The last scooter I owned was my beloved 1979 Vespa PX125. I brought this back in the early 90s and eventually modified it with a wide tyre conversion kit, reed valve and big carb. During this time I also owned a Vespa T5 Classic, which was also modified with a wide tyre conversion, but this was stolen unfortunately in 2001, and I parted with the PX a few years later.
I had distractions with various other vehicles in the form of cars, motorbikes and campervans since that time, but I guess it was only a matter of time before I got the longing for another classic scooter again. This time I decided that it would be a Lambretta due to the fact they tend to be a little rarer, as they stopped making them in the late 70s / early 80s, many years before the Vespa’s, whose last scooter came off the production line in 2017.
I briefly owned a similar scooter some years back, and always regretted selling it, but it was a case of last in, first out at the time. I never really rode it as it was brought as a project bike, so I guess I had unfinished business from that perspective.
So for a period of time I casually browsed Facebook marketplace, and as you do the algorithm feeds you more and more of the same. There were a lot of Lambretta’s that had been completely overhauled with a nut and bolt resto. This certainly wasn’t what I was after. I wanted something with original paintwork ,and all of the patina that comes with that. I saw one or two, but I was on the fence at the time.
Then this 1966 Lambretta Li 125 came along just a few miles away.
We arranged to view later that evening, and after a chat with the owner, who told me he brought the scooter off of a friend that had it in his barbers shop for a few years before selling to him.
The deal was made!
Excellent