Eye-catching cutdowns are always interesting machines. We asked Stu Smith to find out more about Darren Houlker’s Stone Roses ‘Fools Gold’ tribute Vespa…
Sc: How and when did you get into scooters?
DH: When I was 13 I was hanging out with my pals next to the River Mersey near to where I lived and we saw a Vespa 100 Sport dumped in the water. We dragged it out and I wheeled it back to my house. I put it behind my dad’s greenhouse and after leaving it there for about six months my dad finally told me to move it “or else!” At that time there was a lad who lived down the street who had scooters. I walked down to see him and asked what I needed to do to get the scooter going. Armed with his advice I returned home, took the carb off and cleaned it out, emptied and cleaned the fuel tank and filled it with fresh fuel; after a couple of kicks it started up and the rest is history.
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Sc: Tell me about this scooter.
DH: In spring 2022 I’d been scrolling through the internet on my phone, I saw it for sale and I liked the look of it. It had Northern Soul themed wraps all over it, but I could see beyond that, and I already had a few ideas in mind for it. So I contacted the guy who was selling it and we did a deal.
Sc: When you got the scooter what was the first thing you did?
DH: My initial plan was to develop it with eye-catching paintwork, so I stripped it down and removed the wraps. Once that was done I keyed the paintwork and handed it over to a pal of mine who’s got a body shop. We had a chat about the paintwork and decided on £500 per litre TVR Chameleon Blue.
“We had a chat about the paintwork and decided on £500 per litre TVR Chameleon Blue”
Sc: When did you decide to develop the theme?
DH: I ran it with the Chameleon Blue paint job for about 18 months and it looked great. However, over the course of that time I decided that I wanted to add custom paintwork and murals. I was brought up in Manchester and I’ve been into The Stone Roses and the Manchester sound since it all began in the late 80s/early 90s. With that in mind I approached my pal, Lewis Williams, who’s a master at airbrushing. Lewis also used to work for a company called Ride-Low Manchester and in his opinion the style and shaping of the scooter gave off a low-rider vibe. Everything linked perfectly; the theme, the choice of paint specialist and the style.
Sc: How did you organise the custom paint and artwork?
DH: Having discussed everything in depth with Lewis we agreed the basic format and after that I gave him free rein to complete the work. When I got the scooter back and rebuilt it looked perfect.
Sc: Have you made any performance upgrades to the scooter?
DH: When I got the scooter it was running on a standard PX125 engine, which gave me the perfect foundation to work from. While it was being painted I handed the engine over to another one of my pals, Mike Phoenix, to make some upgrades. My briefing was simple: make it as quick as possible!
Sc: Are there any specialised parts?
DH: It’s got 6in extended forks, a cut-down frame and side panels, a one-off custom cross-frame fuel tank and single slope-back race-style seat. I’ve also added an aftermarket gold effect flywheel cover and kick-start along with chequer board footplates and a polished aluminium centrepiece. I’ve given it a smoked rear light lens, which complements the base paint. In the headlight lens, using specialist hologram paint, Lewis has skilfully added a portrait of Ian Brown. Alongside that, other front-end custom additions include Sundance grips and a period reproduction tax disc.
Sc: What’s it like to ride and have you shown it yet?
DH: It was completed in summer 2024 and it’s the best I’ve ever ridden. After riding it for a couple of months, in September, I entered it into the Navigator Riders’ multi-meet and on its first showing it won Best Scooter.
Stu says:
When Darren first saw this scooter he was presented with a machine in which he saw potential; and that in turn sparked his imagination. Later, he chose to take it to a higher level of custom work and as a result he’s succeeded in developing it into the fantastic looking, ridden-not-hidden low-rider custom cutdown that it is today.
Words: Stu Smith Photos: Darren Houlker
Article originally appeared in Scootering Magazine April 2025. To subscribe and grab some Meguiars cleaning freebies visit https://classicmagazines.co.uk/scootering?offer=SCOME2026
