Hacksaws at the ready
Changing the physical structure of a scooter divides opinion, but if it had never happened, then the scene would look completely different.
Scooter customisation has been around since the very early days of production and comes in many different forms. It can be anything from bolting on a set of crash bars to painting the bodywork a different colour, but that type of customisation can always be reversed. In contrast there’s another form that is far more radical and involves taking a hacksaw to the frame. Contentious it may be, but the scooter look would be very different had it never happened.
Before the editor’s postbag fills up with complaints that I’m telling everyone to cut their pride and joy to pieces, I’m only highlighting a practice that’s been carried out for decades. Owners first took a hacksaw, angle grinder or any cutting tool for that matter to their machines way back in the 1960s, perhaps even earlier. However, there’s no doubt that the decade it’s most associated with is the 1980s when it became the fashion to cut the back end off your scooter. I can vividly remember my mate returning from his first rally in Morecambe in 1983 on his new Jet 200 and, within an hour of getting back home, sawing off the frame behind the back of the seat.
It became fashionable because it was so easy to do. A quick trip to the local hardware shop for a new blade, and minutes later the operation was over. The ‘cutdown’ look became all the rage, having a huge and lasting impact; so much so that even Wikipedia devoted a page to it. Carrying out the procedure gave the scooter in question a new look, and it didn’t need a skilled craftsman to carry it out. For the Lambretta, it was easy; simply cutting across the back of the frame and binning the side panels to complete the transformation. The Vespa, with its monocoque construction, presented more challenges but it didn’t stop owners from having a go.
Like any new customisation trend, it evolved, and sure enough, choppers and the like began to appear in significant numbers. These required some degree of engineering competence, removing almost every part of the frame and altering its geometry. Love them or loathe them, there is no denying that the creativity involved in their design had an everlasting effect. The discipline was taken to the extreme when it came to the Lambretta, with the result being some of the most stunning custom scooters ever created. At the time no one questioned the ethics of cutting scooters down because it didn’t matter. A scooter could be bought for just a few pounds and so what if it was ruined, there were plenty more to be had.
Times have changed though, and the value of the Lambretta has risen steeply since then and we now understand how rare some models are. Back in the 1980s, if someone chopped an SX200 frame to pieces no one took any notice, whereas now they’d have to go into hiding if they even dared raise a drill bit to one. So does that mean it’s okay to cut an Li150 frame, for example, because they were made in hundreds of thousands and are still relatively cheap to buy? Even the PX, the common choice of Vespa for cutting down at the peak of the fashion, is regarded as being on the endangered list because no more are being produced.
At the end of the day, the choice is down to the owner, and they can do what they wish to their machine. That said, I doubt anyone will now take a hacksaw to one of the rarer models because doing so would be akin to committing financial suicide. I’ve no doubt that cutdowns will continue to be built, and evolve, but the frame of choice will be from one of the more common models or that’s already been subjected to some degree of modification or decay.
Whatever your thoughts on cutdowns, imagine if no one had ever taken a cutting tool to a scooter and attempted to modify it that way. Instead, we would only have full-bodied machines, and the scene would be less interesting because it would be too limited. Go to a classic motorcycle show, and there’ll usually be rows and rows of similar-looking machines. In contrast, a scooter show is entirely different because the owners have taken the custom concept to heart.
So, next time you look at a scooter that has been cut down or turned into a chopper, whether you like it or not, remember the scene would be a lot less interesting without them.
Go to a classic motorcycle show and there’ll usually be rows and rows of similarlooking machines. In contrast, a scooter show is entirely different because the owners have taken the custom concept to heart.