A knight’s steed: Sir Brad’s GS
It isn’t every day that a knight of the realm knocks on your door and requests your patronage. Bearing in mind the likelihood that they may have heavy sharp implements about their person it’s probably best to accept and quietly get on with the job.
You’ve already seen Brad Wiggins’ Lambretta here before, but have you seen his new Vespa?
In this case though, Sir Bradley Wiggins CBE knocked on the door of Birmingham restoration meisters Dan and Jon of Gransport and latterly Urban Scooters fame not once, but twice. Well not necessarily in person the first time. I suppose if the tale is to be told we’d best return to the beginning...
As with all good tales this begins once upon a time with a young man’s dream to become a somewhat successful athlete which he achieved in spectacular fashion, the high point being his 2012 victories in the Paris–Nice, the Tour de Romandie, the Critérium du Dauphiné and the Tour de France, topping it off with a Gold at the London Olympics. To celebrate becoming the only man to achieve all of the above in one year Fred Perry whom he was in collaboration with on a sports fashion line decided to present him with an SX 200 which is where Dan and Jon enter the story.
With a leaning to all things Modernist, Sir Bradley has been an owner of classic scooters for some time so the presentation of the iconic Lambretta was a literal cherry on the cake. After a while though another stable mate was added, this time though hailing from Pontedera: Piaggio’s Gransport 160 Series 2. Turning the SX around in the short time available made renamed Urban Scooters the ideal candidate to transform a recently imported GS into the gleaming steed of Sir Bradley’s dreams.
Starting with informal chats about his influences and likes, the options were refined and steered from a predictable Sting-esque replica to a more understated yet eye-catching Sixties style machine inspired by those scooters hailing from the
Turning the SX around in the short time available made Urban Scooters ideal the candidate to transform the GS into the gleaming steed of Sir Bradley’s dreams.
hallowed East London doors of Eddie Grimstead with minimal accessories and two toned paintwork over chromium plate.
The devil is, as they say, in the details and this is something that Urban excels at. With skills honed with over decades and oil stained hands, the GS was stripped, straightened and reworked. All bare metal parts were cleaned and nickel plated, the engine thoroughly overhauled and finished in lustrous chrome.
The bodywork didn’t escape the same attention to detail with Douglas-style gold paint applied to the steelwork and the chromium panels and mudguard over painted with black accents and pinstripes. Departing from the norm, the headset was also plated along with the legshield glovebox, forks, hubs, the wheel rims finished in contrasting black again with pinstriping.
Keeping the accessories to a minimal bumper bar, bubble grips and oh so evocative of seaside skirmish photo florida bars allows just the right level of adornment so as not to detract from the stunning simplicity of this GS. It’s certainly not a Sting replica but all the better for it…