Another fine restoration from the esteemed Rimini Lambretta Centre, this time of a highly desirable Series 3 TV175. Despite being such a desirable scooter, this machine had received less than perfect care over it’s lifetime (it could have made certain Vietnamese bikes look ‘reasonable’ was the way they put it at the RLC), until it’s current owner, Nikos, from Patros, in Greece… decided it needed some TLC from the RLC. (That’s rather good, that Dean… you should use that). Anyway, they did their usual first class job, and you can see the results below. For the full story, and all the ‘before’ pics… head over to the Rimini Lambretta site, here.
Twin cylinder Lambretta’s are something most Lambrettisti have at least heard of, if not seen in the flesh. The most well known being the 250cc Targa Twin engines. What some people maybe don’t realise is this engine is based on a Innocenti original… and prototype twin cylindered SX200’s were developed and built in Milan.
Two of these ultra rare beasts are owned by Lambretta maestro Vittorio Tessera, (head of Casa Lambretta, author of many Lambretta books), one of which is on display in his Lambretta Museum. The other? It had the engine removed years ago, and hasn’t run since it left Innocenti. But all that is going to change.
Impressed with the painstaking “conserved restoration” The Rimini Lambretta Centre carried out on the original 1960 Roma Olympics Series 2, (see my previous post about these beauties), Sig. Tessera commisioned Dean and the team at the RLC to do a similar job on the twin. As pretty much a “one off” – it differs significantly in configuration from it’s contemporaneous partner – it presents an immense challenge; but one that the RLC are more than a match for. This is one to watch. I can’t wait to see, and hear, this historic machine running.
BIG thanks to Dean from the RLC, for helping me put this post together, and proofing my ramblings.
Very few people would consider restoring a Lammie as badly corroded as this…After getting this cheap (it would have to be!!) off of eBay, Jon thought he’d have a go.
Luckily he had access to a good welder – strike that – a miracle worker, (Paul at Atoms in Maidstone, and his dad) who not only made good, but fabricated whole new elements – of the sidepanels for example.
After priming, and sorting out a seized engine, Jon put it all back together… and while he’s not going to have a show winner – he’s got a great looking, road going Lammie. One that many Lambretta experts would have consigned to the skip. I love it, and can’t wait to see what the next chapter in this scooters history holds. Big respect, Jon!
Nice little video of a restoration of a Brazilian 1966 Series 2 Lambretta. She looked pretty good in it’s original black livery, but two years of hard work and “stress, irritation and headache” (we’ve all been there!) transformed her into a thing of beauty. It’s and interesting game to spot the differences between the Brazilian S2’s and the Italian ones we are more used to seeing… the first, and most obvious one is the date of manufacture… 1966… five years after production finished on Innocenti machines. Other easy to spot ones are the carb/air filter set up, the exhaust (I quite like the look of that short silencer box!) and the three speed gear change… Cosmetically, the badges are very different, including an attractive rear frame embellisher/ badge. So far, so obvious… how many more differences can you spot?
A neat touch in adding rear indicators to the resto is integrating them with the spare wheel carrier, a nice solution.
Update:I have received an email from Jean, the restorer of this fine Series 2, clearing up a few things. Firstly, was the matter of colour… I stated that the original paint was black, and that was just a case of me being sloppy with my english. What I should have written, of course, is existing paint. Brazilian S2’s were only made in an “off white” shade – I’m guessing this would be something similar to the original Italian Ivory (Avoria) colour, but it may be different). The scooter has got four gears, it’s just the numeral 4 has worn off on the handlebar. The exhaust system is off of a later Lambretta, (one native to Brasil that deserves a post all of it’s own – The Cynthia), and has the fish tail on the silencer is a one off, custom item hand made by an iron worker.
It’s been a while since I posted, ant to be honest, a couple of weeks since I’ve ridden my scoot. Spanners out at the weekend, fitting a new kickstart assembly. Wish me luck.
Here’s a nice little feature from a Vietnamese TV show on the scootering/restoration scene. Unless you can speak Vietnamese, forget the commentary, and just enjoy the movie. It kicks off with some film of Saigon back in the day, a very cosmopolitan and sophisticated place by the look of it. It then goes on to feature the work of the Saigon Scooter Centre, and some very nice Lammies. A very nice S2 at 7:18!
After about 8 mins there’s some nice footage of VW bug and bus restos, stick with it if your a fan of the Vespa Ape, as the program finishes on that. Nice.
Nice transformation video posted by Guilherme Piva of a S2 “rat racer” to a custom cutdown. Crazy exhaust! Stay tuned at the end for a couple of Xispa shots!
UPDATE: Since my original posting, Guilherme has been in touch with me, with a link to a second video: http://vimeo.com/34800468
and told me that his dad runs a scooter restoration business in San Paulo – Fenix Restauração de Lambretta, whose website is here. There are some very nice restorations, Brazilian style… See some of the after pics posted below. For the “befores” you’ll have to visit the website.
Another fine restoration from the esteemed Rimini Lambretta Centre, this time of a highly desirable Series 3 TV175. Despite being such a desirable scooter, this machine had received less than perfect care over it’s lifetime (it could have made certain Vietnamese bikes look ‘reasonable’ was the way they put it at the RLC), until it’s current owner, Nikos, from Patros, in Greece… decided it needed some TLC from the RLC. (That’s rather good, that Dean… you should use that). Anyway, they did their usual first class job, and you can see the results below. For the full story, and all the ‘before’ pics… head over to the Rimini Lambretta site, here.
lambrettista.net 