Smell the two stroke…

Posted on by
4

One day, we’ll all be riding around on eco-friendly electric Lambrettas (like this one)… but until then, there’s nothing like the smell of 2 stroke, catching in the back of your throat and the unique sound of a Lambretta engine. It’s something only Lambrettisti understand!

This video from Rui Tavares in Portugal captures it perfectly. Loving that orange crankcase side too.

If you’re off to Whitby this weekend, have fun. If your’e riding you’re Lammie from Johannesburg to Durban, have fun too. In fact have fun and ride safe whatever you’re doing! Happy Easter!

Bolt

Posted on by
Reply

Bolt LondonOnline mate David Hardy, designer and Lambrettista, has designed the identity for a new kind of shop… Bolt, in Hackney, London. I’ve had to go to Hackney a few times recently, and there’s a real buzz about the place… lots of positive energy, and good stuff happening, and Bolt is one of them.

Bolt London T-shirt
So Bolt… it’s a showroom for one-off, custom built motorcycles, a hang-out / meeting point for ride-outs, a shop for a range of perfectly chosen apparel, and a gallery… all inspired by the motorcycling lifestyle. And when I say motorcycling, it’s a broad church, you are as likely to see a vintage Vespa or Lammie parked up outside as a BSA or a Triumph. I haven’t managed to get down to Bolt yet, but it’s on my list next time I’m over Hackney way.

Check out the website, and follow them on Facebook.

Lebowski Latest…

Posted on by
1

Long term followers might remember the video I posted a while back from the Lebowski Scooter Gang, out of Vallecamonica, Italy… about their run to the castle in Camuno. At the time, the quality of the video blew me away, I think it was genuinely the best club video I’d seen. Well, the bar has raised, with many fine videos posted… the ones by Woodsy for example (check this one out).

But the guys (and girls) from Vallecomonica have done it again, taking 70’s cop shows, (Starsky & Hutch etc.)  as their inspiration this time! Superb!

There is more to come, so stay tuned. Find out more about the run on their site; here.

Thanks for the heads up Aldo.

Scomadi Latest

Posted on by
2

Remember the rather tasty modern incarnation of the Lambretta GP, The Scomadi, that I wrote about way back in November last year, here?ScomadiWell there’s an update on the ScooterNova site. At the recent Morecambe Pre-Season Rally, PM Tuning held an open day at their shop, where a couple of Scomadi’s were on display, including a prototype of the forthcoming 50cc Turismo Leggera production model.ScomadiScomadi are now transitioning from making a few one offs, to full scale production… with manufacturing in Asia. Regualr reader and Lambrettista corespondent Ian pointed me in the direction of this site… Hanway Motors, who are either producing the Scomadi for Lambretta Innovations, or ripping them off…

Anyway, it’s all good in my humble opinion, and I’m a classic Innocenti man. The Scomadi is a modern version of the Italian original, in the same way as a modern Vespa, and the modern Vespa clones (LML etc) encapsulate the spirit of older classic Vespas. Alongside the LN, it can only be good for the whole Lambretta scene.

Scomadi pricing and delivery to finalised. Keep up to date on their website, or Facebook page.

Motorroller Scooter Custom Show Ried 2014

Posted on by
Reply

Ok it’s in German, put let the pictures do the talking. And I don’t know about you, but German is one of those languages that I can pic up the gist of if you pay attention. Unfortunately the focus seems to be on the Vepsa on show,including some rather odd Vespa mopeds, and a nutter doing some quite impressive stunt riding. There is a glimpse of a rather lovely S1 with a trailer,  a really stunning skinhead / suedehead style  skelly… really, really nicely done that… and a rather tasty race replica GP with a nice Martini paint job.

What surprises me more is the scale and feel of the event… it’s got the feel of something like the Ideal Home Exhibition… and a really mainstream audience.

Jo’Berg – Durban Easter Run

Posted on by
3

DurbanbadgeAndy, my mate from the Lambretta Club of South Africa, sent me a pic of the patch I designed for their Easter run… an impressive ride from Johannesburg to Durban. Check it out on Google maps… it’s a fair old distance. I’ll post some pics up after the event, as he’s promised to send me some.

Andy is keen to swap some LCSA patches for other regional / international Lambretta Club patches… if you’e up for it, let me know and I’ll put you in touch!

 

Mike Karslake on Pepple Mill

Posted on by

A bit of nostalgia for you… whenever I was off school back in the ’80’s…there wasn’t much telly on… I remember stuff like Crown Court and General Hospital… and then, at lunchtime, there was always Pebble Mill. Here’s an episode from the 80’s featuring Lambretta legend Mike Karslake, and some of his extensive Lambretta collection, including his Lambretta based fire engine and Wolfie’s Lambretta from Citizen Smith! He makes quite an entry on a Series 2 sidecar combination!

Via GP225 Wildcat’s YouTube Channel.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss…

Posted on by

LN + LII think the LN looks pretty good next to the LI… obviously I’d go for the original every time… but the more I see it, the more convinced I am that the LN is a good ‘cover version!’. Originally posted on Facebook by the Mystyle Scooter Club Lambretta Pattaya Thailand.

Lambretta engine beerpump

Posted on by
3

Lambretta Beer PumpJust in case you need another reason to get down the pub, some clever person has found a way to engineer a beer pump from a Lambretta engine/crankcase… I found this on Facebook, on the Lambretta Photography page, who are well worth  a follow if you do the FB thing!

If anyone has more information about this, including the drinking establishment where it is located, please let me know, I’d love to give them a shout out!

Back to the future with Globester scooters

Posted on by
4

Brooks-Stevens-Globester-Motor-Scooter-1 Brooks-Stevens-Globester-Motor-Scooter-2 Brooks-Stevens-Globester-Motor-Scooter-3I can’t find out much about Globester scooters on the web, but the one thing that stand out from these pics is that they are so ahead of their time… Found via the excellent Retronaut site, (one of the non-scootering blogs that’s on my regular reading list), they date from 1946… I think that just relates to the top pic though. I think that’s pretty amazing, I would have guessed the fifties at the earliest. When you think that Innocenti’s  Model A, on the face of it a much less sophisticated design, dates from 1947, you get the impression that American scooters had a definite head start on those from Italy!Screen Shot 2014-03-15 at 10.07.05The ad above does come from the nifty fifties, and the one thing that strikes me from that is that is the price… the Globester doesn’t strike me as a cheap scooter! I don’t know why the Globester wasn’t a bigger success, maybe it comes down to engineering, reliability, price or fashion, but it’s certainly not as well known (this side of the pond at least) as that other iconic US brand, The Cushman. As an aside, did you know you can buy a brand new Cushman today? Here’s the link.

The other Cushman link on the blog worth checking out, if you like this kind of thing, is a beautiful custom job, check it out here.