Classic Scooterist - June/July 2014 - Sample Edition

THEA BRIEFVESPA GS MODEL HISTORY

NEW LOOK

VESPA TheVES

SS180 SS1 0

SCOOTER RACING THE SEASON GETS UNDER WAY

WIN

A ROCK OIL PACKAGE WORTH

£ 75

A tale of two scoote scooters SUITED & BOOTED

Restoring an ancient parka

BUYING A HELM HELMET

All you need to know

REFLECTIONS

LAURENT CALLOT’S

Pin-Up Girls

No.97 June/July 2014

£3.60

The T Eddy Grimstead reunion

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

Issue 97 June/July 2014 Editor: Mau Spencer 01507 529408 mauspencer@classicscooterist.com Group production editor: Tim Hartley Publisher: Steve Rose Contributors: Rich Addison; Howard Bradley; Henry Byer; Laurent Callot; Dave Dry; Si Duncan; Karen Hollick, Ashley Lenton; Carli A Smith; Phillip Tooth; Phil & Dawn Walker; Steve Wright. Apologies to anyone we’ve forgotten.

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

Design: Justin Blackamore Reprographics: Simon Duncan Divisional advertising manager: Sandra Fisher sfisher@mortons.co.uk Advertising: Jo Scarbro 01507 524004 jscarbro@mortons.co.uk Subscription manager: Paul Deacon Circulation manager: Steve O’Hara Marketing manager: Charlotte Park Production manager: Craig Lamb Publishing director: Dan Savage Commercial director: Nigel Hole Associate director: Malc Wheeler 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 (98) published: July 16, 2014 Editorial deadline: June 13, 2014 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: COMAG Tavistock Road, West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7QE USA subscriptions: $30 per year (Six bimonthly issues) available from Motorsport, 31757 Honey Locust Road, Jonesburg MO 63351-9600m USA Periodicals postage is paid at Jonesburg MO. Tel. 636-488-3113. Fax 636-488-3196 Printed by: William Gibbons & Sons, Wolverhampton © Mortons Media Group. All rights reserved. No part of this publication maybe reproduced without prior written permission.

CONTENTS 4 8

Back when we had hair

Nostalgic memories from scootering’s heyday

Scooterama

A felicitous fanfare of facts, feedback and faces

16 25 years and still going strong

VE (UK) celebrates its 25th anniversary of trading

20 “You’ve got mail”

Readers express their views, ask questions and show us their pictures

24 What’s going on?

What, where and when – upcoming event updates

30 Events roundup

Were you a ‘face’ at any of our featured events?

40 Scooter circuit racing With extra rounds on the 2014 BSSO calendar, the pressure is on

60 An Olympian tribute Al Stevens’ take on the Olympic Lambretta

42 The Vespa GS A brief history

46 Back in the day

64 Suited and booted

48 Pin-up girls

68 Rides of my life

50 The Eddy Grimstead reunion

72 Buying a new helmet?

How many Lambrettas can you cram into two parking spaces?

Laurent Callot’s photography cannot be ignored

Plugging any historical gaps with many previously unpublicised pictures

54 Double vision

A tale of two Vespa SS180 scooters

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Restoring an ancient Parka to its original condition

How many scooters have you owned?

Tips and advice from the experts

76 The MoT test uncovered Ever wondered what is checked before a certificate is issued?

80 The shed project

How to restore a scooter on a budget and still come up with something individual

82 Scooter clubs

Meet and greet with local clubs in your area

86 Scooterist classifieds

For all your wants and needs

Independent publisher since 1885

90 Oddballs

Strange and quirky – you’ll find it here

Having trouble finding a copy of this magazine?

Why not Just Ask your local newsagent to reserve you a copy each month?

Makeover mayhem Although we’ve been discussing giving Classic Scooterist a makeover for a while, there didn’t seem to be much point in doing that until we had the results of our recent survey, so we could take on-board and incorporate your ideas and suggestions. However, once we had that to hand, we only had a limited period of ‘lead-up time’ until this issue went to print.

