Scootering Magazine - September 2014 - Sample Edition

Action cameras Scootering | #339 September 2014

on test

What’s good for your scoot?

Vespa racer What makes Mad Dog’s PX

go so well?

Mike Webster

5-speed Interview Author & collector

Lambretta

Probably the best scootering magazine in the world

AF S-Type replica

Armandos Extra special replica

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No.339 September 2014

£3.99

CONTENTS 03Hello & welcome…

90Staff Scooters

06

97Scooter Trader

So how many of you are reading this on the Isle of Wight then?

Kickstart

Packed full of useful information from news and reviews, products tested, opinions, rumours and whispers, old custom scooters from yesteryear, handy hints, readers’ letters, personals and plenty more besides.

32

Pure Nostalgia

A modern day replica of a dealer special Vespa from the 1980s. The kind of thing we always lusted after in our youth!

Scootering 40 Investigates… video action cameras

So you think filming your scootering day is a good idea, but where do you start? Sticky looks at the whys and hows, pros and cons and tests a few action cameras.

LCGB Members’ Rally, 50Shipston-on-Stour

A pleasant weekend out in the Cotswolds.

Or thereabouts.

Owning a Vespa with an appetite for pistons, Iggy decides a Lambretta might be a good idea too.

Classified and business advertising, for all your scootering needs.

110Mad Dog PX Racer

Large frame Vespas make a return to British scooter racing, and this is what makes one so fast.

Us 122Show Your Scoot!

Go on, send us ya snaps!

Various scooter 124 events, from all over the UK Racing 130Scooter Round 8 All the action from Darley Moor.

132Lambretta TV 185 An S-Type Filtrate Special replica, created using today’s technology in yesterday’s style.

52Club do’s & events Into the Sunset 138 Weston-super-Mare 56Scooter Rally A calendar of scooter related events

More of your tales of trials and tribulation. Keep sending them in please folks!

Back down to the South West for frolics and fun in the sun!

64Resurrection

Emigrating down under doesn’t mean you have to give up scootering. A custom GP from Australia, full of air-brushing and engraving.

The Mike Webster 72Interview

Mike is a well-known name on the classic scooter scene. Not only did he write articles for Scootering and British Scooterist Scene back in the 80s and 90s, but went on to write books on vintage scooters too.

80Back to Basics

Iggy changes the cruciform on his Vespa to stop it jumping gear.

Home Plating Kit 86Review Update

Back in 2011 Barrie tried DIY plating some scooter parts. So how’s he getting on with it today?

88Specialist Services

Whatever you want, from upholsterers to tuners, engineers to painters, you’ll find them all here. Hopefully.

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KICKSTART

By Andy & Sticky

Margaret Farquhar – honorary

vice-president of the VCB passed away We at Scootering are sad to announce the recent passing of Margaret Farquhar. In many ways she was the first lady of the Vespa movement in the UK. From the purchase of her first Vespa rod model in 1952, Margaret’s life became intertwined with the history of the Vespa brand in Britain.

After first setting up a local branch of the Vespa club around Mid-Warwickshire she then went on to work directly for the Vespa Club of Britain for four years as assistant secretary while they were based in London. This involved riding around the country by Vespa, helping to establish regional branches, not least of which was the Vespa Club of Scotland.

Margaret spent many years as vice-president to the Veteran Vespa Club (established 1964), and treasurer to the VCB, earning herself the FIV Silver

Quarter-mile record blitzed

James on the CamLam sprinter (left).

Photo by Sharren Greenstreet James Campen seems to have broken the unofficial (not ACU ratified) standing start quarter-mile record for a Lambretta with a scooter-based cylinder. He rode the Cambridge Lambretta Monza 240 sprinter at Santa Pod during the BWM scooter fest to achieve a time of 12.44

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seconds with a terminal speed of 107mph. This knocks a chunk off the previous best times in the 12.7 second region set variously by Ryan Saxelby, Keith Terry, Stuart Owen and Darren Scott. From what we understand, there still might be more to come from this machine.

