WELCOME
T
his month in Scootering Sticky has learned a whole load of new information about Indian Lambrettas, good and bad… and weird too! It’s all very interesting of course and the cause was writing the 10 page buyer’s guide to Lambrettas that originated from the SIL factory in India. Or at least, most of their parts did. As these are still commonly imported scooters we thought it a good idea to share some knowledge with prospective buyers to help them pick a peach rather than a plum. Turn to page 102 to learn more. Elsewhere there are some very intriguing scooters with trick engineering that at first glance look pretty much standard. Check out the Lambretta on page 46 and the Vespa on page 72 to see what I mean (with a nod to an old friend Wayne from the St George Elite SC, west London who built and rode a similarly converted Vespa 90/PX200 back in the late 1990s). On page 78 we test some standard looking Vespa 20 exhausts and discover just how much more power you can get without sacrificing the practicality of such a pipe, or the condition of your ear drums. At the front we continue our Kickstart section of useful information, news, products and stuff we’ve tested. And on the subject of getting out there and riding (which is how stuff gets
tested!), if you’ve not seen it yet take a good look at the amazing custom GP on page 34. Not only is it a work of art in itself, but Mark’s Lambretta is ridden. In fact before Brid we did speak about riding up together as we don’t live far apart, but Mark was setting off at stupid o’clock this morning. Why was this you ask? Well apart from allowing time for any problems (he had none), upon arrival he spent three or four hours polishing his scooter in preparation for the next day’s custom show! Finally, I should apologise for a few typos in last month’s edition, mainly some bad editing in Ann’s book review of Parked Up and also suggesting that the VCB had already managed two AGMs in 2014... by November 2013!
NEXT MONTH
We’re giving away a FREE 32 page indispensable guide to the BSRA scooter rallies of 2014 with loads of useful information about each town on the list throughout the year, from Easter to Bridlington. We’ll also be tying in a few pieces in the magazine with travelling on your scooter in mind; Sticky’s got some touring tips to share with you, we’ve a touring story into Europe too and we’ll show you some kit you may want to consider for those longer journeys. After all, what better to do with your scooter than get out there and enjoy it, right? Andy
www.scootering.com www.scootertrader.com Editor: Andy Gillard Email: editorial@scootering.com Publisher: Steve Rose Contributors: Sticky, Richie Lunt, Barrie Braithwaite, Iggy, Jordan Lewis, Liam Smith, Steve Dawson, Nik Skeat, Tony O’Brien, Dave Oakley, Sarge, Paolo Catani, Ann, Lobby, Jean-Luc Nobleeaux, Joe Dick and Lee Daniels. Many thanks to all other scooterists and clubs that have also contributed to this issue in some way. Cover: Photography by Joe Dick Designer: Charlotte Turnbull Reprographics: Simon Duncan Group production editor: Tim Hartley General queries and back issues: Tel: 01507 529529 24 hr answerphone Email: help@classicmagazines.co.uk www.classicmagazines.co.uk Archivist: Jane Skayman Tel: 01507 529423 Email: jskayman@mortons.co.uk Subscription: Full subscription rates (but see page 54 for offer): (12 months 12 issues, inc post and packing) – UK £47.88. Export rates are also available – see page 54 for more details. UK subscriptions are zero-rated for the purposes of Value Added Tax. Distribution: Comag, Tavistock Road, West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7QE Tel: 01895 433600 Printed by: William Gibbons & Sons, Wolverhampton
TRADE ADVERTISING
Gary Thomas – gthomas@mortons.co.uk Colin Smith – csmith@mortons.co.uk Tel (01507) 524004 Fax (01507) 529499
Divisional advertising manager: Sandra Fisher Email: sfisher@mortons.co.uk
ADVERTISING DEADLINES
The advertising deadline for the next issue of Scootering (March 2014) is Thursday, February 6, 2014 On sale in newsagents February 27, 2014
Free ads, personals, club do’s & events These are all to be booked via the website at www.scootering.com or via post to: Scootering Magazine, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6LZ The next free ads deadline is Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Member of the Professional Publishers Association
p52
Subscription manager: Paul Deacon pdeacon@mortons.co.uk Circulation manager: Steven O’Hara sohara@mortons.co.uk Marketing manager: Charlotte Park Email: cpark@mortons.co.uk Production manager: Craig Lamb Publishing director: Dan Savage Commercial director: Nigel Hole Associate director: Malcolm Wheeler Managing director: Brian Hill SCOOTERING (USPS:020-245) is published monthly by Mortons Media Group Ltd, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6LZ USA subscriptions are $60 per year from Motorsport Publications LLC, 7164 Cty Rd N #441, Bancroft WI 54921. Periodical Postage is paid at Bancroft, WI and additional entries. Postmaster: Send address changes to SCOOTERING, c/o Motorsport Publications LLC, 7164 Cty Rd N #441, Bancroft WI 54921. 715-572-4595. chris@classicbikebooks.com SCOOTERING is published by: Mortons Scooter Media, a division of Mortons Media Group Ltd © 2014 All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any way without the written permission of the publishers. ISSN 0268 7194
Having trouble finding a copy of this magazine? Why not Just Ask your local newsagent to reserve you a copy each month?