This has resulted in much pulling-out of hair (well, it would have done if any of us had any), but we think the final result is a cracking representation of what we were trying to do.

Our redesign wouldn’t have got to this stage without the positive help and assistance afforded to me by the contributors and also our in-house team of designers led by Justin. So I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved for all their hard work and efforts in working from what I can only describe as a very dodgy ‘redesign brief’ issued by yours truly.

As a classic scooter magazine, we’d like to maintain a nostalgic focus wherever possible – but this can only happen with the co-operation of you, the reader. So please keep your

nostalgic memories and pictures flowing to us.

We’ve introduced a couple of new regular features to try and reflect what we are trying to do, and one that I’d specifically like to mention is entitled ‘Rides of My Life’. To kick this off we’ve press-ganged Simon, our reprographics man, into telling us about the bikes he’s owned in the past. But what we really want is for you to tell us about you and your bikes, so if you have kept pictures of them, please let us know.

Happy reading!

MAUSPENCER@CLASSICSCOOTERIST.COM

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SCOOTERAMA! “Some helmets were considered chic and stylish, while others weren’t.

But the ultimate fashion statement was – not wearing a helmet at all.”

Putting the lid on it

The article by ‘Old Timer’ in Issue 95 about crash helmets brought back some interesting memories.

W

hen I started riding scooters at 16, about the time early singles by The Who were zooming up the charts, there was a serious pecking order of what type of helmet to wear if you wanted to be taken seriously.

The ultra-cool one was, without doubt, the ‘fighter pilot’ Stadium. And yes, without a peak.

It still looks good today. On the other hand, nobody under the age of 30 would have been seen dead in one of those white Everoak efforts, with the peak and the straps. What was really bizarre, though, was Everoak’s Deerstalker model. Don’t know how many it actually sold, but apart from Sherlock Holmes fans, who on earth would actually have wanted to go out deliberately to buy one? Not many people, I would guess – which is why they must be quite rare and sought after now. As I write this, there’s one on eBay with a buy-it-now price of £150. Meanwhile, there’s also one of the other Everoak 1950s white efforts, with straps, that has no takers at 15 quid.

As anyone who was there at the time knows, scooters in the 1960s were at least as much about style and fashion as they were about dayto-day transport – probably more so. So some helmets were considered chic and stylish, while others weren’t. But the ultimate fashion

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statement was – not wearing a helmet at all.

There’s an iconic front page photograph in one issue of the long-gone Practical Scooter & Moped magazine where editor, Jeff Hutchinson, is riding a Grimstead Hurricane SS180 – in a parka, with no helmet. In fact, he’s doing a track test, and seems to be enjoying himself very much.

In those pre-Nanny State days, people were given the choice over wearing a helmet, or not. Just as you could smoke on a doubledecker bus (if you went upstairs), or in pubs, the cinema, or just about anywhere else. So it seems incredible now that the editor of a leading scooter magazine would have tested a fairly nippy new model without a skid lid, particularly as there were loads of adverts on the inside pages encouraging people to buy them.

As I said though, scooters and their owners were as much about style as anything else. I probably spent two or three years riding without a helmet. Unless, of course, it happened to be chucking it down with rain. And then it was more about keeping dry. Being young and stupid, safety was not a consideration.

But given a free choice again, who these days would ride on two wheels without a helmet? And probably one of the ultra-safe, full-

face ones, at that. In the 1950s and 60s traffic seemed to go at about half the pace it does now, but most accidents still seem to happen at slow speeds, and in built-up areas. Only the other morning outside my railway station, I saw a motorcyclist lying in the middle of the road after a smash with a BMW. He was wearing an expensive helmet, and although he couldn’t get up, his injuries were classed as non-serious. I reckon it would have been a different story without the helmet.

It’s not just your head that’s at risk, though.

In summer months, I used to ride in shorts, light shoes, T-shirts and I never wore gloves. I was lucky, but I guess many other people ended up with mangled arms, legs and other bits and pieces.

