Classic Scooterist June/July 2017

YES – IT IS A VESPA

BALDET GS VESPA

THE SPANISH LAMBRETTA

BLAST FROM THE PAST Lond on t Land’s Eno d

TRIALS & TRIBULATIONS Italy and back on a Lambretta LD

THE FIRST TS1

LAMBRETTA MANCHESTER LYONS UK’S LONGEST-RUNNING SCOOTER CLUB

SERIES 2 TV200 Steve Manning plugs the gap in Innocenti’s scooter range

SCOOTERAMA! – A FELICITOUS FANFARE OF FACTS, FEEDBACK & FACES

June/July 2017 Issue 115

(And it’s not a Lambretta!)

Issue 115 June/July 2017 Founding Editor: Mau Spencer 01507 529408 mauspencer@classicscooterist.com Publisher: Dan Savage Contributors: Rich Addison; Gill Beecham; Jon Betts; Dennis Cliff; Pete Davies; Dave Dry; Phillip Tooth; Chris Wainwright; Roy Workman; Phil Walker; and Andy Westlake.

Apologies to anyone we’ve forgotten.

Some of the articles within these pages express the opinions of the contributors and are not necessarily those of Classic Scooterist.

Design: Fran Lovely Production editor: Dan Sharp Picture desk: Paul Fincham, Jonathan Schofield and Angie Sisestean Divisional advertising manager: Martin Freeman mfreeman@mortons.co.uk Advertising: Emma Buxton-Rockley 01507 529410 ebuxton-rockley@mortons.co.uk Subscription manager: Paul Deacon Circulation manager: Steve O’Hara Marketing manager: Charlotte Park Commercial director: Nigel Hole Editorial address: CLASSIC SCOOTERIST MAGAZINE PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6LZ www.scooteristscene.com General queries and back issues: 01507 529529 (24hr answerphone) Archivist: Jane Skayman 01507 529423 jskayman@mortons.co.uk Next issue (116) published: July, 19, 2017 Editorial deadline: June 16, 2017 CLASSIC SCOOTERIST (ISSN:1756-9494) is published bi-monthly by Mortons Media Group Ltd, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6LZ UK. USA subscriptions are $36 per year from Motorsport Publications LLC, 7164 Cty Rd N #441, Bancroft WI 54921. Periodical Postage is paid at Wisconsin Rapids, WI. Postmaster: Send address changes to CLASSIC SCOOTERIST, Motorsport Publications LLC, 7164 Cty Rd N #441, Bancroft WI 54921. 715-572-4595 Email: chris@classicbikebooks.com www.classicbikebooks.com Distribution: Marketforce UK Ltd 5 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HU Subscription: Full subscription rates (but see page 36 for offer): (12 months 6 issues, inc post and packing) – UK £22.80. Export rates are also available – see page 36 for more details.

UK subscriptions are zero-rated for the purposes of Value Added Tax. Customer services number: 01507 529529 Telephone lines are open: Monday-Friday 8.30am-7pm, Saturday 8.30am-12.30pm Printed by: William Gibbons & Sons, Wolverhampton © Mortons Media Group. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication maybe reproduced without prior written permission.

38 CONTENTS 4

Back when we had hair Nostalgic memories from times gone by

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Scooterama A felicitous fanfare of facts, feedback and faces

16 What’s going on?

A look at the scooterist calendar

18 Events round-up Coverage of recent events

22 ‘Golden Oldie’ Pete Sellers’ Lambretta Golden Special

26 French Connection The NSU LD Lambretta

28 Religion Richard Rawlins’ Baldet Vespa GS Having trouble finding a copy of this magazine?

Why not Just Ask your local oca newsagent e sage t to reserve you a copy each month?

34 Cathedral City There’s nothing cheesy about this Lambretta…

ARE YOU A SUBSCRIBER?

