MAN & MACHINE
Name: Simon ‘Maverick’ Rickers Scooter club & town: Telford Tigers SC, back in the day. I’m not in a club at present. First interest in scooters: 1979 – I used to get a lift to work on the back of an old Li150, then seeing the Vespa on the inner sleeve of All Modd Cons made me want a scooter even more. First rally or event: Scarborough, Easter, 1982. How did you get there: On the back of Andy Lamb’s Vespa. Favourite and worst rally/event: My favourite is Bridlington. My worst, Morecambe, pre-season a few years ago, bad weather and horrible B&B. Funniest experience with a scooter: My friend ‘Doll’ was riding his Lambretta up Madeley highh street with me following, at the top of the hill there was a bus stop, bordered by a 6ft wall. There was a girl on the wall with a bag of chipss and eating a sausage. Doll was so fixated by thee suggestive way she was eating the sausage thatt he rode straight into the back of a bus. To say I pissed myself is an understatement! Furthest ridden by scooter: Telford to Fort Williamm. What’s your favourite Scootering feature: Rattlingg around the garage. Favourite custom/featured scooter of all time: Easy, the P200E ‘Revenge’. I’ve been told its still on the road somewhere. Recommended scooter part or item of riding kit: SIP Road 2 exhaust.
Name of scooter & reason: Death Proof. Dedicated to the Tarantino film of that name. Scooter model: Vespa PX 125 Date purchased & cost: March 2015, Andy Lambb gave me the frame, minus the engine, and a box full of parts. Time to build & by whom: Seven months, by myself, Craig Shenton and Fordy. Any frame modifications: Suzuki tank and rear end cut and also the seating position. Tank andd the cut down rear end by a previous owner. Are there are any specialised parts: It has twistedd stainless steel racks, one on the back and a small one fitted to the floor tunnel. Engine spec: Kit: DR 180/ Readspeed derestricted cdi unit. Carb: Standard up jetted. Exhaust: SIP Road 2. Clutch: Cosa. Top speed & cruising speed: Top speed 120mph, it’s fitted with a Danny Coates speedo! Only joking Dan. It’ll do a steady 60mph. Paintwork & murals: Paint and airbrushing by local biker Lee Myatt. Overall cost: £1956! And swaps for other parts.. Hardest part of the project: Watching it get blownn off the side stand in a freak gust of wind and the damage that resulted to the side panel. It had to be resprayed and airbrushed again. In hindsight, is there anything you would have done differently: I would have fitted the tank higher so that a spare wheel could go under it. Thanks to: Craig Shenton and Mick Ford for the spannering, Corb for the garage space, Kit at Scooter 2000. Lastly, but not least, Andy Lambb for being a big influence to me in my early scooter days and also for his generosity.