Returning to scootering after a break?

For some of these customers, their Lambretta is their way of living out a dream they had as youths and they have a no expense spared approach to their hobby.
For them a Lambretta is more than just a commuter/rally machine – it’s their answer to joining the Harley brigade or squeezing into some leathers to become a “born again biker”.
They don't want to sacrifice their principles and forget their Scootering background, although some have a big bike and just want a scooter for posing round town or to get the kind of friendship and banter you only really get in the scooter scene.

Some people stumble across our shop or website and ask us what has been going on since they last had a scooter and so we thought this page would be a good way of answering their questions and having a light-hearted look at what has changed between when they hung up their gloves the last time and now.

We'd love to be able to offer the complete ride away “Want a scooter? Give us a deposit and come back in a month or two” service but lack of time prevents AT THE MOMENT.
We are planning to launch a new style of dealer special Lambretta once we get settled after this current move.

Anyway, on with the job in hand.
Perhaps we should look at a few of the more common questions we get asked by the “Getting back into it” customers.

"I went to a scooter shop the other day and all they had were Lambrettas for no cheaper than £600. I sold my last scooter, an SX200 for £10 to a mate in 1981!"

All we can say is, “You should have stuck it under a tarpaulin and kept it!”.
The prices of scooters, especially Lambrettas are getting silly these days.
Demand is outstripping supply and there aren't the cheap quality scooters around anymore.
The days of picking up an SX200 for £10 are long gone.
You never find a scooter in an “old boy’s garage” anymore and all the original British registered scooters have been through the hand of at least one bodger in their life.
There have been some really nice used Lambrettas been coming through from Italy over the last 5 or 6 years but these are drying up now as the Italians realise they are selling their history.
We were recently going to get a big batch of scooters from a contact in Italy who supplies many of the shops in this country but he said “Prices double, quality halved. In two years I will be driving around England trying to buy Lambrettas”.

These comments can be reflected in the general price and quality of scooters you can see on many other Lambretta websites.
They have scooters with loads of bits missing, in poor condition for the same price that you would have paid 3 or 4 years ago for a scooter you could have cleaned up with a bit of t-cut and got running with a new spark plug.
We at MB Developments predict that if these price rises go unchecked Lambrettas will stop being the commuter/rally vehicle they are at the moment and will become like classic sports cars.
There’s nothing we can do about it, if people pay the prices then the prices will stay high.

"I had a scooter and it was always stuck at the side of the road.
It used to drink petrol like mad, it was always seizing and I felt like it was a bottomless pit for me to throw money into!"

Technology (and common sense) have come a long way over the years.
Our involvement with Lambrettas over the last 20 years have seen a move away from “massive carbs, overtuned barrels set-up wrong, go as fast as you can until it goes bang” to working within the limits of currently available fuel to provide reliable engines that are “fast enough”.
Some dealers still seem to live in the Seventies or Eighties and their customers are never quite happy.
MB Developments use the phrase “Yesterdays classics with tomorrow’s quality” and we mean it.
Doing a scooter the MB Developments way may not be the cheapest way initially but we do provide engines that are fast, reliable and provide excellent value for money in the long term.
We use and supply the best quality parts available.
When it comes to fast engines it is a case of “Been there, Seen it, got the T-shirt” for us.
We have built engines for scooters that have been clocked at 117mph by police radar.
We have built engines for scooters that have broken ¼ mile sprint records.
But we've grown up and learned and now it’s more about power for touring, power throughout the rev range for pulling two up with the missus and bags on the back, power for round town AND touring, power without stopping for petrol every 30 miles, reliable power to get you to the rally and back without any problems and let you enjoy doing 10,000 miles a year on your scooter.

There is a slogan in engineering circles “FAST. CHEAP. RELIABLE. PICK ANY TWO” and it certainly applies to Scootering these days.

"I can remember being able to buy parts for my scooter that were cheap and fitted easily.
There are some awful parts around now. What is going on?"

