Tukxi! Go Ape at the seaside

Phew, the  unexpected sunshine is fantastic scooter riding weather… and maybe you can even squeeze in one more trip to the beach. And we all know the English Seaside and scooter go together like cheese and marmalade (try it, it works!).

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If you’re going, there’s few better places than Lyme Regis, Dorset… on of the extra attractions for me is this beautiful Tuk Tuk Taxi (or Tukxi!) What better way to see Lyme. Den, Tukxi’s owner, will also hire her out for weddings, promotions, TV and film work… check out the rather nicely put together website for all the details! 

I know this is a Vespa based Tuk Tuk, not a Lambretta, but she is unarguably beautiful. And I’m going to throw in a little bit of extra trivia for you. The model is a Piaggio Calessino, (one of less than a thousand made), and it’s base model, as you will doubtless know is called the Ape. Not Ape to rhyme with Grape… but pronounced A–pey …the Italian for “bee”. Because Vespa is the Italian for Wasp… geddit? These scooter based vehicles were real workhorses for many years around Europe, the backbone of many a small business. To see one based on a Lambretta, check my Café Scooteria post.

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Svalan – a scooter from Sverige

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We all know that when it comes to the heyday of scooters, there were more marques around than just Lambretta and V•spa. 
Most European countries, including the UK, tried to get on the bandwagon, with varying success in their home markets. 
My Twitter pal JahSeagrove points brought to my attention the Svalan – you might call it the Volvo of Scooters – made in his homeland, Sweden in the height of the 1950’s scooter boom.
He tells the story of his discovery, ownership, and restoration here… and a nice little ‘oddball’ it is too… I particularly like the twin headlight version!

Even Thomas (Jah’s alter ego) admits a preference for the more well know Lambretta and Vespa marques… and there’s a lot of great stuff on his scooter blog that worth checking out.  There’s some lovely shots of a Series 1 Lambretta he’s acquired, …it might just be beyond saving that one, even though it is a TV. Luckily he’s got another TV1 in better nick tucked away somewhere too!

I’m actually more jealous of his Model D… Loving that green paint. 
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Lambretta LN… at least it’s not a Pato!

The kindest way to describe the Lambretta LN’s reception in the UK is to say it has been mixed. A lot of people, mainly those of us with ‘proper’ Lambretta scooters simply don’t like it.

Well, here’s the good news… at least it’s not a Pato… the “Lambretta” they have had to put up with in the states for the last couple of years.

Probably the most off-topic video you’ll ever see posted here

But then again, they do call this move a “Lambretta” in Brazil… apparently! Silky skills from Leandro Damiãno.
On a side note, in Brazil, the word “Lambretta” is virtually synonomous with “scooter”, and today there is a healthy interest in vintage models. It’s a less well known fact that as well as being popular in India and Asia, the Lambretta scooter was also incredibly popular in South America, being manufactured under license in both Brazil and Argentina (where they went under the name “Siambretta”). 
 I’m going to get round to making a listing page for all the various Lambretta clubs around the world one day, but in the meantime here are a few from South America
Siambretta Club of Buenos Aires (That’s the capital of Argentina, for those with rusty geography)

Ever wish you had a spare £16 Grand?

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I know, silly question. But I do, right now. There’s somebody on eBay selling this delightful, and pretty rare Lambretta Model D sidecar combination. Which looks as close to concours as you’d want. I’ve recently started compiling a ‘dream garage’ list of Lambretta’s I’d love to own, and a D is right up there. As is a Lambretta sidecar combo, but I’d never put the two together in my head. There are several nice touches to the setup that really work well, I love the chrome legshield trim on the scoot, as well as the spare wheel carrier with integrated petrol tank, a lovely original (looking anyway) item with the innocenti logo. The luggage rack on the sidecar and the front bumper bar on the D are nice too. It also comes with optional “butty box’ behind the fitted petrol tank, something I suspect is an expensive addition if you need to source an original one. Another nice touch is the matching saddles and leather trim on the sidecar. Class. The only thing that really jars is the wheel embellisher on the sidecar. I think I’d either lose that and paint the wheel to match the bodywork, or paint the blue part of the embellisher to match the saddles. But who am I to be so picky! It’s sitting at a not inconsequential £8k at the moment, which seems a tad on the high side to me, but if it’s the sort of rare, early Lambretta that floats your boat, it might be right up your alley. Link here.

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The other £8k would be going to the same bloke… clicking the “see sellers other items” link brought up a lovely Fiat 500 D. Nice, although again, probably a little on the high side price wise. Link here.
He does appear to have listed both items twice.

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Cushty Custom Cushman

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If the Russian Tula I posted the other day doesn’t appeal, howsabout something from the other side of the cold war. Filed under “it’s not a Lambretta, but it’s pretty darn cool” department… I bring you this lovely custom Cushman. Cushman scooters hail from the good old US of A, and while many european scooters tried to ape the lovely curves of the Lambretta and Vespa, with varying degrees of success, Cushman plowed their own furrow.

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Instead of a set french curves, the designer used a good old ruler. 
This example dates back to 1960, and is a customised Model 520. The customisation is pretty tastefully done, some nice pinstriping, a ’59 Cadillac tailight, and the dice detailing on that mysterious lever on the left side of the scooter. (I think it opens the engine compartment). It’s the epitome of the 1950’s Vegas Loungebar aesthetic, scooter style!
Better than all that, it’s for sale, here, so if you’ve got the yen for something different, and the Soviet Tula, stick an offer in. Oh, and if the model looks kinda familiar to you, you’re probably thinking of that Bo Diddley LP cover…

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From Russia with love

We all know you can’t beat a classic Lambretta, but if you’ve got a yen for something a litlle different in the classic scooter stakes, how about this lovely Tula 200cc scoot from the former Soviet Union. 
Very much in lin1950’s Teutonic style coachwork… a huge front mudguard reminiscent of a Hienkel, but the rear very similar to the Glas Gogo… this was a beast designed to cope with the worst that the Russian winters could throw at it.
On eBay now for a grand, classified price.

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Lambretta Caterham Video

Posted about this car a while back. Here’s a video.
See if you can find some more info on the Caterham website, I’m buggered if I can.

The Smite – a modern reincarnation of the classic Messerschmitt bubble car

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I posted about this little beauty on my other blog, here, ages ago. Then it all went a bit quiet. … nothing. No updates on the website, nada. Until I spotted a link to this video on Facebook. I seriously want one of these… it would ‘go’ so well with my Series 2…The colour even matches (in the video). I’ll keep you updated if I hear more!

The official Smite website (hasn’t been updated for a while)
And Smite on Facebook  (a better bet for more up-to-date stuff)

Bear with me… I’m struggling to embedd the video into this post. Until I do here’s a link to it: SMITE Video

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Dick Smart and his SuperVespa


Came across this recently via Ride the machine.
Now I know this is a Lambretta blog, and I have been less than complimentary about our Vespa riding brethren (only in jest, honestly),
but that’s because I’d never seen this movie before. Dick, or should that be Signor Smart, is a Vespa riding, latino James Bond type.
I won’t spoil it for you (you really got to see it to believe it) but the words Little Nelly sprang to mind. 007 afficionados will know what I’m on about.
Fantastic cheesy soundrack too.