This Lambretta Li150 was born at API in India and arrived in the UK from Bangalore courtesy of Dave at Fanatic Scooters. This scoot in particular stood out in its shipment because it has some attributes of an early API model, but some attributes and an apparent chassis number that date it to 1977. I thought this was interesting, it looked pretty decent, and so I bought it.
So what are its attributes?
It's a Lambretta
It has the Lambretta name on the legshield, and it looks like its been there forever. Around 1972 API lost the rights to the name Lambretta and so a '77 machine should be badged 'Lamby 150'.
Fat front mudguard
Or fender, if you're American! Sometime after losing the Lambretta name, API started to make some of their own adjustments to the Lamby, be it for costcutting or aesthetics. One of them was a narrower front mudguard. This scoot has an early fat one.
Locking panels
Locking panels are believed to have been lost with the switch from Lambretta to Lamby around 1972. They were replaced with much cheaper spring clips. The locking panels on my scoot look original - the catches are welded to the rear of the frame, and they don't look like they've been added on later. The panels also don't have the indented centre seen on later models - they have the cleaner 'bubble' look.
Narrow Toolbox
Later models have these narrower, ribbed toolboxes.
So what's the story? I have two theories:
Theory 1: It was built in 1977
The chassis number (22***) is correct and it was built in 1977. At some point in its life the mudguard, and badges were all changed for older ones, and the panels replaced with locking ones, along with the locking mechanisms being welded into place on the frame.
Theory 2: It was built before 1972
At some point the chassis number has been changed to make it appear newer, and the toolbox replaced with a newer one.
I'm hoping that when I dismantle it I might be able to prove either way what has happened. Perhaps when I strip the frame back to metal I might find an older frame number underneath. Now wouldn't that be nice!
1 comment:
dude, lambys have been notorious for their unreliable frames. Many people who bought lambys have seen the scooter fold into two. So the natural choice would be a stronger frame and chasis. And thats the lambretta. I remember my dad bought a lamby cheap because it broke into two and replaced it with an old lambretta frame and chasis from the scrap market. Even yours could be one of them. Cheers
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