Last Sunday was the now-famous LALO ride in San Francisco. LALO stands for "Loose Association of Lambretta Owners", and the ride has become one of the best of the year. Many of the traditional scooter rallies have become inundated with new twist-n-go scooters, but the LALO keeps the vintage flag flying.
This year's ride coincided with a lot of other events, and so it was down in attendance from last year's 100 plus scooters. Nevertheless, it is hard to beat a ride with 50 Lambrettas on a clear warm day in San Francisco. In past years, the ride went over the Golden Gate Bridge into the Marin Headlands. This year changed things up, and we rode to Treasure Island, in the middle of the San Francisco bay.
Many more photos below the jump!
We lined up the scooters a Pier 30, near the foot of the Bay Bridge. There is a landmark restaurant on the pier, "Red's Java House", which serves a non-nonsense lunch. Here you see two of the Scooterlounge.com crew's scooters in the foreground. Dano's restored SX200, and Paul's original condition SX200. Just behind is friend of the site Pelayo's SX150.
Detail shot of a neat front fender accessory on a TV175 series II. This scooter is an unrestored original scooter.
Another detail from the TV175. This sticker is a badge of honor. It is the dealer sticker for the Lambretta dealer in San Francisco. It means that this scooter has lived all its life in SF, and has never been repainted.
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Another dealer sticker, this one was on a Li125 series III. I really like to see the dealer stickers. Like the running-in decals, they speak to originality. Unlike the running-in stickers, they are not being reproduced.
A photo of Dano's restored SX with the Bay Bridge and Treasure Island in the background.
The due fratelli! You can't ask for more than two nice Lambrettas on a very nice day.
A detail photo of the leghield badge on an unrestored 150 DL. The DL/GP were not widely sold in the US, and thus, they are very rare. This one was in excellent condition. I like the different script on the "Lambretta" badge.
A nice custom TV175 series II. This one has a turning front mudguard, probably from a Spanish TV. The spotlight adds a rally look to the scooter. Nice!
An original condition Li150 Special. All of the old parking permit stickers on the legshield are from around 1967. I love that kind of stuff.
Part of the scooter line up for the big picture. Paul is in the foreground, followed by Dano.
Paul's SX with the city in the background. The most beautiful scooter in front of the most beautiful city. The rally rode around Yerba Buena/Treasure Island, and stopped for a photo op before returning to the city.
Another view of the scooters lined up for a photo on Treasure Island. The Bay Bridge is in the background.
The rally pulled one of the typical cheeseball scooter rally manuvers, and rode down Lombard Street - the twistiest street in the country. In the foreground is Mike on his yellow GP200. He customized it with cool "super bee" graphics from a 60's muscle car. It fit the scooter perfectly.
All-in-all, the LALO is just a good time with good people. Scootering is all about the friends you meet along the way. This ride just has a great low key vibe, and it brings out many long-time scooterists. Thanks to John for organizing the ride every year - and we hope to see you out there next time!
Hey Paul!
Nice pics and comments.
Had a great time at my first LALO event. This was my first real run with the SX since we exchanged emails a few months back when I first got her.
Sorry I didnt recognize you and spend a little time chatting with you. Next time!
Dean