Tag Archives: Vespa

Vespa 46

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I know, I know, this is a Lambretta blog, but sometimes you just can’t ignore what the ‘old enemy’ are up to. And there’s no arguing with the success of a company that have sold over 17 million scooters in their 65 year history. And at their best, I’ll make no apologies for saying they’ve made a couple of the best looking scooters ever. Even the most ardent Lambrettista would find it hard to pick fault with the beautiful organic lines of a GS 160. Well, I think there’s another classic in the pipeline, in the shape of this lovely “Vespa 46” or (and it sounds SO much better in Italian) The Quarantasei has been unveiled at the EICMA Motorcycle Show in Milan, and is due to be on sale in 125 and 150cc versions before the end of 2012.

From EICMA.it Via ScooterDiva.

LN vs LX

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Belgian website vroom.be pits the new Lambretta LN against the Vespa LX… The Lammie (is it right to call it a Lammie yet? Has it earned it’s spurs?) wins point for Style, Image and Handling, loses them for practicality and finish…

Lambretta club of the month

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A new feature this, where I highlight the webiste of a Lambretta owners club from around the world. To kick us off, I go to the spiritual home of the Lambretta, Italy. Liguria in fact, the coastal region of north west Italy famous for it’s beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and (altthough I must say most of Italy is famous for this) it’s great food. Liguria is also home to the historic city and seaport of Genoa. You can probably tell, although a proud Scotsman, I am a bit of an Italiaphile, even wearing the country’s tricolour on my bash hat.

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So, Lambrettistas, for my first Lambretta Club of the month I bring you The Lambretta Club of Liguria. There’s some great stuff on the website, pics and videos of their various get togethers and events, they even have an annual “Innocenti Day”. But my favourite part has to be what is usually the dullest part of the website… the part where they list the committee – as each of the committee has a caricature of them, astride their Lambretta of course, by the very talented Federico. Great illustrations!  

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Tukxi! Go Ape at the seaside

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Phew, the  unexpected sunshine is fantastic scooter riding weather… and maybe you can even squeeze in one more trip to the beach. And we all know the English Seaside and scooter go together like cheese and marmalade (try it, it works!).

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If you’re going, there’s few better places than Lyme Regis, Dorset… on of the extra attractions for me is this beautiful Tuk Tuk Taxi (or Tukxi!) What better way to see Lyme. Den, Tukxi’s owner, will also hire her out for weddings, promotions, TV and film work… check out the rather nicely put together website for all the details! 

I know this is a Vespa based Tuk Tuk, not a Lambretta, but she is unarguably beautiful. And I’m going to throw in a little bit of extra trivia for you. The model is a Piaggio Calessino, (one of less than a thousand made), and it’s base model, as you will doubtless know is called the Ape. Not Ape to rhyme with Grape… but pronounced A–pey …the Italian for “bee”. Because Vespa is the Italian for Wasp… geddit? These scooter based vehicles were real workhorses for many years around Europe, the backbone of many a small business. To see one based on a Lambretta, check my Café Scooteria post.

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Scooters at the Peterson Automotive Museum

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There’s some beautiful scooters over at the Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, where alongside the Americana, historic vehicles and supercars they are running a special Scooters Exhibit until May next year. Here’s a video of what you can expect to see if you go.

There’s a lot here that fits into my own person category of “oddball”, which basically means anything that isn’t a Lambretta or V*spa… please note that is not a derogatory term, I would love to own a Moto Rumi for example… I’m even starting to see the charm of those Cushmans and Salisburys these days!
If you’re in the LA locale, it’s worth a visit.

Video, and heads up from JohnnyScoots 

Scoot the Thames Rideout

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Family commitments have meant I haven’t been able to make it to any rideouts this year, but I really fancied this one. Family commitments struck again however. What I did manage to do was get to Hampton Court Station to meet up with the contingent leaving from there, and ride the first few miles with them, before heading home. There were a fair few of us, all but one on Lambrettas. A couple of gorgeous Series II TV175’s put my LI to shame! I’d forgotten what a great feeling it is to ride ‘en masse’… the noise, the smell of the two stroke, the smiles and stares from pedestrians and other drivers, and the camaraderie of a great bunch of lads. I’m rubbish with names, but there was Mark, Bill, Garry, Stumpy, Jim the Mod, and a fair few others. Next time I’ll try and make a proper day of it.

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Dick Smart and his SuperVespa

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Came across this recently via Ride the machine.
Now I know this is a Lambretta blog, and I have been less than complimentary about our Vespa riding brethren (only in jest, honestly),
but that’s because I’d never seen this movie before. Dick, or should that be Signor Smart, is a Vespa riding, latino James Bond type.
I won’t spoil it for you (you really got to see it to believe it) but the words Little Nelly sprang to mind. 007 afficionados will know what I’m on about.
Fantastic cheesy soundrack too.

Scooter screenprints

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Digging these limited edition screenprints featuring classic scooters. Available for €40 + shipping from Epic Studio.

 

A clutch of oddballs

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There’s a selection of weird and wonderful scooters on eBay, from this fella. All of them look like they need a fair bit of work, and don’t come with any documents as they were barn finds. 

There’s a couple of LD’s in there, as well as a Vespa Sportique, a Triumph T10, a BSA Sunbeam (or it maybe a Triumph Tigress… they’re pretty much the same beast), a Jawa Manet, and a Manuhin Concorde. None of them are much money (at the moment anyway). If you fancy something different, and you’re handy with a spanner, you might be able to grab yourself a bargain.

 

The Second Annual MotorScooter Rally at the Isle of Man, 1959

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Found this fantastic video on YouTube. Those were the days… Bear in mind, when you see everybody in their jumpers, scarves and macintoshes – this was the height of summer! Halcyon days. (I don’t actually know what halcyon means… but I expect these days were halcyon).