Feature Scooter: Dairy Milk – Free the joy!
Sam Wileman is a lady scooterist who has a love of chocolate, so much so her nickname is ‘Mrs Cad’. Sam’s Lambretta GP sat in her living room for 19 years until this year when she decided to get it out on the road once and for all…
Sam Wileman is a lady scooterist who has a love of chocolate. Her Lambretta GP sat in the living room for 19 years until this year when she decided to get it out on the road once and for all…
So let’s rewind a little bit and explore how this chocolateloving lady formed the idea to blend her passion for chocolate (in particular Dairy Milk) into the smooth flowing lines of her Lambretta. “Like any kid I always loved chocolate and I have to confess, chocolate was probably my first love before scooters!” Sam laughed. After developing her taste buds to the warm, tantalising taste of chocolate, Sam was about 15 years old when she first started to become interested in scooters.
“I used to hang around with my older friends who already owned scooters and were into the scene. The kids with scooters used to ride up and down past the local arcade where we as teenagers used to hangout,” explained Sam.
Rally frustrations
Sam’s first rally was Great Yarmouth in 1992. “When I saw all the scooters there I became more and more interested in the scene, and attending rallies became a regular pastime. But the annoying thing was that I was going to rallies with friends mainly by car, and it just wasn’t the same. I was getting frustrated that I didn’t have my own scooter!”
Having seen the variety of scooters at the rallies, Sam decided her favourite models were Vespa small-frames and Lambretta GPs, and in 2001 she finally made up her mind and bought an orange Lambretta GP which would, in due course, become her Cadbury’s Dairy Milk scooter.
I asked Sam how it came to be that she decided that she’d devote the theme of her GP to the theme of milk chocolate. “It was always going to be a Cadbury’s related theme. One year when my hubby, Dean, bought me a huge Cadbury’s Easter egg, on the box were graphics of foil-covered chunks of chocolate melting away. It was sheer indulgence and I knew I had found my theme!”
Starting the process
Sam commissioned Simon Goddard of Simons Bodyshop in Burton-upon-Trent to apply the rich purple base coat. Once the base coat was completed the panels were then sent for the graphics to be added. However, when the scooter was returned the graphics had been done using stickers. “It just wasn’t right. The look wasn’t smooth and silky, it just didn’t flow with the feel that I wanted,” explained Sam. With this problem in mind, and to get it
fixed, Sam approached a close friend who she was in contact with to complete the artwork and graphics. When the artwork was completed, Grand Prix of Leicester were given the responsibility of completing the overall build. “This time when I got the scooter back I was over the moon. It looked perfect and was exactly what I wanted.” said Sam.
The artwork is truly indulgent, and the unique thing about the scooter is that somehow you seem to be drawn to it by the artwork and graphics, but in a different way; it’s almost sublime… Let me explain. As anyone knows, the sensation of eating chocolate increases the levels of endorphins in the brain, which give the same feelings as being in love. Dare I say this, but could this odd sensation of being drawn to the scooter be because you’re falling in love with its warmth and richness?
Is it possible that your emotions are being stimulated by the thought of enjoying the smooth texture of chocolate as soon as you cast your eyes over it? Whatever it is, it really is something different.
Deep and rich
The artwork on the leg shields and horn cast show thick, smooth, melting milk chocolate running gently into the deep rich purple base coat, which is representative of the image Sam originally saw on the Easter egg box and helped inspire the theme. The chrome footboard runners, kick-start, headlight rim and polished alloy rear light cover add touches of style and class, whilst the black Gori race-style seat Sam’s added replaces an old purple item and delivers an improved sporty look. The graphic ‘Too Good by Half’ appears on the toolbox lid and is taken from the Dairy Milk advertising campaign. Then the artwork on the side panels delivers the classic image of a pint-and-a-half of milk being slowly poured from two glasses into the main graphic, ‘Dairy Milk’.
The image of the milk being poured from the glasses then gives rise to an interest of what’s underneath the side panels. The chrome exhaust end-can, coupled with the hole in the nearside side panel, suggest there’s something to see. Unwrap the side panels from the main
frame and you’re greeted with a neat set up where everything flows smoothly. The rich purple frame supports a milky white toolbox and petrol tank, and reveal further neat chrome additions, which add style and an element of custom.
Engine reconditioning
Moving forward to 2019, and with Sam making the decision that she was going to start using the scooter on the road, she commissioned her pal, Craig Bodell (a.k.a. ‘Bogie’) to complete a full engine rebuild and overhaul, which included along with new cables the main internal elements of bearings, seals and associated components. Now ready for the road, the scooter runs on a modest and practical set up using the original GP200 gearbox and standard top-end. Fuel is delivered by a 30mm Dellorto carb, which is supported by a TSR EVO exhaust. “It’s a neat, reliable set up and gives me a good range of performance through the gears. I’m still running it in at the moment, so I’m not pushing it too hard. The handling is good, but again as I increase the miles on the scooter I’ll begin to increase the demands,” said Sam.
It’s always a pleasure to review testosterone pumping race-replica street-racers, but it’s equally refreshing to explore a gentler and feminine approach to scooter builds. It’s clear to see that Sam’s scooter has been developed with well over a glass-and-a-half of scooter and chocolate love. It’s a different theme from the norm and that’s one of the secrets of its uniqueness; it works and it’s inspiring in its own right.
Guilty pleasures
The scooter sat in Sam’s living room for 19 years and now, this year, she’s taking it out on the road to enjoy the season ahead. Hopefully she’ll enter it into the odd custom show, and who knows, she might pick up a couple of awards here and there. I know for sure, I was immediately drawn to it and no doubt what type of chocolate, secret indulgence or other guilty pleasure you enjoy, Sam has certainly taken hers to a scootering level where its warmth and comfort never tires.
It’s a neat, reliable set up and gives me a good range of performance through the gears. I’m still running it in at the moment, so I’m not pushing it too hard. The handling is good, but again as I increase the miles on the scooter I’ll begin to increase the demands.