T
heskeleton,or‘skelly’,isan
oftenoverlookedpartofour
richscooteringheritage.If
the 1960 scanbe
characterisedasthedecade
ofaccessorisedscooters,howdidwe
reachthestageoftakinganglegrindersto
otherwisehealthyscootersinthe 1980 s?
Theanswerliesinthe 1970 s.In
Darwiniantermsthisiswhenour
speciesevolved.
WiththeModsseeminglyconsignedto
historyandsmallcarsliketheMinitaking
theplaceofmotorcyclesinworking-class
families,therewasnoshortageof
discardedscooters.Noonethoughtof
themaspotentialclassicsandtheycould
beboughtforafewpounds.Youthhas
alwayssoughtawaytoexpressitselfand
thesebargain-basementscooterswerean
affordablewaytodojustthat.Whether
theoriginalinspirationwasEasyRideror
BayCityRollers,anewstyleofscooter
emerged.Usually,butnotalways,aSeries
1 or 2 thathadbeenstrippedtoitsbare
essentials,butstillretainingafullframe,
theaccessorieswereoutrageousforthe
time.‘Chopper’handlebarswerecommon;
spotlightsreplacedtheusualillumination;
andrunningboardsusuallyneededa
carpenter,notawelder.
Theyquicklybecameassociatedwith
theskinheadmovementandtheirera
burnedbright,butshort.Onemanwho
recallsseeingsuchcreationsinhishome
townofWiganwasPatJoyntand
fortunatelyhisteam,atSaigonScooter
Centre,waseagertodohisbidding.
“IhadanoldSeries 2 framefloating
aroundandwasdeterminedtodo
somethingdifferentwithit,”saidPat“I’d
alreadystartedbuildingacut-downso
didn’twanttogodownthatroute.I
recalledthatDeanatRiminihadbuilta
skellysometimebackandIthoughtif
anythingwasgoingtostandoutinSaigon
thatwouldbeit.”
Aftercleaningtheframedownitwas
reallyonlyamatterofsendingitforpaint.
Woodenfloorboardsweremanufactured
andasSaigon’sclimateisn’tfriendlyto
wood,theseweregivenseveralcoatsof
varnish.OvertheyearsPat’sbuyingtrips
toItalyhavebuiltupastockofalmost
SaigonSkelly
The 1970 swerelong regarded asthe decadethat
style forgot,but whether it’s RallyChoppers or
flares,old school is definitelycool.
R
E
A
D
ERS RID
E
S
C
O
OTER
IN
G
52 |SCOOTERING|AUGUST 2019
