Lambretta Due50 Scooter Review
by Eric Ryan
(Kansas City, MO, USA)
My Lambretta Due50 Scooter
The modern Lambretta Due50 scooter is one of those scooters you'll either love the look of or hate. While it's labeled a Lambretta, the new Lambrettas are actually rebadged ADLY scooters imported by a company in Washington and with upgrades (such as Michelin Pilot tires, better paint, and supposedly some upgraded internal parts... but darned if I know which ones).
In my case, the Due50 is an upgraded ADLY Panther 50. I paid $2,200 total out the door and that included a derestriction/performance package from Lambretta.
However, while ADLY is newer to US shores, they have made scooters for companies in Australia and sold as ADLY Moto in Europe for years, and have been making scooters in Taiwan since 1978.
I purchased my Due50 the first week of July, have put 600km on it to date (it's October now), and it has not had a single problem. The scooter is well built, sips oil (it's a CARB compliant 2 stroke), gets about 75 mpg, and can hit 46 mph on flat ground with me on it (I weigh 170 lbs) and can hit 42 mph with me and my 10 year old son riding double (we hit about 270lbs together, and the scooter is rated to carry 285 lbs).
The scooter has a front disc brake, rear drum, and brakes very well... especially compared to my former 2 scooters (Honda Aero 50 and a 50cc Vespa) which both had dual drum brakes.
My only complaints are that the underseat storage won't hold a full face helmet (a half will fit for sure and a 3/4 may fit depending upon the helmet's width). Also, the front headlight does not have a high beam which some states require (it does have a very good halogen beam - I don't feel the need for the high beam, but in Missouri you also don't need one on a scooter or motorcycle). Finally, the odometer is only in kilometers with the speedometer having kph in large print and mph in small print.
Many vintage Lambretta owners bristle at the thought of this scooter, or the Uno models, being labeled Lambretta, but the company in Washington does own the rights to the name so it's on the up and up.
Personally, I think of it as an ADLY/Lambretta - a modern looking scooter that gets a lot of compliments out on the road, handles great, and is simply fun to ride... I'm very glad I bought it.
A battery tender like the Battery Tender Jr. can make all the difference in whether your scooter will start right up each spring, after being stored for months.
Just about every scooter owner needs to have a battery tender, sometimes called a trickle charger. Unless you are lucky enough to live in a climate where you can ride all year long, chances are your scooter will be put on ice, figuratively-speaking, for at least a couple months every winter.
One of the key steps in winterizing a scooter is to protect your battery from draining during its "rest" period. This can – and will – happen if you leave your battery sitting untended in your cold scooter over the winter, even if it's in a garage or shed.
Subscribe To This Site 
