Inhaltsverzeichnis für October 2017 in Scootering

With the Isle of Wight now behind us, the feeling that the season’s National rallies are coming to a close is slowly setting in, but thankfully we still have the big blowout at Brid to look forward to. Brid has always been my personal favourite National rally, and prior to my tenure at Scootering, the custom show on the Saturday was THE show our garage wanted to have its scooters enter when we had either worked on or solely produced a noteworthy custom. As editor, the anticipation of seeing a new and exciting custom scooter is even greater. Although we work closely with the well-known and respected sprayers and airbrush artists, to get advance notice of what’s coming soon, I still quietly hope to see a completely new entrant, or…

Many of us are constantly looking for the next must-have parts or modifying our scooters to accept the latest gizmos and gadgets. Each decade has had its unique style, with the naughties and beyond no exception! This, in turn, has kept our sometimes very old scooters looking very contemporary and keeping them relevant. Throw into the equation the fact that Lambretta and Vespa have remained incredibly powerful brands – even if the former effectively met its demise in the early 70s This has all created a situation where many members of the non-scootering public are oblivious to the age of these scooters, and are shocked to hear that some of our machines are true golden oldies these days! If mechanical human hybrids were possible, then I could imagine that some…

During the 80s it was one of the most popular destinations on the annual calendar of National rallies. Although not all establishments in the town were welcoming, both The Long Bar and The Barking Smack became firm favourites with scooterists. Saint Nicholas car park at one end of the seafront evolved into the main rally camp site. At some of the earliest Yarmouth rallies, Tiffanys hosted all-nighters often with big-name live acts Five years ago, Great Yarmouth Sidewinders SC took the decision to take on running a scooter rally at the local racecourse. Starting as a local rally, over the past four years, the event has grown in both size and stature. The winning formula includes on site camping, food, drink and loads of entertainment to choose from on both…

Last year I met up with Vespa Club del Mediterraneo in Tuscany, where we coaxed our rented scooters over twisty roads and coastal canyons for two weeks. This year, the club selected three Greek Islands as its playground. The limit on riders allowed this year was 25 though with cancellations we had a total of 21 riders. I made sure to apply early so I could get my scoot’n ass to Greece. Over 14 days, we got to know three of the less-travelled islands: Paros, Naxos and Milos, where the archaeology was remarkable, and the roads ranged from tame to terrifying. Though riding was foremost, experiencing the culture, villages, and gastronomy was like riding at top speed. PAROS After meeting the other riders in Athens, we set sail on a…

Seaburn Station Mods This is me and a group of mates. I’m the one on the far left trying to look cool. I was born in County Durham and grew-up in Sunderland. A big part of the Mod culture there in the 70s and 80s was fighting. It was like a hobby and involved me getting beaten-up a lot. Our gang was called the Seaburn Station Mods. The picture was taken in 1983 and I would’ve been 17 at the time. It actually won first prize in a photographic competition run throughout the north-east. From that moment I considered myself a photographer. People are either visual or literal, and being dyslexic, I was definitely the former. I was 10, possibly 12 when my dad bought me my first camera; an…

The Lydden Hill meeting is one of the highlights of the BSSO year and features the eagerly contended Memorial Race. This year was no exception with excellent weather greeting the first visit of 2017 by the Italian Casa Lambretta team. The Kent circuit saw one of the biggest overall entries of scooters for some years showing the solid health of scooter racing in the UK. Group 6A Automatic Specials The Group 6 scooters were up first and Lee Bamber laid down the fact that he was a force to be reckoned with, as he won not only the first race but every Group 6A race and managed to lap in an incredible 48.01 seconds. But he was made to fight for it on Saturday by a rider we haven’t seen…

