Quadrophenia scooter sold at auction
Jimmy's Lambretta scooter from the 1979 movie Quadrophenia sold at auction for £36,000.
The scooter gained instant acceptance everywhere, its cleanliness and convenience in particular appealing to those who regarded the true motorcycle with suspicion. Scooters would eventually surpass their strictly utilitarian origins to become an integral part of British youth culture in the 1960s as favourite transport of the fashion-conscious ‘Modernists’, or ‘Mods’. The scooter’s enclosed engine and decent weather protection meant that its rider could arrive at a club, doff his parka and look like he’d just stepped out of a taxi, which was a definite advantage within a dandified sub-culture that placed a premium on smartness of appearance.Quadrophenia scooter sold at auction (via Dinosaurs and Robots)
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It may have been a fashion statement, but I have to give much respect to people who regularly use two-wheeled transportation in a place with that kind of weather.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5K4osAGSpE
How come I can't be a mod AND a rocker?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn5vYOwCTak
I thought it had been run over by a lorry!
Ernunnos, it's a bit of a myth that England is constantly rainy. The sky does tend to be overcast quite a lot but it rains no more than,say, the eastern US and Canada.
The fact that you can cycle comfortably year-round makes it actually a far better place for two-wheeled transportation.
RB3M - I thought he'd ridden it off Beachy Head at the end.
*gasp*
FLASHMAN-- no, that was the scooter he stole from Ace Face (Sting). This movie prompted me to get a scooter, and I've had it 20 years now:
http://picasaweb.google.com/tokyodave/VespaRally200#
"How come I can't be a mod AND a rocker?"
Because that would make you a "Rod" or a "Mocker" and no matter which bar you went too, you'd get your heid kicked in...
We are the, we are the, we are the mods
I was a mod before you was a mod.
DaveJenk1ns, that is a gorgeous machine!
(I remember the final scene well [but I guess not well enough] because I used to live near there. And actually, in 2005 when I was back visiting I took a walk up to the top, and happened to watch as a woman did a Jimmy, and drove her Mitsubishi Pajero SUV off Beachy Head... except it wasn't a traumatic, scarring nightmare because she ended up just getting wedged in a crack 100ft down, and the Coast Guard came, rappelled down and rescued her and she was fine, and hopefully still is!)
Thanks, Flashman. It's strange to ride that thing, and to spend money on it: I am investing in an item from my youth, around a symbol from a movie where the moral/message of the story was that you can never recapture that magic moment of invincibility that comes with being 18 years old.
If I were true to my heart, I would sell it to some kid-- it's just so fun to ride... with my hair cut neat and my wartime coat in the wind and sleet.
Every year is the same
And I feel it again,
I'm a loser - no chance to win.
Leaves start falling,
Come down is calling,
Loneliness starts sinking in.
But I'm one.
I am one.
And I can see
That this is me,
And I will be,
You'll all see
I'm the one.
Where do you get
Those blue blue jeans?
Faded patched secret so tight.
Where do you get
That walk oh so lean?
Your shoes and your shirts
All just right.
But I'm one etc.
I got a Gibson
Without a case
But I can't get that even tanned look on my face.
Ill fitting clothes
I blend in the crowd,
Fingers so clumsy
Voice too loud.
But I'm one.
BELLBOY!
Flashman, I live in Manchester, England (after stints in Milan and elsewhere), and let me tell you: it *DOES* rain a lot, here, slowly and consistently... possibly the most treacherous weather for two-wheelers (the road is always slippery even when it doesn't look like it).
Which is why, I guess, scooters have virtually disappeared above Birmingham.
(Whereas in Italy, they are THE method of transportation... which, considering they have loads of very old cities with very narrow streets and decent weather most of the year, is actually a very smart move.)
davejenk1ns, I'll second the compliments on that scooter. It's beautiful. Seeing it makes me regret buying cheap modern machines, but I guess when it's something I ride most every day to work it's good for it to be reliable... Sigh. Italian scooter. Want.
My P135x is about as reliable as you can get. And the New England isnt like the Old. We get snow. Lots of it. But I manage to ride well into November/early December and start up again in march. Got 3 spotlights, 10 mirrors, backrest, whip aerial, cowl protectors, chrome horncast and headset top, handlebar tassels, all that shit.