A fire-breathing Winter Model
Classic Scooterist|April/May 2017

Sometimes in life things appear that stop you in your tracks. It happened to me in 1980 – and again in 2017.

Pete Davies
A fire-breathing Winter Model

In 1980 while walking through my localtown, I was drawn to the window of mylocal dealer. Sat inside was a mustard yellow Lambretta Jet 200; it was brand-new and looking as flash as it could for 1980 (unlike the 1963 Series 3 Li 150 that I owned which was, in a word, tatty). Anyway, mustard yellow Jet 200s are not what this article is about however; this article is about a machine that stopped me in my tracks like the Jet did in 1980. This time it was another Spanish-built machine, a 1964 Winter Model which has been breathed and worked on by the crew from JB Tuning in Southend. Classy enough as a model in that it has the usual turning Spanish front mudguard, Series 2 Li looks and the use of an SX-style headset that was in use by the Spanish long before the Italians thought of it (or should that be copied it?).

What you see before you though isn’t the stock 148cc machine that rolled off of the Eibar production line in 1964. The bodywork may be the same, but there the resemblance stops. I spotted the scooter at the Scooter World Show at Newark in January. Initially I’d seen Mikey from JB Tuning moving the scooter across the show hall and just thought that it was another street racer inspired machine. How wrong I was!

This story is from the April/May 2017 edition of Classic Scooterist.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the April/May 2017 edition of Classic Scooterist.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM CLASSIC SCOOTERISTView All
Vespa On A Vindaloo (And A Few Beers, Too)!
Classic Scooterist

Vespa On A Vindaloo (And A Few Beers, Too)!

Over time my sanity has been tested by Vespas, including the PX125,PX150, LML150, a T5, a T5 Classic and PX200.

time-read
10+ mins  |
December 2019 - January 2020
Simon's DKR Capella 175cc
Classic Scooterist

Simon's DKR Capella 175cc

It’s probably fair to say that in the 1950s most British scooters were well short of the styling and panache of their Latin rivals, but this all changed in 1960 with the launch of the DKR Capella - a sleek Villiers-powered two-stroke which period road testers described as being ‘the most beautiful small-wheeler ever made by a British manufacturer’.

time-read
6 mins  |
December 2019 - January 2020
Mark's Model B And Sidecar
Classic Scooterist

Mark's Model B And Sidecar

You don't see many early Lambretta and Tittarelli sidecar outfits, so when you come across someone who owns two the same matching colour – wow!

time-read
2 mins  |
December 2019 - January 2020
Mark's 1980s Classic Custom
Classic Scooterist

Mark's 1980s Classic Custom

Revisiting one of the UK’s best-known custom scooters from the 1980s, which still remains in the possession of its original owner.

time-read
7 mins  |
December 2019 - January 2020
Barry's Dayton Albatross Continental Twin
Classic Scooterist

Barry's Dayton Albatross Continental Twin

In my younger days, as well as motorcycles, I had a Vespa 90 and a Vespa 90SS, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I returned to scootering (after having several classic cars) with a 1965 Vespa VBB, but I had always hankered after a Dayton Albatross since I was about 12 or 13. Last year I decided to finally fulfil that dream…

time-read
3 mins  |
December 2019 - January 2020
Have records will travel
Classic Scooterist

Have records will travel

How many DJs do you know who would travel to a music gig on their trusty 2-Tone Vespa PX with a huge box of rare vinyl records strapped on the back?

time-read
6 mins  |
April/May 2017
Model (D) behaviour!
Classic Scooterist

Model (D) behaviour!

Visitors to the Newark Scooter World halls couldn’t fail to notice the line-up of machines being shown by Martin Robinson.

time-read
5 mins  |
April/May 2017
Rob's Heinkel Tourist
Classic Scooterist

Rob's Heinkel Tourist

After receiving another phone call from bike collector Rob Carter of Barton upon Humber, Rich realised it would be something special of superb quality and condition; so he decided to investigate.

time-read
3 mins  |
April/May 2017
Iso Milano (Diva) De Luxe 150
Classic Scooterist

Iso Milano (Diva) De Luxe 150

Bristol’s Carole Nash Classic MotorCycle Show always brings out rarities and the 2016 event was no exception with a host of unusual scooters on display. Rubbing handlebars with an IWL Berlin, and a rare Coswio Jika Pandora on the Vintage Motor Scooter Club stand was one with a curvy Latin lovely adorning the legshields.

time-read
7 mins  |
February/March 2017
Tabby's Indian GP200
Classic Scooterist

Tabby's Indian GP200

To see it within a crowded scooter compound or lined up at the side of the road at a busy rally, you’d possibly not pay Tabby’s Indian GP200 too much attention or perhaps even feel it was worth a second glance. But that’s precisely where you would be wrong...

time-read
7 mins  |
February/March 2017