Key to the door
Although not as significant as it once was, reaching that 21st birthday milestone still carries a legacy from bygone days. If ever a scooterist could choose the perfect present for their 21st... this would be it.
A brilliant brace of beautiful birthday Vespas.
Hitting the age of 21 in the past marked coming of age, going from childhood into adulthood, part of which included being given your own key to the door. The age of reaching adulthood was lowered to 18 in 1969, despite which 21st birthdays continue to be marked in a special way. Both Gavin and Serena Chamberlain chose to mark each other’s respective 21st birthdays by giving their other half a Vespa scooter as a gift. The pair have owned their birthday presents more or less ever since, recently treating them to much needed restorative makeovers. They’re classy-looking classic Vespas, both made towards the end of their respective model production runs, lovingly restored and retaining their engines in standard condition.
Gavin on Rusty Rita
I’m the third owner of my Rally, though technically I could be regarded as the second. The original owner bought her new in Aylesbury, as transport to and from his work at a printers for 10 years. After it failed an MoT he sold it back to Aylesbury Two Wheel Centre. We lived close to the shop at the time; Serena nipped in and bought it for £150. She didn’t really get on with it, finding it too big and cumbersome for her, even struggling to get it off the stand at times. It was approaching my 21st birthday so I was given the Rally as a present.
I used her for scooter rallies and work for 15 years. The only problems I encountered back then were the headlight blowing and I had a crank seal blow. She went in the shed for 10 years, though I did get her out every summer and give her a run up and down the road, during each summer she’d be parked outside and at some point or other all of our kids sat on it. In 2009 I eventually got her back on the road. What spurred me on to actually get the job started was an Aylesbury Scooter Club reunion. She was christened Rusty Rita by fellow members of Red Kites. The reason for that was, she’s a typical Rally – it was a case of mind your feet on the floor boards!
Something eventually had to be done, there’s something about my Rally and birthdays as the decision to do that coincided with my 40th. Suggestions were made to cut her down and matt black her, which I resisted. Instead I went to Roadrash in Leighton Buzzard, who repaired, rebuilt and welded the floor section and frame before repainting her silver. Roadrash came up with three close matches and I settled on straight metallic silver, which was as close to the original colour as was possible. Both the restoration work and paint job were turned round in six weeks! She has been rebuilt to be ridden.
I was surprised and pleased when she won best Vespa at a local rally in 2016, especially so as there were two other earlier, pristine Vespa Rally models there too. I can’t ever see me getting rid of my silver Rally, too many, far too many sentimental reasons to keep her. I’ve been asked a few times if she’s a Jubilee special edition Rally, but I don’t know is the honest answer, she was first registered in 1978 and silver was the original colour.
Whether she is or isn’t, I’ve not been able to find out either way. Engine is of the later type with a Ducati flywheel and electronics, a strange anomaly is the PX kick start she’s had from new, with a PX quadrant, obviously. At some point I’m going to rebuild the engine and I’m toying with the idea of replacing them with Rally parts, though no decision as yet.
Serena on Bella
It was 1990 I was given Bella, my V100, she was bought for me by Gavin for my 21st birthday. He gave me an envelope and inside was the logbook. Gavin paid £15 to very good friend of ours, Vicki, from Aylesbury; she was chief bridesmaid at our wedding. I called her Bella, because I’m a Twilight fan, she’s Italian and she’s beautiful to me. I remember being so pleased when I first was given her because I wanted a small fame and I had no scooter at that time. She was a combination of green, brown and yellow paint, with the original colour having been white. Not long after I got her I fell pregnant – we were living in Aylesbury at that time. Three years on we moved to Bicester and I fell pregnant again. My brother kept an eye on her and eventually I gave her to him.
She must have been a fertility scooter as shortly after his wife fell pregnant. With triplets! She came back to me, although it was a 15-year layoff from the scene mortgage, bringing up kids and pre social media we’d lost touch and were a bit out of the loop. I was enjoying riding on the back of Gavin’s rally, but wanting to get my scooter back on the road so I would have my own to ride. For my 40th birthday present, Gavin helped me get her back on the road, although I’d owned her for some time I had never properly ridden her on the road.
The engine was untouched and in good condition but the frame wasn’t. I found a website where you could ‘virtually’ try out different coloured paint on your scooter; I wasn’t sure what colour I wanted, though definitely not pink! I settled on powder baby blue. She went off to Hodge at Supersprint, who first replaced the floor, then got on with paintwork, I had told him to take as long as he wanted, as at
She was christened Rusty Rita by the Red Kites ’cos she’s a typical Rally; it was a case of mind your feet on the floor boards!
the time I was recovering from an operation, in no fit state to ride. I can be impatient at times, towards the end of the four months it took; I got a bit hormonal with poor Hodge, resulting in her being finished off in a week! She was rebuilt in our dining room, which didn’t go down too well with my mum. My first ride was to a Red Kites meeting, I arrived there with the biggest grin ever. Her first planned outing was to Buckingham Palace ride-out. That was a story in itself, which was an Into The Sunset featured in Scootering.
I’ve got a 200 for riding distances, Bella is for more local ride out days of around 60 miles. She’s still a standard V100 engine, although I’ve now got a spare small frame engine for her which I may have kitted. I will always keep a standard engine though, for reliability. Bella’s definitely a keeper, she’s a scooter I’ll never part with.
Words & Photographs: Sarge