OWNER DETAILS
Name: Peter Sylvester.
Scooter club & town: Imperial Scooter Club Guernsey.
First interest in scooters: My brother had loads of scooters and boxes of GPs and Vespas. He used to make me laugh as he would strip and paint a scooter overnight and rebuild and ride around on it the next day. Towards the end of the 80s my dad got annoyed and said he needed to clear the garage out, that's when boxes and boxes of scooters and frames etc. went to the tip, probably all Italian and soughtafter models.
First scooter: Vespa v90, bright yellow, bought from a shop in Exeter in 1982, the dealer said it was a one old lady owner (yeah right) it was mint though. First ever rally: Exmouth in the 80s.
Any funny stories: My first scooter, the one old lady owner mint v90 Vespa smallframe. I rode it around Plymouth when I was at art college. I rode it from Plymouth to my then home one holiday from art college. Ended up leaving it there at my parents' pub in Kentisbeare, Devon. I went back in an old MGB I got for my birthday. On my next visit home I asked my brother where my mint pristine original v90 was, he said it's over there. Standing over there… was a boned cutdown called Gore Hound which was hand painted with badly done psychobilly style murals. “It's now called Gore Hound,” he said, “doesn't it look good?”
Furthest you’ve ever ridden on a scooter: Wilderness scooter rally in France, pretty sure that's what it was called.
Scootering magazine feature: I really like Scooter Stan's articles and following his trips. I met him at the Guernsey scooter rally, a really nice guy. Favourite custom scooter of all time: Exile of course but Spirit Walker, the Cult-themed scoot, was one of my all-time favourites. I also really liked the Rothman's PM scoot.
Your most recommended scooter part or related item: I like the Taylor Tuning thumb chokes, a decent ignition. Some of the new complete engines that you can buy now are amazing 30+bhp out of the box. Which breakdown company do you recommend: Comes with my rider's policy. I guess it depends which country you're in and which one they send to recover you. I did break down in France one year with a twisted crank on an RB20 GP. Waited seven hours in 30 degree heat, luckily found some shade by a lake. The guy who picked me up didn't speak English so that was fun trying to direct him. When he finally arrived I looked on in dread as he loaded the polished black GP into the back of his van and secured it with a bungee cord.
Most useless part you’ve ever bought for a scooter: Stainless steel peak that fits under a Vespa headset top. I was riding to a rally 60mph or so down the dual carriageway and it shook loose, spun like a ninja throwing star in the wind and nearly took the eye out of one of the other riders behind me.
What would make our beloved scooters better: I think the new complete engines are brilliant out of the box but I like to tinker and repair the old ones. I have been reading about the electric motors that bolt straight in; they look good, I fancy an old scoot body with an electric motor for pootling around the island.