Category Archives: Series 1

Sporty Stickered-up S1 Streetracers

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I see a lot of nice Lambrettas out there on the internet – many of them customised to the owners personal taste. In some cases, I can admire the work that’s gone into a scoot, but it’s “just not my thing”. On the other hand, sometimes I see one (or in this case two) that really float my boat. I came across this pair on a Facebook group, and thought, yeah, they’ll do! Everything about them is spot on, both of them, although they’re sublty different (rear footboard, a bit more chrome, fork embellishers on the orange one) they work nicely as a pair – and everything about them just seems ‘right’. Love the stickered-up aesthetic (but it’s got to be the right stickers)!

Posted by kind permission on the owner; John Lindgren.

Milan-Taranto Racing Lambretta for Auction

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I spotted this unique Lambretta Racer on The Bonhams auction site. Scooters have been raced since their earliest days, not the least in Italy – with an especially intense rivalry between Lambretta and Vespa of course!

This particular Lambretta has a unique heritage. Built by Giancarlo Morbidelli (the name behind some of the greatest bikes in smaller-capacity GP racing, who died in February this year in his hometown of Pesaro, Italy). It was put together specifically to compete in the 1994 historical rerunning of the famous Milan-Taranto long-distance road race. Starting life as a Series 1 LI 125, The modifications aren’t listed on the Bonhams site, but they are obviously pretty extensive, just from a quick look at the pictures! If you want a pretty standard machine ‘dressed up’ as a racer, this aint it!

One of four machines entered by the Binova-Cucine team, it was ridden by Giampiero Findanno. He led the race into the final day only to be delayed by an engine seizure; even so, he managed to finish 1st in class and 2nd overall. The Morbidelli-prepared Lambretta was the most talked-about machine in the field, much admired for its technical innovation.

It’s being auctioned with an estimate of £5,000–£10,000 – still carrying its Milan-Taranto competitor’s plates and with a selection of contemporary press cuttings and photographs.

The auction is on 16th August, just a couple of days from when this post is first published.

There’s a walk-around video here

Here’s a link to the Bonhams page.

UPDATE
Scooterlab have written a good follow-up piece on the auction, here. The scooter sold for £7,475 which seems a pretty fair price to me.

A Green Future for your classic scooter. Go Electric.

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5c370a1919ea1ee0aa43ebdf_electric_lambrettaWe all love our 2-strokes – but they’re not the most environmentally friendly of machines. Many people think the future of transportation is electric. With the likes of VW, BMW and even Jaguar joining Tesla in bringing electric vehicles to market, is the writing on the wall for fossil fuels? After all – when even Milan – the home of the Lambretta – bans classic scooters – you have to start taking these things seriously.

An electric scooter is not a new idea – and I’ve featured a few on the blog already. I even featured the first footage on the internet of the new Electric Lambretta – which is rumoured to be coming to market soon. Piaggio isn’t missing out either, and you can buy a Vespa Elettrica today.  But what if you love the lines of an authentic vintage Lambretta or Vespa?

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ProjectE

Well, now you don’t have to choose between a new, eco-friendly electric scooter, and vintage classic. Codenamed “Project E” Retrospective Scooters are producing a conversion kit for the most popular models of Lambretta & Vespa. They will remove the old petrol engine, electrics and cabling, and install a DC brushless electric motor, motor controller and lithium-ion battery. Ease of riding, reliability, economy and environmental footprint are all brought into the 21st Century – but most importantly the exterior styling remains totally original. A lot of effort has been put into cleverly hiding the modern tech behind dummy plastic engine casings keeping your classic looking as authentic as possible.

5c370b1d542c022ff4943e97_Electric_vespa_lambrettaRetrospective will be offering the conversion as a DIY kit, with prices starting at £2,485. They will fit it for you for around £500. You can even add it as an option if you’re having a scooter restored. You’ll also have to factor in the cost of the batteries – not included in the kit price, and they run to £850. You can choose to have just the one battery, or improve your range by adding another one or more.

Lambretta Models

Project E is compatible with most popular Lambretta models – LI Series 1, 2 & 3 and GP models can be converted. Retrospective are working on a J Range conversion, and a LD will follow at some stage.

30 – 110 Mile Range

Retrospective offer a variety of different lithium-ion battery options. Each has been made specifically to suit a range of needs – from a Sunday run-around to an everyday commuter.

Change back

One of the great things about this conversion is that it can be fitted without butchering your classic scoot – as Retrospective say “No scooters were harmed in this conversion, no cutting, welding or grinding; the conversion perfectly fits the classic frames” this makes the conversion is completely reversible – so if you want to go back to burning dead dinosaur fuel, you can.