CONTENTS 90 Specialist Services
03 Hello & Welcome
We hope you enjoy your new look Scootering magazine.
Whatever you want, tuners to upholsterers, you’ll find them all here.
06 Kickstart
93 Scooter Trader
The new section of the magazine packed full of information from news and reviews of both products and music, to archive material, opinions, rumours and whispers, Workshop Essentials, Gathering Dust (old custom scooters from the 1980s), music, handy hints, readers’ letters, oddballs, personals, app of the month and Quick One with someone from the scooter scene.
23
Workshop Essentials
34
Start Me Up
42
First Ride – Peugeot Metropolis
We talk to Harry Barlow of Pro Porting fame.
Our cover star custom Lambretta GP, that will make your jaw drop whether you’re a Stones fan or not.
Is the French three-wheeler as good as those that went before it? Find out here.
46 TV200 Series 1
It sounds simple, but it turns out there’s more to this stunner that it would at first suggest.
Classified and business advertising, for all your scootering needs.
Practical 102 Scootering Buyer’s Guide
Advice and tips on buying Indian Lambretta GP scooters, from home and abroad.
Show Us Your 121Scoots!
Pictures of you, on your scoots – simples, eh?
124Trofeo Borgobello The Perugia Time Trial – old school sporting in Italy.
128The Little Bol d’Or
10 Heure Scootentole de Magny Cours – ever fancied endurance racing?
132Abarth Vespa
What to do with a 1950s Vespa VBA, imagination and skilled persons.
138Into The Sunset
Another of your tales of trials and tribulation. Keep ’em coming folks!
The Book of 54 Scootering Rules
We continue our tongue-in-cheek look at the rules of old, this month answering your letters and enquiries.
56 Club do’s & events The Classic Bike 58 Guide Winter Classic 64 Indian Summer Fare
A calendar of scooter related events.
API MAC 175 and Kelvinator Avanti 150 – two rare Indian Lambrettas (sort of!) that you may not have seen before.
When is a Rally 200 72 not a Rally 200?
At first glance this Vespa looks standard, but there’s something else beneath the surface.
78 Boxing clever
Vespa PX200 box exhaust test – can they perform as well as an expansion pipe?
84 Back to Basics
Step by step advice on how to change your Lambretta clutch.
4 | SCOOTERING | FEBRUARY 2014
72
18
Start Me Up Sometimes in life your biggest challenges are the ones you present yourself, like hunting down your old scooter to buy it back, only to strip it down completely and build a show-winning custom from bare metal up.
F
or those of you that don’t know, this is not the first or in fact the second time that this scooter has graced the pages of the scootering press. Before coming to the hands of owner Mark Swinge it went under the name Accipitridae, and featured very lifelike art of various birds of prey. That’s distant history though, and by the time Mark gained ownership in 1992, it was in a well used state and ready for a complete revamp. This is when he first created a beautiful custom Lambretta based on his favourite band, the Rolling Stones. I initially came across Mark and his scooter at events in the early 90s. At the time it was one of the standout customs, bridging the gap between streetracer and ‘full on’. The fairly basic paint scheme
34 | SCOOTERING | FEBRUARY 2014
was spruced up with gold leaf lettering and a good amount of chrome plate – simple but very effective. However unlike many of the show circuit machines at the time, Mark’s main criteria was that SMU would be well-ridden and a trusty touring TS1 engine was fitted. This meant he could often be seen blasting up and down the country, as much at home on a garage forecourt as a custom show floor. Throughout the next five or six years he continued to enjoy riding and showing his scooter. However by the end of the 90s several factors saw him decide to sell it. Now that could have been the end of the story, but almost 12 years on he decided he wanted to build another custom Lambretta and he had just one thing in mind...