38 Viva Lambretta!

The Spanish Lambretta story

See page 36 and take advantage of our moneysaving offers

42 ‘Spooky Tooth’ Dennis Cliff’s Series 3 Lambretta Li

68 Triumph’s TS1 “The sleekest, smoothest scooter ever”

46 Back in the day “Betta Getta Vespa”

48 The Vespa 400 Piaggio’s four-wheeled scooter alternative

52 Sleeper Phil Walker’s Series 3 rustoration project

56 Rotherham Lambretta Club The Eric Duke connection

58 Innocenti’s missed opportunity Steve Manning’s Series 2 TV200

62 The Lambretta ‘S’ type A legend rediscovered

72 Trials and tribulations To Italy and back on a Lambretta LD 125

74 BSSO 2017 Championship Circuit racing at its best

76 Scooter clubs Meet and greet your local club

78 Manchester Lyons The UK’s oldest scooter club

86 Scooterist classifieds For all your wants and needs

90 Blast from the past London to Land’s End by scooter

A great year ahead

T

he national scooter rally season kicked-off with the BSRA’s opening event taking place in Scarborough – and as mentioned in our Scarborough event report, the rally attendance was extremely high with everyone having positive things to say – both about the Scarborough event itself and about 2017 rallies in general. Even the BSRA Championship Controllers commented on the response they have had from scooterists at the Scarborough event alone.

This is a good sign and it bodes well for the rest of the main scooter riding season; and whether you are into the

national rally scene, national club event, or even down to just a local club level in your area, the choice of which event to attend is immense – more so than in previous years.

KEEPING THINGS TIGHT Apologies if some of the articles appearing in this issue might seem a little cramped, but we've had so much stuff to try and squash in that we were in a bit of a dilemma; we didn't want to leave any of the features out just so we could make pictures in other articles bigger.

MAUSPENCER@CLASSICSCOOTERIST.COM

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n e h w k Bac we had hair DO YOU HAVE A NOSTALGIC STORY TO TELL, OR AN OLD PICTURE ✎ Classic Scooterist, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincs LN9

TO SHARE?

6LZ ✉ mauspencer@classicscooterist.com ☎ 01507 529408

DEL’S PIZZA

My dad circa 1972. The truck in the background was something of an icon in Boston, Massachusetts. My grandfather used to serve fresh hand-tossed pizza from his truck. Every morning he, my dad and my uncles pounded pizza dough, and folded pizza boxes until their fingers were raw. Then Papa Jim (that’s what we called my grandfather) and one of my uncles would go out and sell pizza until dark. They had regular stops at fire houses, work sites, colleges and projects.

Back then slices were a dime. Papa Jim’s pizza was the best I ever had.

Mike DelGaudio

THEN & NOW

My sister (aged 15) and me (aged 17) on my new Vespa GS 160 Mk2. The photo was taken in 1964 during a Devon holiday. I regret the day I sold it and got a car. Below: Here’s a picture of me now, almost 70 years old, on my new LML 4T 200, which I have been ‘Modding up’ over the winter of 2016 Martin Stevens

DEL & LIN 80s MARGATE

A picture from sunny Margate taken in ’86 or ’87 (who was there)? My missus is at the front with her hands in the air (and she’s still got her hair). LOL. Mike Avery

MAU & HIS MATES

What a turn up for the books; here’s a picture (right) of me and other members of the Dover Saints taken back in the 90s when we used to meet at The Archer pub. That’s my Jet 200 on the far left. Thanks Rob for the photo.

Mau

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Myself and Lin pictured in 1968 –the year before we married.

I rode this Lambretta to Lin’s on the day we were married and then home to our little cottage – our first home and night of marrried life.

Dell Ansell

MUM & DAD

Here’s my mum Yvonne, and my dad Gwyn pictured on a Vespa. Mum was the best one in the world and I wouldn’t be half of the abject failure I am now without her.

Bertie Simmonds

RACING MEMORIES

A SIMPLE STORY WITH A HAPPY ENDING...

I became fascinated with Lambrettas about 20 years ago. I saved every penny and bought a 125 Special for £800 and restored it. During this time I learnt a lot!

