Past Euro Lambretta
Experiences

Milan 1997

Name: Barry Hart

Scooter club: I hang around with the Sudbury SC but was a member of Colchester & DVLC in 1997

First Euro rally: Milan 1997 (Italy)

Who did you travel with? Three mates: Pete Backhouse, Si Barber and Dan Stanmore

Travelled on: We actually went in a van (the shame!) but we took our scooters and had a great week’s holiday in Italy after the rally, riding our Lambrettas around.

Good memories: Riding through Milan was an experience to remember. That and becoming aware of and falling in love with open frame models. This still plagues me.

Any other Euros: Not many, just Ireland 1998 and Germany 1999, both by scooter.

Your best Euro Lambretta memory: Riding down to Duren in Germany (1999) was my new girlfriend Petra’s first Euro. We finally arrived, absolutely shattered. 

To get the girlfriend back onside, I offered to take her into town for some shopping. The ride-out was preparing to leave so I reluctantly rode past it and turned left to go to town. Unfortunately this was the wrong direction. As we rode back past the gates the ride out was departing, so I just joined in. If looks could kill…

We then ran out of petrol half way up a mountain in the cold (we only had lightweight gear on for shopping).

Petra and I celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary in July this year.

If you could change anything about the Euro: Nothing. I really like the relaxed atmosphere of the three I have attended.


Ireland 1998

Name:  Adam Winstone

Scooter club: Oxford Roadrunners SC, Assoc. of Paradise Lost SC (West Coast Australia) & Luna Club.

First Lambretta: Bitsa GP, which turned out to be a genuine GP 200 Electronic

Joined LCGB:  1991 or earlier.

First Euro rally: Kesterfield 1992

Travelled with: Dean Orton

Travelled on: Restored LI150S (175 conversion)

Any breakdowns going there or coming back? – I had to replace the kickstart oil seal on my GP200E, which Marcello Colombo (Swede) had borrowed for the rally.  Typical: fix the bike you’re not even riding!

Other Euros: Milan 1997, Ireland 1998, Germany 1999, Co. Durham 2000, Switzerland 2001, Netherlands 2002, Kelso 2004.

Best ever Euro Lambretta memories:  Caen to Langenthal in one day, Oxford to Kelso in 12.5 hours on my Vega, all of Milan 1997 via south of France, TS1 thrash to Duren, my wife joining me for 3 Euro Lambrettas… many more besides.

If you could change anything about the Euro: Convincing more of my local club members to go on one.

Euro Jamboree ’98, Mill Street, Ireland – Club Lambretta na hEireann

Riding onto the site my otherwise sturdy GP seemed to have developed a bit of a meander.  Inspecting the rear wheel I could see my brake shoes!  I’d managed to crack my rear hub from centre nut right to the edge of the hub, then through both halves of the split rims and it was only the final few mm’s of outer rim lip that was keeping my backend together.  Luckily, I managed to buy a replacement hub from a dealer.

Soon the event was in full flow. A fantastic get together saw me a little worse for wear and chasing a group of Irishmen, many of whom would become dear friends, across the field and back towards our tents.

The trip home saw Carl Davies shearing all four rear hub stubs and rear wheel off his immaculate GT200, luckily after coming to a halt at a set of traffic lights. Dave Deans had a deckhand tighten the ratchet straps down onto his petrol lever, pulling the tap out of the tank and dumping a recently refilled tank of petrol all over the car deck, which also ended his thoughts of riding home.

Switzerland 2001

Name: Tony Higgs

Scooter club: Full Bore London Lambretta Club

Joined LCGB: In about 1994

First Euro rally: 1997 to Milan for the 50th anniversary rally. I took 2 weeks off work and had my first major European tour on a Lambretta. It was a defining trip.

Who did you travel with? A small group of six: Peter Kent, Jeff Vallee, Angela, Ollie and Theresa were our tight little crowd.

What did you travel on? I had just built my TV200. It didn’t miss a beat for the complete trip (although I had to fill the tyres up with Italian air in Genoa).

Any breakdowns going there or coming back? Peter had trouble with his coil on a series 2 he was riding very slowly. Theresa had problems with compression and consequently it had to be bumped more often than not.