I’ll close for now with a measured rant. Has anyone noticed how it used to be young, brash BMW drivers who were the idiots most likely to stop you getting home in one piece? Now, a few years on, they seem to have been replaced by a new generation, only this time they drive Audis – usually badly and too fast! I always fancied getting an Audi if funds ever allowed, but not any more. Sadly, it would be like wearing a sweatshirt with a slogan saying “Keep out of my way, I’m a tosser” – and that would never do!

Dick Smith

Classic Scooterist, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6LZ mauspencer@classicscooterist.com 01507 529408

High tech Vespa ignition Pinasco’s ‘Flytech’ Vespa ignition system is the result of a long research and development process.

The system sports a ‘super light rotor’ with an internal steel bulkhead which the manufacturers claim will protect both the magnets and the stator in case of crankshaft failure. The diecast aluminium stator plate features a graduated scale which allows easier setting of the engines timing.

The unit fits a wide range of classic Vespa models – visit www.ve-uk.com for a full list.

Fast flow fuel taps Performance scooters require a performance fuel system to maximise benefits from any modifications. These latest fast flow fuel taps cater for both Vespa and Lambretta owners.

The Lambretta version features a rear exit to allow extra clearance when an oversized carburettor is fitted. It is suitable for the following Lambretta models: Series 2 & 3 TV, Series 2 and 3 Li, GP, and SX. The Vespa version is suitable for every nonstandard Vespa that’s used for touring, motorway riding and racing. It fits the following classic Vespa models: VBA/VBB, T5/T5 Classic, Rally 180/200, Sportique, PX, Primavera, PK, GS160, ET3, 90 SS, 50 Special, 180 SS, 150 Super, 150 Sprint, 150 GL, and Vespa 100.

More info from www.ve-uk.com

Mods Mayday ’13 (NoTimeTomorrow) REVIEWER: Mau By the time you read this review, Mods Mayday 2014 will have already taken place. The DVD reviewed here covers the 2013 event and the activities taking place in and around The Alley Club in Cambridge. It features interviews with scooterists and individual band members, as well as providing an eclectic coverage of the different styles of music performed by different groups over

the Mayday weekend.

Anybody buying this DVD will have their favourites, but my particular one was the Teenbeats updated rendition of Can’t Control Myself (originally written in the mid1960s by the late Reg Presley of The Troggs).

The DVD is priced at £10 (plus £1 for UK postal). It is available from Paul Sawtell, 88 Hawkins Road, Cambridge CB4 2RD (email 123sawtell@gmail.com). For more

DVD REVIEW information on The Alley Club, Cambridge, visit www.thealleyclub.co.uk

Isle of Wight Custom Show Fancy showing your scooter off? Entries are now being taken for the custom show which takes place at Smallbrook Stadium as part of the IoW International Scooter Rally. The event runs over the weekend of August 22-25, 2014 (bank holiday weekend); the custom show itself takes place on Saturday, Aug 23, at Smallbrook Stadium where all the VFM organised activities will be centred this year.

Just fill in the entry form (www.dropbox.com/s/mh32ixd7jek6j5z/IoW Show entry.pdf) and return it to the address shown on the form. Who knows, you could go home with a trophy and a cash prize, as well as having your pride and joy appreciated by others.

MAUSPENCER@CLASSICSCOOTERIST.COM

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WIN A

£75

ROCK OIL PACKAGE WITH YOUR ROCKIN’ LETTER

Here’s your chance to pick up a fabulous package of Rock Oil goodies worth around £75. All you need to do to be in with a chance of winning it is to send in your letter, and if we publish it as our Rockin’ letter, then that prize could be yours.

The prize package has been kindly provided by Rock Oil (www.rockoil.co.uk), and will consist of a couple of aerosols, oil (two- or fourstroke), a hat and a hoodie.

Classic Scooterist, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6LZ

mauspencer@classicscooterist.com

Basic knowledge

Jockey Boxenstop brake kit In issue 93 you did an article on the Jockey Boxenstop rear brake kit. It states that the kit is suitable for all Lambrettas, but alas for anything other than the GP you will have to change the rear brake pivot.

Reason being the GP pivot (shown here) is much slimmer in width compared to the one I took off my 1964 Special.