WWW.SCOOTERING.COM | 35
When is a Rally 200 not a Rally 200?
At first glance this scooter looks like a tidyVespa Rally 200. Indeed the first time Barrie saw it at the SIP custom show back inApril last year he gave it only a cursory look and moved on. If only he’d known‌
Changing a SerieS 1–3 Lambretta CLutCh Back when I were a lad, a knackered clutch was something talked about in hushed tones, never wished upon your darkest foe. You will need...
7, 10 & 12mm spanners. 8, 10, 11 & 13mm sockets, flat blade screwdriver, clutch compressor, grease, side casing gasket, gearbox oil, spring puller (for expansion pipes), rubber mallet or wooden block.
Difficulty rating
i
n those days, many a good scooter was swapped for 10 Regal Kingsize and a bottle of Lambrini just because the clutch had a grab softer than a seaside claw-crane picking up a spurious Rolex. These days bitter experience has given way to youthful exuberance and a clutch that grips softer than a ‘friend’ of Jimmy Savile isn’t a massive hurdle. The clutch works by disengaging drive from the gearbox when you pull the clutch lever by separating the cork-coated plates. When the engine is driving, a series of springs force the plates together and the friction generated by the cork plates then transmits the power through the gearbox to the rear wheel. The more power the engine generates the better the friction has to be to prevent the plates slipping and sapping drive to the rear wheel. A sign that you may have a problem with your clutch is if the engine is revving higher than it normally does at a given speed. For instance when riding at 30mph if the engine is revving as high as when you are doing 50mph then chances are the clutch is slipping. Equally, if opening the throttle results in more revs and less speed then it definitely needs investigating. Barrie
84 | scootering | February 2014
1
The first thing to do is remove the bridge piece and right (offside) rear footboard. An 8mm socket or spanner for the footboard, and a screwdriver and usually a 7mm spanner will take care of the bridge piece. 3
Remove the nuts securing the main bracket to the casing and the tailpipe and check for a bolt passing through the exhaust and into the bottom of the engine casing. This will be roughly parallel with the oil level plug in the side-casing. 5
The footboard leg will have to be removed to enable the side-casing to lift off. It’s easier to leave the footboard attached and undo the leg and remove them in one go. The sidepanel buffer will have to be slid off before unbolting the leg.
2
Most standard type exhausts have a clamp which seals the ‘U’ pipe to the main exhaust body, whereas expansion types generally have springs to secure them. Loosen the clamp or remove the springs at this stage. 4
The main exhaust body may need to be persuaded to move using a rubber mallet or a wooden drift but do not batter it senseless. If it does not move with gentle tapping investigate further for any fixings you might have missed. 6
Now drain the gearbox oil. Make sure the tub you are draining the old oil into is big enough to hold two pints of liquid and watch the oil as it runs out. Any lumpy bits could be a sign of something inside the engine requiring investigation.
www.scootering.com | 85
The
Abarth Vespa The age-old‘young blood’ debate seems to have finally been answered on the scooter scene. Enthusiastic young scooterists have not only arrived but they’re making a positive mark while they’re at it.
INTO THE SUNSET I always said I would never go back to Camber Sands but the thought of seeing two members of The Jam playing together again after all these years – and at a rally – sold it for me again in 2007.