Specs

Range ………………………………….. 30 — 110 MILES
Power ………………………………….. 1kw/3km
Top Speed ………………………………….. 55mph
Removable battery ………………………………….. Yes
Headlights ………………………………….. LED
Charge time 70% ………………………………….. 90 mins
Charge time 100% ………………………………….. 6 hrs
Battery capacity ………………………………….. 66V / 25ah

5c40839116b8f70343067670_electric_scooter_hero_shotThe future is bright. The future is retro.

The Retrospective conversion may be the future for classic scooters. And what could be more eco than riding a machine originally made maybe 50 or 60 years ago, powered by electricity?

I originally found out about Project E on Scooterlab, which covers a lot of ground that I don’t. If you haven’t seen their article, check it out here.

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Retrospective Scooters

Retrospective Scooters are based in Walthamstow, London E17, and as well as designing and building the electric scooter conversion, they are experts in Scooter Restorations, Servicing and Repairs. Check out their website here.

Images are used with permission of Retrospective Scooters.

Which 1?

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There’s a trio of nice Series 1’s on eBay at the mo, which one appeals to you?

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The rusty TV1 Replica? The beautifully restored Genuine TV1 Ivory TV1 Lookalikey? Or the the classic, HONEST, and slightly more affordable, two-tone LI? Click on the names to see the full details on eBay. Lambrettisti, make your choice!

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Replicas, Tributes or Honest Scooters?
Jas spotted the restored ivory scoot is not a TV… but a LI150, ‘dressed’ as a TV175. There’s a lot of that about these days. I know a lot of people want the style and the kudos of riding a rare model TV/SX/GT without the price tag… and that’s fine, as long as you know what you’re getting when you part with your hard earned. Personally, I would rather see an ‘honest’ LI.

Vintage Rotherham Saints pics

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RotherhamSaintsCame across some great vintage pics of Rotherham Saints Lambretta Club in The Rotherham Advertiser – theres even a video of a rideout on the site. The full story, the video and more pics here.

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Story originally by Danny oops Dave Doyle. Definitely DAVE. Not Danny. That’s someone else.  If you have any similar, vintage pics you would like featured on the site, let me know and I’ll get them up.

Rotherham Saints Scooter Club on Facebook

Officially Licensed Lambretta Scale Models

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Spotted these on Amazon… a range of decent looking Lambretta models, four in total…… that would grace any Lambretta lovers’ china cabinet (if people have such thing these days). Theres a Model A, An LI Series 1, a Series 2 Rallymaster and a GP200.

The attention to detail looks pretty good, although I’ve only seen the photographs, not the models in the flesh. Here’s the blurb: Officially Licensed Lambretta scootesr that have been faithfully recreated with handsculpted and handpainted additions for outstanding detail” The scooters are approximately, 8cm in height, 10cm in length.

They’re made by the Bradford Exchange. Pics and links below… there appears to be fairly limited stock, so get your orders in quick if you want one!

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Model A on Amazon

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LI 150 Series 1 on Amazon

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Series 2 Rallymaster on Amazon

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GP on Amazon

Scootering, Maltese Style.

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20150426_173710Sandro from Malta got in touch, initially interested in doing a deal on the Maserati scooter I featured a while back. I saw he had some interesting scoots, and persuaded him to send me some pictures…

Here’s his Lambrettas…

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Here is his Vespa U… 20150510_192046

The Vespa U is one of the rarest of all Vespas. Looking a lot like the Allstate model produced for the US market, the Vespa U was a ‘bare bones’ economy model. But the public at the time preferred spending a little more for a more refined /well equipped Vespa, and so it was cancelled  after  only machines were 6000 produced. Lambretta had a similar idea with their ‘E’ model, a similar commercial flop. 3,500 U’s were sold off to either Iran or Iraq (accounts vary!)for use by the government post office – and disappeared after that. Today, there are maybe 20 machines left on the planet…and Sandro has one 🙂 So, initially a commercial failure but now one of the most desirable of Vespas!

And here’s his rather lovely Iso Diva Milano.

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It’s a Series 1 (and an early Series 1 at that), replete with super rare period accessories. Itself a rare machine, with only 2,000 series 1’s produced…

EDIT: I’ve just noticed the Iso Milano that was on eBay before Christmas has been relisted, now you can see how beautiful it could look, are you interested? Here it is on eBay

Finally,  here’s some other Maltese scooters…

The scene in Malta is quite strong, with 70 or 80 classic scooters on the road, (and many more in garages and back yards – aint that like everywhere!).

Thanks Sandro, I appreciate the pics, and great way to kick off the New Year on the blog!  If you’ve got a scooter collection, or would like your club featured (wherever you are in the world), get in touch and we’ll see if I can feature you on the blog.

Rallymaster Style…

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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!