WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN...
Controversy reigned at the Lambretta V-Special launch in June, causing anger among certain parts of the scootering community. Stu looks at why...
If there is one thing that is certain in life it’s the fact that while we can try to predict the future we can never be sure it will actually happen or work out the way we think. So it leads us to the big debate of the latest branded Lambretta launch. If you were participating in the 70th Euro Lambretta in Italy you would have seen it in the flesh no doubt. If not there were several pages devoted to it in June’s edition of
Scootering magazine. It was hardly going to go unnoticed as it took up virtually the whole front cover.
As a long time Lambretta devotee, the instant I set my eyes on it the only thought on my mind was the controversy it would create and I wasn’t wrong. Before I go any further I should say that my own view is that it’s not for me. Why? Because, I like the classic design and layout of the traditional Lambretta. Also it’s engineering from an era when the two-stroke was deemed acceptable to society. When looking at this new creation I put my own prejudices to one side not because it didn’t appeal to me but because we now live almost 50 years on since the last Innocenti Lambretta was built, certainly designed. However the torrent of abuse and often quite vitriolic comments that followed several posts of just one picture of this new machine baffled me. The main concern from disgruntled scooterists was that it looks nothing like the original. The reality is though it was never going to and couldn’t even if the manufacturer wanted it to. There are many reasons why that wouldn’t be possible – from what the law now dictates to what materials are used in modern industry.
From a legal point of view the one thing that stands out immediately is the engine. By the year 2000, virtually no two-stroke engines were being built or newly designed by ‘big brand’ manufacturers and a few years after production of them stopped forever, certainly on a commercial scale. So there was no choice – the new Lambretta would require a four-stroke engine to be fitted. The days of geared scooters are long gone so it should have been no surprise that the engine would be automatic. Again, the law dictates ABS disc brakes both front and rear, indicators, much larger head lamp and rear light. This list could go on for ages, stating all the requirements that a modern day machine requires to conform to current standards. Back in the Innocenti days none of this legislation existed so of course things were different.
Even though most of us accept there have to be changes in design to conform, that doesn’t mean styling has to be different, or does it? Styling has to change to a certain extent to allow for the much larger lights, for example, but there are other reasons too. The Innocenti Lambretta bodywork was pressed steel construction. Not only was it time consuming to produce and fit but also heavy, adding additional weight, not to mention the painting required and the upkeep to stop it from corroding.
Modern day motorcycle design from a bodywork perspective tends to use plastic – not necessarily because it’s cheaper but because it is far easier to work with and look after. Few manufacturers now use pressed steel construction, certainly not in the western world; production and material costs would be too great.
If you set aside all the requirements on a new machine that the law dictates, the problem most people seem to have is they
don’t think it looks like a Lambretta. How can we be sure that is the case though? Look at the Vespa for instance. A model from 1971 bears virtually no resemblance to one of today. Why is that? Because both technology and design move on. If Piaggio was still producing machines like that no one would buy them. You can look at any motorcycle or car from back then and they don’t have much resemblance to their modern counterparts. Let’s face it, by the mid-1980s Scooters India Limited stopped producing the Lambretta purely because it was outdated both from a production and practicality point.
When production finished in Italy everyone was stunned because at one period in time it seemed the Lambretta would be here forever. What it left though was a great legacy, one which all these years later enthusiasts worldwide are still devoted to. That’s fine and I am proud to be one of those people. However if production had continued that legacy wouldn’t be here and there would be both enthusiasts of the old models and enthusiasts of the new ones, just like the Vespa. In my opinion if your interests are purely in the Lambretta we once knew then ignore the new one. Consider this though: if Innocenti had continued to produce the Lambretta, would it have looked like the one that has just been launched? We will never know.
The torrent of abuse and often quite vitriolic comments that followed several posts of just one picture of this new machine baffled me.