2 Best Oddities… Skullduggery & Egyptian Swan

Posted on February 25, 2014 by crocodilejock

Cards on the table… I’ve said it before, and I’ll probably say it again. I’m not really into choppers. So I’ve ummed and ahhed about putting these two scoots in. They’ve been on eBay for a while, and the owner isn’t really bothered about selling them, unless he gets the right price. (£10k each) When you read the story that goes with them, you’ll understand why, and understand why I’ve written this post. Because, although I may not be into chops, I am into Lambrettas, a good story, passion, commitment and vision. And that is what it took Nipper to build ’em.

If they tickle your fancy, or float your boat, you can buy Skullduggery on eBay here or Egyptian Swan here I won’t insult your intelligence by telling you which one’s which 🙂
Even if, like me, you don’t quite “get” the chopper thing, pop over to eBay and read Nippers story. You can’t help but admire the fella!

Proper Mod TV. And it could be yours.

Posted on February 5, 2014 by crocodilejock

So, if you read the Richard Barnes Mod! book that I posted about a few days ago, or you’ve watched Quadrophenia recently, and you’ve decided a Mod Lambretta is the way to go, IMHO you couldn’t do much worse that buying this little beauty, a fully loaded, chromed and accessorised TV175. The secret, again, in my ever so humble opinion, is taste. Knowing when to stop. Knowing exactly what accessories (absolutely period perfect of course) to include, and what to leave off. And if these pics are ringing any bells, it may be that you’ve either seen the scoot in the flesh, or in one of the articles about it in Scootering. It’s even been a cover star on that esteemed publication.

Read the eBay description for the full story of this cracker, read the Mods! book, Check out my Scooterist Miscellany links for clobber and the like, and you’ll be the big wheel on the scene, making all the other cats look like third-class tickets.

If your interested, there’s a load more pics and information over on eBay. Here’s the link

Lambretta Trike

Posted on February 3, 2014 by crocodilejock

Don’t know anything about this… I found it on Christian Dorat’s Facebook page, always an excellent source of fantastic Lambretta imagery, often featuring a scantily clad lady as a bonus prize! If you own this scoot, or know who does, please get in touch and tell me more.

Great AF S-Type Replica

Posted on January 21, 2014 by crocodilejock

It’s been a long time ambition of mine to own, and ride, an AF S-Type, or a faithful replica of one. Seen by many Lambrettisi as the pinnacle of what you can do with the Lambretta, I think they are pretty much the perfect balance between performance, reliability and style. I’ve even got my colour scheme and sticker placement already planned out. But there’s a couple of points I’m unsure about. Would I have two pathfinders, or just the one? I’ve always thought two… but this scoot looks so right with just the one. And would I have an inline spare wheel carrier, or tuck it behind the ledshields? Decisions, decisions. Well, as I’m potless at the moment, these vital choices can wait. For now. But when I get that windfall… there are tough choices to be made! Screen Shot 2014-01-16 at 09.30.23

This glorious S-Type Replica is owned by Stefan, who is behind the excellent Get Around Better Lambretta Photoblog. Another great blog to follow!

UPDATE: Stefan has been in touch with a few more details about his pride and joy. But first I’ll fill you techy types in on what’s under the panels. The engine is a TS1 225, with a Mikuni TMX 35mm carb and Taffspeed road pipe. A front hydraulic disc, Raydot foglight and Smith speedometer and Ancilotti seat all give it the authentic AF Rayspeed look. But putting together a UK ‘dealer special’ replica in Germany wasn’t all plane sailing, an iIt’s the little details that caused Stefan the biggest problems. On a scoot like this is all about getting the details right… the rubber for the Raydot took some tracking down, and he had to persuade the guy who’d commissioned 100 “225” badges just to get three for his one scoot to let him buy some! Still, it has all come together to produce a first class machine. Nice work!

