Achieving the desired result is one of the most important elements of any build. Paul Turvey gave this a lot of consideration, so we asked Stu Smith to find out more…
SC: How and when did you get into scooters?
PT: “As a teenager I was into the Mod scene and The Jam. One of the influences which led me to scooters was the Vespa wiring diagram on the inner sleeve of the All Mod Cons album. I started looking for a scooter when I was 16 and after I’d got the word out, I managed to purchase an Italian GP200 for £90!”
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SC: Did you keep the GP?
PT: “When I turned 17 I started riding it, but because I was into 60s Mod-style scooters its modern appearance didn’t deliver the look I was after. So, through a contact in the scooter club I was with, I managed to get a Series 2. It came with a chrome front mudguard, which was the deal-clincher, and after that I customised it with lights and mirrors.”
SC: How did you come to own this scooter?
PT: “Over the years I’d owned several scooters and at the time I was riding a Vespa PX, which like the GP was a more modern scooter. Again, it just didn’t feel right; I couldn’t shake off my passion for older scooters so I let it go and bought an LD. I loved the shape of it and it was certainly an older scooter, but having said that, it wasn’t the right platform for the Mod-style look I was after. After owning a Series 2 for a while I eventually got this one.”
“After cleaning out the carb, giving it some fresh fuel and a thorough check-over it started on the second or third kick”
SC: How did you find this scooter?
PT: “I’d been searching the internet and found it for sale at the Scooter Emporium. It was an Italian import and was the perfect platform for what I had planned. When I went over to collect it, I saw Marco and he recognised me from the Brighton rallies in the 80s. After reminiscing for a while I got it home and after cleaning out the carb, giving it some fresh fuel and a thorough check-over it started on the second or third kick!”
SC: How did you develop the project?
PT: “As soon as I’d got the scooter home it went straight into my garage. I already had the basic plans for it in mind, which included a paint job, engine upgrades and accessories. I started by stripping it down and then organised the paintwork. At the time I was doing a repair job for a guy called Steve, who had a paint and body shop which had been broken into and we did a deal. We agreed that in return for the repairs I was doing for him he’d paint and powder coat the scooter in the colours that it’s in now. In the meantime, I organised a few engine upgrades and then over the years I’ve added the accessories.”
SC: What’s the engine set-up now?
PT: “I ran it for a while on a 175 kit without any problems but I’d seen a Scootopia 185 kit which I liked. After I’d ordered one I did another deal, this time with one of my scooter pals who, in exchange for a set of GP side panels, fitted the kit and set it up with a Scootopia carb and Casa Clubman exhaust.”
SC: The scooter’s a real head-turner, how did you achieve that?
PT: “I was looking for the right balance; I definitely knew that I wanted the Mod-style look and in the past I’ve had all the lights and mirrors, but this time I wanted to develop an appearance which delivered a 60s dealer special showroom-style look supported by the right amount of accessories.”
SC: Tell me about the accessories?
PT: “The front mudguard is fitted with ‘clamshell’ and Biemme Spaceship embellishers, both of which are quite hard to find. Then there’s a horn grille embellisher and regular crash bars round the front of the scooter. The seat’s an original Everest item, which was completed by Andy Nixon in leopard skin print. Behind that there’s a set of D-bars and rear roll/crash bars. At the back of the scooter there’s a rear carrier fitted with a rare 60s Hertfordshire County badge and to finish things off there’s an original Italian number plate embellisher.”
Stu says:
As we all know progress is in the challenge and not in comfort. If you’re going to make progress you must step out of your comfort zone and in Paul’s case his internal driver finally guided him back to developing the 60s Mod-style scooter he’d always been looking for.
Article originally appeared in Scootering Magazine Mar 26. To subscribe and some Meguiars cleaning freebies visit https://classicmagazines.co.uk/scootering?offer=SCOME2026