Star of Merit for long service to the Vespa world in the process.

In terms of dedication to the marque, and being an inspiration to female scooterists through her magazine columns or her international adventures, Margaret’s role cannot be underestimated. From 1952 through to 2005 Margaret never owned a car. Instead she used a Vespa as daily transport until failing eyesight forced her to hang up her helmet for the last time.

“I think riding scooters in the cold probably affected my health,” said Margaret in her interview in Scootering #300, “but I still wouldn’t have changed those happy times for all the gold in China.”

It was a privilege to meet such wonderful and dedicated lady scooterist with such a positive outlook on life.

Sticky

British Scooter Rallies 2015 During the Bridlington Trade & Custom Show in October the BSRA (British Scooter Rallies’ Association) will meet to discuss and arrange events for 2014. While many scooterists voice their opinions and suggestions via the letter pages of Scootering, or their local scooter alliance which will then attend the meeting, we thought it may be interesting to ask you all, here and now, what you’d like to see from both national scooter rallies in 2015, and rallies in general. So ladies and gents, boys and girls, in around 200 words or less, please write to us with your thoughts.

We’ll take a look and publish a few in the magazine prior to the Bridlington event, so you need to get your letters to us by September 2, 2015, please to meet the deadline for the October issue of Scootering. Please state your name and address on all letters (legal requirement for us to publish them) and also your mode of transport to scooter rallies. You can send emails (subject matter – scooter rallies 2015) to editorial@scootering.com or find our postal address on page 4. If you want to contact the BSRA directly, you can do so via www.bsra-uk.com

How much for a film star replica?

Bonhams recently announced the forthcoming sale of a ‘replica of Jimmy’s scooter in the film Quadrophenia’ at its Beaulieu auction, on September 6.

According to the press release the ‘Jimmy’ replicas were used for promotion when the DVD version of the film was rereleased, authorised by the film company and made by David Wyburn, a name some readers my recognise as the chap with a passion for Quadrophenia scooters. This is a “Lambretta Series 3 model dating from circa 1966. This one is numbered ‘2’ on the bodywork and comes with a certificate from the film production company signed by story consultant Alan Fletcher.”

It continues, “the replica has been painted in the correct colour scheme and carries the film version’s registration ‘KRU 251’ on the front mudguard,” and also notes the Southend rally sticker, outrigger exhaust, and original Ken Cobbing air horns canister and seat.

The auction catalogue has the scooter estimated at £10,000£12,000, which in our opinion is greatly overestimated for a Li Series 3 – even a well built one with a bit of history. Of course if you really want a ‘Jimmy replica’ Lambretta then I’m sure this will tick your box. However, as far as scooters go, there are cheaper Series 3s out there. Much cheaper…

SIP digital

speedometers 2.0

Introducing the new SIP Vespa and Lambretta Speedos 2.0, the latest version of SIP’s popular digital speedometer range.

Boasting a range of new features, such as switching from rpm analog to speed analog, up to 140kph/mph (stored and retrievable), single distance trip up to 9,999.9km/ miles, odo time up to 99.59 hours and a 5x adjustable display brightness, another bonus of the 2.0 series is that models will now be available for the Lambretta Series 1 and 2 scooters.

Compatible with Vespatronic and Parmakit ignition systems, as well as standard ones too, Vespa owners can also use the

speedos in combination with the SIP fast flow fuel tap to get a fuel level warning function. To be honest these speedos are so much more than there’s space here to write about, so we’ll leave you with info that the Series 1 and 2 items retail at around £135 plus postage etc., and the same for the 2.0 versions available for Vespa PK, P-range, Rally and Primavera.

Other models to follow including (apparently) V50 and V90 too.

Finally, SIP Scootershop recently donated €4000 to the SOS Children’s Village via the SIP Aid programme, and you can find out more details of all this at www.sip-scootershop.com

HANDY HINT

Home-made tubeless wheel holder tool

Despite what the wheel manufacturers may show you on their YouTube videos, fitting 10in scooter tyres to tubeless wheels is not easy. Not only is there a definite knack, but it also makes a massive difference what type of tyre you try to fit, how tight the tyre bead is and particularly how warm the tyre is.

