Vocal Voices

I was browsing the classic motorcycle sites, as you do, when I saw a very nice scooter - a Lambretta SX 150 from the late 1960's.
"Ooh, that looks nice" thinks I, just before I saw the price.


£4,995!!!

I was so shocked I nearly bought a round...

Hell's bells - when I bought my Li150 Special in 1972, it cost me £65!! I sold it for £15!!
I know things have gone up but blimey O'Reilly..

Three of us bought an Li from a 'lad' at the back of Millgarth cop shop in about 1968. We had a bit of a 'discussion' about who would ride it home, and I lost. I had to get the bus back to Gipton... and got there before them!

It wasn't really roadworthy so we stripped the body off and used it as an off-roader in Gipton woods.

I eventually got a Vespa SS with all the chrome and aerials and badges.

I wonder how much it would be worth now given that Vespas were much classier than the Lambrettas.

The Vespas were certainly more reliable, but the Lambretta was much better looking, imo.
I distinguished myself by pushing the 150 for a couple of miles after running out of petrol before I met my dad; who kindly pointed out to me how to turn the tap onto 'reserve'...

True the Lambretta did look better - sleeker.

The thing about Vespas was they they were lop-sided and had to be balanced using, well, whatever. The lengths some people would go to.... sometimes spirit levels or plumb lines were used! Mind, even a balanced one was bloody lethal with a passenger.

No, scooters didn't really handle. All the weight was over the back wheel to start with, even more so with a passenger.
When braking on a wet road it was always advisable to do so when you were going in a straight line!

Ah, those were the days. The 'Gang' (15-16 yr-olds) also had a Cub and a Bantam.

The Cub was as-is and a dog to ride with its crap seating position. I always felt as though I was about to go over the handlebars. The Bantam was modified with cut-away mudguards and a 'teardrop' tank from an older model to make it look better.

Of course we were not allowed on the road on them..... were we!

Absolutely not!
I certainly never went on road with my Honda 50 with it's back tyre stuffed with newspapers...

Mind you, I do regret the Matchless G80 I pushed home (bit of a theme developing here!) all the way from Featherstone. My Dad made me get rid of it on the trifling grounds that nobody could get the thing to start, but it would have been worth a couple of thousand today.

I had a 125, it went well and stopped quite well too. A bit heavy on drive shafts though it was such fun getting the broken bit out with a plastic tube.

It amazes me the number of practical skills I picked up from tinkering with those old bikes: electrics, mechanics, orderly work, looking after tools, adaptability, figuring things out. We didn't have Haynes manuals in those days.

My older brother had a hand change BSA 250 motorbike. Like WM says we learnt a lot of skills maintaining it. Rewired it, put new cork pads in the clutch, did decokes and mended punctures.