Growing up, my dad had continually mentioned he once owned an SX200. He tried drawing it a few times and tried to describe what it looked like; he never had any photos though. So many times he talked about it over the years; of course I was curious. I now own five Lambrettas and each day I’m on Twitter (@neonoir). I contacted my aunt to see if she had any photos of my dad’s legendary SX200, but she didn’t think she did, so I gave up hope... …Then these arrived in the post! Finally after all these years I have the only two photos of my dad’s Lambretta SX200! If you publish these it will be the first time dad has seen them since they were taken.

Ben Randles

A photo in the last issue showed Bob West receiving a prize for best engine build and it prompted me to send you this photo (taken

by Pete Sherwen) at the 1973 Cadwell twoday event. Bob is on it of course and I’ve identified the people I know (or can guess at). Perhaps your readers could help spot a few more?

1. Bob West in Team Poachers T-Shirt 2. John Illing – Widnes Saints 3. Paul Kenchington – Taunton?

4. Gordon Eves – Widnes Saints 5. Eddie Jubb ????

6. Mick ?????

7. Dave Archer – Widnes Saints 8. Mike Roache – Widnes Saints 9. Peter Bean and girlfriend 10.Keith (Maggot) Sharpe – Widnes Saints.

The photo must have been taken on the Saturday as this hillock was the viewing point for the ‘Twisty Sprint’ knockout. You can see the competitors lining-up behind Bob West; they are facing the wrong way on the circuit, as the hairpin grandstands are at the top middle to right. In the dead centre is the trusty LCGB Commer van.

I competed in the twisty sprint, but disgraced myself, having got into third place I think, by grounding my silencer and getting ‘high-sided’. The bang on the helmet sure cleared my sinuses! Luckily my GP200 was only slightly bent and it didn’t stop me competing on the full circuit the next day.

The full circuit race was also notorious for one of the most dangerous and spectacular accidents in scooter racing, when one of the Manchester Lyons sidecar outfits clipped the banking under the footbridge and took off vertically, hitting the underside of the bridge with its nose. It then fell back on top of either the driver or the passenger.

That was a close call as it could have been fatal, it definitely involved a hospital stay and replacement knee-caps I think. Perhaps someone else remembers the incident?

Gordon Eves

Since we had a bit of time, we had the opportunity to ask various ‘people in the know’ about this picture here’s what they said: BOB WEST: “Yes, No. 1 is me; the reason for the short haircut is that I joined the Royal Navy in January ’73. I did that event on my ex Dave Bexon Royspeed GP Electronic (I wish I still had it, it would be worth a fortune) and on my sidecar that I built in the school metalwork shop. I think No. 6 may be Mick Jones from Eastbourne.”

EDDIE JUBB: “Not me I’m afraid. My late wife Judy and I only attended a few race meetings in 1973, when she was competing as a combo passenger.”

IGGY MYCOCK (Manchester Lyons): “I remember that day at Caldwell very well.

The outfit that hit the bridge was driven by Ian Lacy and passengered by John Rolands (RIP). I managed to turn my outfit over at the hairpin on the first lap; my passenger didn’t get out for the left-hander just before the hairpin and I took to the grass not realising there was a two foot drop the other side of the hairpin. Not a good day for the Lyons.”

EDDIE YATES (Manchester Lyons): “It was Ian Lacy who hit a bridge and broke his knees, ending up with two plastic kneecaps.

Ian left the The Lyons many years ago; I last saw him at a reunion in 1994.”

If anyone has any more information about the people in this picture, please contact Mau at Classic Scooterist with information.

MAUSPENCER@CLASSICSCOOTERIST.COM

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Birmingham Vespa Club

O

ne normal Sunday morning in January 2017, I began thinking about the neighbour of a friend of mine who had once been into scootering in the late 1950s.

On the spur of the moment I decided to visit the now old lady to see if she had any photos of her scootering days. It had been about four years since I was first told about her.

