Bring out your inner mod!

Scooters are not particularly speedy, some people feel they lack street credibility, and we don’t have the ideal climate for them.

But there are many people around aged over 50 who cut their motoring teeth with them.

Lambrettas and Vespas are not ton-up machines but they do have a significant following as a quirky, classic, almost iconic throwback to a less complicated, less restricted era.

This tide of nostalgia has given rise to a thriving business for Phil Hubbard who runs Salop Scooters at Vicon Works, Milton Drive, Market Drayton.

He has what may be described as a “scooter mountain”, with getting on for 50 machines spread around his massive workshop.

“People may think I just tinker about with a few machines in a garden shed; they should see my workshop, which covers 3,000 sq ft,” said Phil.

Scooters were pretty well accepted as the first mode of transport for youngsters in the ’60s.

Buy a licence, stick on a couple of L-plates and off you went. Crash helmets were not required, and riding lessons were unheard of; just pull on an anorak, add a few extra rear-view mirrors and hit the road.

Phil, who was born and bred in Market Drayton, has been riding scooters since he was 16. He carved out a career as a mechanic and also worked abroad, spending time as a professional driver.

He never lost that early attachment to scooters and now offers a comprehensive service covering just about everything for classic Lambretta and Vespa owners.

His family-run business specialises in restoration, and the work that he does is of the highest quality. They even have a particularly favourite scooter which is 47 years old and still going strong.

His hobby-cum-business is thriving, so much so that Phil travels to the continent to import old scooters, particularly from Spain. At the moment he has his eye on a consignment in Marseilles.

He has converted an old ambulance, extending the wheelchair lift, which he uses to transport up to half a dozen scooters at a time.

Immaculate

The machines are then stripped and restored to immaculate condition, with buyers – especially in London – almost queuing up to own one.

Artistic paint jobs result in really eye-catching machines ranging from the restrained to the wacky.

At the moment Phil is offering scooters painted with a Quadrophenia theme, harking back 30 years to when the cult film portrayed “mods” and “rockers” clashing at Brighton, a regular occurrence then.

You can also buy an unrestored Vespa or Lambretta from Phil and carry out your own renovations, or just have your own machine serviced.

The range of parts, accessories, spares (both new and secondhand) and clothing offered by Salop Scooters is vast.

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