Special, BUT NOT EXTRA
Following his first involvement with the scooter scene in the late ’70s and early ’80s, Paul Dunn intended to return, though the timespan was a considerably longer layoff than planned…
Paul explained: “My first interest in scooters was through association with the ’70s northern soul scene. First scooter I owned, although I never got it to run, was a Triumph Tina, which was beyond repair. My first that I both owned and rode was an SX150 Lambretta, which was in 1978. In the late ’70s and early ’80s, I rode with Oxford Roadrunners SC. I did a few of the early national rallies in the early ’80s, had a great time too, then getting married, and raising a family, meant my priorities lay elsewhere. I’ve always retained an interest in the scooter scene, though it was from a distance, for rather longer than I hoped or intended. I’d been tentatively looking for a suitable scooter to buy for a couple of years; it wasn’t until early 2017 that the right one, which suited my requirements and budget, came up for sale.” A bit of a bonus was the Lammy Paul acquired came with a degree of interesting provenance, or notoriety, as it featured on the rear cover of edition two of Sticky’s spanners guide. Paul initially saw
the scooter up for sale on a popular social media site and contacted the seller, Monty, aka Alistair Montgomery. It was a 1966 LI125 Special, which had been upgraded and uprated by Diablo, front disc brake, slimline shock absorbers, a 190 Imola kit, 30mm Dell’Orto, with a reed block, a JL3 exhaust, long-range stainless steel fuel tank and engine cowlings being just some of the work that had been carried out before Paul took t ownership. Paul added his slant s to this LI Special, adding embellishers, e bumper bars, flyscreen, fl various bars and a few l lights, mirrors and other shiny bits a and bobs, including several Italian c car badges. “Getting another s scooter for me was something of s satisfying a mid-life crisis. I decided o on transforming it to resemble how m my SX looked all those years ago. T The addition of Italian car badges is a nod to my day job, while the Okeh l ogo on the screen acknowledges w where and how I first became in nterested in scooters, through n northern soul. Besides there’s not m many scooters around these days, at le east not that I’ve seen, that have li ight and mirrors. In the main it s seems like rust and flaking paint is w what’s popular, but I’ve got my sc cooter looking how I like it. I carry a fu uel container as I managed to run o ut of petrol one time while out ri ding about, I don’t fancy another push for a couple of miles to a petrol station. It’s all a learning curve I’ve found – it’s mainly enjoyable learning.”
In the three years since Paul took ownership of his LI Special, he’s encountered a couple of unfortunate mechanical mishaps. “I’d taken my scooter out for a ride about locally, I’d clocked up a few miles, then, without much warning, it seized up. After getting it back home, armed with my copy of spanners guide, I stripped it down to have a look what had happened. The piston had a gouge down one side, rings had cold welded to the piston, and there was a small seize mark above the exhaust port. Everything else appeared to be okay visually, so I ordered a new piston. I fitted it and reassembled it, with my scooter starting up first kick. Feeling rather pleased with myself after my first attempt at home mechanics on my scooter, I set off on a ride on her. I must’ve done all of two miles and bang, it locked up, really bad this time! After stripping it down again I found that the initial nip up was the start of the big end bearing and cage breaking up. Which, keen though I am to learn, was a bit beyond me. I took my scooter to Wildcat in Wales, a new crankshaft and another new piston later, and it hasn’t missed a beat since. I enjoy taking my scooter out for a ride on my own as well as riding to some local(ish) events and club meetings. As for those seizures, I learnt a lot the hard way with them, but at least I’ll know better should similar ever happen again!”
…the Lammy Paul acquired came with a degree of interesting provenance, or notoriety, as it featured on the rear cover of edition two of Sticky’s spanners guide.