Blogs from the LCOC
How often do we hear comments about chopped scooters, along the lines of, why?, and the like, for the record a great percentage of chopped Lambretta’s were created in the 80’s when it was deemed fashionable, the days when a series 1 or 2 could be bought for pocket money, how times have changed and so do peoples tastes, those that were around in the 80’s which a large percentage of our members were, we look back at the day when we first fabricated something that resembled a Chopper, peanut tanks, and banana seats were all the rage and often cost as much as the donor scooter, those that were lucky enough to own an angle grinder took to chopping up a Lambretta with relish, series one’s two’s TV’s SX’s nothing was safe, however would it happen today, the answer would have to be a resounding no, with that said, there are often many chopped frames appearing out of the woodwork and are often for sale on eBay, and although our members may own choppers, we still admire the creations of the full frame ilk, custom full frames and standard alike, and many of our members also own some of these creations.
How often do you see a row of standard scooters in a line and maybe in that line there is a chop, to joe public who is walking down the line of scooters, there different, nothing against full frames and there are some fantastic looking full framed scooters out there, but chops are different in every way, no chop Lambretta is the same, they are always individual, and so are their owners.
There are many chopped scooters that have become classics, originally built in the 80’s and have lasted until this day, either preserved or even restored, yes classics can be restored, to those that know their chops from yesteryear can instantly recognise one, and there were plenty built.
So if your one of those that stand in front of a chopped scooter and frown, or stand amazed at the tenacity of someone chopping up a Lambretta, think of these words, 80’s, go for a stroll on google and look up Lambretta Choppers, then look at the images and then think of when these fantastic looking scooters were originally created, and then think about todays creations, the custom chops that probably cost a kings ransom to build nowadays, but whilst your doing that also think out of the box, picture how many standard scooters all look the same, and would you the standard bearer stand out in the crowed, don’t thinks so, but chops always will, like them or loath them, they have been around for decades and that will never change, and newer chops are still appearing, not chopped from full frames, but from the legacy of frames that were chopped decades ago.
Take a look at our gallery’s as we also have a galley of members chops but for the discerning, we also have a gallery of other scooters owned by our members, proving we like the other side of the coin and some members have even taken to the dark side.