Show Us Yer Rat & Junkyard Dog

Scooters and the seaside go together like chips and gravy… so these life two wild creations were already at home when they were brought to but in Blackpool. Not the typical style of custom scooter, that’s for sure, something unusual and freaky – in a good

Not far off the Blackpool seafront lives Joe O’Gara, ‘Two-stroke Joe’ to his pals. After suffering two consecutive strokes over Christmas a few years ago Joe, a hardened Lambretta rider, decided on a few life changing choices: health, lifestyle and a Vespa. So after spotting a Vespa Sprint in a local auction he placed a bid and won the big-arsed lass. Once the scooter was home, a full restoration was decided upon and farmed out to Mental Engineering.

The idea was bare metal resto, nice original style paint standard motor. So the old girl was disassembled and sent for blasting. Upon its return, the full extent of the horror was revealed. Besides the fully expected rot, rust and holes was extensive corrosion, huge amounts of panel damage and a frame that looked like it had been drummed on with ball-peen hammers for years. The motor was toast, the forks bent, headset terminally cracked and generally a bit goosed all round. So after the news was broken to Joe that his pristine resto really wasn’t feasible, an alternative plan was hatched.

Heavily influenced by Dave Madspeed’s Series 1 and shows like ‘Fast and Loud’, a rat fake patina style project was suggested and accepted as the way to go. There could only be one name for a ride like that in Joe’s opinion: ‘Show Us Yer Rat’. Like most scooterists at rallies, banter, piss-taking and funny story-telling is the best entertainment while stood around the tents. Joe’s club mates have a few legendary funny stories. One told by Al Chester about the court martial of a young soldier shouting out of the block’s window at a young lady to “show us yer rat!” is by far one of the funniest stories doing the rounds, so was chosen as an appropriate tag for the scooter.

So, on to the fabrication. The frame and tins were welded, plated and modified. A Harley-Davidson Sportster tank was fitted and the original steel horn casting was removed and replaced with a ski slope T5 version. The original fuel tank was converted to a storage box. A hot-rod inspired solo saddle was made by Caulfield Leather and a new cheekily breathed-on motor built by John Woods at Scooter Skunkworx. The frame was then powdercoated and the various colours for the fake patina laid on top. After many hours of flatting down the desired effect was achieved and then 2k lacquered. Next the skillset of Phil Appleyard was tasked with old skool pinstriping, signwriting and artwork. All laid down freehand with brushes. The one-off bars, clamp and gearchange were made and supplied by the super talented Adrian Newnam. Joe was delighted by the unique creation that had been built for him. Love it or hate it, you can’t ignore it.

While picking the beast up after completion, Joe spotted another creation – again a Vespa Sprint but definitely not

standard. ‘Junkyard Dog’ was a project originally being built for Kris’s son who had later lost interest and bought himself a GTS instead. So after a few questions, a deal was brokered and the ‘Junkyard Dog’ was going home to Blackpool too.

The family DNA can be seen in both of the scooters. ‘Junkyard Dog’ is a natural rust and bare metal finish. A Harley Roadster tank, Newnam bars and Caulfield seat. The motor is a blindingly quick 166 Mallossi. With loads of one-off parts and quirky additions like an Austin Somerset grille and a Samurai sword, the ‘Junkyard Dog’ complements ‘Show Us Yer Rat’ like siblings should.

So if you find yourself down the back alleys off the seafront in Blackpool indulging in any recreational pastime, keep your eyes open for the local Rats and Dogs.

The motor was toast, the forks bent, headset terminally cracked and generally a bit goosed all round.