Most owners still choose to take their wheels and tyres to a professional, but even that is not a guarantee that the wheel won’t come back scratched or chipped.

If you are the tenacious type then you need the right tools (short tyre levers, tyre soap and a brush) and preferably a way of holding the wheel

steady while you apply leverage. You can spend money on commercial tools to hold the wheels, but if you have a few old parts lying about it’s easy enough to make your own.

For Lambretta wheels we found that a back hub extractor bolted to an old rear hub and held in a bench vice provided a suitably stable platform to work from. The rim was simply bolted to the back of the hub using long bolts and rubber spacers in between to protect the paint finish. The same idea would work with a Vespa rear hub (with studs replaced by bolts) and an old layshaft clamped in the vice.

Sticky

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Pure

Nostalgia

During our formative years there are certain moments that stand out constantly, that are still there decades later. One such moment experienced by Mark Davies when he was a youngster, has very recently gone from being a lifelong dream to a reality.

Mike competing in the 2011 Milano-Taranto on his modified Lambretta D150.

THE MIKE WEBSTER

INTERVIEW MikeWebster is a well known name on the classic scooter scene and at one stage built up a collection of 160 rare machines. He has done articles for Scootering and British Scooterist Scene, but has also written two books on vintage scooters which have sold very well.

Sticky joined Mike at his home on the south coast to delve into his scootering past.

When did you take an interest in scooters?

From 12 years old really, when we lived as a family on the North York Moors. My eldest brother David had a Rod model Vespa as his first transport to get 12 miles to work in Middlesbrough. I was mad on all vehicles and the only working one lying around, apart from my dad’s 1930s BSA three-wheeler, was David’s Vespa. When he got home from work I was occasionally allowed to ride it up from the yard and put it away in return for minor maintenance of it. Between the ages of 12 and 16 I’d happily clean the spark plug, carburettor and the scooter to get goes on it.

After I left school it took some months to get a job because employment was scarce in the North East at that time. I’d saved up my pay from weekend work on a farm in the last few years at school. With that money I bought a 1955 Lambretta LD for £27.50. I needed one as I had been offered a job in Middlesbrough. We weren’t allowed

motorcycles because they were considered dangerous. I got a Lambretta because it was the first thing that came along: a Vespa would have done equally well.

From that fairly conventional start where did the love affair with alternative marques come from?

Soon after, I changed the LD for a Prior Viscount, which was light years ahead of the LD: electric start, comfortable, reliable and quick. It had a bombproof 191cc Sachs engine which was the same as in the Messerschmitt microcar I now own.

Then we had the bad winter of 1963 with 12ft snowdrifts. I had to get to work on the Prior through all of that and I didn’t enjoy it so I got my mum to sign the hire purchase agreement on an Isetta bubble car.

At the end of 1964, I ended up getting a job in London and I quickly wore out the bubble – going everywhere flat-out, as you do when

you are 19 years old. I went up and down to Yorkshire in it until it blew up. When I eventually sold it for £20 I was still paying the HP on it.

After being restricted to pushbikes for a while (no money) I bought another LD for £7 which I did up, used, and then sold on for a profit, then another and did the same. After that I bought a car, a £16 Ford Popular. Any car was more attractive to the fairer sex!

When did you get your next scooter?

After I got married, I was given a company car and moved to Kent. I bought an old D Lambretta but I had always wanted a Rumi so in 1969 I started buying up piles of Rumi bits to try and build a good one out of.

Where did you get the Rumis and were they expensive then?

I bought them from all over the place. The company car was useful here. I found one

Above: A cut-down Lambretta LD used for hacking around the North York Moors in the early 1960s. Right: Mike’s sister Ruth on his Prior Viscount in 1963. The Prior was a close relative of the TWN Contessa, Hercules and Kieft scooters.

