Feature Scooter: Carpe Diem
What’s the connection between a punk or new wave anthem and a full-blown custom Lambretta Vega?
No More Heroes... (any more). Sarge tracks the history of this magnificent custom Lambretta Vega.
Whatever happened to...? Enquired The Stranglers in the lyrics of the title track of their classic 1977 album. Ten years after the album was released, a full-blown custom Lambretta Vega by the name of Heroes made its first appearance at a custom show. Following which, it was not only a featured scooter but also adorned the front cover of Scooter Scene magazine the following month, July 1987. Fast forward 31 years, when serial custom scooter builder Mark Kendall was trawling the internet. The very same Vega that once was Heroes, well, what remained of that particular machine, came up for sale on eBay. Having had something of a desire to own a Vega for some years, Mark put in a cheeky bid, which subsequently cheekily won the said auction. Being a prolific builder of custom scooters, once he’d decided exactly which direction he was headed with his Vega project, Mark knew which specialists’ talents to enlist. For the striking, stunning paint and airbrush work, he commissioned Paul at Roadrash in Leighton Buzzard, going down the full-blown custom route. For Mark there was only one choice for the detailed and intricate engraving – Don Blocksidge, aka The Master, while electroplating was entrusted to Marquee Restore. Corky provided the one-off seat. For engine tuning, set-up and build work Mark drafted in Mike ‘The Bike’. The end result, thus far, is captured perfectly here by (ace
lensman) Gary Chapman’s superb images.
Something Better Change
History can and does have a habit of repeating; in some instances things tend to go in circles. Back in the mid’80s, September ’85 to be precise, when Nick Robbins of Bristol Elite SC found this Lambretta Vega it was in a sad and sorry state. For example, there was a bird’s nest in the exhaust system, the front forks had collapsed and the flywheel, for some inexplicable reason, had no pins securing it in place. Over 10 months Nick, with help from Taffspeed (stage 6 tuned engine), Custom Fasteners (gold and chrome plating), Don Blocksidge (engraving), Cousins of Bristol (paintwork), and Kegra (exhaust), created his full-blown custom Vega, Heroes, with his Bertonedesigned find as the base machine. Same base
machine, 30 years or so on from when Heroes was a front cover scooter for Scooter Scene magazine, it was missing ‘a few’ parts. Obviously, the price paid in action reflected that the Vega wasn’t 100% complete; nonetheless, it’s one thing knowing some parts need sourcing, it’s another when you see for yourself exactly what is needed to get it into a fully functioning scoot. “I picked it up after winning it on auction. I was aware that some parts were missing, most of the engine internals had gone over the years. The casings were still there, but not much else of the engine. I’d fancied getting and building a custom Vega for some time. I can remember thinking when I got back after picking it up, ‘what am I going to do with it?’ It sat untouched for a while, I did have other ongoing projects I was working on when I picked it up.”
Nice ‘n’ Sleazy
Once Mark gets started on a custom project, usually it takes him a reasonably short time to complete his planned transformation. Experience drawn from many builds carried out over the years was more than a contributory factor in his impressive startto-finish turnaround timescale. Although a similar approach was applied to his Vega project, which Mark decided would be a full-blown custom creation, several stumbling blocks were encountered during the process. “I was let down by the chap I’d originally discussed the paintwork I had in mind. I went to Paul at Roadrash in Leighton Buzzard. It’s always easy to be wise after the event but in retrospect, I really should have gone to Roadrash sooner – he’s done a cracking job with the paint.” I’d agree with that statement too, the black with flake base provides a perfect contrast to the predominantly blue designs adorning various surfaces of the legshields and body panelling. “I’m used to the prices asked for some hard-to-find Lambretta parts, and that sourcing certain items is becoming less straightforward these days, demand outstripping supply. After starting work on this build, I soon found out that when it comes to Vega parts the prices are at least triple what is being
asked for equivalent S1, S2, S3 Lambretta items, Vega parts are getting rarer and rarer. Therefore they take longer to source and subsequently take longer to arrive. For part of the build, it was very much a case of stop-start, stop-start with hold-up after hold-up happening. That said, not everything Vega turned out to be ridiculously pricey – Torbay Scooters were really good, I got some NOS parts from them at reasonable prices, such as a set (pair) of fork springs for £20.”
Strange Little Girl
Luna Line Lambrettas were the first production scooter(s) designed by iconic Italian engineer Nuccio Bertone to be launched, pre-dating arguably his finest design for Innocenti, the Grand Prix Lambretta, albeit by a few months. For some reason, in recent times the Luna Line description for the Lui 50 models, as well as both the 75cc Vega and Cometa, the latter featuring a lubematic two-stroke oil system, has been dropped in favour of the term Lui as an all-encompassing name. Engine internal parts for the Lui 50 three-speed are, in the main, interchangeable with the earlier three-speed J-range models. Likewise, the four-speed Starstream and Super Starstream engine parts fit and work in Vega and Cometa motors. Also, hubs, brakes and fork inners from the J range counterparts can and often have been used to strengthen or improve handling and braking, generally on Vegas or Cometas that were used in various scooter sport disciplines. J-range barrels and cranks can boost the cubic capacity too. Dave Webster’s Lambretta tuning manual, published by Norrie Kerr’s Scooter and Scooterist magazine back in the ’80s, is arguably the definitive guide to what works, and how, between J-range and Luna Line Lammy items. Utilising Starstream engine internals was the route Mark took to replace the missing items in his Vega. “Nick Southern over in Wallingford proved (yet again) to be extremely helpful, selling me a Starstream 125 engine, from which I had the engine rebuilt by Mike ‘The Bike’.”
Fast forward 31 years, when serial custom scooter builder Mark Kendall was trawling the internet. The very same Vega that once was Heroes, well, what remained of that particular machine, came up for sale on eBay.
European Female
Mark is particularly pleased with how the working and in some cases reworking, of the brightwork and engraving has turned out. Even though that was also a bit of a lengthy process to achieve, necessarily so. “I had all the gold plating stripped off, had everything re-polished, then re-plated, after The Master, Don, who despite being 90 years old, worked his engraving magic where required. The side casing is absolutely amazing.” Originally made in Italy, transformed (at least twice) in England into a full-blown custom scooter, this Lambretta Vega is a truly stunninglooking machine. Mark has bestowed a two-word Latin name, Carpe Diem, on his creation, which translates as seize the moment – a phrase that appealed, and as a nod to its Italian heritage too, perhaps? Despite b being complete as well as up and running, for Mark, M at the time of writing, it’s still something of o a work in progress. “I’m going to take the exhaust off, have it engraved and chromed. Initially, at the prebuild stage, my plan was to have it as it is at the moment. Now it’s more or less finished, having the exhaust engraved and chromed, will, I think, really set it off, and provide the final finishing touch.”