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From: "Brahms, Jan-Hinrichs "
Subject: Racing Lambrettas
To: Hi Jonbretta, here are 2 photos af me racing on the NÄrburg-Racingcircuit on a Lambretta LC (NSU-made) and on a ''D'' in 2004 and 2005. This year the race will be an the 14th of May.
Best regards, Jan (Germany)
Hi John, here's an interesting site www.classic-scooter-racing.com best regards Jan

Lambro T-40


click the pics to enlarge them.
HI JON I AM DENNIS. I HAVE A LAMBRETTA LAMBRO THAT I WOOD LIKE YOU TO PUT THE PICTURES I WELL SENDYOU. ON YOUR WEB. IT IS A 1957 LAMBRO T-40 I AM OLDEST KNOWN OWENER IN THE BOOKS . TO HAVE THIS ONE STELL RUNNING.
I HAVE HAD THIS FOR ABOUT TWO YEARS. I PAID AT A AUCTION FOR THE LAMBRO $100.00 I NOW HAVE $8000.00 IN IT. I WELL SEND SOME MORE PICTUERS TWO SHOW WHAT IT LOOK LIKE WHEN I STARED ON IT.
YES I SENT THE MOTOR TO LAMBRETTA WORK IN CALIA FORNA. THE RIEPPED ME OFF $1300.00 TO OVER HAL THE MOTOR. I LIVE IN SALT LAKE CITY UTAH. I KNOW THE 400 WHICH YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT THAT IS THE GUY . VINCE AT WEST COAST LANBRETTA THAT RIEPPED ME OFF HE IS A PICE OF SHIT. I WOULD NEVER DO BUSISING WITH THEM.
LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINKS OF MY LAMBRO,
THANKS, DENNIS.

'' I'd always loved the look of vintage Italian scooters and decided back in 1999 Id like to be involved in restoring one. Mechanically, Im hopeless so my plan was for me to source the parts via the Internet and to leave the actual restoration to an expert. I bought my 57 LD Mk 3 as a basket case (see photos). The engine ran but the rest was pretty average. The guy I bought it from had three LDs stuffed down the side of his house. He wanted $A400 for mine and $A600 each for the other two. To put that in perspective, $A400 is $US300 and around 180 English Pounds. Very very cheap. Understandably, one of my greatest regrets now is not having bought those other two scoots.
Anyway, with the help of a talented bloke called Ron De Pannone, who is probably the best resto man in Australia and knows Lambrettas and Vespas backwards, we acquired the necessary, quality parts from the United States, Italy and England and rebuilt my LD from the ground up. Ron was also able to cannibalise a couple of wrecked LDs in his own workshop for hard to acquire bits and pieces. Hes very good at doing that and makes things on his own lathe when he cant find the genuine article. Remarkably, the engine had done very little work so she runs beautifully and, dressed in candy apple red and arctic white, is an absolute eye popper.
I love the simple lines of the LD and think of her more as a fine piece of classic Euro design than a viable means of transport. The big distances we have to travel here in Western Australia mean its safer and faster to use my car. So, the LD sits quietly in the corner something special to admire. ''
All the best, Russell Bishop
Key to photos:
Lower left; thats my LD on the left. Its a 125cc. My restorer Rons LD Mk 3 150cc is on the right.
Upper left and right; my LD as I bought it.

Robert Bressler from the Sunshine State as last I heard was hoping to find a home for this charming, well-heeled 1955 LD MK II. It appears highly original and unmolested, and features original accessory footboard extensions, fork link covers, toolbox and apparently original paint and everything else.
This notice of availability is a couple of months old and so it you're interested email me and I'll get you in contact with him to see if it's still his. Robert.Bressler@assurant.com

Scooter insurance rates!
I've had insurance on my scooter with Progressive (now known as ''Drive '') for a few years now at $80.00 per year. I just got my renewal and the cost has gone up to $250.00. I called to ask why and was told that ''Drive'' has ''re-evaluated'' its premiums. I'd say so. I'm asking for help from anyone who knows of a more reasonable deal; write in and let us all know who to insure with to avoid the

