Feature Scooter: The Great Space Race
Out of this world: Some custom scooters are born from years of careful planning. Others, like Tim King’s lovely TV, are the result of happy coincidence.
Although no one involved in its creation could have foreseen it, The Great Space Race’s story can be traced back to the 2017 Isle of Wight Rally. Keith Newman of K2 Customs had just begun setting up his stall at the Smallbrook Stadium when he met Tim. “I’d just finished building a Rallymaster replica and was literally wheeling it out of the van when Tim approached me,” explained Keith. “Within minutes we’d done a deal, Tim wheeled it over to the show arena and picked up a trophy. I think I could describe him as a satisfied customer!”
Island Life
As The Great Space Race is a collaboration piece, this is as good a time as any to introduce its owner, Tim King. Having spent most of his teenage years living on the Isle of Wight, it was almost inevitable that the annual bank holiday gathering would spark a love of all things small-wheeled. It’s a love affair that’s never faded, even after Tim packed his bags and moved to Perth, Western Australia. Despite the distances involved, Tim is still a regular visitor to the UK and, whenever possible, times his trips to coincide with the IoW Rally. It was while displaying his newly purchased Rallymaster that Tim bumped into another keen IoW visitor, the legendary Col Fitzgerald of The Garage Artwerks. While chatting, the two men quickly discovered a mutual interest in fantasy art, particularly early science fiction programmes such as the Jetsons and Lost in Space. Both agreed that a custom based on the theme was long overdue but the conversation went no further and the pair parted company.
I began by adding the panel scoops which are based on some Austin car parts I bought at an autojumble. These are functional and combine with the grilles in the top of the panels to create a cooling draught through the engine compartment. They looked good so I added non-functional scoops to the mudguard followed by more on the bridge piece and footboards.
Antipodean dream
Once back in Australia, Tim began to think about building another custom, this time to his own specification. The only builder he had in mind was Keith, although his first idea didn’t quite go to plan. “He asked if I could build a Vespa and I told him that didn’t interest me at all,” laughed Keith. “I’ve never geared the workshop up to work on Vespas and don’t want to start now.” Undeterred, Tim set out Plan B, a custom TV175. Over the years Tim’s owned many machines but never an example of this classic Innocenti product. “That appealed much more,” said Keith, “and fortunately I knew of a skeleton that was for sale. It was little more than a frame and forks but did have a nice headset with a well-chromed base.” With the TV on Keith’s workbench a decision was needed on which scheme it should wear and as Keith explained, the colour palette had unusual origins. “Tim sent me some faded orange and white deckchair fabric. The initial idea was to give the machine a shabby chic appearance based around this sun-bleached piece of fabric.” It was an idea that didn’t last for long.
Retro rocket
One visit to Keith’s workshop will reveal that he’s not afraid to be working on several projects at the same time. Arguably this is a major factor in his success. “I like to work on something for a while then leave it alone and then return with fresh eyes and new ideas,” he explained. “We’d been throwing names around for a while when one of us stumbled across a children’s book called The Great Space Race. For some reason the title struck a chord with both of us, the theme of science fiction was agreed and the search began for suitable artwork.” Another chance discovery was the work of an American artist, El Gato Gomez. Together with West Coast artists such as ‘Shag’ they work in a style known as ‘retro-futuristic’. This combines aspects of commercial art, 1950s technology and modern graphics. The name may be unfamiliar but the chances are that most Scootering readers will have seen examples of such art, as El Gato Gomez’s client list includes the Disney Corporation. Although the main colours would be applied by Daniel Windle of WRC Autobodies, Tim had never forgotten his conversation with Col at the Isle of Wight. A quick phone call
was made to rekindle the discussion and once Tim had explained the concept, Col eagerly accepted the commission to add murals. The finished results are Col’s own interpretation of the retro-futuristic style, their blue and grey tones contrasting with the scheme’s dominant orange but linking nicely to the TV’s grey runners and trim.
Delightful details
While the TV sat on his workbench, Keith’s methodical approach paid dividends and what had started out as a simple rebuild and paint project began to take on a life of its own. “Almost all the panel work is reproduction,” said Keith, “so I wasn’t afraid to cut them.” This was fortunate as Tim always intended that Space Race would be a ridden scooter and with temperatures in Perth regularly hitting 40C, ventilation was key. “I began by adding the panel scoops which are based on some Austin car parts I bought at an autojumble,” said Keith. “These are functional and combine with the grilles in the top of the panels to create a cooling draught through the engine compartment. They looked good so I added non-functional scoops to the mudguard followed by more on the bridge piece and footboards.” Other functioning accessories include the dashboard-mounted instruments and K2’s own Smith’s style speedometer. The seat is one of K2’s bases that has benefited from Corky’s legendary upholstery skills, while a reproduction stinger rear light lens from Saigon Scooter Centre completes the rear end. Small details abound and this is certainly a scooter that deserves repeated examination. If the antenna horn grille is clever, try hunting down the forward and reverse thrust pedals, they’re pure genius on Keith’s part.
Feeling fuel-is sh
With the build completed the scooter made its way to Australia, via show appearances at the Isle of Wight and Bridlington. Having successfully imported the Rallymaster, Tim expected clearing customs to be a fairly painless process. Unfortunately, as Keith explained, one of his last-minute additions set in play a bureaucratic nightmare. “I thought the two-stroke oil tank needed some graphics and as its construction looked like a pressure vessel, I searched for something suitably scientific. Eventually I decided to label it as a ‘bipod fuel cell’ powered by liquid hydrogen and liquid helium. The labels were so convincing that customs demanded to see pressure testing certificates. It took a lot of persuasion, plenty of emails and several weeks to persuade them no such thing existed!”
Fun in the sun
While British riders contemplate freezing temperatures, Tim and The Great Space Race are enjoying heat we can only dream of. So far the cooling mechanism has served Tim well; even on a 500-mile ride the RT195 kit proved to be utterly reliable, starting on first or second kick. Although the faded deck chair look was consigned to the bin at an early stage, the orange and white scheme survived, being both striking and unusual. In one final happy coincidence, the legshield’s horizontal orange stripes pay a discreet homage to another hero of kitsch sci-fi, by mimicking the jumper worn by Robin Williams in Mork and Mindy. A Lambretta with great looks, reliability and a sense of humour? It’s a combination which can only be described as being out of this world…