Iconic new Lambretta chair

Posted on December 3, 2013 by crocodilejock

This is a must have for the modern Lambrettista equipping the world coolest office… or home. I’ve seen something similar based upon *cough “another scooter” …but it didn’t have half the cachet of these iconic pieces.

Although you might want to simply display these chairs as a piece of art, you’ll be glad to know they do work as fully functioning chairs.

Each chair is hand built and can be fully customised to your requirements… the model from an LI Series 1 to a GP/DL… the colour, either traditional Lambretta colours or custom colours, and the chrome badges… even the colour of the leather and how it’s stitched. You can even add your own company branding.

They are the brainchild of Jim Piester, founder of Johannesburg (South Africa) based Iconic Design. Jim, who is behind the whole idea, is a Lambretta rider himself (his is the candy orange GP you can glimpse behind the chair, or better in this post), and has been since the age of 16. His background in manufacturing engineering, including a 9 year stint at Rolls Royce and Bentley, have paid off in his attention to detail in the finishing of the final chair.

Jim has other products already in the pipeline, including a Lambretta inspired sofa, armchair and bar stools. There is also a Series One version, including a working headlight… how cool is THAT?

The pricing seems remarkably reasonable too…

£951 +postage for a GP chair (DL/GP or electronic)

£1,035 + postage for a Series Two chair (Li or TV)

£1,100 + postage for a Series One with working headlight (Li or TV)

£1,079 + postage for a Series Three chair (SX, Special and TV)

Compare what you’d pay for the V*spa version… (Google it, I’m not linking to it) and you’ll see how favourably these compare pricewise. Designwise, there’s NO comparison.

Update: Here’s a rather lovely GP200 Electronic version Jim’s currently working on…

For further details check out the Iconic Design website here.

Do the next scooter rally in comfort and style!

Posted on October 18, 2013 by crocodilejock

Fed up of camping? Can’t afford a B’n’B? This homemade scooter-caravan hybrid may be just the answer you’re looking for. Based on a beat of a scooter – the Soviet era Tula – or the Muravey commercial vehicle version of it… (think Russian Lambro. Lambretta-heads), I’ve been unable to track down much information on it. It’s a British build, put together somewhere in Leicestershire. And as well as a fabrication job, it looks like a first class restoration, from a less than promising original vehicle, see the first shot below! If you are the talented, but slightly nutty builder of this unique vehicle, please get in touch, I’d love to know more!

Fun fact: Muravey is Russian for Ant, (there’s a bit of a insect theme here, Vespa = Wasp, Ape = Bee, Muravey = Ant), Although, perhaps “Ulitka” would be more suitable. That’s Russian for snail. More for carrying it’s home on it’s back than for the speed connotations, although that’s probably relevant too!

UPDATE: If you fancy tackling a project like this yourself, (or perhaps something simpler such as this) you could do worse than check out the “Teardrops & Tiny Trailers” forum (conveniently shortened to tnttt.com. I didn’t even know such a category existed, but fantastically, it does… the internet is a wonderful thing!

Here’s a link to the original site.

Future Shock Chopper for sale

Posted on October 9, 2013 by crocodilejock

Cards on the table… Choppers ain’t my thing. When you put the list of various custom scooter categories together (and I should do that one day), Choppers would come close to the bottom. For me.

Saying all that, once in a while a chopper comes along that is just SO good that you can’t ignore it. It imbeds itself in your brain, and comes to define the category. Future Shock is the machine that does this… a completely radical, stunningly executed concept that has become, well, iconic. With numerous appearances in the scootering press over the years, you can’t help having noticed it, and admired the vision, time and artistry that has gone into it. Now you can own it. It’s on eBay now, sitting (at time of typing at a tad over £4k). Here’s the eBay link.