Not sure if this applies to Series 1 and 2, but it’s something others should be aware when purchasing this kit.

Gibbo

Hi Gibbo, we were unaware of this – and the manufacturers did not point out this problem.

Both cases of our installation of this kit had GP operating cams for the rear brake. For your observational skills, we are awarding you our Rockin’ Rock Oil prize package for this issue.

Lambrettista

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01507 529408

Val Turner’s recent letter (never assume knowledge) could have been written by me.

There are so many similarities between Val and me it’s uncanny. I’m also in my sixties and until very recently I had never sat on a scooter, that is until I took and passed my CBT in March 2014. I too am going through my Mod-life crisis.

As a teenager neither my parents nor I could afford a scooter, but I am (and always have been) a proud Mod. Now retired, I thought ‘go for it’, get your scooter and hopefully very soon I’ll get my long awaited Vespa PX 125. Like Val I haven’t a clue about most things to do with scooters. As an older person, joining a scooter club for the first can be quite daunting. I realise that if I’m going to take scootering seriously then joining a club is a must. As a new person to the scootering scene I feel very isolated as none of my friends ride scooters so Val’s suggestion of a ‘Novices Corner’ would be a great addition and benefit to the likes of us and probably to the many more first time scooterists.

‘Vespageriatric’

We might well be able to keep both of you (and others happy) with this one. If you look at our super-duper Scooterama’ section, you find the first instalment of our new regular ‘Problem Solver’ column.

Classic Scooterist, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6LZ mauspencer@classicscooterist.com 01507 529408

G’day mate I was pleased to read the write-up (issue 94) from when I helped you judge the scooters at the Brayford Wharf ‘Scoot to the Waterfront’ event.

Now back home in Western Australia, I did a club run recently in 38ºC temperatures. Our local club is The Incrowd Scooter Club, WA (one of the guys on the committee named it after the club he belonged to in the UK). The accompanying photo was taken in front of my house and shows me with a couple of the guys in the club. I’m returning to the UK again this year and was hoping to go to ‘Scoot’ again this year, but it clashes with the Saffron Walden Street Parade (the town where I spent much of my youth). I am still hoping to get to the New Untouchables Brighton scooter rally in August this year as well. This UK trip revolves around that and my 65th birthday.

I’d love to know if my 1964 Lambretta Li 150 (reg either AGV or CGV 364B – can’t remember which) might still be around. I bought it from Jack Hubbard Motorcycles in Braintree, Essex.

John Guiver

Modded Lambretta Li 193 S2 Please find pictures and details of my 1961 Li 150 which I’ve owned for 14 years – it was bought as an import in 2000 for £400. Since then I’ve transformed it and it’s now sporting a 193 Harry Barlow Suzuki piston engine, based on a TV barrel with GP crank; electronic ignition; 25mm Dell’Orto; Ancillotti Clubman exhaust with a retro booster tailpipe.

Accessories include a Falbo pig snout embellisher; Falbo Comets original mudguard bumper; Fiamm footboard extensions; an original Super rear wheel cover; working Miller spots and air horns; a working legshield Smiths clock; tartan seat and wheel covers; fuel gauge; plus some unusual badges.

James

Do you have a question?

Can Classic Scooterist help you find the answer? It doesn’t necessarily have to be a technical question and can be about any scooter-related subject. If we don’t know the answer ourselves, then we’ll throw your question over to our readers to see if they can help.

Email scooterguru@scooteristscene.com with your questions, but don’t expect an instant answer – sometimes these things take time.

MAUSPENCER@CLASSICSCOOTERIST.COM

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Morecambe scooter rally March 22, 2014

Saturday morning saw us up bright and early for the trip to Morecambe, our first rally of the season. We knew there would be bad weather, but we weren’t prepared for the hailstones, sleet and snow that hit us near Ingleton.

We were soon down to 30mph following wheel tracks through the sludge. Things didn’t improve when a wagon driver overtook our two Lambretta LDs covering us head-to-toe in ice, slush and water! By the time we arrived, we were cold, wet and rather subdued; a visit to

Rita’s Cafe however, soon cheered us up – “Two teas and bacon butties please!”