I arrived at her door not knowing if she still lived there, or was still alive. Lucky for me she was and I asked her if she had time to talk about her scootering days. Her name is Eileen Walsh and she is an 87-year-old lady, who has lived in Birmingham most of her life. Eileen still had some black and white photos, plus some stickers and an invitation to the Vespa club Europe event 1960 (see pictures).

In addition Eileen had previously written a few words describing how she had bought a scooter to get to and from Boots Chemist (where she worked) and how her father had

told her to join a club to get to know how to maintain it.

After talking about her days out with the club on rallies etc. Eileen mentioned she and two other ladies were keen on photography and had taken some 8mm cine film recordings of their rally days. I asked if I could loan her films. Eileen told me to come back at the end of the week to collect the films and give her time to add a label to the film cases as she could not be sure what was in them.

I bought a cine projector and began to watch each of the films – some of which were slightly degraded due to their age. One very small reel had ‘Vespa Rally 1959’ written on the cardboard box. Only a short grainy two or three minute film, but a good clip of the club members arriving for a meet and a ride. After watching other large reels of family holidays to the Isle of Wight, Jersey, camping events for the Girl Guides and Eileen's wedding day,

I came across a large reel of the Birmingham Vespa Club trial which took place in Birmingham and also their days at the Vespa Club Europe Rally. The Vespa Europe Rally shows clubs from all over Europe taking parts in various games for scooters and scooters with sidecars.

I've had the film professionally cleaned, spliced and transferred to DVD. The video lasts 30 minutes and is a little grainy, but it captures the scootering times between 1952 and 1959 before the teenage Mod explosion. At the time of going to press the DVD should be available to purchase via eBay. I will be visiting Eileen to show her the DVD and her original cine films on my projector. In addition I have arranged to take Eileen and her daughter to an Italian restaurant escorted by 20 pre-1966 Vespa and Lambretta scooters and to show the DVD to the scooterists at the restaurant.

Gino Pontillo

Our magazine deadlines mean that Gino will have treated Eileen and her daughters to a meal before you’ve read this, so we hope it all went well

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MAUSPENCER@CLASSICSCOOTERIST.COM

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A M A R E T O SCO

CK & FACES A FELICITOUS FANFARE OF FACTS, FEEDBA ooterist.com ☎ 01507 529408 ✎ Classic Scooterist, PO Box 99, Horncast

le, Lincs LN9 6LZ ✉ mauspencer@clas

sicsc

Vintage Vespa hub parts RRP: £ ask Replacement front hub shafts and flanges for the VBB and VNB Vespa models are few and far between these days, but VE (UK) has sourced these items to help keep true classic scooters on the road. Fitted with 10mm studs, they’re suitable for fitment to solid centred 8in wheel rims that are secured using four nuts.

(VE22119 for the VBB is equivalent to Vespa part number 0954534; while VE22120 is equivalent to 098709).

Info: www.ve-uk.com

AQUAD Waterproof Packing Cubes RRP: £24.99 Oxford Products has just released this cool bundle of waterproof packing cubes.

The colour coded 12-litre, 7-litre and 5-litre waterproof bags look perfect for splitting and keeping track of your luggage on your next two-wheeled adventure.

Info: www.oxford products.com

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World’s oldest Vespa reaches a cool £158,427 at auction As reported on our Facebook site, what is claimed to be the world’s oldest surviving Vespa went up for auction recently.

The scooter, with serial number 1003, is complete, a runner and comes from Piaggio’s ‘0 Series’.

It’s believed to be Number 3 from the original 60 prototypes made by Piaggio in 1946. That

means that this scooter would have been the third scooter to roll off the production line and probably was the first actual bike to be ridden on Italian roads – the first two were kept as display models.

According to reports from Italy, those first two display models have been lost in various moves by the factory over the years

Gerry’s Pacemaker – the saga continues After publishing the editorial piece about Gerry Marsden’s Lambretta Pacemaker (which was used in the film Ferry Cross The Mersey) being given away as a competition prize by the New Musical Express and asking if anyone knew what happened to it, we now have a little more information to divulge, thanks to Classic Scooterist reader Nigel Blagg.

