We’d Ride A Scooter If They All Looked As Good As This Lambretta

Photography by Tim Scott

We’re honored to see so many incredible machines come across our desks, but I’ll admit that a few of us in the office were skeptical when we saw the word “Lambretta,” the name of an Italian scooter manufacturer, in an email. Scooters are great and all, but they’re often—and unfortunately—overshadowed by bigger bikes. Over more than 20 years of ownership and a lot of modification, however, there’s no way Tim Scott’s 1966 Lambretta SX 200 would go unnoticed.

A professional automotive photographer by trade, Scott gets to be around some serious metal, including the occasional Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato. When shooting an example for Gregor Fisken, Scott says the color of the car immediately influenced the look of his prized Lambretta.

“I was completely blown away by the color of this car, which seemed to me to place that car firmly in it’s era: the ‘golden age’ of Sports GT racing in the early ’60s,” Scott says. “It was a color used widely by racing Astons of that time.”

This is the scooter’s third transformation, according to Scott, who says he’s changed the look three times, mostly with paint schemes. Underneath any cosmetic modifications, the SX 200 is a special scooter in its own right. “This is a model highly sought after by collectors and enthusiasts. It had, at the time, the most powerful engine available in a Lambretta, and it’s ‘slimline’ look was enhanced by the SX 200’s now-iconic side panel chrome flashes,” he says. “It was also one of the first motorcycles to carry a front disc brake.”

With the cosmetic direction sorted, he entrusted hop-up work on the scooter to Disco Dez Scooters, ending up with twice its original power. “Starting with the engine, the 2-stroke, 11 horsepower unit was overhauled right down to the crank,” Scott says. “A 225-cc top end with Stage 5 fast road tune—by the best in the business, Mark Broadhurst—30mm Dellorto carb, Clubman exhaust, electronic ignition and a 5 speed gearbox…”

He says it’s a never-ending project, but all of the post-rebuild problems have been sorted and it’s now a quick and reliable machine that’s “a blast” to ride around London. “The SX is my absolute pride and joy. It gets more attention than almost anything I’ve ever ridden or driven,” Scott says.

So if you see a very quick green scooter with twin ’60s Marchals from a ’60s Ferrari 250 bombing around London, give Tim Scott a wave—and plan to move aside.

If you’d like to follow Tim Scott’s work, visit his website and follow him on Instagram.