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y Walton, Graham Wallace, John Webster, Richard Wilfang, Rob Williams, Paul Wood and the team at Mor tons Archive a outdated

With Lambretta supplies exhausted due to the problems in Italy, Lambretta

The emphasis had shifted to tuning and performance, particularl y with the

The selection of carburettor choices became even bigger