Cool Vespa rider in Pisa

Even the coolest cat in Italy wears a helmet today. On my first visit to Italy twenty years ago, no one riding a Vespa had head protection. The guy on the smallframe is riding in the old parts of Pisa, near the leaning tower. We were enjoing an espresso doppio and a gelato when he hurried past.
The condition and style of the Vespa 125 indicates that it's not only a commuter vehicle. Maybe a member of the Vespa Club Pisa? A club who started as early as 1949.

The scooter premiere in Stockholm was covered by lots of photographers. One was Fia-Lotta, check her pics, who happened to capture another cool cat. I didn't colour match the old helmet with the Vespa 125 U, the one guilty is the former owner who obviously had some blue paint left after spraying the "utilitaria".
Now? The Vespa World Days 2011 in Gjövik, Norway, is not far away...

Is a spanish artist guilty?

In every dreamhome there is art. In mine this is the newest acquisition. Can it be from the 50's? The frame says so, the motif also. No one in their right mind would paint like this today.
There is barely readable signature in the right corner, maybe "Zopp". The erzats-Piaggio shield is red and yellow and without the "P", points in the direction that the "artist" was spanish. Don't you think?
On the the back it is written with a pencil "4,75" which means 4 crowns and 75 öre, about half an euro or less in pounds. So, it is an old painting. Now I have to find the right spot for it.

Scooter premiere Stockholm

Stockholm Mod Scooter club participated.

Saturday 7th of May, finally the Scooter Premiär 2011 (Premiere, Primo) in Stockholm. Excellent weather, sunny and warm. Maybe 80 plus scooters were present. From a 1950 Vespa "Rod" over tuned Lambrettas to modern Vespas. The motorcade drove through Stockholm inner city, past an annoying marathon or so, to the Nytorget. Refreshments and scooter-talk.

The main arranger was the Svenska Scooterklubben, but Lambretta Club Stockholm, Vespa Club Stockholm and Stockholm Mod Scooter Club were present.

Yes, I've used a programme to give the pictures an old look.

Some more "normal" pictures at the end of this blog.

Super-tuned Lambretta series III.

Mildly pimped Vespa SS 180.

My own Vespa 125 U with a Primavera.

Shiny Vespa GS with a Li series I.

You gotta look cool, mirrors where plentiful.

Vespa Rally 200.

Mirrors and fog lights.

Nicely customized Vespa Touring from 1961.

Quite a lot Lambretta 200 DL were present.

The owner of this one has rastafari hair...

The Lambretta Li again.

Sidecar, with stickers from all over Europe.

I like the angle of the riders foot!

A married couple with the kids at home...

Union Jack was frequent.

Lot's of targets...

At the goal, Nytorget.

The capital covered in smoke?

A little service was the task today. On the upcoming Saturday it's "The Scooter Premiere" in Stockholm, arranged by Svenska Scooterklubben. All kind of scooters are welcome, but mostly Vespa and Lambretta show up. On a sunny day round about 100 scooters participate.

My Vespa 125 U needed reboring, the grooves for the screw that holds the Abarth silencer was severely damaged. My friend Jim, il mago duetempi (the twostroke magician) helped me out. A little service was needed on the clutch of my son's Vespa 50.

Oggi un po di servizio su Vespa U 125 e Vespa 50.

Sweden is a beautiful country. Svezia e un bel paese.

World Cup 1958, on Vespa

A Swedish photo-book from 1958, after Sweden hosted the World Cup in soccer. Waving in the big picture is Lennart "Nacka" Skoglund, a legend in Swedish and Italian soccer. In Sweden he represented AIK and Hammarby and in 1950 he went to FC Internazionale, Milan. Later he played for Sampdoria and Palermo in Italy.

When the World Cup was held in Stockholm the Swedish Vespa-importer Como M&T Bjerke took the chance to promote their scooters. "Nacka" Skoglund is sitting on a "Vespa Touring" (swedish name), a special exportmodel from 1957-1958, VGL, with 150 cc/6 hp and 10-inch wheels as opposed to the VL1-3 which had 8-inch wheels and the Vespa GS 150 with 8 hp and 10-inch.

The three guys on Vespa's are World Cup-officials. Below two guys from Como M&T Bjerke celebrating a motoring magazines anniversary. Then a girl in a Vespa 400.

Mondiali di calcio 1958 è stato in Stoccolma, Svezia. Lennart Skoglund, famoso giacotore di calcio per Inter, Sampadoria e Palermo, ha fatto PR per Vespa. Il modello "Touring" è stato speciale per Svezia, 150 cc e 6 CV ma ruote 10 pollici.  

Una Lambretta Cometa

Time for some Lambretta. I happen to like both the classical italian brands. Vespa or Lambretta, I can't choose. Actually, my third scooter bought was a Lambretta Luna (Lui in Italy). I marveled over Bertone's design and the roadholding. In two different ways...
Well, I sold the Luna some years ago (the only scoot I have sold). I wasn't looking for a replacement, then came an anniversary. Some friends from Finland (Suomi), from the club Keski-Suomen Mobilisti, waited on me with a - Lambretta Cometa!
This model, 75 cc and called 75 SL, was never sold in Sweden. Why they were sold in Finland beats me. It was also labelled Lubematic since it had a separate tank that automatically mixed oil with fuel.
The 75 S, Vega, model was without this device, and 7,355 examples  were built 1968-1969. The 75 SL, Cometa, in only 2,067 according to Vittorio Tessera's "Lambretta The Definitive History".
This scooter was sold to a man in Saarijärvi, a small town north of Jyväskylä in the middle of Finland. It was later sold to a scrap collector. I once asked him if he would sell it, but "ei", no in finnish.
But the guys from the local veteran car club succeded in convincing him to part with it. Thank's a million!
Now it's matter of finding time and money to restore it!

Questa Lambretta Lui 75 SL ho ricevuto a mi cinquanta compleanno, dell'amici finlandese. Molto lavoro mi aspetta...

The speedo says 5354, 500 km, 400 meters? Or over 5000 km? 

I wonder if the "Lubematic"-sticker is produced today?

The cool silencer and a rusty backwheel.

Cometa was the name of the scooter for foreign markets, Italy it was "75 SL"

A sad sight right now, a lot has to be done.

The gang from Jyväskylä in Finland who gave me the Cometa.

Giant The Who patch found

I'm not really much of a mod altough I own a M51 parka and a 1963 Vespa GS 160...

No mirrors or extra lamps. Come to music I love early reggae and Northern Soul. Plus some of the English mod-bands. And Italian "pop" from early 60's.

Today I found this patch, size 15 x 20 cm, in a flea market. Could be genuine 60's or 70's item instead of aftermarket. The photo is a little too bright, actually the colours are a bit faded by the sun,. 

My GS 160 series I, the saddle is an accessory from about 1965.