Merry Christmas from everybody at the Lambrettista blog (that’ll be me then).
Thank you to readers old and new. Have a Merry Christmas, ride safe, and a great 2015.
Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year
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Rock Oil Special
Apparently, this is the only scooter to be endorsed by Rock Oil. A true Mancunian, sold by Horners of Manchester, new, in 1964, and been in the Manchester all it’s life.
Restored to a high standard, powered by a 186 Mugello lump. And there’s obviously that rather smart Rock Oil paint job.On eBay here
Shelby AC Tribute GP
Here’s a superb Readspeed GP TS1 230 up for sale on the bay… “designed to replicate the Shelby AC Cobra race car whilst keeping the genuine originality of the Lambretta and the GP200 it originated from. As such every detail of the build was meticulous even down to the dark blue metallic and Wimbledon white paint which was from the Shelby works in Las Vegas”
An original Italian GP 200 with matching frame numbers, the current owner reckon stop have spent over £25k getting the scooter to look this good. One of the ‘signature pieces’ is the (genuine Taffspeed) exhaust, modified to replicate that of the AC Cobra, which , along with the vented side panels make this scoot truly unique.
The names Bug. Bond Bug.
I came across this absolutely stunning, fully restored 1972 Bond Bug on eBay Here. I’ve written about these iconic little vehicles before… (follow the link in the Quasar post!). In the seventies they looked straight from the future …and they still look like they are from some “Space 1999” alternative future (I know that 1999 is in the past, but you get my point!). I showed this post to my nine year old son and he said “Cool! Why don’t they make cars like that today?” Good question!
I honestly don’t think I’ve stumbled across anything on eBay that I’ve immediately wanted so much… Lambrettas included! A snip at a quid under £13k. I’m buying a lottery ticket on the off chance.
Here’s the eBay link again.
Custard Framebreather
Loving the clean lines on this custard yellow S1 I stumbled across on eBay. It’s been prepared by Lambretta experts Mike Phoenix Scooters in Manchester, so you know it’s gonna be a good ‘un, not just a pretty ‘un.
How to ride a Lambretta – Changing gear
Changing gears on a Lambretta is pretty simple, but if your coming from a motorcycle, or an auto, this may be useful.
4Nations Lambretta Rally 2014
The Ulster Lambretta Club hosts the 4Nations rally in Ballycastle inviting members of the Lambretta clubs of Great Britain, Ireland and Scotland to the north Anrtim coast for the weekend with a rideout to Portrush, a custom show, plenty of music, drink and craic.
Hugo’s LD 150 and Model D watercolours
I’ve been following Hugo’s blog for a while now, he has set himself the task of producing a fresh new drawing every day and posting it on his blog… something he’s been doing for over three years now. His watercolour sketches have a wonderful combination of “looseness” and accuracy. In a recent visit to MuVIM ( Valencian Museum of Enlightenment & Modernity – now theres a title!), he sketched the Lambretta Model D, and LD on display, along with two Spanish bikes. I don’t know about you, but I think he has really caught the essence of the machines! To cap it all I even got a mention in his blog, which made my day! Check out the original post here, and his blog here.
So Scomadi’s… they’re just a rebadged Hanway, right?
I’ve read a couple of derogatory reports on the upcoming ( and upcoming fast ) Scomadi’s. They’re just cheap Chinese plastic autos. They’re a badge engineered Hanway – a Chinese manufacturer of mopeds, scooters and motorcycles… and one I’d never even heard of until recently. The pic above proves it… as does the Hanway website others showing the very familiar looking Hanway TL Models…
Well, not quite. It’s the other way round I suspect. The Scomadi scooters are the culmination of over ten years of development by PM Tuning and Lambretta Innovations… the result of many prototypes and hard work, to achieve the vision of a reliable modern scooter with traditional Lambretta styling. Starting off with built to order ‘specials’ Scomadi has now made the step to mass production, and the world being the way it is, to keep costs reasonable they have chosen to make the machines in China, partnering with Hanway. I’m guessing as part of the deal Hanway get to manufacture and sell the Scomadi under their own name in certain territories.
I understand that the Scomadi isn’t perfect. And it’s not my job to be a flagbearer for it. Perfect would be a innovative 2T engine that did 200 miles to the gallon, over 100mph, had a steel body, was made in Italy, and costing about £2k. But that aint ever going to happen. If you buy into the idea of a modern Lambretta the Scomadi is a pretty good effort.
Anyhoo… this video from the Scomadi Facebook page makes the point better than I ever could… (Just a link at the moment, when I figure out how to embed it, I will!
FarGo… New Scooter Dealership for 2Tone City
Fargo Village in Coventry is an eclectic mix of creative businesses – (think Brick Lane / Camden Market) and has been joined by an emporium for local scooter enthusiasts… Fargo Scooters. The shop is stones throw from the Hand & Heart pub, a frequent haunt of Coventry’s famous 2Tone bands The Selecter & The Specials in the 70’s. As well as having workshops to repair and restore scooters the shop is ositioning itself as an emporium for vintage and new clothes… it’s also a cool place to just hang out. If you’re in the area, I’d say it’s worth a visit… Via The Coventry Telegraph
Check out their Facebook Page, Here.
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