Young scooter owners of the 1960s had a seemingly insatiable appetite
for speed and power. Shops appeared offering performance tuning services
for the first time and a new era of scootering dawned. The scene went
underground in the 1970s but the release of Quadrophenia inspired a new
wave of devotees going into the 1980s. The introduction of the TS1
cylinder kit for the Lambretta and the T5 Vespa by Piaggio took the
tuning scene in a new direction. Now the pure Lambretta and Vespa street
racer came to the forefront. Owners blew huge budgets and their stunning
creations took these machines to a new level. Today the Lambretta and
Vespa Street racer scene continues to thrive. Author Stuart Owen traces
the development of Lambretta and Vespa tuning down the decades using
dozens of rare period images and highlighting every significant
technological milestone along the way.