Team-BHP - Lambretta scooter lovers here ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by speedy (Post 578572)

the guy out there was not ready to let me look around. he behaved as though he was sitting on a gold mine and i was there to rob gold. i shall find out from another place for you what seems a good price to pay for an unrestored lambretta?

Well I'm willing to pay upto 5k for an unrestored one IF it has everything/most original/complete & if its an early 60s series 2 (can be identified by the 'lambretta' side panel badges, broader legshields & mudguards, the "innocenti" horncast badge unlike the "API" one of the later models & also the Innocenti speedo:

http://www.lambretta.org/img/x_LI125%20Series2.jpg

http://www.sandyscooters.com/images/...tta06large.jpg

http://www.sandyscooters.com/images/...tta01large.jpg

I jus missed one of these that went for 9k!

'would also love to hear about a series 1 if you can find one of these:

http://www.oldschoolroller.com/image...frontright.JPG

'had missed one of these too a few years ago.....!

I Love em too......and incidentally happened to see this early/mid 60s series 2 that happened to be sitting junking away at an old school friend's place....it has been owned by his father since 1979 although hasnt been in use since more than 10 years now.....they had it moved into their open plot 4 years ago where the elements have taken quite a toll on the body!
He said I can even take it for nothing if I wanted......am considering it....I hope the body/engine is salvageable still!

Unable to upload more pics. for now!

We used to have the family Lamby scooter with the sidecar. Many great memories associated with it. My mum became so senti when we sold it after 28 years of use. It was getting difficult to maintain, and the rats used to cut the wires. Don't know where it is now. Owner may have scrapped it by now.. But it was a great personal transport to have. Very spacious and a family of 4 (Dad, mum and 2 kiddos) could comfortably fit in.
I learnt my scooter driving from her. No problems whatsoever to balance since the sidecar took care of it. Like the "yeh dosti, Hum nahin" style.. Boy!!!:)

Dad had a bottle green coloured Lamby (WBZ 9333) which he brought from the Black Market, way back in 1971, when we were staying at the little railway township of Chittaranjan in west Bengal. Waiting time for the lamby – a popular scooter then – was close to 3 years I believe.

We – a family of four (Dad, Mom, my sister & me) would move around Chittaranjan on the lamby. It used to have the spare tyre attached to the body at a slant angle, behind the rear seat. I used to latch on to that rear tyre, while sis used to stand in the front. It was great fun

Dad got a transfer and we moved to Bangalore circa 1987 and got along the lamby with us. We changed its registration number (KA 02 E 882) and Dad continued to use the lamby for the occasional trips to the Vijayanagar market and visits to family friends nearby. We occasionally used the lamby for trips to the Rajarajeshwari temple at Rajarajeshwari Nagar, off the Mysore highway

Back to Chittaranjan in 1994 – during my once-in-6-months-visit to Chittaranjan from Manipal, where I used to study, I used to take the lamby around once I a while – the new Vespa Select that Dad purchased then, was more convenient to use

Finally having relocated to Hyderabad in 2000, the Lamby used to stand forlorn, in the parking lot. Occasionally I used to take it out for a drive to Necklace Road. Wit the addition of newer vehicles to the family (a HH Passion Plus & a Honda Activa), we faced parking constraints and had to let go of the good old Lamby at a pittance.[/

Thanks for bringing up the Lamby thread – brings back old memories

I think you guys would have loved the Lambretta that we had back in those days in Kanpur (UP). Ekdum original piece from the late 60s. Even the headlight glass had Innocenti etched on it. :) And compared to the vespas of the era which were comparatively so puny looking this one was one heck of a "stretched" scooter. haa haa haaa.

We even got it repainted and made it look almost new sometimes in 1989-90. Unfortunately I broke its chassis in 1992. That was a problem. The poor think broke into 2 from the middle. However took it to a guy (had to load it on a cycle-rickshaw) who use to repair my scooter and was an expert. He took 7 days to get it back on road. But the job done was fabulous. He used high tensile steel rods inside the chassis tube and spot welded them. After that I carried 4 people on it, initially with a lot of trepidation I must say. It was as strong as ever. The scooter stayed with for us another 2-3 years I guess and was sold for a song only when we moved to Maharashtra.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PVS (Post 681135)

3 years ?? No way, it was 6 years!! I remember customers pleading with my dad to find a way to shorten the waiting period, but alas, there was none. It was a seller's market till 1974 and the only option was either a Lamby or a Bajaj.
When booking started for Mac 1.75s, the line outside our house was so long and unruly, we had to call the cops. I pity the poor guys who had to stand in line for nearly 7 to 8 hours till they reached the booking window.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stanher (Post 578588)

'Innocenti' speedo- did it have the plastic convex dome, as opposed to the flat glass one of API speedos?

And btw, this may be like asking for a needle in a haystack but do you by any chance have any old brochures etc. of Lambrettas that your dad might've kept with him as a dealer? And was he a dealer for Vijai scooters as well??

Yes I know the MAC (named after MA Chidhambaram, founder of API?)...I & Karl once even saw a junked one at pune.....belongs to a mechanic & he didnt wanna sell......:sigh:

Sorry for the delay in responding. I'll check up with my brother in Calcutta--there might be a couple of Lamby manuals with him in my dad's suitcase. My dad is no more, so I cannot say for sure if there are any other docs.