CULTURE AND CUSTOMISATION

The motor scooter 'story' is told in this charming book from Piaggios through potholes, Ferdinando Innocenti's Lambrettas, the Vespa and La Dolce Vita complete with posters and of course the famous scene from the Hollywood film Roman Holiday. The evolution of these two-wheeled utility motor scooters is told with unique artworks and engaging photographs all celebrating scooter mania. We look at the style-conscious transport choice for the Mod generation, three-wheelers, the Lambro 600 and variants for refuse disposal, firefighting, street maintenance, postal services and port authorities. The first practical two-stroke engine as we know it is credited to Dugald Clerk around 1880. His idea was to fire the mixture on every upward stroke and so develop twice the power. His long-stroke engine had the complication of an auxiliary piston and cylinder to produce the mixture at atmospheric pressure plus primitive poppet valves. Joseph Day took the concept forward in 1889 by using a crankcase to compress and transfer the mixture. Here too are brands like Scott with its 1922 Flying Squirrel, the James ML The Clockwork Mouse of 1944, to the futuristic looking 50cc Buddfab Streamliner, the 1915 Autoped from the USA which looks just like one of today?s adult scooters, or the more complicated looking 1920 Macklum from Britain, the 1920 Unibus and Excelsior Welbike and the Japanese 1946 Fuji Rabbit S1. But it is the iconic Lambrettas and Vespas which of course take central place in this story, whether with an animal print seat cover, black and white chequered panel, the Quadrophenia scooters with aftermarket engine parts and of course dozens of mirrors. Romolo Ferri's 1951 record of 124.89mph is as yet unbeaten by any 125cc Lambretta. 110 glossy white pages, hundreds of colour images.