Lambretta LN ‘Pure Smithy’ Dealer Special

Posted on July 11, 2013 by crocodilejock

I haven’t posted anything about the LN or it’s sibling modern Lambrettas* recently, as they’re not really my bag… and there hasn’t been anything new to report. I don’t know how they are selling, and I certainly haven’t seen one on the road, but I wish them well. If the marketing department at Motom* had any imagination, they’d sign up a Lambretta blogger, and let him (or her) have one for an extended test drive. Say six months. By the way… on the last count The Lambrettista blog is read in more than 70 countries. Just saying.

Anyway… at but I thought this was quite interesting. Had to look twice at this LN on eBay. I thought it was an official Paul Smith licensed product, but it’s clearly a fairly clever knock off. I wouldn’t be totally surprised if Mr Smith had been involved, as he was allegedly a mod as a young man, and his work retains a certain ‘mod aesthetic’… but if he had it would have been all over the papers. Another marketing opportunity missed? There I go, off on a tangent again. Back to the original point of this post, which was, that the LN is now starting to appear in different incarnations, customised, much as dealers would customise ‘proper’ Lambrettas back in the day… I’ve no particular opinion on whether this is a good, or bad thing… it’s just interesting. Mildly. Well, I thought so. If it floats your boat, and you’ve got a spare £3k knocking around, you can get one here. And they’ll give you a fiver change. It’s being sold by the Pure Group, in Harrogate if you don’t do eBay.

And if the Paul Smith look isn’t up your strasse… there’s a distressed union jack version. A bit ‘comedy mod’ for me, that one, I’m afraid.

*Motom Electronics Group are one of the claimants of the Lambretta name. There’s a trademark/license document here that explains it all in legalese. My thoughts can be found on this site if you stick Lambretta LN into the “handy searchbar” (that’s one for the “stuffyoushouldknow” podcast listeners).

Nicely shot Series 1 Vid…

Posted on July 9, 2013 by crocodilejock

Don’t know much about this video, other than it was shot by Yashasvi Juyal, and (I think) he’s from Northern India. Give us a shout Yashasvi, and fill in the blanks!

Automatic selection

Posted on July 8, 2013 by crocodilejock

Another couple of nice scoots on eBay at the moment… if you like auto’s that is. Ok… they are not everybody’s cup of tea… especially the purists… but were a broad church here at Lambrettista, and I don’t mind them.

After all… where does ‘tuning’ stop. And if you can get “Lammie looks with automatic reliability” which is often the way these things are sold… well… why not.

Anyway. on to the machines. Bike one is the more classic Lambretta looking scoot… Classic SX good looks with a very smart Abarth paint job and a Typhoon 125 power unit. A nice touch is the bar end indicators. Neatly done. It’s had a few bids, but if your desperate to get your hands on it, the buy it now price is £4000. Here’s the link.

The second bike is a bit more radical… and there’s a bit of an issue with the photo’s on eBay, so maybe you can see them here and then stick your bid in if your interested. Built on a Lambretta Innovations frame, it runs on 13″ wheels. The power is provided by a Gilera lump with a Mallosi 172 top end. It will (allegedly) “sit at 80mph all day long” and has all round disc brakes to bring you to a swift halt if the need arises. If Kawasaki Green and a swift ride is your thing, you might want to get a bid in on this scoot. Here it is on eBay. Even if you’re not interested, and you’ve got five minutes, check it out because it’s written in a thoroughly engaging style. I like what he’s done with the shed, too.

My only caveat about autos is, being a hybrid, when things go wrong… where do you take it? A Lambretta specialist? A Gilera (or whoever has made the engine) specialist? Hopefully back to the place that built it. But the permutations of things that could go wrong rise rapidly. Saying that, if you’re even thinking about it, your probably a little handy with the spanners yourself, and a little tinkering may not worry you. If that’s the case, go for it.

SX… Perfection?

Posted on July 6, 2013 by crocodilejock

My last post featured a cracking “Rat Racer” Series one… and I thought it was just about perfect. Something I’d love to own. There would be a few little tweaks I’d make… and that’s the way it is with most of the scoots I find. Nearly perfect, but with a couple of tweaks… a bit of chrome there… an accessory added, or removed… but that’s the joy of Lambretta’s. The machines rolled out of the factory, close to perfection… but somehow owners (and dealers) managed to improve them.

But, I think I’ve found a machine where I wouldn’t change a thing. And it’s this stunning SX. Well, an SX 150 S-Type GT 186 to be precise. Everything from the paint colour, to the Ancillotti exhaust screams perfection for me. The raydots at the Smith chrono all add to the package. It’s a classic look, and I don’t think it’s been bettered, to be honest. Perfect.

This lovely scoot was shot by Christian Gentilini, and you can see more of his photography, here, on flickr. He’s a member of the Lambretta Club Teste Cromate S.C.
The pics are copyright (Christian was kind enough to allow me to use them here) so please respect that.