On page 38 of the April 1965 edition of Scooter & Three Wheeler it was announced that the competition winner was 16-year-old Alastair Calder from Welling, Kent, who was presented with the scooter’s logbook by Gerry Marsden himself at a ceremony held at a Shaftesbury Avenue (London) record shop.

Of course, all of this now leads us on to the next question – is Alastair Calder still around, or does anyone know of his whereabouts, or even what actually happened to the scooter?

Hopefully someone out there can complete the next piece of the jigsaw puzzle – any takers?

– which makes this particular scooter the world’s oldest Vespa.

The auction was hosted by Dutch company Catawiki who estimated the scooter would sell for something in the region of £214,000 to £273,000. The auction kicked-off with a measly offer of £217, but quickly made its way up to £158,427.

Ska Train success There was such a big response to the Classic Scooterist/Brighton Ska Train competition that the Brighton Ska Train organisers increased the number of lucky winners to three. The winners were Harriet Dakkin, Greg Targett and Julie Vaughn, each winning a year on The Ska Train VIP guest list and an exclusive Ska Train hoodie.

They were thrilled to pick-up p their prizes at the e Ska Train shindig headlined by the legendary Jerry Dammers.

In fact, the atmosphere was truly electric and the winners soon rushed-off to the packed dance floor before we could get a photo of them! The king of 2Tone himself said that it was one of the best crowds he’s ever played d records to. It’s fairr to say that all in nvolved with The Brighton Ska Train B were well and w ttruly ‘chuffed’.

Next stop fo or The Brighton Skka Train is: ‘The Brigh hton Skanival!’ taking p place on Saturday July 1 1, 2017 2017, at The Volks on Brighton Beach. This is Brighton’s annual all day/all

night marathon of all things Ska with free scooter parking, prizes and dancefloor photoshoot for the best ride attending.

Info: www.thebrightonskatrain. com or visit ‘The Brighton Ska Train’ on Facebook.

DO YOU HAVE ANY NOSTALGIC PICTURES IN YOUR ARCHIVES? If so, why not share your memories with our readers We are always on the lookout for nostalgic stories and pictures.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s a single picture, or a bulging photo album; whatever it is, we’d be pleased to share it.

Contact Mau on 01507 529408 or email him at mauspencer@ classicsscooterist.com

BSRA #1 Scarborough 2017

BSRA Championship 2017 is ‘best yet’ This is proving to be the BSRA Championship’s best year yet with the largest number of entrants. It got off on a flyer at Scarborough with even more people registering on the day.

Entrants this year are from much more varied parts of the country, so it promises to be a very competitive year. Thank you to the stalwart few who register every year to support us. So all

you have to do now is sign on at each National BSRA rally. Hope you signed on Weston-super-Mare for Rally#2 – and make sure you sign on for Rally#3 at Kelso. We will be at the Lexham stand at each rally unless stated otherwise from 10am to 1.30pm.

Good luck everyone and safe riding.

Ann & Rick Kaye ERSC

GARY LIEVERS, RIP

Former Mansfield Monsters chairman Gary Lievers passed away recently. On behalf of Classic Scooterist readers, we send our condolences to his family and friends.

MAUSPENCER@CLASSICSCOOTERIST.COM

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SCOOTERAMA!

B Back in the Valleys

Houston jacket RRP: £159.99 The Weise Outlast® Houston is a fully-armoured waterproof jacket, with a removable temperatureregulating lining. The jacket’s tough, tearresistant rip-stop outer has a waterproof/breathable lining, which is sealed by a YKK®central zip, with a popper and Velcro®storm flap. Vents on the arms, chest and back allow cooling air flow while the Outlast lining regulates body temperature. Allround impact-protection is provided by CE-approved armour at shoulders, elbows and back. Weise has provided plenty of pockets – both inside and out – including a large rear map pocket. The jacket is covered by the Weise twoyear no-quibble warranty and comes in sizes S to 5XL in black, and sizes M to 3XL in black/stone.

