My philosophy is that you just can’t see enough videos of Lambrettas. So here’s another one, of a LI, in nice two tone paintwork, riding through the beautiful English countryside. What’s not to like?
Lambretta LI125 Video
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Tag Archives: scooter
Fantastic Lambretta Video
Nothing in the way of a commentary just some marvellous vintage footage, (some of it I’ve never seen before) of the world’s finest motor scooter. It looks like it has been nicked from the History channel. The music’s pretty good too…so just sit back and enjoy. Ends with the text “Lambretta …the other side of the Italian miracle”
What all this Ruckus?
I’ve expressed my admiration for Honda’s Zoomer (or the Ruckus as it’s known stateside) before now… I think, design wise, it stands head and shoulders above most of the modern scooters on the market. But what has it got to do with the Lambretta? Not a lot to be honest. There’s a kind of back-to-basics early Lambretta aesthetic (Models A-F) about it I suppose. And, from day one, there has been a bit of a scene upgrading and customising the Zoomer. That’s pretty much where it ends. But that’s enough of an excuse for me to post these pics from Honda Tuning Magazine.
I’ve got to admit, my knowledge of todays scoots isn’t that great. What else is out there, modern scooter wise, that deserves a mention? Let me know. If I like it, I’ll post it!
Scoot Sao Paulo: Lambretta & Vespa Carnaval 2013
I sometimes forget what a worldwide phenomenon scootering, and Lambretta’s are. Many nations have taken the Lambretta to their hearts, and that is obvious in the many Lambretta clubs that have sprung up all over the world (check out my links page), and even in the visits I get here to the blog.
Here’s a vid from Sao Paulo, Brasil, that makes the point. Of course, they actually made Lammies in Brasil, including some models (like the Xispa I posted out before) that were unique to them. But I didn’t know they all went backwards!
Beautiful Green SX on eBay…
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.
Manchester Lyons SC Wedding Ride Out
Nearly 50 scooterist turn out to escort a scooter loving groom to his wedding, then on to Machester City Centre.
The Lynx Effect
Funny how things happen. As I was writing my post on indicator gloves, the Lambretta that kept coming to mind was the Serveta Lince (or Lynx). And then, browsing eBay for Lammies (just window shopping I’m afraid) I come across a Lynx. Can’t remember having seen one for sale online before, and certainly not one in this condition… basically “as new”, unsold form the dealer!
Now, back in the day, I remembered being pretty anti this Spanish revision of the classic Lambretta look… The previous Serveta’s 125 and 150 Specials and Jet 200’s… had classic Italian good looks. With the hexagonal headlight trim, from the front, on a good day people thought you might be riding an SX.
But, in my opinion, the Lynx (I’ll continue to use the English translation, rather than the original Spanish “Lince” name) was the Lambretta equivalent of a Vespa PX. An improvement over what went before in many ways… but just fugly. (Sorry all you PX owners and riders, but I never liked them. And although they too have now gained classic status, they are still not quite my cup of tea). Improvements like 12v electrics and electronic ignition are things we take for granted now, but were exotic, and fairly expensive modifications back in the 80’s. Or they seemed expensive to me, if memory serves. They came as standard on the Lynx, but weren’t enough to overcome the styling issues. Serveta’s, at least amongst my circle were a step down from a genuine Italian Lammy too. Of course, they weren’t as bad as a “curryburner”, SIL GP… which had a pretty poor (and probably undeserved) reputation at the time. Back to the Lynx though… and modern consensus has it that the Serveta build quality was as good, or better than that of the Italian originals.
But, perception is everything. And while the PX line took off and did great things for Vespa, (and continues to with the 2010 relaunched PX range) the Lynx withered on the vine. I’ve got the feeling (can anyone back me up on this?) they were significantly more expensive… and they were certainly harder to get hold of, with only a few dealers having demonstrators. While the PX was an all new bike, fresh from the ground up, The Lynx was another facelift for a classic Lambretta, and, for a Lammy, it just wasn’t pretty enough.
With the benefit of hindsight, I think the Lynx looks pretty good. They definitely have a retro 80’s vibe going on. Their initial unpopularity has become a plus, rarity being a tick in the positive column these days. And if you want one, you can get one, on eBay today. You might even attract more attention than a restored SX on a scooter rally. And certainly more than a PX!
So did you own one? Do you? What is your opinion / experience of this overlooked 80’s classic from Spain?
Lambrettista. Now on WordPress.
With the sad demise of Posterous, the ‘platform’ which got me started on blogging in the first place, I had to look round for alternatives. WordPress seems the way to go… so here I am. All the old content from the Posterous site should import later… and things might look a little different around here… but rest assured it will still be dedicated to “the world’s finest motor scooter” The Lambretta.
In the meantime, until the end of the month, you can still check out the old Lambrettista here: http://lambrettista.posterous.com/
Ultimate oddball scooter collection up for grabs…
We’ve all been there, garageful of scooters (I wish!) and a nagging missus… when you going to get rid of those bloody things… you never ride all of them… Well one guy (it’s got to be a bloke really) is selling his collection of Scoots and Microcars on eBay. 47 of them. That rather puts the Lambretta collection I posted previously fade into insignificance.
There’s a huge collection of what I, rather patriosingly, call “oddballs”… everything from Bernadet’s to Zundapps, and everything inbetween. Well, nearly everything… there are a couple of famous marques, notably Lambretta and V*spa, missing from this collection. I bet a) he doesn’t like V*spa’s, and b) he’s keeping his Lambrettas :). (Although there is an NSU Lambretta in the mix) Many of the scoots are sidecar combinations and/or trailers. There are even a couple of microcars in the mix, a Goggomobile Coupé and a Goggo Limousine. I’m uncertain as to what a Goggo Limousine is (although I’m guessing limousine is probably overegging it somewhat), but a Goggo Coupé is one of the prettiest microcars made, in my ever so humble.
So if you fancy a Czeta 502, a IWL Berlin, a Maicoletta or MV Augusta… or one of the 43 other scoots, stick your bids in here. There’s a fairly decent British contingent in there; a brace of Triumphs, a Velocette and Osa. You’ll need fairly deep pockets though, as it’s currently sitting at € 46,000 Update: it’s up to € 52,000 and I don’t think that’s STILL anywhere near the reserve. And no, he doesn’t want to split them.
I reckon this lot will be snapped up by a transport museum somewhere… probably in the states.
Full details are worth checking out, even if you’re not going to put a bid in!
I may just buy an extra lottery ticket this weekend. You never know.
Ape cross!
I’ve not written much about scooter racing on this blog, is something I’ve always wanted to do. The guys that push Lambrettas and Vespas to their max on the track are a special kind of rider (the word nutters was actually the first one that came to mind). In fact the only sporting event I’ve covered is an old Scooter Scrambling event from the sixties and the Red Bull Lingotto Special, where classic scoots race around the roof of the old FIAT factory in Turin. That vid is worth a watch if you haven’t seen it yet!
But here’s a scooter sport that I’ve never come across before. Ape cross. Watch the video, which explains it better than I could. I know Ape’s are Vespas… but I’ve always had a soft spot for them.(See my Tuxi post) If there is a Lambro version of this sport, I’d love to see it!
lambrettista.net 
