Haven’t posted for a while, will do soon, with an explanation! In the meantime, here’s a vid I found of a nice restoration of a J50.
J50 Restoration video
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Category Archives: Scooters
Lambretta’s and Vespa’s in Vietnam
It’s been a while since I posted, ant to be honest, a couple of weeks since I’ve ridden my scoot. Spanners out at the weekend, fitting a new kickstart assembly. Wish me luck.
Here’s a nice little feature from a Vietnamese TV show on the scootering/restoration scene. Unless you can speak Vietnamese, forget the commentary, and just enjoy the movie. It kicks off with some film of Saigon back in the day, a very cosmopolitan and sophisticated place by the look of it. It then goes on to feature the work of the Saigon Scooter Centre, and some very nice Lammies. A very nice S2 at 7:18!
After about 8 mins there’s some nice footage of VW bug and bus restos, stick with it if your a fan of the Vespa Ape, as the program finishes on that. Nice.
Via The Scooterist blog.
Model Lambrettas
A bit late for Christmas, but here are a couple of Lambretta models I found on Amazon. I was in two minds about posting links to Amazon as I had bit had a bit of a run-in with them before the festivities, regarding Vittoria Tessera’s Lambretta book… but I’ll post about that another time. And on balance, I thought you, my fellow Lambrettisti, would be interested.
Although you can find plenty of model Vespa’s out there, model Lambrettas have always been harder to find, and especially the more popular models… you would have thought there would be a good market for TV175’s, SX’s and GP’s; I’d certainly buy them!
Links: LD & sidecar, LD & Girl, Model D, Lancia Lambretta Service Van.
If I had a Hammer…
I’d hammer in the morning, and the evening! Found this rather nice Lambretta AF Rayspeed Rapido 250, on eBay, ideal for the supporter of a certain East London Assosication Footaball team. Currently on the Isle of Wight, with a classified price of £5k.
Here’s the link.
New 50cc Lambretta’s sneak onto the market
Ok, so I’ve been a little busy… (hence the lack of recent updates on here) but I have kept my eye on the happenings in the Lambretta world. Don’t quite know how I missed this (Although to be fair I did flag it up in November).
But it looks like the good people behind the new Lambretta LN have snuck out a couple of new models without telling me. From what I can gather there is three new models… the LS50 (Top pic,green flashes on the sidepanels)… which sneaks in at just under £3k (ouch!) and the (slightly) more affordable LT (middle pic – the red one) and LJ (last pic, headlight on the horncasting)… which come in at just under £2k. All three look like they will be available form February or March next year, but orders are being taken now. More facts, figures, roadtests etc.when I get them.
They are available from Eddy Bullet and other good scooter dealers.
(If you’re a dealer, and you are stocking them, know any more, or even want to let me have a test ride so I can write about them, get in touch and I’ll link to you).
5,000km Pan-European Roadtrip… on a 1966 SX
A documentary video of an impressively bearded Italian guy (Alessa Andrini, I’m guessing from his YouTube user name) and a 5,000 km road trip from his home town in Riccione, Italy. Before he sets off to see the British Moto GP at Donnington, and then the Dutch one at Assen, first he has to restore his 1966 SX 150… (although I thought it looked pretty good as it was, you can’t argue with the finished scoot, in vibrant yellow). Follow the whole series via his YouTube page.
http://www.youtube.com/user/Alessandrini1966#p/u/1/NUFPBVFWjf0
Lambretta LN on a shopping trip in Vietnam…
Glamourous Vietnamese Lambretta girl Mai Chi on a shopping trip with the new Lambretta LN. In our eurocentric world we sometimes forget just how big a market South East Asia is for the new Lambretta, from some of the buzz online, it almost seems to be their lead market.
Via LambrettaFace
London Wasps SC Ride of Rememberance 2011
What a great day I had yesterday on the Wasps SC Ride of Remembrance… one of the highlights of my scootering year… no scrub that, one of the highlights of my year fullstop. A beautiful autumn day, with the sun shining through the misty light, London has never looked better. I’m told it was a lot better than last years weather where it was persisting down… well, when I got there, about 8.30 am, after a lovely ride up through Richmond Park and west London, there were four other scooters. When we left, I reckon it was closer to four hundred. Probably more.
After observing the two minutes silence at the Inner Circle of Regents Park, a run down Baker Street, onto Oxford Street and onto Marble arch, tourists and londoners alike stopping to smile, wave, take pictures and videos and smile…
After a quick regroup on Park Lane… and it was scoots as far as you could see forwards and backwards… it was onto the main event, the laying of wreaths at the Royal Artillery Memorial at Hyde Park Corner. Sweeping round HPC, we were waved at by the troops who’s been on parade, and that was a moment of real pride. After a while it was onto the Southern Cross pub on the Kings Road for libations, I skipped that as family matters need my attendance at home… and the queue for the bar and toilets was enormous. This is the third year Wasps SC have organised this event, last year it raised over £1,500 for The British Legion. And I’d be amazed if this year it wasn’t much more. What a day, thanks Wasps, I was honoured to attend and I’ll see you all next year.
Latest Lambretta shots from Milan show
A couple of images from the EICMA show in Milan… these red ones look like the “LS” model previously announced (I’ve heard that maybe LS stands for “Little Sister” although this migh just be a nickname), all one colour, and also a variant with the headlight on the horncast, as in the original LC’s, LD’s and LI Series 1’s. Seems a bit odd to be incorporating a design feature Lambretta abandoned in 1959, but that’s fashion for you… and there are plenty of modern scooters with the headlight in this position. True, it removes the problem of that big ugly headlight on the LN, but I don’t think it’s wholey successful design wise.
The final shot, below is back to ‘big brother’ the LN… but this time finished in silver and blue. I think this colourway might be for the 150cc model only, which is rumoured to be “for Italy only”. If the LN is going to be popular in the UK, I can see us wanting 150’s, 200’s, 250’s and even 300’s over here to thank you!
Lambretta LS news… and a new set of initials the Lambretta LJ…
Right, hope I haven’t got my wires crossed here, as I’m getting my news, in the original Italian, hot from the 2011 EICMA show in Milan. It looks like the 50cc Lambretta LS is due for an “early 2012” launch, (alongside larger 125 and 150cc versions) These will be sold alongside the LN 125 and 150. There is also talk of another model the LJ… although this may just be one of the variants of the LS with a 2-stroke 50cc engine (J for junior – Lambretta Junior? Just a guess).
The other news is that Lambretta have an electric LN in development… no specs yet but a 7kw engine and an estimated range of 100km… interesting… I wonder if they read this post about the electric model D conversion!
As ever, stay tuned, and when I know, you’ll know!
Info via motorino.it
lambrettista.net 