Oh. I’ve spotted it. The tweak I’d make to this scooter. The crankcase side panel has something missing… it needs “Owned and run by Crocodile Jock” discretely signwritten on it. Small in the bottom right corner. And maybe a small enamel union flag badge under the sprint rack. There you go… proved… Lambrettisti just can’t help tinkering with perfection!

One for the road. And another one.

Posted on July 3, 2013 by crocodilejock

Browsing eBay, as I do, just on the off chance my lottery numbers come up, I came across a couple of rather nice Series 1’s… each with a completely different look and feel. First up is this restored example in turquoise and white… 175 AF Rayspeed kit and a Clubman exhaust… it’s got a fixed “Buy it now” price of £3,150. Very tidy, very nice. If it’s your cup of tea, here’s the link: Lambretta Series One on eBay.

But I think I actually prefer this one… “The Swiss Shitter” Based on a Swiss model* Series One, and also dating from ’59… this ‘rat look racer’ has a lovely patina about her… love the “stickerbomb” look and the chrome horncast. It’s got a Rapido 225 lump, GP 200 Gearbox and the carb and exhaust (a Fresco) to go with it. Currently sitting at £2,250 but with four days to go, and this one will go higher. Here’s the link.

*Swiss model? No, I didn’t know they made one either. I can feel a bit of research and a blog post coming on! From the eBay listing, there was hand pinstriping as standard, as well as side panel and front mudguard embellishers, and running board protectors.

Teme Valley Pre ’66 Scooter Rally

Posted on July 2, 2013 by crocodilejock

Nice scooters, nicely shot by The Scootographer.

Run… 90’s Scooter run documentary

Posted on June 28, 2013 by crocodilejock

A cut above the usual documentary about scooters… avoiding most of the clichés, and featuring Scootering magazine’s Sticky (whatever happened to him?), I don’t know how I missed this Channel 4 documentary ‘back in the day’ but I’ve got absolutely no recollection of seeing this before. Just watch it, it’s brilliant.

Lammie Drive 2 – An even LONGER way on a Lammie!

Posted on June 27, 2013 by crocodilejock

Siobhan Ellis is riding a 1958 Lambretta Series 1 Famebreather (more about the machine in a moment) from the very top of Australia… to the very bottom. In case you hadn’t noticed, Australia is quite a big country. That’s a long way. A very long way. From Cape York to Wilson’s Promontory to be precise… 6,350km (or a gnat’s under 4,000 miles in old money). Making it especially hard the first 800km’s aren’t even on proper roads… but dirt track …dirt track that isn’t even open all year round.

Why?

So why is Siobhan doing this mad, mad journey? Well, it’s all for a good cause… Breast & Prostate Cancer Research at St. Vincents Hospital, Sydney.

Why Lammie Drive TWO? Because Siobhan has a track record of doing this, having ridden the 4,700km from Sydney to Perth back in 2009. This time, there are five riders doing it… and I think they are all on Lammies too.

The Lammie

Siobhan’s scoot is fantastic… a Replica 1959 Scottish 6 Days Trial Lambretta. Which should help a bit on the the first 800k of graded dirt track. The pics show Siobhan’s fine machine with a Targa twin, but for the event she has opted for a super crank single cylinder.

When?

They kick off from Cape York on 23rd of July, ending up in Melbourne 23 days later on the 16th August. To cap it all off, Siobhan is taking the next couple of days to ride back to Sydney. Take a look at the map!

Sponsorship

Siobhan’s already received great support… from the LCGB, And the Lambretta Club’s of Germany, Italy and the USA, she’s also receiving great support from Lambretta Evergreen. Check out all the generous sponsors here. But what this basically mean’s the expenses are covered… so everything raised goes to charity. It’s a good cause… so dig deep and chip in.

You can follow her progress, find out more, and contribute on the Lammie Drive 2 Website here or Facebook page; here.

If you do the Twitter thang, it’s twitter.com/LammieDrive

www.lammiedrive.org.au

Rogue Trooper

Posted on June 26, 2013 by crocodilejock

It’s got to be at least a week since I posted about helmets… so here’s something a bit different from Bell… with a ‘weapons grade’ look about it. More than a open face helmet, the additional “muzzle” is ‘purpose built to guard against the elements’. I know when it comes to helmets it’s not all about looks, but this would look great on the right kind of scooter! Available in military colours; Gunny, Black (Matt & Gloss) and Solid Army Green.

I think the Gloss Black looks particularly impressive… in a slightly scary way!

Find out more here: Bell Helmets

Hot Rod Style Signwriting

Posted on June 24, 2013 by crocodilejock

I’ve noticed a bit of a trend for this on scoots recently… it goes hand in hand with the “rusto-ration” and “rat look” …and there’s a lot of crossover with punk and rockabilly styles too… hand lettered, humorous, personal, crafted, imperfect, but beautifully so… with an ‘authentic’ calligraphic feel… it’s teh perfect counterpoint to the airbrushed murals and perfect vinyl cut graphics we’ve seen on scooters for years. And I love it.