Innocenti stopped making the Lambretta in the early 1970’s.
The Spanish and Indians took over, stopping in the Eighties and Nineties respectively.
So as you can imagine the supply of spare parts has been spread all over the world.
You can still buy most original parts but you can expect to pay an arm and a leg.
That leaves the rest of the spares around.
They mainly come from three sources –Italy, Indian and Spain.
There are good and bad aspects of parts from all three sources – for instance we think Indian cylinder heads are great as we can machine them to suit any purpose without any fear of them warping, BUT we wouldn't touch most Indian bearings.
Most Spanish parts are good, if not a bit harder to get hold of but Spanish electrical systems can be a nightmare.
Lots of things are now being remade in Italy, most is excellent but we don't touch pattern Italian cylinder heads for example.

There is of course another source of spares – the UK!
Using a great number of suppliers and specialist sub-manufacturers MB Developments pride themselves as being the largest manufacturer of Lambretta parts in the UK.
We could probably get them made cheaper abroad but you lose control of quality and your designs get ripped off.
When parts have run out we have remade them, when parts weren't strong enough we have improved them, when standard items rust and ruin your scooter we have had many items made in stainless steel - the list goes on and on.

We sell a lot of parts that have come in from all over the world and to be honest you sometimes think “How can I sell that?” but we put in a lot of groundwork to find parts and sometimes it’s a case of “use that item that doesn't look brilliant and needs work to make it fit or don't bother!”
Sometimes you have just say “It’s the only way you can get it”.
The Indians are still using casting molds from 40 years ago and some of the parts look scrap but are ideal for machining into something better.
More and more we get people saying that “this doesn't fit, that looks rubbish, this needed filing to work” etc.
It is difficult to get people to appreciate that that part may be the only option there is.
We would love to be able to say (and we have the contacts to do it) “OK, it looks rubbish/fits badly/whatever so we'll get it re-made."
Unfortunately, economy of scale always comes into play when you are having parts remade.
There is no point us spending £2000 on a mold to cast an item if only 10 of that item will ever sell.
That £2000 has to be accounted for and splitting it 10 ways makes for some very expensive parts!!

"I always wanted an SX200/TV200/TV175 series 1/Vespa GS. There’s one at so and so’s shop for £4500. I’ve got the money, should I buy it?"

It’s up to you but don't come crying to us when your dream scooter turns out to be something complete different!
There are sometimes little differences between some Lambrettas, often as much as a frame number here and a part there but the difference to the person selling can be several thousands of pounds.
You don't have to be a rocket scientist to conclude that there are some people out there turning scooters into other scooters.
We are not saying that everyone selling an expensive scooter is a rip-off merchant but just that it pays to use a bit of common sense and to put in some research.
Someone selling you a scooter that is supposed to be from 1969 should be able to explain why it has a part fitted that was only fitted up until 1966 for example or vice versa.
Join the Lambretta Club of Great Britain, they have people that will be only to glad to advise you about a scooter.
Join your local scooter club and you will find that people will gladly go with you to look at a scooter and give you their advice.
Buy some books and find out what it supposed to be what.
It is all too easy to get mesmerised by a gleaming dream of a scooters bodywork but have a long hard look before you hand over your hard earned cash.

"I want to order some parts from you but I don't want the missus to know how much I spend. What can I do?"

This is a topic that always makes us laugh.
Whilst we stop short of providing false invoices for people we always try and help if we can!
In the past we have sent parcels to customers work addresses, friends addresses etc.
We can send the parcel to your house and the invoice somewhere else.
We had a customer that spent £2500 on his bike by telling his wife that each part cost £2.50.
But beware, women aren't daft and you will get rumbled sooner or later.
They often put up with it as a small price to pay for the piece and quiet they get while hubby is out in the garage all hours!!

Enough with the questions. Here’s a few ideas about what you could get these days and how we could help you!

1950’s.

You probably had a model D or LD Lambretta or a Vespa with 8” wheels that handled like a shopping trolley.
Your dream scooter was possibly a TV175 series 1 or a Vespa GS.
These days there are a lot of D, LD and 8” wheeled vespas around but they are a specialist niche market and parts are often hard to get.
TV 175 series 1’s and GS’s are as sought after as they ever were and are expensive.
Your best bet these days would be to get a series 1 Lambretta and then boost it a bit with a tuned top end, carb kit and exhaust.

