The First Lambretta Design
D'Ascanio focused on building a vehicle that could compete with a motorcycle but had no relation to it. The first Lambretta design started with a frame that dropped down from the head, back to the rider, and upward into a basket squarish to hold the engine, gas tank, and rider seat. Attached to the top were handlebars with controls for braking, throttle, and gear changing all via steel cables that snaked to their appropriate components.
To
cut down on road dust and wind, a basic shield bent upward from the
scooter floor to create a physical buffer for the lower part of the
rider. This was intended to cut down on spray and mud while riding
behind someone else. Rather than having an upper frame bar to the
headset at the crotch level as seen on a motorcycle, the frame tube bent
downward in a bit of a U-shape. This allowed women to enjoy the vehicle
as well without compromising their modesty with a raised dress.
The scooter was also designed to be fairly easy to fix on the road if there was a flat tire or breakdown. The front fork assembly utilized an axle design similar to a bicycle, where the axle bolts on the side can be released and the entire front wheel hub dropped off its connecting hooks. In doing so, a tire could be pulled off, replaced, re-inflated and reinstalled with a few basic tools and an air pump.
A second major departure from the general approach of the motorcycle was to use the chain drive design but encase it with an engine cover so that no oil and grease could spray onto the legs of the rider. This enclosed engine approach situated the cylinder and crankshaft assembly in the front of the engine and then connected a sprocket to the crankshaft arm. The sprocket drives the chain which then drives the gears, depending on which one is engaged. The same designed continued with modification through to the last versions of the Lambretta, including the GP200 engines produced by Indian SIL in the late 1990s.
D’Ascanio unfortunately ended up in disagreement with Innocenti. It was D’Ascanio’s hope to use a design that would utilize two components of his previous business ventures prior to World War II, reviving them again. Innocenti didn’t want to head entirely in that direction. This split caused a further fundamental change in the Lambretta design. Innocenti favored the tubing frame approach to be the backbone of the scooter rather than a hollow pressed frame.
In frustration but still looking for a production opportunity, D’Ascanio offered his ideas to Enrico Piaggio who ran with them and created the first Vespa scooter with a monocoque, pressed-steel body frame in 1946. Innocenti didn’t get his tube-core Lambretta approach completed until a year later in 1947.
D'Ascanio focused on building a vehicle that could compete with a motorcycle but had no relation to it. The first Lambretta design started with a frame that dropped down from the head, back to the rider, and upward into a basket squarish to hold the engine, gas tank, and rider seat. Attached to the top were handlebars with controls for braking, throttle, and gear changing all via steel cables that snaked to their appropriate components.
To
cut down on road dust and wind, a basic shield bent upward from the
scooter floor to create a physical buffer for the lower part of the
rider. This was intended to cut down on spray and mud while riding
behind someone else. Rather than having an upper frame bar to the
headset at the crotch level as seen on a motorcycle, the frame tube bent
downward in a bit of a U-shape. This allowed women to enjoy the vehicle
as well without compromising their modesty with a raised dress.The scooter was also designed to be fairly easy to fix on the road if there was a flat tire or breakdown. The front fork assembly utilized an axle design similar to a bicycle, where the axle bolts on the side can be released and the entire front wheel hub dropped off its connecting hooks. In doing so, a tire could be pulled off, replaced, re-inflated and reinstalled with a few basic tools and an air pump.
A second major departure from the general approach of the motorcycle was to use the chain drive design but encase it with an engine cover so that no oil and grease could spray onto the legs of the rider. This enclosed engine approach situated the cylinder and crankshaft assembly in the front of the engine and then connected a sprocket to the crankshaft arm. The sprocket drives the chain which then drives the gears, depending on which one is engaged. The same designed continued with modification through to the last versions of the Lambretta, including the GP200 engines produced by Indian SIL in the late 1990s.
D’Ascanio unfortunately ended up in disagreement with Innocenti. It was D’Ascanio’s hope to use a design that would utilize two components of his previous business ventures prior to World War II, reviving them again. Innocenti didn’t want to head entirely in that direction. This split caused a further fundamental change in the Lambretta design. Innocenti favored the tubing frame approach to be the backbone of the scooter rather than a hollow pressed frame.
In frustration but still looking for a production opportunity, D’Ascanio offered his ideas to Enrico Piaggio who ran with them and created the first Vespa scooter with a monocoque, pressed-steel body frame in 1946. Innocenti didn’t get his tube-core Lambretta approach completed until a year later in 1947.
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