. So, rather fittingly the new Lambretta will be revealed in it’s traditional home.

Screen Shot 2016-06-15 at 07.47.43The cynical will remain cynical. But I’ve heard good things on the grapevine about the Vendetta. Very good things. Things that will make the wait worthwhile. Rumours that the Vendetta is the true successor to the proud name of Lambretta. The way I look at is that if you’re in a Michellin starred restaurant, you don’t worry if the main course is a little late. Because you know the chef wants to make it perfect for you.  After all, the last official Lambretta model launched was the DL/GP in 1968* so a few more months won’t matter.

 

*OK pedants, I know there have been SIL models and Servetas since then, but I count those more as revisions of existing models 🙂

Marco’s Model D For Sale

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I came across this little cracker while perusing the Rimini Lambretta website. Lazily, rather than paraphrase their description, I’m just going to cut and paste it below…

Description:

This Lambretta is owned by Marco who works for RLC and is one of his personal scooters. He has decided to let it go due to not having enough time to enjoy the scooter and rather than have it just sit there unused, he’d rather that someone else gets the pleasure from it. 

The scooter is all original and the waterslides were added by the sole previous owner during his travels in the 60’s. The amazing accessories are all originals and period parts. Most were on the scooter when Marco purchased it a few years ago and there are some REALLY choice parts that are either very expensive or nigh-on impossible to locate. Marco rebuilt the engine recently with no expense spared so it runs and rides as good as it looks – so much so that Marco has actually toured with this scooter and it performed faultlessly. 

If you want an original classic that is draped in history and choice parts, look no further! This Lambretta D125 is the real deal and no mistake. The scooter comes with full, current Italian documents.

Condition:
Super conserved, runs and rides PERFECTLY. All original. Loads of choice accessories and it comes with full Italian documents.
I think this is a  fabulous looking scoot… I love the period accessories… I’ve seen plenty of great “D’s” but nothing quite like this! It’s up for sale for €10,000 (or £7,796 in proper money). Now, I’ll concede that is a lot of money for a D. But for this D, I think it’s about right. If I had it, I’d be straight on the phone. More here.

NEW Lambretta frames & forks to be manufactured

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cat_lambretta7-1230x800With the announcement that there were to be new engine casings made for Lambrettas it seemed we are entering a second ‘golden age’ for Lambretta ownership (if you can afford to get you ‘foot on the ladder’ – or should that be floorboard?). With a new official Lambretta – The Vendetta – in the offing, and the majority of parts for classic GP / S3 Lambrettas are either being remade (often as improvements on the original equipment – tubeless rims for example), or available as ‘New Old Stock’. The likes of eBay, and the number of knowledgeable dealers (see my Lambretta specialists page for a list) even makes hunting down parts for rarer models less onerous.

But theres always been a missing link. You need an original frame to bolt everything on to. Well, maybe not anymore. Vittorio Tessera of Casa Lambretta is looking to manufacture Lambretta frames and forks again in Italy.

The ramifications of this are far from obvious, but luckily for me, somebody far more knowledgeable (Sticky) has thought it all through. So if you want to know whether it would actually be possible to build an old scooter on a new frame, or whether new frames might increase the scooter theft problem of scumbags ‘ringing’ scoots… head over to ScooterLab for the full gen.

‘My Minds Eye’ – RLC TV GT200 – The perfect mod scooter?

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MME-RLC-TV200GT-5My Minds Eye will be familiar to many of my readers from various scooter magazines and  taken the top honours at custom shows throughout the UK and Europe. Commissioned and designed by Nick ‘Tolley’ Tollazzi,  who personally sourced all the accessories, only selecting the rarest and the best. The accessories alone (listed below)  are valued at £14,000 and are all original and genuine;

  • Vigano flute
  • Super fork boots
  • Ulma front rack with crash bars (supplied by Nanucci London)
  • 9 raydot DL 78 lights
  • 4 Lucas L785 owl lights
  • 4 alpine horns
  • 2 Pegasus horses
  • 2 St Christopher badges
  • 2 stadium folding mirrors 
  • Desmo lady
  • Grants front badge
  • Motoplas flyscreen
  • Ken Cobin series 3 exhaust
  • Ulma footboard extensions
  • Nanucci toolbox with original lock and enamel St Christopher badge
  • Poli Micro Tromba horns
  • Ulma stand feet
  • Giuliari sidewinder seat and frame with original 60’s Midland leopard print
  • Ulma rear rack with Ulma  wheel disc and spinner
  • Ulma Florida bars
  • Ulma rear crash bar
  • Scots GB reflective rear badge
  • Metalplast number plate surround and metalplast rear mudflap
  • Catalux twin reflector rear light lens
  • Michelin ACS tyres
  • Correct fibre glass mudguard 
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The front rack is not just decorative… all the lights work!

The TV200 – known in the UK only as the GT – a rare and desirable model to start with – was personally built by Dean Orton of the renowned Rimini Lambretta Centre, arguably the best restorers of Lambrettas in the world. You can read about the work RLC put in here… to quote Dean “Anybody who thinks it’s the easy option ‘simply bolting accessories’ to a scooter really is talking shite. EVERY single accessory can be a major ‘mare and getting the layout right can take forever. No point slinging it all on and hoping it’ll look good because you’ll end up in tears. Nick’s front rack took the best part of three days work to layout, then strip, polish up, re-mount, wire up and connect. As Mr. T. himself says, “you can’t buy style – either you’ve got it or you haven’t.”

The whole package, the model, the restoration, the accessories, the provenance, go together to make this GT maybe the ultimate mod scooter. And she’s up for sale…

If you’re interested, and you can stump up the not inconsiderable £20,000 asking price, you can ring the owner on 07967363091 with questions or to see more photos. Find out more on eBay, here.