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Modrapheniacs SCJOANNA LOVING FAMILY FUN DAY (July 12,2014)

The sun was shining, the kids were occupied and happy, the scooter gymkhana was causing people to fall off, the beer and wine was cold and it was all happening in the company of good and cherished friends.

This was by far our most chilled Joanna Loving Family Fun Day and many have said our best.

Joanna was tragically killed in 1999, at the age of 17, while riding her scooter home. Since that time her life has been celebrated by her family and the Modrapheniacs through fundraising in her name. There are two main events, the raffle at our Sandford rally and the annual Joanna Loving Family Fun Day. Funds raised go directly to people that need help. In the past we have provided bicycles and related items to a school which supports children with special needs; a specially built trike so that a child who is completely immobile can get out and about with his family; and we have helped families who have children in hospital (for a long time) to cover their travelling costs. We also support the mainstream charities and have recently donated to the Dorset Deaf Children’s Society and Cystic Fibrosis.

So, after several weeks’ planning, it all kicks off on Friday night. The club arrives, tents are pitched, bouncy castle comes out of storage, bunting goes up, the kids run wild in the field accompanied by the dogs and not a single instruction is given. It just happens. Having said that, central to it all is Noodles, who is asked where she would like things to be erected etc., so there is a master plan (in Noodles’

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head) and she pulls it all together and makes the magic happen.

Job done, we meander up to the Wimborne football clubhouse for a BBQ for members of the Modrapheniacs and their close friends, The Talismen. About 10ish and most return to the balmy evening in the field to chew the cud and enjoy a few more beers. Somehow, after walking a good mile in flip-flops, the Talismen and our Jack manage to find the only nightclub in Wimborne for a ‘Saga’ night out, returning at around 3.30am to the camp!

We have all of Saturday morning to get the field ready as we start at noon. Our now legendary tombola is stocked with around 200 prizes donated by many friends from all the southern scooter clubs and beyond.

The Amazing Grace stall, with handmade plant pots, photo frames and shells, run by Grace who is only seven, raises £48.

Rachel, Matthew and Zoe sell handmade loom band bracelets and cross-stitch scooter key rings and a couple of dealer stalls sell bits and pieces. Apparently my hubby (Toby) bought a barn-find Series 1 but still hasn’t mentioned it to me!

The charity bucket makes the rounds time and time again and the generosity shown never fails to take my breath away.

Star attraction (for the adults that is) is the scooter gymkhana. The course was designed by Jiffy, directed by Shandy and Dutch and produces some spectacular tumbles, which of course the whole field cheer at. No one is hurt badly I might add.

The slow ride is won by John Laker (will anyone ever beat him) and the gymkhana by Dutch. The ladies’ trophy goes to Nita from

Portsmouth who not only rode with elegance and style but also fell off with similar aplomb!

Later a bit of inter-club competition with the football. Fiercely competed and bantered about all year, the small battered trophy and Jo Loving medals revered as if they are the FA Cup, this just couldn’t be more fiercely fought. Last year the Poole Inner Circle came out the victors but with their midfielder sunning himself abroad, a weakness becomes apparent. Finally, for the first time ever, the Modrapheniacs become the champions.

Sundown sees us move up to the football clubhouse for the evening’s entertainment.

DJ Andy Cole deserves a really big thank you for keeping us all entertained with great tunes to support the charity. Big event of the evening is the auction, with about 10 lots that auctioneer Toby sells off to the highest bidders in the only way he knows how, resulting in many laughing their socks off. After the auction we are able to announce that the day has raised £1300 for the Joanna Loving Memorial Fund. That announcement, and no more work to do, sends us all into party mode... and party we do, right until we got thrown out because the barman wants to go to bed!

So is the event a scooter rally?

Sort of, most arrive on scooter, camp and then go home on scooter. Is it a fete? Sort of, it has a bit of that with the stalls. So what is it? Well it’s definitely unique, it’s definitely loved and it’s definitely for those who want to support us with raising money in Joanna’s memory.

Shirley