A
fter talking to some fellow club members, it was decided that myself, Terry ‘the general’ Scripps and Andy ‘salad dodger’ Reid (Andy didn’t get his nickname for nothing) would go. The choice of weapons, for me my Vespa GT200 auto, Andy his kitted Vespa T5 and Terry his kitted Nottingham Forest Vespa P200E. I did raise an eyebrow at these choices as neither boy was exactly ‘slim’, both had autos at their disposal and with the distance at over 110 miles, this could be interesting (I should explain maybe that both Andy and Terry are 18+ stone). The Friday came and with the scoots fully loaded, off we set off from our hometown of Sudbury in Suffolk, heading for the A12 going south. I kind of knew it was going to be strange as Terry hadn’t put on his waterproofs and the sky was getting darker as we got on to the dual carriageway. Then the heavens opened up and we had to pull over on the side so Terry could get waterproof. Everything was going okay until we got near the Dartford Bridge and the traffic was building up. We came to a standstill, so Andy decided to filter through the traffic at a rate of knots and leave me and Terry there. I never saw him again until I reached Camber and found out then that he’d decided to go on a scenic route via Margate. The two of us had our fag and petrol stop and with Terry leading the way crossed the bridge safely. We then picked up the M20 and were travelling at a reasonable speed. I then watched Terry whack open his throttle further and instead of his scooter increasing speed, it instead decided to cough out a nice large cloud of white smoke from the exhaust – game over.
Stopping on the side while all the traffic was flying past we inspected the poor Vespa and upon removing the cylinder head there we found a tidy hole in the piston. After discussing the situation he decided to get recovered to Camber and borrow my AA card for the recovery home. After numerous fags the recovery van turned up and loaded up Terry’s scooter. “Do you want yours on there as well?” the recovery driver kindly offered me (why do they never do that when you’re 400 miles from home battling through a blizzard?). “No I’m fine,” I replied, “I’ll just follow you.” Within minutes of saying that however, both Terry and the driver had jumped into the truck and literally shot off. It then dawned on me that I had no map, no mobile phone and no idea where I was going so I quickly shot after them as fast as I could. Now my GT could do 70mph all day long and I’m as light as a feather, but I could not keep up with this truck at all. It was going like a bat out of hell and within minutes they had disappeared. I was doing over 75mph and I still couldn’t catch them. This is great, I thought, what now? Then as if my prayers were answered there was a pack of scooters in front of me. Brilliant. Thank God. I’ll follow these to Camber. However, just my luck, after a few miles they all turned off and headed towards the Channel Tunnel direction – presumably off to a European rally. This sums up my day I thought… I carried on, hoping I’d find my way there, then all of a sudden, there at the side of the M20, before the roundabout for the A2070 to Camber (I’d already seen the sign) was the recovery truck waiting for me. I pulled in and got off my trusty steed: “Thanks you pair of **** for waiting for me,” I said. Still fuming, I continued: “Didn’t you even notice me missing?”
The reply from both of them with a surprised look on their faces was: “No!” Okay I thought, keep calm. Still, they were here now, waiting for me now, so we could continue our journey. Then the driver announced: “The only reason we stopped was because the truck has run out of fuel and we are now waiting for another recovery truck to bring us some.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, you couldn’t make this up if you tried. “Give me the chalet info and the map book Terry,” I said and after looking at the map of directions we had done, I then lidded back up and shot off, still fuming at the pair of plonkers, hoping the fuel wouldn’t turn up. After arriving at the Pontins site I got the chalet keys and cracked open a beer from my onboard stash and pondered the day’s events; three set off and one made it. The first of our trio to arrive was a tired looking Andy looking all done in. After swapping stories and shaking heads in disbelief, the recovery truck turned up with Terry. I did the decent thing and watched them struggle getting his scooter off while enjoying my fag and beer number three (not gloating much!). Anyway we had a great weekend and The Gift as they were known then with Bruce and Rick were brilliant. Sunday morning arrived too soon and hung-over, me and ‘salad boy’ loaded up our scoots, leaving Terry to wait for recovery to take him home. We made good time to hit the M20 when all of a sudden there was a puff of white smoke from Andy’s exhaust – casualty number two! After pulling over and both agreeing it was terminal, the AA was called and after saying our goodbyes I set off up the M20 in search of home. Overall a very good rally with just a few hiccups. But every time I see a recovery vehicle now I can’t help but laugh to myself. Martin (Cheeky) Colchester DVLC/Phantoms SC
We’ve all got a scooter story to tell down at the pub, and many of you have even said: “I’ve got a great story for Into the Sunset.” Well, now is the time to share it with the rest of us, write it down (between 1000 and 1200 words long please), and send it to: Scootering Magazine, Into the Sunset, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6LZ. Alternatively, send via email to editorial@scootering.com
138 | SCOOTERING | FEBRUARY 2014