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About crocodilejock

Funk/Soul/Ska/Jazz loving, Lambretta riding, whisky sipping, Partick Thistle supporting, cheese muncher. Dad of twins, husband, graphic designer and blogger.

What do you get if you cross a Lambretta with a Vespa?

iso_milano_ebay_heroWell, it wouldn’t look a million miles from an Iso Milano would it? The front half looks very Vespa, while from the headset back it’s got distinctly Lambretta styling. Dating from 1957/58, it’s a remarkable ‘modern’ looking scooter for the day… Lambretta’s still had the headlight on the horncasing then. So, best of both worlds, or a bit of chimera? I suppose that’s a matter of taste.

If it’s to your taste, you can get hold of this one on eBay, here for not too much dosh; £1,250.00 ‘buy it now’ or make them an offer. Leave the Iso badges off, and you’ll have a few people scratching their heads… The bloke from the front saw you on a red Vespa, the bloke from the side swears blind you were riding a Lammie!
Here it is on eBay (Link updated as the scooter has been resisted).

Rallymaster Style…

s1_rm_inf-heroWith the emphasis on the word style. Because this isn’t a replica. I’ve posted a couple of very nice Rallymaster Replicas, here for example, and this clearly isn’t ploughing the same furrow. Nope, this scoot (which started life as a Series 1, despite appearances) has taken the best of the design cues of a Rallymaster, and distilled it into a subtle, understated custom.

As is the way with these things, the devil is in the detail. The custom twin rear light fitting and the fettled LD toolbox look great. The pathfinders work, as do the air horns. All in all, a very nice job which gives a respectful nod to the Rallymaster, stripes and all, without going all Dennis the Menace / Bournmouth FC.

It’s for sale on eBay, currently sitting at £4,500,  Sorry, It’s sold already, before I had the chance to post this! That’s a first. Told you it was nice!

Pretty ‘ped…

36cafe60-b165-11e6-98a8-99994156e824Spotted this pretty little Italian Moped while I should have been doing something more productive with my time. To my eye, prettier, and sportier looking than Innocenti’s Lambrettino 48, which didn’t have much going for it other than links to the Lambretta. Made by Moto Bianchi, if I was an Italian sixteen-year old in 1968, this is what I’d have wanted. Other than a Lambretta, of course!

Loving the mildly dropped bars, which give it a slightly café racer feel, and the sensuous curve from the frame to the tank – which lifts it from the many Honda Super Cub clones. It’s currently a very reasonable £1000 on the catawiki auction site, here.

Normal service will be resumed shortly.

Stay Exposed, Motorcycle Bivouac

If you’re one of those hardy souls who likes to sleep under canvas next to your scoot, this could be for you. It looks like it’s a quality product, made with care and decent materials – and rolls up to just 15cm diameter and 45cm wide. Just use your imagination to swap out all the motorcycle images for Lambrettas, and you’ll get the idea.

It’s a kickstarter project, and if you feel the urge,  you can get involved here.  Or there’s always the B&B.

Via DesignBoom

Mad Mods And A Camera

12-image-1200Duncan got in touch to tell me about his blog Mad Mods and a Camera. So, what’s Mad Mods And A Camera?

16-image-140A journey – An amazing journey that started with a brief conversation outside a café in Enfield, North London. A journey that’s taken him on Rideouts, to club meetings and social events, and led to meet-ups with Mods all over the country. And a photographic journey that, as one Mod once said to him; “keep spreading the love” about modern-day Mods.

1-image-1400The imagery is fantastic. I’ve given you a flavour here… there’s much more over on his blog. Here.

2-image

The only thing better than a Lambretta for Christmas…

dl-twinsTWO Lambrettas for Christmas of course! There’s a matching pair of LD’s on eBay at the moment. I must admit, if I found £11k down the back of the sofa I’d be tempted.


Here they are on eBay

1947 Lambretta Model A on eBay

itebay_moda_1Not a lot of description on this one, so if you’re interested, I’s suggest a little personal research… I spotted this Model A on the Italian eBay site. Now it’s obviously where it all began for Lambretta… so this is an important machine. They don’t come up that often, so this may be your chance to own a bit of Lambretta and automotive history!

 Here it is on eBay

Happy Thanksgiving!

lamstripe

Happy Thanksgiving Colonials! Enjoy your pre-Christmas Turkey!

Scooters & Style Magazine – Issue 8

scootersstyle1I’ve written about the marvellous Scooters & Style magazine before, but no apologies for mentioning it again on the blog. Whilst being a heavily ‘Vespa centric’ issue – so plenty there for the Wasp lovers – and only featuring one Lambretta this issue – the one they do feature is an absolute cracker – and rightfully the cover star. There’s also a piece on a bizarrely modified Bernardet scooter, a real curiousity!

scootersstyle_issue8_2It’s Daniele Savare’s TV175 Series 1, tastefully modded and restored by the Rimini Lambretta Centre. Daniele is a well-known face on the mod scene, and owns six scooters, including three Lambrettas. The TV1 is his favourite, however, and it’s easy to see why.

scootersstyle_issue8_3The fine scooter photography really benefits from being seen on the superior paper (or stock as we ‘in the trade’ call it). It’s the production standards of Scooters & Style magazine that sets it apart from the competition. This is a real quality product. If you want to have a sneaky peak at the content of the mag, they’ve got a ‘portfolio‘ section on the website which is worth checking out, but doesn’t give you the tactile feel and even smell of the real printed magazine. The website, by-the-way, is (like the mag) dual langauge, with both French and English versions. Which is helpful for those of us with just CSE grade 2 French.

You can get your mitts on a copy here. I’d highly recommend it.

Here’s a bunch of useful links;
The Scooters & Style Website
The Scooters & Style Facebook Page
Scooters & Style on Instagram

 

 

 

Viva Las Vega

vega_75s_ebay_heroI’ll admit now to not always having been the biggest fan of Bertone’s little late-sixties space age Lambrettas… the Luna range. I used to think didn’t have the elegant lines of a classic Lammie for me.

I’ve since grown to realise that they were future classics – designed ahead of their time, and the world wasn’t quite ready. Today, I think they’ve a great 70’s retro futurism vibe about them… kinda like the Bond Bug.

There’s a nice example on eBay… a 1970 Lambretta Vega 75s. It was restored in 2005, and is a UK registered bike with all the proper paperwork. It needs a little tidy up, but it’s in pretty decent nick. It’s priced at £2,500. 

Here’s the link.