Back again! After some well needed R&R I’m back and ready to track down some of the very best customscooters fromyesteryear. About a year ago I featured one of themost prolific Lambretta chops fromthe 80s ‘Hunter & the Hunted’ – built and still owned by John Neal.While in conversation I asked if his brother’s Pogues based green cutdown, that always accompanied Hunter & the Hunted at shows and rallies was still around. Yes was the simple answer, but he and it are now about 10,500miles away inMelbourne Australia! Anyhow, with the help of John, the internet, Facebook and a bit of luck I was able to track downWayne. Now residing with his family in our Down Under penal colony (sorry),Wayne and his scooter are both doing well. He has planned…

The Bonneville Salt Flats is one of the most iconic and unforgiving motorsport venues in the world. Simply getting there is a huge logistical challenge. In August, Mauro Pascoli, Marco Fumagalli and Marco Quaretta plus their support team travelled from Italy in order to set speed records for Vespa sidecar outfits. These three outfits were Dafne 1 (98cc), Dafne 2 and 3 (125cc). Despite meticulous preparation the attempt was dogged by crosswinds, weather and a badly rutted surface. The team managed a dozen runs down the course but as Mauro explained, none of the three scooters reached anything close to their potential. “We had not been able to test the machines at the altitude required which led to problems with jetting and air flow. The salt’s density also meant constant…

Last month saw the annual August bank holiday pilgrimage by thousands of scooterists to the Isle of Wight scooter rally. For many it’s a tradition that has spanned decades, seemingly the jewel in the crown of the scooter rally calendar. From ferries crammed full of scooters to hotels booked up for months in advance, there always seems to be an air of excitement towards the build up. For the people who live there it gives a timely boost to the island’s economy as pubs and bars rake in a month’s takings over just one weekend. Many local entrepreneurs see it as a golden opportunity by putting on a host of events and in some cases raising their alcohol prices to cash in on the quick windfall. Combined with regular scooter…

Insurance woes Reading Decca’s letter of his theft and reply from an insurance professional. I still believe you have a case for fighting your claim, regardless of wording in policy, and common sense occasionally prevails. I would pen a letter to your insurance company entitled ‘complaint’, keep details brief and state why you are dissatisfied and how you would like it resolved. They must reply within eight weeks. If it is not resolved or is rejected, take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service. You can download claim forms from the FOS website. Again documenting and explaining your complaint and how you would like it resolved. If you are successful you will be awarded the sum claimed and possible costs and compensation for distress and inconvenience. If you are not happy…

James King first purchased his brand new Lambretta from AF Rayspeed in the summer of 1997 and to this day still owns it. There can be very few people who can possibly make the same claim. It shows both a great passion and loyalty to the great Lambretta design, one that James has held for many years. Inauspicious start James’ first foray in to the Lambretta world was not the usual route one would expect to take. Rather than buy one, he acquired a rather tatty but running LD from his local tip in the early 1980s. Even so, it was enough to get him bitten by the Lambretta bug. Soon afterwards he purchased a J 125 Starstream, by all accounts doing it correctly this time by purchasing it from…

SHOWS, PARTIES, Rallies & RUNS. If your scooter club is holding a do or event just drop us a line for some FREE advertising. Unfortunately we can ONLY accept details by post or via the website due to workloads. Please keep wording to a minimum and be warned that listings may be edited due to space restrictions. SEPTEMBER 22-24 Ribble Valley Mod Weekend. Full weekend of live music and DJs. Mass Scooter Ride and Scooter show. Camping available. Mainstage Tel: 01200 421599 or Facebook Ribble Valley Mod Weekender 22-25 Woolacombe National, BSRA#8 24 Caffe del Nino, anniversary dayer. 10am - 4pm. Live music, DJs. Stalls, memorabilia, parts, records in enclosed open air precinct. Licensed bar, and food available. Large secure car park. Cannock, WS11 1GR. (See main advert) 29-30 Aviemore…

