Dunton Scooters: A dealership with a difference
For anyone to own and run a successful scooter dealership they must have credibility, knowledge and experience – and be able to engage with the customer…
For anyone to own and run a successful scooter dealership they must have credibility, knowledge, experience and be able to engage with the customer…
One such person is Jeff Shadbolt, who’s recently opened his specialist Royal Alloy dealership, Dunton Scooters. Jeff has more than 40 years of experience in scootering, and having been the bass player in the Mod revival band The Purple Hearts, he also brings a unique, lively and interesting perspective into his dealership. Jeff’s scootering experience started when he was a teenage Mod: “My father was pretty handy mechanically and through my high school years I was interested in the Mod scene. Realising this, in 1978 he bought me a box of scooter parts and together we built my first scooter, a Lambretta Series 3. It was a real family effort because during the project my mum also upholstered the seat with a leopard-skin effect seat cover,” Jeff smiled.
Custom
It wasn’t long after his first scooter build Jeff developed his first custom scooter build. “In 1979 a lady down the road was selling a Lambretta she was having problems with. I bought it off her for £60 and with the knowledge I’d developed with the Series 3 I stripped it down and painted it pearl yellow. I added some graphics and it became the custom scooter, Lemon Popsicle.” Having owned more than his fair share of scooters over the years, in 1998 Jeff decided to open his first scooter dealership, Scooters Unlimited. “It wasn’t a straightforward process because that year was also the year I was getting married!” Jeff laughed. Scooters Unlimited was a Piaggio dealership situated in Newbury Park, Ilford, Essex. “As well as selling scooters we also sold accessories and parts, and did repairs and servicing. The shop was opposite the site of Eddy Grimstead’s second shop and shortly after I’d opened Scooters Unlimited I bought a Lambretta GP125. It had originally been supplied through Eddy Grimstead’s dealership and was in need of some attention; I’d always been interested in Eddy Grimstead specials and during the restoration of the GP I developed an appetite to create an authentic Eddy Grimstead special replica.” In 2000, while running Scooters Unlimited, Jeff bought an Imperial-style Lambretta TV/GT200. “It was in need of a full restoration, but it was the perfect candidate to receive a modern twist on the original Eddy Grimstead theme I had planned. Throughout the development of the restoration I worked with Eddy, who endorsed the project from start to finish. In addition to this, a few years later I also completed a Series 2 Eddy Grimstead special, which Eddy was so impressed with that he had it on display in his showroom of the car dealership he ran at the time.” However, in 2005 Scooters Unlimited closed. “Over the years we’d been very busy