Welcome letter from the Editor

A warm welcome to the August edition of Scootering.

I’ve always been a keen boxing fan, and this quote is attributed to the greatest, Muhammad Ali… “Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”

The truth, however, is that it was just some blurb put together by ‘creative ad professionals’ Aimee Lehto and Boyd Coyne, who plastered it over a picture of Ali… thus it's often wrongly attributed to him. Still, it’s a great quote! At a time when Ali was at his peak, he was a sponsored athlete of Adidas (can you see where I’m going with this now?). The brand’s creator (Adi Dassler) had set out to create the world’s best sports shoe, and though Nike might disagree, I think he did just that. Like many other objects and brands which 80s’ sub-culture took under its wing, Adidas holds a special place in the hearts of many scooterists… me especially. Specifically the ‘Originals’ range. I do think it’s all become a bit commercialised, and over-hyped now, but (sadly) what hasn’t these days?

So when I saw a street racer Lambretta, with a Taylor Tuned engine, and an Adidas Spezial paintjob by DTC… I damn near wet myself. Picking the cover scooter is often a very tricky

task, and although Stef’s Vespa (see p58-62) was a VERY strong contender, for purely selfish reasons it had to be Sole Racer. Sorry Stef.

Elsewhere in the mag, Stan has given us an insight into the changes at Scomadi UK, a welcome update for all Scomadi owners, I’m sure. We have cracking reports from Kelso, Big 7 and Animal Antics, plus another four ‘readers’ rally reports’, too. The Kickstart section is bustling with industry news and products, and Christian found a stonker of a VBB rusteration story to report on. But my favourite editorial piece this month comes via Mr Colin Reeves, a former journalist for ‘Power & Pedal’ magazine… in this case, specifically, the 1964 edition! From this we have been able to re-print his former article, which he wrote after a visit to the Innocenti factory. It’s a lovely nostalgia piece, and one I’m sure you’ll enjoy as much as I did.

Anyway, that’s enough of my ramblings, it’s another belter this month… enjoy the issue. Dan