Scootering December 2021

It’s easy to think of the Southport National as marking the end of all that’s good. Admittedly it ends the National Rally season, the clocks go back, dark nights arrive and riding becomes much less pleasant. In truth there’s still a lot to look forward to, there’s the round of Scooter Club parties and even in the darkest depths of winter, rallies can still be found. Although many see the Easter National as opening the season, I’ve always thought that honour goes to Scooter World. Held on the first weekend after New Year (January 8-9, 2022) at the Newark Showground, it brings together all marques of scooter in a very informal setting. One of my favourite memories is sitting down with a brew only to find myself chatting with Norrie…

Clear some space on the workshop wall, our centrefold returns! There won’t be any scantily clad models, but our pull-out poster has returned and first up is a stunning kart-engined Vespa. We introduce a new feature taking an in-depth look at the history of a specific scooter, how it was launched, what contemporary reviews made of it and what it’s like to own one now. We begin with a very underappreciated scoot, Vespa’s 152L2. We’ve a pair of iconic German street racers, Sarge talks to the owner of an original Royspeed and Nik profiles the ‘career’ of Time, Trouble and Money author Mark ‘Brad’ Brough. For those who enjoy a good read I’ll be delving into my library of scooter-themed books and for those dreaming of sunnier climates there’s our guide…

Those nice people at VE have had a word with Santa and now there’s never been a better time to order your Malossi or Pinasco crankcases. Thanks to some careful negotiating at the North Pole, VE is offering a special Christmas treat for owners who are buying (or hoping to receive from Santa) a prezzie of Malossi/Pinasco crankcases including a four- or six-piece parts kit. The prezzie consists of a free dyno test on your fitted engine at JG Scooters in Grantham, where owner Jonny Gilbert will do the test and set up your motor. This seasonal offer allows owners of the new kit the assurance of their engine being set up correctly. Although any parts used by Jonny such as jets will be charged separately, the dyno, which is usually priced…

Every now and then a product comes along that’s so useful it’s hard to believe that no one else has thought of it. Such is the case with Mark Broadhurst’s threaded repair inserts. A constant source of frustration for Lambretta builders is the tendency for fixing screws to bond with alloy castings, particularly horncastings and mag housings. It’s fair to say that most restorations involve at least one screw that’s sheared off in place and as Mark explained, repairing the aftermath can be a time consuming and expensive process. “Usually repairs arrive at the workshop when someone’s tried to drill out a broken screw in a horncasting and the drill goes offset, half in the alloy and half in the screw. I’ve then got to slowly grind the old bit of screw…

Few readers will have missed the news that a barn-find Lambretta GT200 sold for £23,000 at auction on October 27. While the price has puzzled most commentators it’s a reflection of both the machine’s rarity (only four GTs being registered on a ‘B’ plate) and its unmolested condition. It’s true to say that buyers, of all marques, are currently obsessed with originality and it’s our understanding that the new owner intends to sympathetically conserve this example. However who’ll be responsible for carrying out that work is currently a mystery. Incredibly this isn’t a world record for a Lambretta, ‘Jimmy’s Li’ having sold at auction for £36,000 in 2008. While on the subject of prices, Vespisti shouldn’t feel left behind. A high-end classic vehicle dealer in Italy is currently offering a 1956…

There are a lot of different approaches to scooter security. All have their place, each has its pros and cons but anything that can be done to make life more difficult for a thief has to be a good idea. We recently came across this new device from Easyblock and were intrigued by its innovative approach to scooter security. Unlike most traditional solutions, the Easyblock remains on the scooter at all times and takes only a second to activate. Each version is tailored to a particular scooter or motorbike model and works by a foot-operated lock that puts a pin through the spokes of the wheel, stopping it from being rolled away. Although primarily aimed at the despatch rider or commuter market, it strikes me thatt it would also be a good…