Sharp Shootin’ Scooter
Every cloud has a silver lining. Lockdown has been a burden for us all, but as the old saying goes, when life gives you lemons... build a scooter. Enter Calamity Jane!
It’s fair to say that over the past year, many people have had more time on their hands than usual, mainly due to obvious restrictions. Many a vague project for ‘sometime in the future’ was therefore started to alleviate the boredom of lockdown, certainly so within the scooterist community. It follows then that some planned projects took on a life of their own. Not the work in progress, or minor tweak type that evolve during the execution of completion… but changes that transform what started off as a and (presumably) the colour. With a big birthday approaching, during one of the lockdowns, Cheryl’s other half stripped her Lammy down then despatched the frame and bodywork off to another resident of Chorley, Dave Hale, for a full respray by way of his birthday present to her. It’s said the female of the species has the prerogative to change her mind; Cheryl most certainly exercised that right by deciding not only did she want a respray, but she was also going to be having something that was more of a full custom makeover.
Oh! The Deadwood Stage Is A Rollin’ On Over The Plains
Cheryl’s partner happens to be Paul Riding, aka Midge, renowned for his custom Lambretta Talk o The North. He is equally known for his replica of a 1959 Scottish Six Day Trial Lambretta, the latter being a feature machine in Scootering. It was based on one of the three Lambretta Concessionaires’ specially prepared and modified Lambrettas entered in the 1959 six-day trial in Scotland as a publicity stunt. The team of three riders, Alan Kimber, Lewis Moore and Geoff Parker, all completed and finished the arduous course, a feat that many motorcycle teams didn’t match that year. With Midge carrying out the majority of the work, Cheryl’s Lambretta was in the very best of hands for her project. After the relevant parts returned from having a full respray, Cheryl decided she wanted to have some murals airbrushed on the bodywork; but first, she had to decide on a theme. “A couple of my favourite singers, Blondie and Edwin Starr, have been used a few times on custom scooters before, so I discounted them. My late dad was a huge fan of the American Wild West, I’ve always had a liking for Hollywood musicals as well as the singer and actress Doris Day. Calamity Jane, with Doris Day in the title role, combined the two, as well as the musical film being set in the American Wild West, which is something of a tribute to my dad, who died of Covid. I personally empathise with the Doris Day character Calamity Jane, having experienced more than a few disasters and calamities myself. I’d seen some of Colin Fitzgerald’s (The Garage Artwerks) airbrush work, I liked what I’d seen, so I got in touch with him. He took the job on, we communicated via social media, I sent him some photos then left it up to him to work his magic. He did a brilliant job with the airbrushed murals on my panels and headset top, I’m made up and thrilled with Colin’s work. I came up with the idea of having a handmade, hand-tooled and stitched leather saddlebag for the back rack. Paul Hunter (Hunter Leatherworx) made it based on my ideas, along with a matching patch for the rear end of the seat, and a key fob too, also both handmade.
Oh! The Deadwood Stage Is A Headin’ On Over The Hills
While various stages of her custom scooter project were being processed, Cheryl tried her hand at a bit of sleuthing. As the logbook informed there had only been three other owners of her scooter from new, she investigated the history of her Spanish Lammy by trying to track down the two previous owners. By the wonders of social media, the first owner of this Spanish Lambretta, a chap by the name of Gary, contacted Cheryl after noticing an older picture on a website. He informed Cheryl that the scooter was bought new for his 16th birthday. His grandad paid around £130 to A1 Scooters in Doncaster for the then brand-new Spanish Silver Special. It was
first registered on June 4, 1971. Gary during his ownership rode the scooter down to the Northampton area (where he still lives today). He added royal blue to the horncasting ‘v’ along with the lower half of the side panels. He had the cylinder barrel bored out to 175cc, added Florida bars, a brown furcovered K and L backrest topped off with a car seat headrest. While he was based in Northampton, albeit regularly travelling to and from Doncaster to see his mates, Gary took his Lambretta in for a service. This was carried out by legendary Vespa man Andre Baldet, who among other achievements developed and marketed his Arc En Ceil Dealer Special. On Gary’s behalf, his dad sold the Lambretta (in Birmingham) in 1974, to raise funds for Gary’s first car. There’s a bit of a gap in the Spanish Specials registration history, between ’74 and 1981, when from July 3 the registered owner was someone called Andrew. Despite all her efforts, Cheryl hasn’t (yet) managed to find out any additional information, or whether Andrew owned the scooter but lived at a different address during the six blank years. It was bought by a builder, from Chorley, in Birmingham for £200 in 1996. A few months on, Midge did some work for the builder, instead of being paid in cash, Midge was given the Spanish Lambretta by way of payment, which then became Cheryl’s scooter by default.
Oh! The Deadwood Stage Is A Comin’ On Over The Crest
As well as the frame, bodywork, plus the running gear all being treated to either a makeover or an upgrade, the engine was also given a complete, meticulous rebuild too. See Cheryl’s extensive, in-depth and entertainingly informative scooter spec sheet details for a full rundown of exactly what went into the creation of Calamity Jane. While Midge was beavering away on the build, in the comfort of their living room, where Cheryl could keep a watchful eye on progress, Cheryl tracked down and subsequently acquired items to finish her project off. “In the film, Calamity Jane wears a kepi with a couple of American civil war badges on it, I found the badges online, originally my idea was to have one of each of the badges on the outside of the fork legs. When I eventually got them, one was a lot larger than the other, so they ended up going on the hand-stitched leather saddlebag. As I’d already decided on having badges on the fork legs Midge suggested having the early Lambretta Club replicas on there instead.” Part of the film plot involves a Wells Fargo stagecoach, the Deadwood Stage, although stagecoaches are synonymous with the American Wild West, stagecoaches were a British means of transport, early forms of which can be traced back to the 13th century. Stagecoaches came into being as a popular form of transport during the 1700s, getting the stage part of their name from journeys being completed in stages. This often requiring stopping over at various coaching inns en route, thus completing journeys by stages. In keeping with the theme of Cheryl’s scooter, albeit tenuously, the photoshoot was carried out at Ashley Hall, a coach house that dates back to the 1700s. A birthday present built to beat boredom during lockdown, whip crack away indeed.