Good memories: Paul Brierley of Scooter Restorations gave us some fantastic tips on a route from Calais down to Milan and he got it 100% right.

Your best ever Euro Lambretta memory? Organising the Full Bore Tour to Switzerland in 2001 on D and LDs and the camaraderie during the trip. It was 18 months in the planning and I’m really proud that we managed to get 30 people and their scooters all the way there and back at 42mph (67kph)! Everyone on that trip chipped-in to make it one of the most satisfying events I have ever been involved in.

If there was anything you could change about the Euro, what would it be?
As long as each nation can learn and share experiences we can strive to make every rally an enjoyable experience.

Netherlands 2002

Name: Steve Grant

Scooter club: Derby & District SC

First Euro rally: My first was Switzerland 2001, followed by Netherlands in 2002

Travelled with: Derby & District SC and assorted guests.

Travelled on: Li (SR)185

Memories of Netherlands 2002: There were seven of us from Derby & District and we made a 10-day holiday of it. We spent the first two nights of the trip in Bruges, taking in all of its cultural delights. The following two days were spent in Amsterdam... We were all a bit the worse for wear by the time we reached Emmen, and this probably explains why Eamonn tried to brain me with a hammer.

As any Euro veteran knows Saturday night is gala dinner night, so we had bowling shirts made, complete with embroidered nicknames on the back, all in the club colours of black and amber. Pretty sharp, we thought - until Tony Higgs pointed out that we looked more like overweight darts players.

Have you been to many other Euros since your first? Lincoln will be my seventh.

Your best Euro Lambretta memory: Heidelberg in 2007. We’d been riding all day and worked up a bit of thirst. When we found a bar that had around 100 different absinthe-based cocktails we decided it would be rude not to sample a few…

If you could change anything about the Euro: I’ve shared some wonderful experiences with a great bunch of mates in some fantastic places, and all on a 40-year-old shopping bike: what more could you want?

Scotland 2004

Name: Pete Maisey

My first Lambretta: 1959 Series 1 Li 150, bought from Hallens of Cambridge in 1967. All red, original paintwork, faded even then. Bought it for £40 on the never-never - on my apprentice wage of £4 a week.

When did you join LCGB: 1968

First Euro Lambretta: Milan 1997, hooked from then on.

Travelled with: Pete, Jon and Paula Uffindel, my missus flew in.

Travelled on: The one and only time my scoot (LD 150) went to a Euro by trailer.

Breakdowns: Not that time.

Memories of that rally: The farce that was the sitdown meal, some of us got the peas, some got the spud and some lucky barstewards got the chicken. We all got the sweet though.... in the morning. It was a brilliant rally however and to ride on our LD and see the sights was great.

Since then: The missus and I have ridden to every Euro rally since except one.

Best Euro Lambretta memories: The best among so many good ones was the “Full Bore Tour” to Switzerland. A special thanks to Pete Kent and Tony Higgs (London Lambretta Club) for that. Elements of their plan became the template for all our other Euro rallies.

Sweden 2008

Name: James Hayward (“Jimmers”)

Scooter club: Exit 17 SC

First Euro rally: Sweden 2008

Travelled with: Rob Devlin to the ferry; then Darrell Milnes, Colin Rowlandson, David Blythe, Nic Cicutti, Dave Hardy, NickJ and John Madison (Scooterloopy) through Denmark and Sweden

Travelled on: Series 3 Li 125, with Indian 175 conversion

Breakdowns: Rob had problems throughout the first night. We spent it sleeping in a garage forecourt. I then seized up myself a few miles later. Stripped and rebuilt the top end and just about made it to the Harwich ferry - by skin of my teeth and panicking like mad, with the gates shutting and the ramp on the ferry starting to go up. I then decided to re-strip and check the engine at Esbjerg.

I had a small unofficial side bet with Scooterloopy regarding the rest of the trip - which I hasten to add I won!

Good memories: The whole trip really, meeting new people, the laughs, the places, the rides, even the breaking down - which happened to 75% of the group in the end. And, of course, kicking Rob Devlin’s arse at the axe throwing

Your best Euro Lambretta memory: The night in Copenhagen was a good ‘un. The best part of the journey was me, Nic C and Rob D travelling back on a scenic route along the coast, with some great stopovers and a small trip to Germany for good measure.