Travellin’ Gal
Not every scooter’s destined for a life of commuting and this little Sprint Veloce has seen more life than the average touring motorcycle.
Although it’s now in the loving custody of Stef Manoli, the story of this 1974 Vespa Sprint Veloce starts in Western Australia with a bored teacher called Neil Doig. “I grew up in Kalgoorlie, a gold mining town with a population of about 30,000. I’d been apprenticed as a boilermaker, but managed to secure a position at teacher training college in Perth,” explained Neil. “For transport I bought a used Vespa that I named ‘Bessie’. Although she broke down 100km short of Perth and I had to return a week later to complete the 600km journey, Bessie never let me down. I used her for trips around Perth until a Vauxhall Viva beckoned and I gave Bessie to a friend. Little did I know, but this wasn’t just the start of a love affair with Vespas, but also the beginning of an expensive habit.”
Only one way to travel
Once qualified, Neil moved to a country school in Western Victoria, where he bought a Kawasaki 100, that he soon named ‘Horace’ and began to explore the countryside on. “I felt like a traitor owning a motorcycle after the good times with Bessie, but I had some really enjoyable trips on Horace and he certainly instilled a bug for travelling. When the school closed I gave Horace away and set off for Europe.”
Over the next few months Neil had enough adventures to fill a book, including a drunken passage to Israel, dirty work on a Kibbutz, and taking refuge with a contingent of Australian peace-keepers during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. Train journeys through the Balkans proved tiring and after arriving in Venice, Neil decided it was time to buy another Vespa.
“The salesperson was eager to help, but the ubiquitous red tape had to be attended to first. I had to visit four different departments to get the various
Not every scooter’s destined for a life of commuting and this little Sprint more life than Veloce has the average touring seen motorcycle.
clearances and signatures required for a foreigner to leave the country with one of their iconic Vespas. Exhausted by the effort, I went to Lake Como to rest up for the weekend and come Monday morning presented myself back at the showroom with a clutch of paperwork and a fistful of money. Finally, I was able to take possession of my own scooter, a green Sprint Veloce which I named Lucy.”
Abandoned in Blighty
With the target of attending the Summer Solstice at Stonehenge, Neil crossed the border into France. “We didn’t fit in too well in Monaco, but I loved Lyon. In Nevers I learned that a few words of badly pronounced French was all it took to warm the Gallic heart, and in Spain I swopped my tent for a larger one that Lucy and I could share. I was so tired trying to get to Granada that I actually fell asleep whilst riding the scooter and cannoned into a road marker pole. In Australia at that time I probably would have been seriously injured or killed. Fortunately it was made of plastic, quite literally a wake-up call. Eventually I made it to the UK and settled in London, where Lucy was used as daily transport.”
Always a man with wanderlust, Neil made a snap decision to return home. His flatmate awoke to find Lucy’s log book and a handwritten note saying that she was all his. Yes, Neil had given away another machine and all the flatmate had to do was collect her from the airport. In the belief that his flatmate would one day return, Lucy was collected and put into storage. There she remained for almost 40 years, slowly rotting away until purchased by Roger Green at Wessex Scooters.
Reborn and loved again
With no clear plan about what to do with the machine, Lucy sat in Wessex’s showroom until she, or more accurately, her front rack was spotted by Stef. “I was rebuilding a GS at the time and saw a picture of Roger’s workshop on the Internet,” he began. “In the image was this scabby green Vespa with exactly the front rack I was looking for. I gave Roger a call and offered to buy it. When he explained the Vespa’s story I knew there and then that I had to own it.”
Once in Stef’s workshop the enormity of the task ahead became apparent. “The frame was really bad so I commissioned Dave at Tameside Welding to put things right. Not only had the floor rusted away, but rot had extended into the frame tube. We replaced the floor with a new pressing and also used some cuttings from a px donor frame. I wanted to keep her in original ratted condition so opted not to clean the welds and just red lead the new metal. I’d always intended adding some miles to her total so the loom was replaced with one that incorporated a 12-volt battery. Other frame upgrades included LED bulbs, BGM shocks and Mallossi shoes. The original seat was beyond repair and I also added a Rally fuel tank, which was modified to carry 10.2 litres. To get at the extra capacity a fuel pump had to be incorporated, but the extra range has been worth the effort.”
Although the standard engine had served Neil well, Stef had plans to bring the little machine into the 21st century. With the help and advice of both George at Pinasco and Ulf at Scooter Centre, Lucy has been reborn. “I opted for Pinasco reed casings” began Stef, “To these I’ve added a full circle crank and 213cc Pinasco VTR kit. This has two options for mounting the carb, the usual place on the casings or direct on to the barrel, the same as a motorbike. I had a new stainless inlet manifold made so the 30mm power-jetted Dellorto sits protruding from the side panel. Ignition is by a Pinasco flyteck ignition, whilst a BGM super-strong clutch
The salesperson was eager to help, but the ubiquitous red tape had to be attended to first. I had to visit four different departments to get the various clearances and signatures required for a foreigner to leave the country with one of their iconic Vespas.
passes power to the gearbox. For this I opted for a 23/63 straight cut primary with the standard PX fourth gear. The whole package was completed by a BGM Big Box exhaust.”
With such a glorious history behind her, Stef could be forgiven for keeping Lucy as a monument to her past adventures, but instead he’s equipped her for an entirely new life. This summer Lucy made the trip to Vespa World Days in Hungary, the only attention needed on the 3,080-mile journey being a spark plug, fuel filter and rear light bulb.
Now that Lucy’s back home and Stef understands her a little more, there are plans to upgrade her further. “I’m going to fit a set of PK forks and disc conversion as she needs more stopping power. I think that the ports can be tinkered with a little and I’ve already bought a Lara pipe made by Ludwig and Scherer, which should really open her up.”
Thanks to a little detective work Stef has contacted her old owner, and although a trip to Australia is probably out of the question, Neil still follows Lucy’s adventures with interest. Now 45 years old, Lucy shows no sign of early retirement. If anything she’s ready for more adventures. Just don’t expect to see her on the shopping run…
I’m going to fit a set of PK forks and disc conversion as she needs more stopping power. I think that the ports can be tinkered with a little and I’ve already bought a Lara pipe made by Ludwig and Scherer, which should really open her up.