Wasn’t the good ol’ sixties a marvelous era to be part of? Think of things like the Beatles, Hendrix, mini-skirts and of course ‘free love’, (which means you had sex without ‘investing’ R500 behind the bar), and of course motorbikes. But there were also bad memories, like Vietnam and the end of ‘free love’, for example.
All that is now though the best part of 50-years ago - I know it’s shocking, eh? But if we return to the pleasantries of two-wheels your mind will conjure up British bikes I’m sure and of course two-stroke scooters that became part of one’s life if you were a Mod, or perhaps they just enjoyed the simplicity of such a transport mode?
However, these iconic machines have all but disappeared from everything but a book found hidden away on a library shelf, until now! Yes, I found this pair of beauties hidden away in a garage right here in South Africa and ‘cute’ is never a term used for any form of two-wheeled transport, but in this case that word ‘cute’ is totally justifiable and I will defy anyone, nay head-butt, who says they don’t want one of these exquisite machines from the sixties nesting in their abode as well.
What are they? Lambrettas of course and what else is so memorable a scooter from that 60s era, possibly with the exception of Vespa? If you haven’t heard of Lambretta you’re either from Uranus or were born in a freezin’ swamp in Siberia with no outside contact, right?
But please allow me to just spit out a quick history lesson for the dense, thick and stupid, or maybe all three?
Lambretta was formed in 1947 in Milan to produce affordable transport after a devastating war. Lambretta comes from the word Lambro, which is a small river running next to the old factory in Milan. The Company that made Lambrettas was called Innocenti and was bought by the Indian government in 1972 and called Scooter India Limited (SIL). Today FIAT owns the Innocenti brand rights, whilst SIL still own the Lambretta and Lambo trademarks worldwide.
Interestingly the first Lambretta scooters were a reflection of the olive green Cushman scooters built in Nebraska USA for the war effort in Europe, but obviously they were a bit ‘rough’ to say the least. Anyway, Lambrettas were made under license all over the world at one time or another by Serveta in Spain, Fenwick in France, NSU in Germany, API in India, Yulon in Taiwan, Pasco in Brazil, Siambretta in Argentina and finally Auteco in Columbia whose were most probably used to covertly distribute big bags of cocaine rather than mobilising the masses.
So the history lesson is gone and so are most of the Lambrettas made but thanks to father and son, Trevor and Grant Edwards (no relation to the King Edwards potatoes), this gorgeous pair of Lambrettas has been restored to impeccable standards for people, like myself, to enjoy once again.
These guys took a 1964 Li 150 Special (from Serveta) and a 1969 GP150 (from Italy), which were nothing but junk and turned them into these show-winning creations. Now before you all go, “ooo, I wouldn’t mind doing something like that”, read this first: The baby blue Li 150 (Grant’s - aged 41) sucked up R36, 000 in spares and at least 1,000 man-hours! Trevor’s (aged 66) GP150 also unashamedly ate up R35,000 in spares and a very patient 1,300 man-hours to complete, or well over three years each of curious attention to detail. Do you have the time and approach, maybe not now, eh? 
Now I’ve seen many a restoration job where people just paint the thing and polish the engine cases which is all well and good but to do a proper job like this has to become an obsession and shares in Aspirin will be much needed for the accompanying headaches. The ‘Edwardsbrettas’ sourced parts from all over the world including the UK where there’s still a massive Lambretta following (new born Mods and all that) and even from Saigon, which is weird. But get them they did, so well done sirs!
Every clip, bolt and screw and more on these scooters is immaculately installed and all the original labels for running in, fuel-mixture and more were sourced and fitted to keep it ‘real.’ The paintwork is again to Rolls Royce standards and stunningly executed right here in SA by a classic car restoration expert, which shows when you get up close and personal. The antique white/wood brown GP150 is an original colour but Grant decided to choose this baby blue option for his Li 150 Special (I think they said it used to be yellow) but it works for me. The only real non-standard additions are the adoption of carpeting inside the floor wells, when they used to be just exposed metal. The reason being, the ‘Lamwards’ don’t want to scratch the expensive paintwork, shame. 
Grant chose to fully carpet his blue/white ride with black fur to go with the black trim, or to match the ‘full-fur’ naughty bits from the sixties, I believe. Trevor, inexplicably, went for a much more modern ‘Brazilian’ approach with smooth naked tan vinyl down the sides and a tuft of carpet down the centre, very odd and cool, but noticeable.
To be honest it’s so hard to put into words how well finished, prepared and presented these scooters are and I was surprised when I asked to have a quick go that they said OK, because both machines have done less than 10 miles (16kms) since they were finished. Unsurprisingly they both felt like new, which I suppose they are. Trevor’s ran the best while Grant’s needed a spot of jet attention to lean it off a little. Still, going through the hand operated four-speed gearbox (a bit like a mountain bike) with a clutch brought back gushing memories for me and I had forgotten how small these Lambrettas were, and did I mention they’re cute off the cute scale? The ‘ring-ding’ noise of a two-stroke Lambretta is still unique, even today, and they smell nice and I want one too. So thanks for the privilege gents and poor old Grant was annoyed because even he has not been allowed to ride his dad’s, as of yet.
This is what happens though when you go to this extreme, they become your children, siblings, loved ones and must be treated as such and I for one can’t blame them. If you ever see these guys on the streets buy them a beer because they deserve it and without devoted people like this all types of vehicles could be lost forever. But for now thanks so much Trevor and Grant for letting me also go back to the sixties.
Go have a look see at www.lambrettamotorcycles.com
