Working from home has its advantages and for Michael Shattock that included uncovering the story behind a neglected, but much loved, Series 1 Li.
Words: Stan
Images: Stan, Mike Shattock, Lunn family archive
With thanks to: the staff at Peterborough Cathedral
A couple of years ago Mike Shattock moved into his new house in a suburb of Peterborough, set up his home office and got on with the daily grind of work. One morning, while on a particularly boring Teams conference call, he was staring out of the window absent-mindedly watching a man in his 70s jet-washing his driveway across the street. As the Teams call droned on, Mike saw the man disappear into his garage and return with an unmistakable object which he began to clean. “I know a Lambretta frame when I see one,” said Mike. “Strangely the connection broke down on Teams at that very moment… I hurried over to chat with my new neighbour and asked if he knew what he had. His reply took me by surprise. ‘I should do, it was my mum’s,’ he said,” explained Mike. With that simple exchange a story began to unfold that makes JFL 494 a truly exceptional survivor.
Enjoy more Scootering Magazine reading every month.
Click here to subscribe & save.
Roman holidays
In the late 1950s the Lunn family, Reville (aka ‘Rev’), his wife Alice and their children Eric, David and Jean were a tight-knit bunch who enjoyed nothing more than escaping into the countryside by train. The head of the family, Rev, was particularly interested in Roman antiquities and the family would travel the length and breadth of the country to visit archaeological sites, throwing in the odd steam fair for good measure. Being a keen amateur photographer, Rev kept a meticulous record of their holidays in albums which the family still treasures. As Rev and Alice’s family grew up, the size of their expeditions shrunk until only Jean was left at home. Although Rev was never interested in owning a car, or indeed learning to drive, he did think that perhaps there was a better way for the trio to get around, one that would free them from the restrictions imposed by the railway network. As an experiment he bought a used Series 2 Li150, which he fell in love with. So keen was he on this new mode of transport that he bought a second machine, a Series 1 Li, registered number JFL 494, for Alice.
The family were the fourth owners of the machine and although Alice wasn’t initially too enthusiastic about Rev’s plans, she grew to love her scooter and the freedom it brought.
Throughout the 1960s, Rev and Alice travelled around the country; Jean rode pillion with her father while Alice carried the family’s luggage in a battered old suitcase fastened to JFL’s rear rack. In this way JFL clocked up the miles; the destinations it visited included the Lake District, Minehead and Somerset. The latter was particularly memorable as one of the few occasions when JFL objected to its treatment. The access driveway to the family’s B&B was particularly steep, with a gravel surface and a sharp corner. As Alice gunned the engine to get up and around the hairpin, JFL bucked and threw Alice into a bed of nettles!
Misadventure
Incredibly JFL continued in the role until 1975, when David, who was now living in London, went home for a family party. “I’d learned to ride on Mum’s Lambretta but was into motorcycles by then,” explained David. “As I was hurtling up the A1 on my Triumph, suddenly the world became very loud. I looked down and saw that one of my silencers had made a bid for freedom. I turned around only to see it being crushed under the wheels of a lorry. By now Mum could drive but I didn’t fancy going to the party in her car so asked if I could use the scooter, which she agreed to. By the time I’d had enough of the party it was dark. The combination of poor visibility, the Lambretta’s dim headlight and a little youthful exuberance saw me completely misjudge a corner and I ran straight into a stone wall.”
It’s a night that Jean remembers well. “Fortunately we left the party shortly after David, and came across him unconscious in the road. He went off to hospital and the scooter went in the back of Mum’s car.” Fortunately, David suffered no more than some cuts and bruises, but JFL was in a sorry state. In truth the scooter should have been scrapped, but instead Rev dismantled it and put it into his loft.
From there it eventually made its way to Eric’s garage, which is how Mike stumbled across the machine.
Mike and the mechanic
As Mike’s no stranger to a Lambretta rebuild or two, he wasn’t shy in making an offer to buy the Lambretta frame from Eric, but as Mike explained it was clear from the outset that a deal would be hard to come by. “The scooter may have been dismantled but there was still a huge amount of affection for it in the family. Over a period of time I also got to know David and Jean and they shared their memories of the scooter. The more I heard, the more I wanted to own it, especially when they showed me the family photograph albums in which both of their parents’ scooters featured prominently. I’d just about given up on ever owning it when things took an unexpected turn.”
For his rebuilds Mike works with ace restorer Paul Wallace, a man for whom no detail is too small, and Shane, who lays on paint with enviable precision. While Mike was making friends with the Lunns, the trio had been working on a Luna and when this was shown to Eric, he could see that the scooter would indeed be in safe hands. In 2021, ownership of JFL passed to Mike. “What I found both thrilled and disappointed,” said Mike. “Over the years Rev had sold on a few parts; notably the horncast and a single side panel, while the forks, twisted in the accident, were beyond safe repair. It was clear that a conservation was out of the question and so Paul and I embarked on a full restoration, one that we were determined would reflect the scooter’s history.”
What emerged from the workshop is nothing less than stunning, an opinion shared by the judges at the Isle of Wight International, where JFL picked up Best Vintage Lambretta, and at the Maxey Classic Car and Bike Show where it was judged to be the best bike. A decision which ruffled the feathers of a few MV Agusta, BSA and Triumph owners! Although finished its correct factory colours, there have been a few changes for practicalities’ sake; namely a BGM195 kit, with Scootopia ignition, BGM Clubman and a 22mm Scootopia carb. Nothing too outlandish, just enough to make things safe in modern traffic. Throughout the restoration every effort was made to reuse surviving parts, but the rear light unit with its sticker from the supplying dealer Harry Hutt has been preserved, a remade item adorning the replacement unit. Another item that failed to make the cut was the large windscreen, which has been replaced with a far more refined item from SLUK. Unfortunately, Mike’s quest for originality almost had catastrophic consequences on the Isle of Wight. Determined to recycle all the original components, the notoriously weak front hub plate was refitted. Despite having travelled the length and breadth of England, it chose to give up the ghost on the trip to the custom show. Fortunately, it did so at low speed with no harm done.
Friends reunited
After such a painstaking restoration there was only one logical thing left to do and that was submit the scooter for the approval of David and Jean. The unveiling, which took place at Peterborough Cathedral, was particularly emotional as Eric had passed away during the restoration. Once the cover was pulled away both Jean and David confirmed that it was in far better condition than they’d ever seen it before. During the reunion Mike also explained that it hadn’t been possible to save the carrier that had faithfully carried the family’s luggage and he’d commissioned an identical replacement. The only problem was that he hadn’t been able to find a suitable suitcase to complete the look. At this, Jean told him not to worry as she had the original at home! Much to Paul’s dismay, Mike then offered David the chance to take JFL for a quick spin, the first time he’d ridden a scooter since that fateful night in 1975. Fortunately, his trip around the block went without a hitch!
At this point it’s fair to assume that our account of JFL’s survival is complete and in some ways it is. However, there’s a final twist in the story. As we explained, JFL was the second scooter to join the Lunn family, it had been preceded by Rev’s Series 2. Incredibly that machine is still owned by the family, carefully tucked away in David’s garage awaiting a decision on how and when it should be restored. Will the Lunn family’s scooters be seen on the road together again? We certainly hope so as theirs is a unique story and in the hands of its new owner, JFL isn’t just surviving, it’s thriving.