Info: www.thekeycollection. co.uk / 0117 971 9200

Pilgrim Grande boot RRP £129.99 An oil distressed leather outer construction and Hipora®lining keeps things dry while the TPU ankle support, heel and toe reinforcements, a hard wearing gear change pad and a hard shank sole keeps you solid on the bike.

A lug sole, zip and lace fittings and stylised front strap buckle keeps you comfortable and looking good off the bike too.

Info: www.spada clothing.co.uk

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Thirty years on from when they originally owned scooters, the newly-formed Rhondda Valleys SC is finally back on the road.

They’d like to thank Kevin, ‘Ace Face’ for the use of his garage. (picture courtesy of Howard Bartlett)

Shark D-Skwal helmet RRP: £189.99 Reviewer: Mikko Nieminen There’s some funky helmet designs out there from superheroes to Star Wars characters, so in the scheme of things the Shark D-Skwal with the Saurus graphics isn’t too outrageous. It’s a perfect mix of cool looks and a hint of restraint – I love it! This is the most fun-looking helmet I’ve had in years, but if dinosaurs or the apocalypse don’t do it for you, the lid does come in various colours and graphics.

Under the graphics, the helmet is a mid-range Shark product, offering a good amount of features for a sub£200 lid. The Pinlock lens is large, giving a good wide aperture, and guaranteeing the visor won’t fog up; it attaches to the helmet with a push/pull quickrelease mechanism, which helps with cleaning everything properly.

There’s also a drop-down sun visor operated via a switch in the left visor fastening point.

It’s simple to use and very effective. For commuting, I always go for a helmet with a sun visor like this, just to make life easier for myself. If it’s a track or off-road helmet, it’s a different story, but when I’m rushing about getting to work or back home, I don’t want to be

PRODUCT REVIEW

messing about with dark visors or sunglasses.

The vents are in the chin bar and top of the head. They’re easy to operate (the top vent even has the word ‘open’ on one side of it, although you can tell if the vents are open when you wear the helmet), and let a good amount of fresh air in. The chin curtain is made from light mesh and doesn’t get in the way, but if you prefer to ride without one, it’s removable.

At 1450g this is a pretty standard injected thermoplastic helmet. It doesn’t feel heavy, but equally it can’t compete in weight with the more expensive carbon helmets.

The chin strap buckle is a micro-ratchet one, rather than a double-D, and I sometimes find that these press into my Adam’s apple, but this one is well placed away from my neck so that I have no discomfort.

I was surprised how good the aerodynamics were: even when riding a bike with a screen that causes a fair amount of buffeting, the lid didn’t feel vibey, although it’s a little noisier than the top-ofthe-range helmets.

The D-Skwal is a lot of helmet for £189.99, and for me the Saurus graphics are the icing on the cake.

Info: www.nevis.uk.com | 01425 478936

Ernie Sales Payne, RIP Scooterist Ernie Sales Payne was involved in a fatal accident in Epping, Essex.

Ernie, an experienced scooterist, was returning from the Fabs SC Easter Egg Run being held in Romford. Details about the accident have not been disclosed at the time of writing.

The Foresters SC have for many years held their own Easter Egg Run for the Children’s Ward at Whipps Cross Hospital in Leytonstone but on hearing the tragic news decided to dedicate this year’s Good Friday scooter run to Ernie’s memory and those attending took part in a 20 mileplus ride through the countryside close to the area where Ernie lost his life. Scooterists left Woodford en masse and were

joined by more en route before arriving in Epping. At the scene they were met by members of Ernie’s family and many of his fellow scooterists laid wreaths, flowers, club legshield banners and a photo of Ernie.

Riders then returned to The Horse and Well Pub, Woodford, together with Ernie’s relatives for drinks, a buffet and to exchange stories of their dear lost mate.