BIG INSURANCE REAMARANDO!
Please write in with your experiences or tips, good or bad, regarding this subject. ALOT of people read this site, it'll be a big help. Thanx.
Maybe they could make their name '' Ream '', or '' Extort ''; one verb's as good as another I suppose, some are more truthful than others.
BIG UPDATE APRIL 14;I just got suggested to try McGraw Insurance/Pacific Specialty Insurance Co. I remember them from that I used to have them on one of my scoots. I'll check it out, but who else know something about this issue? Come on, we're all in this together.
UGLY UPDATE APRIL 19; Went to buy McGraw Insurance and here's what happened:
I built my TVII out of parts and had it a number of years before I registered it. To finally register it a couple of years ago I had to take it to the California Highway Patrol to have a physical verification of the bike done per DMV rules. The bike had no emblems or ''Lambretta'' designations on it so the CHP wouldn't register it as a Lambretta but only as a ''Special Construction'' (unknown make) vehicle. That, then, is what went on the DMV registration as the make. At the time I said ''yeah, so what?''
Now when I try to get new insurance for a Special Construction bike, it's SKY HIGH! $400 plus per year! Don't let your scooter get registered as a Special Construction! So now first of all I have to go back through the process of getting the bike properly re-designated as a Lambretta. BUT WAIT, IT GETS WORSE!
McGraw/Pacific Specialty Insurance has NO LISTING FOR LAMBRETTA as a make of vehicle! so they can't give a quote for it. They have a listing for Vespa...
The agent also mentioned a company called Carnegie something or other, who wouldn't touch a Spec. Const. vehicle but might look at a Lambretta. Before I do anything I have to get the bike re-designated.
UPDATE MAY; Went to the Cal. DMV to re-register. Took some emblems to show that it was a Lambretta. First I went to one DMV location in San Diego, the crappy one on Normal Street, because it was closer. I got total resistance and sceptacism about what I was trying to do. I left. Went to the DMV in El Cajon and got total assistance and co-operation. I just got back my new registration stating that the make is LAMBRETTA!. Right on. This is experience is consistant with what I've learned about dealing with the DMV: if you can't get anywhere with them, politely excuse yourself without leaving a paper trail of your visit, regroup your story and your strategy based on that first attempt, and go to another office to try again. It always works for me. Questions? Comments? come on, let's here 'em.
UPDATE DECEMBER; I've been riding sparingly the last few months as I was without insurance. Well I just got in a position to afford insurance again so I got the idea to call a scooter shop and I picked MotorSport Scooters, Alex Cohen's shop in San Diego. Max there told me to try AAA and he was right. If you meet their reasonable criteria they're very reasonable. Minimum legal requirement liability only on my TV II was $66.00 a YEAR!. With some raised liability amounts and some comp and collision I'm still at only $128/year! Triple A. check 'em out, they're the hands-down low-price leader. I checked State Farm at around $400 a year and Progressive at $250 or something. No way. Go AAA.

New Zealand's MATHEW COCHRAN
takes the LaDy out on a date.
''i could lean her right over both ways...''

It only happened once. It was the first time we were to race at the Mt Wellington Kart track. I'd organised the affair and only days before i'd managed to seize my GP175. I'd bought a new chamber from west coast and had been giving it assholes on the motorway, as you do, when it had a de power. So I looked at my dusty LD150 sitting in the corner of the shed and thought, what if. So i stripped off the centre stand and headed off for our 1st race day.

I'd bought some racier rubber for the 8'' rims so i was happy to get the old thing over a little. Once i was out at the track i realised i had more clearance issues than just the stand. On the right hand bends i was dragging the base of the kickstart. The poor thing was wavering about as the thing ground at its base so i pulled the lever as well, but not the lever base bracket. Now the practices were getting interesting, i could lean her right over both ways to the point i was scraping the floorboards. Considering the capacity and years I was giving away to some PX200s they never got away. It has to be said the guys on them were new to scootering and finding their feet a little on the track. But it made me and the LD feel better as i could brake later, and ride under them. On the straights they'd claw me back and then in the corners i'd recover the lost ground. There was a good range of bikes in the field that day. Standard ss90's, a Cezetta (repowered with a honda CB250), ss180's, PX200s and a PK135. Turned out to be an awesome introduction to racing, and very cool aboard an old machine. Given that the GP is now going, the LD is again relegated to the corner of the shed. I've thought about 'tuning' her before, getting the west coast barrel tune done. And having seen the carb graft on this website, it maybe something that i add to my project list. Locals have told me I'm mad to tune an LD. Leave it alone they say, you'll create more problems than you fix. But it would be great to have an LD appearance with a little extra under the hood. So thats my LD race story, the GP is suffering the abuse now, until that is it depowers again and then and only then will the LD hit the track again.