Rusto Rod Custom
Influenced by American bobber motorcycles, Chris Howe used his knowledge, skill and creative mind’s eye to develop a unique project…
Abobber, originally called a ‘bob-job' from the 1930s, is a style of custom motorcycle. The typical construction includes stripping excess bodywork, removing the front mudguard and shortening the rear mudguard, which is ‘bobbed' (as in bobtail) to leave a characteristic sweeping look running through the machine. With a childhood immersed in motorcycles Chris Howe has been on two wheels from an early age. “My first bike was a KH125, which my dad gave me; I used it daily to get to and from the supermarket where I worked when I left school.” As time passed his interest in motorcycles moved towards performance bikes. Over the years he owned several large-capacity bikes and developed a later one into a bobber.
Consequences
Having ridden performance bikes for a while, his appetite for speed was constantly increasing. “I was riding faster and faster; I knew that if I kept on going, it wasn't going to end well!” With this in mind he decided to leave the performance bikes scene and moved on to customising small-capacity motorcycles into bobbers. “The first bike I bought was a Honda C90, which'd already been bobbed. It looked fantastic, and I gave it a few of my own personal touches to give it the final look I was after.” Chris discovered that the low-capacity motorcycle bobber scene wasn't particularly prevalent in the Manchester area. However, not wanting to miss out on the social side of things, in summer 2019 he went to the On Wheels meeting near Stockport. “While I was there I got talkingtal to the Manchester Lyons scooter lads; in particular Pete McCormick who's now a good friend of mine. I liked the look of their scooters and the sound of the scene in general. After chatting with them, I realised that this was the scene I'd been looking for and decided to get a scooter!” Chris decided that he wanted a Lambretta, but didn't have the cash; he looked for a Vespa but couldn't find one locally. “At the time I didn't know much about the scene and bought an Agrati Capri, which I converted into a rusteration project. It had style, but it didn't fit into the mainstream scooter scene.”
By now Chris' heart and mind was in two camps: scooters and low-capacity bobbers. “After selling the Agrati I bought another C90, which I converted into a stretch skellybobber. I used it to go to a few more bike events and saw the Manchester Lyons lads again; they told me it looked great, but said I really needed to get a scooter. I knew they were right.”
Cut-down
With a project in mind, Chris thought about developing a bobber/cut-down Lambretta. “I ran the idea past Pete; in his characteristic unassumingly diplomatic fashion he politely explained that if I were to cut down a fullbodied Lambretta it might not go down too well with everyone.” In early 2020 Chris bought a full-bodied Vespa PX125. “My original thoughts were to stay with the idea of developing a cut-down bobber. However, having given it a bit more thought I wasn't sure if the Vespa frame would be able to cope with the stresses I'd be putting on it. Also the scooter lads were frowning on me cutting a Vespa down too!” Finally Chris decided that he would develop the PX into a rat-bobber with a low-rider 1950s look. “I set about the project in my back garden; the first job was to strip the scooter down to its bare metal. During the process I discovered that parts of the side panels had been ‘frenched' with filler. It took me about two weeks to sand it all off; there was dust everywhere, which didn't go down too well with the neighbours or their washing! Also there was the constant smell of filler in the air and I looked like a snowman on a daily basis!” he laughed.
Processes
After getting the scooter down to its bare metal, Chris used a swaging tool to make holes in the front mudguard and side panels. He then used a sequence of chemical processes to develop light rust all over the scooter, which was then lacquered. In the meantime, to develop the low-rider look the suspension was lowered. Chris has added a Pathfinder headlight to the legshields and a riding light on the front mudguard, which introduces a 50s feel and is a nod to his favourite scooter, the Vespa Faro Basso. In addition the period horncast, rear light and the whitewall tyres support the old-school look. Inside the legshields, the two-stoke oil leather belt holder adds to the feel, and the number 66 sticker refers to the year Chris was born and the year England won the World Cup.
The route Chris took to develop this project is interesting, and that's reflected in the scooter. “My background in motorcycles and bobbers gave me the skills to complete my own fabrications; and ironically having the C90 bobbers gave me the opportunity to become involved in the scooter scene, which is the best thing I ever did!”
Words and feature photos: Stu Smith Bobber photos: Chris Howe
My background in motorcycles and bobbers gave me the skills to complete my own fabrications; and ironically having the C90 bobbers gave me the opportunity to become involved in the scooter scene, which is the best thing I ever did!