The Foresters SC are now considering holding this Remembrance Ride every Easterr for their fellow scooterist who sadly lost his life doing what he loved best.

RIP Ernie Sales Payne – ‘Ride The Heaven’s Highway’.

Martin n Foresters SC C

2017 SIP parts catalogue released Scooter parts specialist SIP has just released the latest version of its comprehensive Vespa parts catalogue, which is available either as a digital download, or as a printed copy.

The 260 page catalogue is packed full of accessories and tuning parts for new automatic Vespa scooters such as the ET2, ET4, S, LX, Sprint, Primavera, GTS and GT, etc. Items available include top cases, bags, flyscreens, windshields, grips, mirrors, styling parts, variators, clutches, belts, exhausts, cylinder kits, camshafts, valves, gear kits, ignitions, injections, carbs, air filters, gaskets, oil and so much more.

The catalogue can be downloaded immediately via this

link: http://bit.ly/modern17en – or ordered in the SIP webshop at www.sip-scootershop.com as a printed version.

MAUSPENCER@CLASSICSCOOTERIST.COM

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SCOOTERAMA! SIP cylinder heads £ ask Owners of the Vespa T5 who’ve been trying to source a new standard cylinder head, or looking at having theirs machined for a Malossi 172cc cylinder kit, will be interested in these new SIP heads.

The standard 125cc version has an internal diameter of 56mm and a 1.2mm drop from the gasket face to squish face, giving a compression ratio of 11.5:1, and uses a standard gasket for sealing.

The Malossi 172cc cylinder version utilises an O-ring for sealing as found on the Malossi PX heads with an internal diameter of 66mm and a 1.2mm drop from the gasket face to squish face giving a compression ratio of 12.5:1.

Info: www.ve-uk.com

Pinasco brake caliper RRP: £ ask The new Pinasco brake caliper assembly includes a newly-designed back plate which has the caliper mounted in a radial position rather than the standard side mount.

This allows for a larger brake pad configuration to accommodate a four-piston design, thus increasing braking surface area leading to improved stopping performance. Model fitments include: Vespa PX with 20mm forks, Vespa PK 100/125, Vespa T5/ T5 Classic, and LML disc brake models. Two colour combinations are available: gold caliper with black support, or black caliper with silver support.

Info: www.ve-uk.com

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Premiere of Being film a success The film premiere of Being was held at Dingwalls in Camden Lock, London NW1 on April 6, 2017 with more of the tickets being sold in advance.

The short film is a gentle observational drama and was written by Devlin and Kennedy Crow and stars Mark Wingett of Quadrophenia and The Bill fame.

As previously reported by Classic Scooterist, the film focuses on young carers who battle for loved ones. Author Devlin Crow said: “Being was never a film to try and capitalise on Quadrophenia’s cult status. But the haunts of that film were seared in me and it was inevitable that I would wish to address it.

“The brilliance of The Who’s concept album played out vividly visions of the sea, melancholia a winter seaside resort and a confused misunderstood Mod.

APRÈS-SCOOT While on holiday in the Italian ski resort of Sauze d’Oulx, Terry Brown came across these scooters, apparently being used by the ski instructors (possibly so they could get back to base quickly in time for some après-ski maybe).

Mind you, riding a scooter while wearing ski boots and having a pair of skis either strapped on the back, or resting on the footboards sounds like a skill in itself to us!

Jimmy, like Buddy, was angry at the world. Though whereas Jimmy is broken by Brighton and the disillusionment with Mod life, Buddy’s experience of this coastal town allows him some relief from the reality of his life as a carer, to be given joy and the freedom to be his age.”

On the premiere night after the film there was an auction of a few film props, including signed crash helmets and parkas, plus posters, shirts, etc. donated by various Mod shops.

It wouldn’t have got this far without various helpers doing sterling jobs (mainly fundraising) and they deserve a mention: Lorraine and John McNair and Martin Porter.

The film will be airing in Brighton at some point – keep your eyes open for details.

Martin, Foresters SC