Tag Archives: Green

Ikea’s new India store offers delivery by solar-powered tuk-tuk

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ikea_rickshawOriginally based on the Indian version of a Vespa Ape, the three-wheeler rickshaw is ubiquitous throughout the Indian sub-continent, and indeed Asia. Ikea is using a solar-powered of these as at least 20% of their delivery fleet for their new Hyderabad flagship store.  The Ikea version will be charged at the store, running off of solar power harvested from 4,000 panels on the roof. Any excess energy gathered will be used for lighting and inside the store.

Link to the original story on Curbed.

Just to add some Lambretta flavour, here’s a  couple of (very) short videos of the Lambretta version of the three-wheeler commercial vehicle, The Lambro.

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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.

World first – Video evidence of an Electric Lambretta under development!

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In another first for the Lambrettista Blog – here’s the first – leaked* videos of the New ELECTRIC Lambretta Vendetta!

It seems that Lambretta have teamed up with electric scooter pioneers (and Red Dot Design Award winners) NIU – There’s not a lot of data to share at the moment – although it’s rumoured that Token Hu – Vice president of NIU (and formerly of Frog Design and Microsoft) is heading up the project personally. I expect that as much as an electric powertrain they will be bringing their innovative Smart technology to the project.

I’ve posted a few times about electric vehicles (EV) on the blog before – and firmly believe they are the future of transportation – on two wheels or more. So, what you see here is truly the next generation of Lambretta – a brand that is going to be as relevant and innovative in the 21st century as the 20th. Exciting times!

This is the next step in  the evolution of the Lambretta. Remember where you saw it first! Stay tuned, and I’ll share more information when I can.

*Feel free to share – but please don’t ask where I got these videos – I have to protect my sources!

Green Monza

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GreenMonza2Tastefully modded Lambretta GP 200 with a Monza 225 lump and a ton of sporty upgrades. Numbers & Logos are laser cut vinyls and can be removed with a hair dryer if not required. A £7k build, Yours for a Classified Ad price of £5,295.00 on eBay
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Yours for a Classified Ad price of £5,295.00 on eBay

iPhone dock Scooter Speedo

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Electric Scooter iPod dockFirstly, this was my idea… right. Someone has gone into my brain, probably while I was asleep… and nicked it. But mine was built into a Lambretta dashboard, either like the one you get on a Rallymaster to hold the clock and rev counter, or into the top of a legshield toolbox.

This blatant ripoff of my idea (if there are any lawyers reading, this is a pathetic attempt at humour!) is attached to a Japanese electric scooter, which doesn’t come from one of the big four (Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki), but a company called Terra Motors. They’ve got a bit of a track record with electric vehicles, launching an electric TukTuk back in March.

Back to the iPod dock… doesn’t do too much really either shows you your speed, or how much charge there is left in the battery. I would be kind of cool to be able to switch to a sat nav mode, or blast some tunes out through some integrated speakers. Rigged up to a traditionally powered scoot you could show stuff like engine temperature, and revs too… all fairly easy to achieve I imagine. In fact, I bet someone’s already done this on a Lammie. If you know of it, let me know, I’d love to do a post on it.

So electric scooters. Cheap to run, less to go wrong, and once they’ve got the performance and range issues sorted out, I think a bit of a no brainer. They’re the future. Although I still prefer mine Lambretta shaped.

via C|Net

Beautiful Green SX on eBay…

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Lambretta SX150 Verde Mela $T2eC16hHJIQE9qUHu0GpBRY)9ly81g~~60_12 $T2eC16JHJHwE9n8iguQ0BRY)7KV8Tg~~60_12 $T2eC16VHJHIFFhj,0IZoBRY)7zId7!~~60_12 $T2eC16hHJIkE9qU3l3veBRY)8jFskw~~60_12
I’m still compiling my list of ultimate Lambretta’s, but this beautiful SX would probably make it on there.Looking pretty much as it did when it rolled out the factory, other than the white seat, which I don’t think it came with, and the sprint rack. IMHO, both these things add to the scoot. It’s finished in a stunning original shade of green that is pretty rare. I’ve got to take (slightly trainspotterish) issue with the seller, who calls it “Venus Green”… I always thought it was known as “Apple Green”… or “Verde Mela” in the original Italian. But that’s just nitpicking. I wouldn’t change a thing about this scooter… well maybe a set of whitewalls would set off that seat nicely…

Here’s the eBay link.

EcoLa – the electric Lambretta

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Right at the genesis of this blog, in fact before this blog was even born, I posted an electric scooter concept, called the Fido. I remarked at the time it was very reminiscent of an early open framed Lambretta, such as the Models A-F.
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Well, I wasn’t the only one that thought the Model D would make the ideal platform for a modern scooter. And Richurci, in Italy (I’m sorry, I don’t know a lot about the fella) has built one. The EcoLa ( Eco Lambretta gettit?) It’s got a 1kW motor which only gives it about a 20km range, and a top speed of 50km/h, but bearing in mind it’s pretty much homemade, including the instruments, it’s a good ‘proof on concept’. And by swapping out the lead acid batteries for some lighter and more efficient, but more expensive Lithium ones further improvements in performance and range should easily be possible. It would seen a combination of lack of funding and trouble getting the vehicle licensed (Italian/EU bureaucracy!) have meant the project has come to a bit of a halt recently.

 

So, are there any eco-aware millionaires out there, wanting to fund the development of this vehicle? You could put a few quid into the development of the Smite while your at it, and help to change the world!

 

I’d have one. Sitting next to my Smite.
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