Lambretta LN ‘Pure Smithy’ Dealer Special

Posted on July 11, 2013 by crocodilejock

I haven’t posted anything about the LN or it’s sibling modern Lambrettas* recently, as they’re not really my bag… and there hasn’t been anything new to report. I don’t know how they are selling, and I certainly haven’t seen one on the road, but I wish them well. If the marketing department at Motom* had any imagination, they’d sign up a Lambretta blogger, and let him (or her) have one for an extended test drive. Say six months. By the way… on the last count The Lambrettista blog is read in more than 70 countries. Just saying.

Anyway… at but I thought this was quite interesting. Had to look twice at this LN on eBay. I thought it was an official Paul Smith licensed product, but it’s clearly a fairly clever knock off. I wouldn’t be totally surprised if Mr Smith had been involved, as he was allegedly a mod as a young man, and his work retains a certain ‘mod aesthetic’… but if he had it would have been all over the papers. Another marketing opportunity missed? There I go, off on a tangent again. Back to the original point of this post, which was, that the LN is now starting to appear in different incarnations, customised, much as dealers would customise ‘proper’ Lambrettas back in the day… I’ve no particular opinion on whether this is a good, or bad thing… it’s just interesting. Mildly. Well, I thought so. If it floats your boat, and you’ve got a spare £3k knocking around, you can get one here. And they’ll give you a fiver change. It’s being sold by the Pure Group, in Harrogate if you don’t do eBay.

And if the Paul Smith look isn’t up your strasse… there’s a distressed union jack version. A bit ‘comedy mod’ for me, that one, I’m afraid.

*Motom Electronics Group are one of the claimants of the Lambretta name. There’s a trademark/license document here that explains it all in legalese. My thoughts can be found on this site if you stick Lambretta LN into the “handy searchbar” (that’s one for the “stuffyoushouldknow” podcast listeners).

Automatic selection

Posted on July 8, 2013 by crocodilejock

Another couple of nice scoots on eBay at the moment… if you like auto’s that is. Ok… they are not everybody’s cup of tea… especially the purists… but were a broad church here at Lambrettista, and I don’t mind them.

After all… where does ‘tuning’ stop. And if you can get “Lammie looks with automatic reliability” which is often the way these things are sold… well… why not.

Anyway. on to the machines. Bike one is the more classic Lambretta looking scoot… Classic SX good looks with a very smart Abarth paint job and a Typhoon 125 power unit. A nice touch is the bar end indicators. Neatly done. It’s had a few bids, but if your desperate to get your hands on it, the buy it now price is £4000. Here’s the link.

The second bike is a bit more radical… and there’s a bit of an issue with the photo’s on eBay, so maybe you can see them here and then stick your bid in if your interested. Built on a Lambretta Innovations frame, it runs on 13″ wheels. The power is provided by a Gilera lump with a Mallosi 172 top end. It will (allegedly) “sit at 80mph all day long” and has all round disc brakes to bring you to a swift halt if the need arises. If Kawasaki Green and a swift ride is your thing, you might want to get a bid in on this scoot. Here it is on eBay. Even if you’re not interested, and you’ve got five minutes, check it out because it’s written in a thoroughly engaging style. I like what he’s done with the shed, too.

My only caveat about autos is, being a hybrid, when things go wrong… where do you take it? A Lambretta specialist? A Gilera (or whoever has made the engine) specialist? Hopefully back to the place that built it. But the permutations of things that could go wrong rise rapidly. Saying that, if you’re even thinking about it, your probably a little handy with the spanners yourself, and a little tinkering may not worry you. If that’s the case, go for it.

Hot Rod Style Signwriting

Posted on June 24, 2013 by crocodilejock

I’ve noticed a bit of a trend for this on scoots recently… it goes hand in hand with the “rusto-ration” and “rat look” …and there’s a lot of crossover with punk and rockabilly styles too… hand lettered, humorous, personal, crafted, imperfect, but beautifully so… with an ‘authentic’ calligraphic feel… it’s teh perfect counterpoint to the airbrushed murals and perfect vinyl cut graphics we’ve seen on scooters for years. And I love it.