I feel privileged to post this image from my new online pal Steve Morris – of his Mum and Dad on their Lambretta. This photos captures a perfect instant of joy! Steve has a fantastic Lambretta collection that I’m going to post more about soon!
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.
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.
Pulled from my folder of random Lambretta images. If it’s your scoot… nice. If you took the picture, and you want a credit and a link (or want it taken down), get in touch.
Who knew Starsky & Hutch‘s favourite informant, Huggy Bear rode a Lambretta? I would expect it to be more ‘pimped’.
We 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?
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.
Retrospective 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.
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.
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.
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.
The 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.
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.
There’s a trio of nice Series 1’s on eBay at the mo, which one appeals to you?
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!
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.
Came 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.
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.
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!
Series 2 Rallymaster on Amazon
Sandro 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…
Here is his Vespa U… 
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.
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.
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