FREE UK DELIVERY Scootering in the 1980s on sale 21/09/22 This new bundle from the publishers of Scootering covers the golden age of scootering in the 1960s, through the dark days of the 1970s, and blue touch paper reignition by Quadrophenia that inspired the 1980s return to vogue of scooters... GET THE FULL SERIES FOR £19 or sold separately for £7.99 each SAVE MORE THAN 20% Order today www.classicmagazines.co.uk/scooteringbundle or call 01507 529529
Author: Stuart O wen
Design: Burda Druck India Pvt. Ltd.
Publisher: Steve O’Hara
Published by: Mortons Media Group Ltd, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6JR Tel. 01507 529529
Printed by: W illiam Gibbons and Sons, Wolverhampton
ISBN: 978-1-911639-96-1
© 2022 Mortons Media Group Ltd. All rights reser ved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage retrieval system without prior permission in writing from the publisher
In tr od uc ti on
The 19 60 s sc oot er sc en e w as al wa ys g oi ng to be a hard act to follow. Things didn’t get off to a good star t in the 70s when, in the spr ing of 1971, Innocenti announced that L ambretta production would cease with immediate effect. These were changing times and as the scooter slowl y fell out of favour as a dail y commuter vehic le its days seemed numbered. Ownership now belonged to the younger generation, but it had become fragmented and dispersed across the countr y. The nor th of England would be regarded as the mainstay with odd poc kets of owners sur viving in other areas. The problem was, there was nothing linking them together.
There were those determined to unite scooter ists once again and make them a strong f orce, but it was a unique set of circumstances that e ventually bec ame the c atal yst in making it all happen. A film about mods, bands influenced by the movement, and repor ts in the music press of a revival all stirred up interest. Now those who had stuc k with scooters through the underground years were reinforced by a tidal wave of young teenagers keen to be par t of the latest fashion upr ising.
Suddenl y scooters were in vogue once again but this time it was diff erent; the scooter was no longer just a form of transpor t but one of expression. Along with it c ame the impending trouble fuel led by the media frenz y, overhyping the situation. Though the mod revival was shor t-lived, it had generated a ne w breed of scooter owners. The parkas would soon be ditched but the scooters would stay and as the dec ade c ame to an end something special was happening to help lay the per fect foundation for the scooter scene to explode into the 1980s.
PICT URE CREDITS AND THANKS
Thomas Cr inigan, Chas de L ac y, Peter Ham, Mike Hayman, Norr ie Kerr, Nigel L owe, Igg y Mycoc k, Walter Nelson-Aylott, Dave Omerod, Frank Osger by, Richard Oswald, S te ve S affin, Mark S argeant, Glor ia S aunders, Alan S mith, J im S tretton, Terr y Walton, Graham Wallace, John Webster, Richard Wilfang, Rob Williams, Paul Wood and the team at Mor tons Archive
2 Scootering in the 1970s
16-year-old John Webster at the start of his long affiliation with the Lambretta
Pete Meads of Luton Lambretta Club ready to go at the Isle of Man scooter week 1970
3 Scootering in the 1970s
a
outdated
With Lambretta supplies exhausted due to the problems in Italy, Lambretta
4 Scootering in the 1970s
Some considered the Pacemaker
bit
by the 1970s, but Richard Oswald thought different – adding an Ancillotti seat and flip over backrest
Concessionaires looked to the Serveta to help solve the problem
5 Scootering in the 1970s
The scooter market’s decline in the 1970s was evident in the ma gazines that supported it, either going out of business or bein g tacked on to motorcycle publications
6 Scootering in the 1970s
The emphasis had shifted to tuning and performance, particularl y with the
The selection of carburettor choices became even bigger
7 Scootering in the 1970s
Lambretta
8 Scootering in the 1970s
There was still of course the Wal Phillips fuel injector for Vespa and Lambretta owners who wanted that instant bolt-on power boost
Arthur Francis Limited issues a newsletter to reassure owners that it will continue to stock spares to keep Lambrettas on the road despite production stopping at the Innocenti factory
9 Scootering in the 1970s
10 Scootering in the 1970s
Jim Stretton, having just purchased a brand new Lambretta GP 200, immediately took it racing as the first full season of a British scooter championship took hold
One of the shops leading the way for tuning products – Rafferty Newman
A sad reflection of how the Lambretta was no longer the biggest player in the two-wheeled market – looking lost in a sea of motorcycles at a show