Early 1960’s

You probably had a series 2 Lambretta or a brand new Li series 3 brought on the never never.
Your dream scooter was probably a TV 175 series 2, with all the mod bits.
These days TV 175 series 2’s are quite sought after.
All the mod bits are available, having been remade.
Not something we like to get involved with however (not our cup of tea!).
Series 2’s and Li series 3’s are quite reasonably priced these days and you can get 99% of the parts.
Series 2 Lambretta have plenty of room under the panels for big carbs so you can make yourself a “street sleeper” - a standard looking scooter that has more oomph than you would think to look at it.

Late 1960’s

You probably had one of the many Series 3 Lambrettas around (Li, SX, TV, Li Special).
Your dream scooter was probably a TV or SX200 with a nice street racer paintjob.
These days TV and SX200’s are as highly sought after as they were then.
You can expect to pay £1500 for one in poor condition with bits missing.
This has pushed up the prices of scooters like the SX150, the TV175 and the Li 150 specials.
Most of the bits are available now.
If you can’t afford a TV200 or an SX200 then why not get an Li special? You can put a 200cc engine, fit a disc brake, swap the badges and then who is to know!
As long as you don’t try to sell it as something it’s not then you aren’t doing any harm.

1970’s

You probably had a Lambretta GP or a 60’s Lambretta that had been cut down into a skelly (skeleton) for that suedehead era.
Your dream scooter was probably one of the dealer specials around (Arthur Francis, supertune,wildcat).
These days Italian GP’s are the most sought after of the later Lambrettas.
They command silly money.
All parts for GP’s are still available thanks to the Indians taking over the production.
There are many Indian Lambrettas around so be careful that what you are told is Italian is genuine!
Why not get an Indian GP and do it “your way” to how you would have wanted it in the seventies.

1980’s

You probably had any old Lambretta you’d found in an old boy’s garage, tuned to the max or a Vespa P2 or T5.
Your Lambretta was probably always sat at the side of the road with something wrong with it.
Your T5 was quick enough but not when 2 up or going up a hill.
Your dream scooter was probably a cutdown or a TS1.
These days people get hung, drawn and quartered for cutting down scooters, in fact many people buy cut downs and spend ages putting the body back to normal!
We can supply you all the bits you need to do the same spec of scooter you had in the eighties but make it more reliable.
We can tune your T5 up to 190cc if you want to go that far.
We can do a 220cc top end for a P200.

1990’s

You probably had an immaculately restored scooter, be it a Vespa or a Lambretta.
Either that or you had a matt black special made from bits and pieces.
Your dream scooter was probably a different model of scooter than the one you had just spent a fortune restoring but you thought you’d finish it anyway!
If you’ve still got your restored scooter you probably have the following two gripes about it – It is slow or it looks exactly like 10 others.

These days you can make your Lambretta go faster within the constraints of “keeping it standard”.
So many people want to go quicker but want to keep “the standard airbox and standard looking exhaust”.
To assist these people we developed new manifolds to enable the use of modern 25mm PHBL Dellorto carburettors which now fit under the bodywork with the standard airbox and hose.
Or we do 28 and 30mm PHBH Dellorto carb kits which also fit under the panelwork but use a special filter instead of the airbox.
We stock clubman type exhausts which are a little noisy but look standard at a glance.
You are not going to end up with an 80mph cruiser with this set-up but you will get a bit more pulling power and top speed.
We have even done TS1 engines for people who want to “keep it looking standard”.
We haven’t sussed out how to use the standard airbox on a TS1 yet but we have fitted clubman exhausts to TS1 engines.
It might seem a bit daft to spend all that money on the power of a TS1 to restrict the power with a clubman but the clubmans seem to give plenty of torque so you end up with a scooter that pulls nicely from tickover to 65mph, two-up with the bags on the back.
That is all some people want.

We may not be able to recreate your dream for you but we can certainly give you as much free advice and help as we can!