Having arranged to enter VFM’s ridden custom show at the Winter Gardens, we went to the VIP entrance. After a quick scooter cleanup and a chat with Daz (one of the organisers), we hit the cafe again for more sustenance.

By midday the parts fair was lively and bustling, plenty of stalls to tempt the crowd and decent background music. There were lots of vintage scooters in the custom show including a stunning Zündapp Bella which we could quite easily have taken home with us! Outside, rows of scooters stood, towered over by Eric Morecambe’s statue smiling down on them.

After the obligatory photograph with Eric, we joined other drenched scooterists for another brew to warm up again.

Later we joined up with our friend Spanks for a quick stroll around the scooters, before collecting our LDs from the custom show and heading home. All-in-all, an excellent event, glad to see so many people attended and braving the harsh conditions.

Dawn & Phil Walker

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MORE PICTURES FROM THIS EVENT can be found on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ScooteristScene

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KIT ADVICE

Buying a helmet With thousands of helmets to choose from it’s not just a case of looking at which one looks the best and matches your ride.

B

elieve it or not, it wasn’t until 1973 that it became compulsory for riders to wear helmets. They can be an expensive bike-related purchase, so it’s important that you spend your money wisely on something that’s comfortable, looks good and keeps you safe. We’ve put together a buying guide to help you make the best decision.

Expert advice Paul Mousell, product trainer and Shoei technician, has given some top tips throughout our guide so look out for the blue boxes!

TYPE

What type of helmet are you looking for? This will depend on what you’re using it for and your personal preferences. Each type has good and bad points, so weigh them up and see which suits you best.

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Open and full-face helmets are both popular with scooterists

1>

2>

3>

4>

1> Open face

Also known as three-quarter helmets; these are regularly used by many scooterists. While they have the cool factor and look the part, they’re not suitable for high speeds unless wearing goggles and something to stop flies going into your mouth. They offer good levels of vision, but not the same level of protection as a full face lid.

2> Flip front

This lid type allows the front section to be flipped up, enabling people to see and hear you properly without taking your helmet off. Some manufacturers make it so that the front section pulls out completely – giving you two helmets in one. Flip fronts provide good protection, but also give you the advantage of not having to take your helmet off all the time.

3> Full face

As the name suggests, full face lids cover all your face. They offer higher levels of protection, as your face is protected by the padding and helmet shell.

4> Motocross

Not normally a helmet type you’d find scooterists wearing. They are predominantly for off-roading and often used in conjunction with goggles on helmets that don’t have inbuilt visors. The helmet’s bottom peak is functional in the sense that it protects the goggles should you fall. The peak at the top prevents glare from the sun and also acts as protection.

Getting the helmet on should be a slight squeeze – the helmet should offer a little resistance to being put on but not be too much of a push

FIT

A correct fit is essential. You don’t want the helmet too tight so that it’s uncomfortable and gives you a headache, but you don’t want it loose so that it slips off and offers little protection. The word that’s bandied around a lot when it comes to the way a helmet fits is ‘snug’.

If you head to your local helmet stockist then the dealership staff will assist you with your choice. It’s handy to know what type of tests you can do to check the fit. Because Mau’s not blessed with the best of looks, we’ve enlisted the help of Carli to illustrate this bit:

> Before

Measure your head with a soft tape or a piece of string. The measurement taken from just above the eyebrows round the crown of the head offers a good basis for what size you should be looking for.

PAUL SAYS… “It wants to be as tight as it can be without causing discomfort. It’s like a pair of shoes, the person assisting you can tell you it’s too big but only you can tell if it’s too tight.”

Once the helmet is on…

Feel around the padding where the helmet meets your forehead – there shouldn’t be a gap

Push the helmet from side-to-side and up-and-down – it should feel as if it is moving the skin on your head, rather than moving independently

Fasten the chinstrap tightly (as you would when riding); put your hands on the back of the helmet and try and push it off – it should remain firm and stay on

MAUSPENCER@ClASSiCSCootERiSt.CoM

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