Mix and match

One of the great design elements of the Lambretta was the ability across many years of production to be able to mix and match components and engine parts. It really was a stroke of genius in so many ways.

Complete engine transplants from 125 to 200cc have always been really easy to do, and reverse compatible too. The ability to mix gearboxes, clutches, sprockets, crankshafts, hubs and virtually every part of the engine meant that Lambretta engines were easy and cheap to keep going and upgrade. The evolution and development of bodywork styling going from bulbous curves to the space age and ‘futuristic' slim Bertone designed GP range was logical and kept the machines looking stylish. But for me personally one of my favourite design elements of the Lambretta was the design of the SX headset. I remember a guy talking to me for what seemed like hours that the SX really should be called the X Special. I (think) I got his point as to why that should be but that's surely one for the ‘detail gurus' to argue about. The same guys also insisted that the headlight shape is not octagonal at all, but its own shape made up of two curved arcs and four, almost straight, sides. I had to study the headlight rim carefully but I saw his point, although I can't help feeling that for 99% of us… octagonal would do. The light shape and dimensions always seemed to be reminiscent of the War of The Worlds fighting machines, almost like they would spit out death rays at any time. So in theory the very angular and sharp lines of the GP with its (almost) rectangular head light shouldn't really work. But I think it most definitely does. My favourite Lambretta style would have to be the street racer style and I think a GP frame and bodywork married to an SX headset just works. Of course, there is a very practical reason that sporting riders and racers started using this combination. The GP frame and bodywork sits lower than the Li/SX frames' dimensions, but in turn, the distance between the mounting bracket and the actual handlebars on the SX is less than the GP so overall, mixing the two together effectively drops the handlebars, thus putting a bit more weight on the front end… which certainly helps handing, especially when cornering. In my formative years of watching scooter racing, and then buying Dave Webster's tuning manual which detailed the technical reason for using this combination, I knew right then that I had to have it on my own scooter. My favourite machine, of my road scooters, had a GP frame and panels, a GT200 engine, and of course an SX headset. I loved this combination from a styling point of view. It's subtle, stylish and done for a very specific handling reason. It's a good improvement. Over the years it seems to be a mix of components which is gradually being used less, and that is a shame.

On my own race scooters I always had this combination even though over the years the SX type handlebars have become gradually harder to find and of course more expensive to replace. So for track use it has become more common to use the standard GP type handlebars. The cheap pattern Indian handlebars are easier to buy and cheaper, although quality is variable for sure. If you crash a scooter on track (or road) then the handlebars are one of the most common things to break so I understand why people don't use the SX/

GP combination from an economy point of view. At one point I had three spare SX headsets all made up for my race scooter in case of breakage, but when I saw what some SX headsets were going for it did make me think just how many pound notes were sitting on my workbench! But nevertheless I still love to see that stylish and subtly sporting mix of styles – and in my book it just works. Maybe it shouldn't do, but it actually does. It's one of the many subtle details between series that just works whichever way you mix them up. Rear light units is another such item… put GP on SX and it works. Put SX on GP and it still works. I'm a real fan of the alloy SX rear light units on a GP frame too. Whichever way you mix them up it's amazing that designs and styles can still work together and goes to show just how well the Lambretta design was put together over the years. It's small details like this that may have purists and anoraks scratching their heads but I don't really care too much personally. If it makes things work better, look better, or just look ‘different' then I'm all for it.