Lambretta LN 125 “Il Arrive”


Scooter Infos (Pictures) and Scooter Station report the new Lambretta LN 125 was unveiled in Paris this morning, and will be on sale in France in August. They confirm it’s built by SYM (with a SYM Fiddle engine and some Italian parts) which is good news, quality-wise, but probably bad news, U.S.-distribution-wise. The European distributor is Mooof in Belgium.

The design is as good as could be hoped for, it’s pretty swoonworthy, to be honest. Let’s hope the quality and service are there to back up the looks, especially for a 125cc bike priced at US$5345. (Note: that’s the EU price converted to dollars, there always seems to be a substantial markup for the U.S. market.)

13 thoughts on “Lambretta LN 125 “Il Arrive””

  1. Look at the last photo on Scooter-infos, where it’s compared to an original Lambretta. It’s obviously larger, but for what it is (a modern twist-and-go) it really couldn’t be much better-designed. My only niggle is the fork-mounted fender rather than the traditional fixed fender, but that might be a legal/safety necessity.

  2. I kind of regret the comparison pic, because on its own, it’s a nice looking scooter. Compared to the original, it looks a bit chunky. I’m certainly no purist and don’t want to quibble about every little detail they got wrong.

    The SYM connection is pretty interesting.

  3. I too believe Purist certainly will shun this bike regardless of how well built it is and if SYM does have a part it probably is well made
    (example) Just take a close look at how nice the Lavita by Hammerhead is and it is IMO @ $2500 and how disappointing the sales numbers are for that well done replica..
    A switch under the seat is not a guarantee that SYM is the manufacturer but I’ve seen that switch in that location on so many SYM and other brands manufactured by SYM that it makes me curious.

  4. I guess I’ll be the guy to say “blech”.

    Blech.

    Looks good from the rear 3/4 angle, and that’s about it. Front end looks fat and out of proportion. Comparing it to the original only highlights it’s flaws.

    The only “retro” vehicle to get it right is the Ford GT. Even the Mustang isn’t slavish replication but evocation.

    Emulate less, evoke more.

  5. I too believe Purist(s) certainly will shun this bike

    Except they aren’t selling it to purists. Those folks can gnash their teeth and rend their garments all they want… there is a much larger potential audience of people who, if the name means anything at all to them, will buy it because the scooter has the same name as the overpriced parka hanging in their closet. Or they’ll buy it because they like the way it looks, whether they’ve seen an original, or not. The modern sportbike-meets-spaceship look doesn’t appeal to everyone, and in a market full of lookalike products, a way to stand out must be found.

    And I think the choice of SYM running gear is a good one. Remember, they still make Cubs for Honda, and Honda is not going to risk its reputation for quality. All the SYM scooters I’ve looked at closely are carefully assembled from high-quality components. The plastic panels fit precisely, the engines run quietly and smoothly.

    I hope a way can be found for this scooter to be sold in the U.S. It needn’t be called a “Lambretta”…

  6. who says they aren’t selling to purists? they wouldn’t use the lambretta name if they weren’t trying to sell the purists something…

  7. this bike has alot more Metal on it more like the vespa LX so they say?
    If it takes off and sales are good word its to increase the QT.
    Mr. Henry had just got one the weekend of Lammy Jammy up in Vancover BC word was he was going to head down to Ptown scooters but never made the trip…

    I am sure we will see them soon. pre-sale in UK was around 250 but I bet is alot less then that….

    and I hope some agreement happens so it can be called Lambretta in American because if not whats the point…

  8. I was thinking this was the plastic version, but now that I read my own posts, I see the LN is the metal version and the plastic version is due later. So maybe the price (and the comparison to the Vespa rather than the La Vita) is appropriate.

    Of course the difference from Vespa (and the fear) is that the Lambretta is, to some degree, badge engineering. Let’s hope it’s more like the Vespa than the Benelli Velvet (or, God help us, Italjet) which is also “Designed in Europe, built in Asia.” Of course SYM is leagues above QJ and whoever was cobbling together Italjets, and the Consortium fought so hard for years for the name that they seem to have more to lose, but we’ll see.

  9. they wouldn’t use the lambretta name if they weren’t trying to sell the purists something…

    Yes, they would. If their market research people discovered that those most likely to lay out the purchase price of one of these things had heard the name “Lambretta” and had mostly positive feelings about it (and knew nothing else about it), yeah, slap the name on it.

    Many years ago, when I edited a small sports car magazine, I got invited to lunch by some people from Firestone who wanted to run a couple of ideas by car enthusiasts. One involved Firestone dealers selling Pirelli tires: the marketing people said their research showed most Murkins were familiar with the Pirelli name and had the idea Pirelli tires were better than most (and therefore could be priced higher), but couldn’t say why. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if the people behind this bike made a similar discovery. People who wanna be Mods vastly outnumber vintage scooter purists, and are therefore a more lucrative market. The purists aren’t going to buy this thing, even though Innocenti would be making something very similar if they’d managed to stay in business…

  10. I wouldn’t put the La Vita anywhere in the discussion comparing this new bike. That bike is just monstrosity. This is a bit better, though modern bloating has done it’s best to ruin the sweet aspects of Lambretta design with underseat storage and 12″ wheels. These are two things that shouldn’t matter that much to a customer, but have an enormous impact on turning a great idea into a sad mistake.

  11. [i]This is a bit better, though modern bloating has done it’s best to ruin the sweet aspects of Lambretta design with underseat storage and 12? wheels. These are two things that shouldn’t matter that much to a customer, but have an enormous impact on turning a great idea into a sad mistake.[/i]

    Exactly. I have zero problem with taking the name or the style — just do a good job.

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