Scooter Trader is the UK’s biggest online buying and selling site dedicated only to scooters. WWW.SCOOTERTRADER.COM Sell your scooter and spares on the internet today at: Looking for a scooter? Then look no further! DRAGSTER 172 180Dragster 172 kit fitted, PM tuning pro street variator & clutch bell, Polini Delta clutch, Dellorto 25mm carb & Scorpion pipe, MoT, £1750 Tel. 07973 987133. LAMBRETTA D Model, 1957, great condition, professionally renovated by Classically Italian (Gran Sport) 25 years ago, £5000 Tel. 07857 090943. LAMBRETTA D150 1957, recent no expense spared overhaul inc new tyres and tubes, full engine rebuild with fresh rebore and piston, £4300 Tel. 07881 637278. LAMBRETTA LI125 Special, 1966, runs great, original engine, running a 150 top end, everything works at it should, 12 months MoT, £4000 Tel.…

NEW CASES, 200CC ENGINES, BEARINGS AND RESTORED GPS FROM AF RAYSPEED Many Lambretta owners are already aware that AF Rayspeed have been supplying the UNI crankcase covers for some time now and that UNI have made a new mag flange and crankcase as well. AF contacted us to tell us they’d had Mr Mittal (UNI) over to work with them on further developments recently, specifically to build up an engine into the new crankcase, mag flange and cover, and then to fit it into one of AF’s restored GPs. Once fitted, Ray took the scooter for testing, all under the watchful eye of Mr Mittal, while he took notes and discussed details that could make assembly easier than standard SIL. The expected retail price for the new UNI crankcase will…

You know the old adage ‘be careful what you wish for, you may actually get it’? Something I wrote about a while back has recently pretty much come to pass. Now I’m not claiming to be some sort of soothsayer; in a way it was sadly inevitable, but by now I’m sure that many of you will have seen the photograph from the gate on a small rally in the Midlands saying ‘car park full’ (well done to whoever added ‘buy a f**king scooter’ to the bottom!). The point, however, isn’t that the car park was full, it was that it was full because very few people had actually bothered to ride there. It’s not the first rally to have this problem, it won’t be the last. As someone who…

Like it or not, electric powered vehicles are the future – a fact confirmed by the government pledge to ban internal combustion engine vehicles by 2040. Right now, 23 years seems a long time away, but it will soon be here. Although there has been no official word on motorcycles and scooters, it’s logical that they will be included. In some quarters people are already asking: could we go ‘all electric’ earlier? The scootering world has two considerations here – what we do with existing retro scooters, and what machines do we have going forward? Well let’s take existing machines first – it seems extremely unlikely that riding them would become illegal, but it may become harder to ride them for several reasons. Firstly, fuel will gradually become more expensive…

Ghetto Priest EveryMan For Every Man (RamRock) I’m not normally a huge fan of traditional reggae, but this hits the spot. Asian Dub Foundation front man and On-U Sound collaborator Ghetto Priest absolutely nails it with this solo release. Righteous indignation meets love for his fellow man across the album, with some serious grooves underpinning the songs. Uplifting and critical in equal measures, this has the potential to be regarded as one of the great reggae albums of recent years. Nik BJ’s New Breed HowCome c/w I’ll Never Come Back Again (Time For Action) With their feet firmly embedded in Sixties beat music, BJ’s New Breed comfortably evoke that period where British R&B started to take its own direction. Bringing the likes of The Animals and early Rolling Stones to…

There comes a time when the engine in your scooter, whether it is a Lambretta or Vespa, needs cleaning. This may be prompted by a restoration, customisation or complete engine rebuild. If you are using brand new casings then this isn’t a problem but in most cases the original casing will be used. Whatever the reason, the job of cleaning the engine casings can be a rather difficult process. Removing all the ground-in dirt and oil is a messy and laborious procedure and if all of it isn’t removed the result is a poor looking finish. There are many different ways to clean an engine casing and which method you choose depends on what type finish you are exactly looking for. For instance, if it’s a factory restoration then you…