Feature scooter: Poetry in Motion
For some scooterists an equal appreciation of both soul music and scooters goes hand in hand.
For some scooterists an equal appreciation of both soul music and scooters goes hand in hand. It’s a perspective that certainly applies to Johnny and Jane Cambridge, as their full-blown custom S1, So Many Sides Of You, confirms.
It’s a perspective that certainly applies to Johnny and Jane Cambridge, as their stunning, co-owned, full-blown custom Series 1 LI Lambretta, So Many Sides Of You confirms. Boasting a Charlie Edmonds tuned 240 power unit, with an abundance of trick goodies fitted, acres of plating and engraving plus many subtle one-offs that are in keeping with their Bobby Womack theme. Plus there’s a bespoke, one-off special seat, made in-house’ at Johnny and Jane’s Scoots and Soul scooter seat business. As for the paintwork and murals, excellent though the images are, to experience the full, jaw-dropping, visual effect of the livery So Many Sides Of You has to be seen in the metal.
With the recent advent in popularity of patina, rusturation, rat rod approaches, especially on fat boy Series 1 and 2 Lammys, it’s something of a rarity for a Series 1 to be the base model for a full-blown custom. Granted some money no object full blown customs are rarely ridden, not So Many Sides Of You; both Johnny and Jane are rally-going scooterists with several decades notched up by the pair of them. Needless to say, their pride and joy is most definitely and regularly ridden, not hidden.
My Prescription
When creating a full blown custom Lambretta the model that, arguably, best lends itself as the blank metal canvas is the Bertone-designed Grand Prix. That, of course, doesn’t exclude any Series 3 model or for that matter, Series 1 and 2 from being utilised to produce a full-blown custom Lambretta. However, the smooth lines of the GP do give a near ideal option. Was it a conscious decision by Johnny and Jane to create So Many Sides Of You using a Series 1? “Actually there was nothing in particular in us settling on a Series 1; over the years I’ve had so many different Lambrettas. The Series 1 happened to be in the right place at the right time when we started on the project.” says Johnny. “At the time my old custom Lammy, Jack The Ripper From Hell, had been sold, I’ve since bought it back, but if I’d had it when we started the project, it may well have become So Many Sides Of You. Jack The Ripper From Hell will be my next project, plenty of refurbishing, updating and upgrading planned for that, watch this space!
“As this scooter is co-owned by both me and Jane, it was a mutual decision to use it to create So Many Sides Of You, with lots of available panelwork to use and utilise for the artwork our mindset was let’s go for it. We share a mutual love of soul music and dancing to northern soul. Bobby Womack – So Many Sides Of You is our song, so it wasn’t too hard to decide on that as the name of our scooter with Bobby Womack as the theme"
Facts Of Life
On every scooter Johnny has done over the years, he has always prepared, built or rebuilt the engine. For So Many Sides Of You, he broke with that tradition; was there any particular reasoning behind that decision? “Up until So Many Sides Of You I’ve always built the engines for all of my scooters, I pride myself on doing as much of the work on my and our scooters as I can. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have an engine built by a pro, and yes there IS a difference! The Series 1 LI125 engine it came with was always going to be replaced with something more suited and more powerful, as it’s for riding. It’s a GT engine casing with lots of goodies, lots of upgrades inside (see spec sheet for details). It’s got a 240cc Ultimate Monza top end, tuned by Charlie Edmonds. On its own the barrel is a work of art, and it wouldn’t look out of place on display on the sideboard or mantelpiece! It goes like a rocket. It will sit
comfortably at 70mph two up on a motorway all day long. It’s not (yet) been pushed beyond 80mph, but there is plenty of grunt on tap. Tony Beeton has built us a monster engine to more or less racing scooter standards.” Although for this particular scooter Johnny chose to have the engine built to his and Jane’s specifications, there are a number of one-off items fitted which Johnny did either create himself or made a significant contribution to.
Tell us about some of them: “Previously I’ve never done a Series 1, neither had I done a rear hydraulic brake set up. I asked around for advice but nobody seemed to know how to go about it on a Series 1 with a Series 3 engine. It was very much a learning curve as I went along the operation to make and install the rear hydraulic brake system. This gives So Many Sides of You matching hydraulic disc brakes front and rear. Keith at K2 made loads of intricate one-off parts to our requirements, horn casting badge, legshield northern soul badge, for example, and there’s the fuel and choke levers, side panel handles, and splash guard Womack glasses which are one-offs, all in keeping with the theme.
I’m an upholsterer by trade, Jane and I have a soft furnishings business, our Scoots and Soul is an aside to the main business, manufacturing specialised Lambretta bespoke custom seats. We’ve been working alongside with Chris at GDRP in Leicester (who makes the seat bases to our designs) we’ve been developing seats aiming for the ultimate comfort. So far we’ve made Lambretta seats, and we will be introducing Vespa seats soon. We’ve been trialling various special rubber and also gel pads to alleviate vibration as well as provide comfort. We’re aiming for the best seat possible, which we are constantly aiming to improve and develop. I’m a scooter boy, I ride and ride distances, so it goes without saying that the seat on So Many Sides’ is one of ours.”
So Many Rivers
There’s an abundance of brightwork, with plenty of engraving which combines perfectly with the superb murals and amazing paintwork. So far it’s taken around two and a half years for the brightwork and paint combination to reach its current stage. Is how it is at the moment the definitive finished article, or is there more work planned to enhance the overall appearance of So Many Sides Of You? “It has been and will continue to be an ongoing project. For example, gold plated and engraved brake callipers will be next, followed by some more gold plating to balance it all out. Plating and engraving so far have been shared between Adi Clark and Quality Chrome, both are great to deal with.
“Talking generally, with any custom scooter I’ve had, they’ve always been an ongoing project. So Many Sides of you is no exception, it’s been and still is more of an evolving, ongoing project especially with two of us having equal input, both of us always looking to make improvements. I’ve learnt from experience to never try and buy on the cheap, it never works, it invariably ends up costing more in the long run. Custom scooters need time and patience in abundance, as well as money investing; So Many Sides Of You has had £22,000