Reader’s Ride: Yambretta
Speed, power and personal touches: John Birch’s desire to own a seriously powered scooter developed to his own specifications realised itself in the most unexpected set of circumstances…
Having had a love for anything with two wheels and an engine, John’s owned a lot of motorbikes over the years. However, thanks to Kev and Angi Meek he got into scooters about 10 years ago when they took him and his wife Fran to the 2010 Isle of Wight rally where he got the bug. Shortly after returning from the rally John bought his first scooter, an Li150 Silver Special. “I’ve still got the scooter; it’s fantastic but the problem I had with it was that I wanted more power. I’d thought about various kits and engine upgrades but was concerned about the potential effect they could have on reliability.”
Power and potential
Since joining the scooter scene John’s visited numerous custom shows and events. During that time, out of all of the scooters he saw he always found himself drawn to the ones with motorcycle engine conversions; particularly the ones with Yamaha 350 engines. “I went to Kettering in 2016 and I saw a Yambretta up for sale and really liked it. I spoke to the fella who was selling it and got a price, but I’d just bought a Scomadi the week before, so after giving it a lot of careful consideration I had to accept that I wasn’t really in a position to buy it.” John’s intention for the Scomadi was to use it for touring and rallies, but now he’d seen the Yambretta there was a distraction. “After buying the Scomadi I thought about the possibility of using it as a donorhybrid; however, having said that I wasn’t desperate because I had my Silver Special. But I have to admit I was still looking for Yambrettas in magazines and online but couldn’t find any for sale.” In late 2018, and with the Silver Special’s MoT up for renewal, John took the scooter to a local garage to have the test completed. “While I was at the garage I got chatting with a friend of the garage owner, Andy Pregg. We got chatting about my scooter and during the conversation Pregg explained that he was a collector of scooters and offered to buy it off me. I told him that it wasn’t up for sale, but while we were chatting we had a bit of time on our hands so Pregg started showing me some photos of the scooters he had in his collection on his phone. As he was scrolling through the images I saw the Yambretta I’d seen at Kettering; I couldn’t believe it! Without any time to waste I grasped the opportunity and negotiated a deal with Pregg to buy the Yambretta and within three days I’d got it!”
Modifications
Having collected the scooter John knew there was some work to be done. “When I bought it I knew it wasn’t in its best shape, but I didn’t mind that because I wanted to make the project one which would improve the machine and one which would also make it my own.” To get things moving, one of the first things John decided to do was to try and find out more about the scooter’s history. “I did some research and found out that it had been built by Gary Hancox about seven years earlier and after a bit more digging I managed to make contact with Gary.” During the call John explained the situation to Gary and they organised a plan. John commissioned Gary to deal with all the engine work and complex matters. However, John wanted to make sure that he played an active role in the process, so he supported Gary where he could and decided that he would take responsibility for painting the scooter. “I’m not a professional sprayer, but I’d sprayed my Scomadi the year before and did a reasonable job. I’d also seen the colour I wanted for the Yambretta a while back when I saw it on a GP at the Isle of Wight rally I went to with Kev and Angi. I knew that with the knowledge I’d developed from spraying my Scomadi, if I developed
the base colour with a few ideas I had, I’d be able to make it look sharp on the lines of the Yambretta.”
Over the course of a year John and Gary worked as a team and got the scooter to where it needed to be. “Gary completed the upgrades on the engine and modified most things, he fabricated a new petrol tank, completed alterations to the frame, made adjustments to the rear wheel and drive chain, and re-sited the rear brake pedal to suit my height and riding position. He also added a Kliktronic gear-change and modified the gear selector to deliver a smoother gear-shift making it easier to find neutral, all of which makes the geometry of the scooter spot on and handling superb.” In the meantime, John modified the base of the seat so it matched the shape of the body and had it redesigned with new contours and re-covered with a custom one-off design by Keith and Sam at Ken’s Customs.
Appreciation
While all this was going on John also worked meticulously through the winter of 2019/2020 putting all the time he had available into completing the paintwork. “The scooter looks exactly how I wanted it to look and it rides like a dream. Gary put his heart and soul into the build and his years of experience are reflected in the outcome. We’ve now become good friends and I can’t thank him enough for all his support throughout the process. Also I can’t thank the person enough who parked their orange GP near our digs at the Isle of Wight all that time back for giving me the inspiration for the paintwork!” John smiled.
Words an photos: Stu Smith