It was a typical Saturday morning for Michael Blackburn. He was hanging out with friends at the local coffee shop, Diamonds, and talking about motorcycles.
One of Blackburn’s friends, Steve Doeden—knowing that Blackburn already owned one motor scooter—asked Doeden if he might be interested in owning another. One of Doeden’s neighbors had told Blackburn that Doeden and his siblings rode an Italian scooter around the yard as kids, but when they got older, it was parked in his mother’s garden shed. Decades later, it was still there.
“I really didn’t want another scooter,” Blackburn says. “But the ‘Guy Rule’ dictates that I must at least put an eyeball on it.” So the following weekend, Blackburn followed his GPS to Doeden’s mom’s house, about 20 miles away.
“After the snow blower, lawn mower, and other yard implements were removed, the scooter was revealed,” he says. “It was in a sorry state. Parts were scattered around, the rear tire was dry rotted, the front was flat, the cast iron center kickstand was broken, and the tool box was a mouse condo. We dragged it outside where it saw the light of day for the first time in 36 years.”
But the sunshine didn’t help; it was still pretty rough. Blackburn identified it as a 1958 Lambretta 150Ld that “ran when parked.” Blackburn really wanted to take a pass on the scooter, though, so he offered the woman $100, hoping to get back into his warm truck without violating the “Guy Rule.” Problem was, she accepted his offer.
Michael Blackburn didn’t want to buy the scooter, a 1958 Lambretta. But the “Guy Rule” dictated that he at least look at it before saying no. When he saw this wreck of a bike, he still managed to say, “Yes, I’ll take it.” MICHAEL BLACKBURN
Blackburn was sunk; he didn’t want the scooter because he had too many other projects at the same time. Plus, he didn’t have room for it. When his friend Bob Steck offered his heated garage for storage, Blackburn crafted a plan; he would restore the scooter and present it to his wife at a Father’s Day event in eight months.
The next weekend, Blackburn and Steck hosed off the Lambretta and removed the mouse condo. They removed the spark plug and discovered the engine produced spark. Sourcing parts from the United States, England, India, and Israel, Blackburn replaced tires, tubes, exhaust, and cables, and rebuilt the carburetor.
He restored the scooter in a “Mod” British motif and presented it to his wife, Colleen, as a surprise. It runs and rides great. MICHAEL BLACKBURN
On a chilly February day, Blackburn filled the fuel tank with fresh fuel, pushed it down the driveway, popped the clutch, and the engine fired up! He rode it around the block, trying to avoid wiping out on ice and snow in the street.
With spray paint from Ace Hardware and reflective tape, Blackburn decided on an Austin Powers–type, Union Jack paint job for the scooter’s side panels because that was all the style in the 1960s.
As Father’s Day approached, Blackburn was pressed for time, but he was still able to get a license plate with his wife’s name: Colleen. “The scooter still needed a couple of things fixed, but it made the big unveil under its own power with family and friends watching,” Blackburn says. She was completely surprised,” he remembers, “I was a god…for about an hour!”