With 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 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. C
If you fancy something a bit prettier, and more, er, Italian, for about the same money (£100 cheaper actually!) There’s this J50 Delux. It’s got 50 less cc’s but it is in what’s probably my favourite Lambretta colour, Mela Verde (or Apple Green). You’ll need to be a bit handy with the spanners, because although it seems to be complete, it’s in bits. 
There’s a lovely LD over on eBay in in unmolested ‘time warp’ condition.
The scoot has been laid up since 1970 – it still retains it’s final MOT certificate and 1969 tax disc (also present is the all important buff log book).
Further rumours (from a reliable source) have reached Lambrettista Towers concerning the new official Lambretta. The name, Vendetta, as suspected, refers to the ongoing family rivalry between Vespa and Lambretta. L70 is the code name referencing Lambretta’s 70th anniversary in 2017.
Word has reached Lambrettista Towers that the first 100 Limited Edition FP (First Production) TL200 Scooters have arrived at Scomadi HQ. The are being hand finished before being rolled out to the Scomadi dealer network over the next couple of weeks. If you fancy one though, I’m afraid you’re out of luck… this batch are all reserved for those that made a pledge via the Scomadi Crowd Funding Campaign. I’m sure more will follow shortly though!
When asked what the ideal number of Lambrettas to own is, the usual answer is ‘one more than I’ve got’. Spanish-based ex-pat Colin Bunn taken that concept and run with it.
The new, official Lambretta has been announced… with little more than a silhouette and a new name “the Vendetta”. I’m liking both. The silhouette looks very traditional, and although it doesn’t reveal much, it looks very promising! The name? Lambretta Vendetta? Fantastic. Hinting maybe at rekindling the old rivalry with Vespa? Are we going to see a ‘wasp killer’? (yeah, good luck with that one, but it’s good to have ambition).
I’ll hold my hands up, I’m not any kind of expert on scooter racing, past or present. But there are some names that you can’t help recognising if you’ve got even a passing interest. One of those is Doug Miller of East London Racing. And one of his cutdowns is for sale on eBay.
lambrettista.net 