Dealer spotlight: Buzzsolomoto
You won’t believe your eyes when you see what Buzz has stashed!
Entrada
The man behind the name is Antony Beaumont, his initials gave him the nickname ‘Buzz’ – just think about it for a moment.
During the 1990s, Buzz travelled regularly to Italy with fellow members of Bradford and Pudsey SC, Fig and John. In common with many others, he’d been buying classic scooters that were regarded by the Italians as scrap. “Once they worked out what was going on prices began to rise and buying in bulk became the way to do business. I couldn’t compete but realised that no-one was buying up scooters in Spain so I gave that a go,” explained Buzz. “In the early days, we could buy a Jet 200 in Spain, van it back to the UK, get it running, sell it for £350 and still make a profit!”
As a trained engineer working in a dying industry, Buzz managed to avoid the spectre of redundancy by moving from company to company but in 2000 he ran out of options.
After taking redundancy Buzz finally had the money to start buying in bulk. Because he’d been among the first to operate in Spain, he’d formed a network of contacts which gave him access to quality parts and machines. “There were a couple false starts working out of mates’ garages which the local council really disapproved of! Although I’ve always ridden scooters I worked at one of the large motorcycle dealers in Bradford for a while,” he explained. “That gave me an insight into how the business worked. In 2007 I took the plunge, went ‘legal’ and rented a small unit.
Prima Plato
Today Buzzsolomoto has outgrown that small unit and occupies a large retail and storage space on the same site. There are over 60 scooters on the sales floor but that’s only half of the machines that Buzz has in stock, a figure which doesn’t include the scrap machines bought to break for spares. Add to that a mail order department, which on a busy day can deal with 200 packages, and it’s clear that Buzzsolomoto plays a major part in UK scootering.
Although they have a large eBay shop, the items listed on the site barely scratch the surface of the estimated 5000 individual items they hold in stock at any one time. “We work hard to keep both eBay and the main site up to date. I’d say that 99% of the time if we say
something’s in stock, it is,” explained Tracey who, with Julie, manages the mail order department. “On the very rare occasion an item is out of stock, refunds are always issued quickly as we know how frustrating waiting can be.”
At the heart of any scooter dealership is the workshop and at Buzzsolomoto there’s always a mixture of routine servicing, tuning and restoration work under way. Although Buzz is still very active on this side of the business most of the mechanical work is undertaken by his partners from those early buying trips, Fig and John, showing that business and friendship can be mixed.
Restorations are a speciality of the team and they are justifiably proud of the results. Buzz uses his contacts in local engineering to ensure any work carried out by contractors is to the highest standards. Floor replacements in Vespas are routine and the quality of paintwork is outstanding. Both Vespas and Lambrettas routinely emerge from the workbenches and in both cases the attention to detail is painstaking, with a large number of New Old Stock parts being held in stock exclusively for use in restorations.
“We strive for absolute accuracy,” said Buzz. “The only exceptions are the engines we use in Vespa restorations. Over the years we’ve acquired a large stock of PX125 engines and spares availability is much better for these than the original Spanish units.” All machines sold by Buzzsolomoto are complete with dating certificate and NOVA registration – Buzz’s sister Julie taking care of the all-important paperwork.
Segundo Plato
In recent years, Buzz has noticed a gradual change in attitude towards Spanish-built machines and among the branded names held in stock are an increasing number of specially commissioned items.
“Originally we sold Spanish scooters as a good basis for conversion to Italian specification but that situation’s now reversed,” explained Buzz. “Our winter model headset is finding its way onto Italian LIs and there’s a lot of interest in restoring Spanish machines to factory specifications. We’re seeing an increasing demand for scarce Spanish parts such as badges, indicators, reflectors and light units, basically all the things we pulled off them in the 80s and 90s!
“Because of our restoration work I’ve a very good idea of which spares are scarce or unobtainable. I always try to track down the original Spanish manufacturers and commission them to produce replacements. Where that’s not possible we keep a very close eye on quality. I’m very pleased with the range of metal panel-work we’ve recently started to stock and people are always welcome to bring a frame along and try them on for fit!”
With such a large number of scooters on display, the shop is always worth a visit. When we called in there were Vespas ready to ride away, including a T5 Mk1 and no fewer than six PX200 Disc models (one with only 1300km on the clock!). Lambrettas aren’t ignored either, and there were three very scarce early Jet 200s ready to go with another two in the wings. These early Jets are almost indistinguishable from the SX and with a production run of around 1900 that’s a healthy concentration of survivors. If ‘Winter Model’ Series 2s are your thing there were two available, a whole host of LIs and an assortment of classic Vespas awaiting restoration stood alongside ex-Spanish Post Office PXs.
There’s a wide range of spares and memorabilia on display and the whole atmosphere is that of a shop run by enthusiasts for enthusiasts. It’s a truly unique experience and one well worth going out of the way for.