Innocenti Lambretta LC 125 ‘1951

Chassis nr.: 404743, registration no. 7519 RE (the bike’s first and only Italian register nr.)

Fully restored in the 2010s including engine, frame, saddles and fairings. Photo documents about the restoration available.

History and registration documents since the 1950s, even the original registration certificate!

6900 €

Born in Piscaia, Tuscany in 1891, Ferdinandi Innocenti started his business career by establishing a hardware store in Rome. The business grew, and in 1920 Ferdinandi established a factory in northern Italy in Milan, in the Lambrate district. The factory produced everything from soccer stands to railways, and the reconstruction boom in Rome in particular boosted demand.

The factories suffered in the Second World War, but Innocenti had kept them up and running productively for wartime needs even through difficult times. After the war, the factories also started producing for the vehicle industry, inspired by military motorcycles. Enrico Piaggio had introduced the Vespa in 1946, and Innocenti introduced their first scooter, Lambro River by  Lambretta, just a year later. The scooters became a huge success and were manufactured under license in Spain, India, Argentina, Germany, France and Brazil.

In 1950, Lambretta introduced the Model C – the first scooter aimed specifically at export to Great Britain, where Lambretta scooters had become popular. The C was advanced compared to earlier scooters, the engine was still air-cooled, Lambretta’s tried and tested 125cc, but now it was bolted as part of a single tube frame to the back of the scooter. The fuel tank was placed below the seat. The redesigned rear suspension also better takes into account the load of the driver and the engine. The front shock absorber had two tubes on both sides of the bike, which made the ride softer than the competitor Vespa. There were three gears, which were controlled from the handlebar with a Teleflex cable. The Dell’Orto’s MA 16 carburettor dispensed fuel to the engine that produced about 4.3 horsepower.

At the end of year 1950, a more advanced version of the C, the LC, was introduced. L came from the word Lusso, meaning luxury. Special attention was paid to driving in wet conditions – larger fairings protected the driver better and now there was also a running board for the rear passenger. There was a small hatch in the roof for using the fuel tap and refueling. The most significant change to the engine was the fan, which made it possible to idle the bike in traffic more reliably than before.

Model C and LC were only produced for less than two years, but in that time as many as 130 thousand scooters were produced, the majority of which were still sold to the domestic market in Italy. About a third of these were LCs, totally 42,500 scooters.

This Innocenti LC 125 in question was first registered in Italy in February 1951 in the province of Reggio Emilia in northern Italy. The original registration certificate booklet is still preserved. The Lambretta has been used until 1988, when it was removed from the Italian registry. The bike still has its original and only registration plate 7519 RE.

The scooter was brought to Finland by T. Vilagi in 2021. The bike had been kept in the Reggio Emilia area since new, where it was thoroughly restored in the 2010s. There are photo documents available about the restoration. The restoration has included a thorough restoration of the engine, frame and fairings. The roofs and body have been finished in the original olive green shade, and the seat covers and rubber parts have been renewed. The end result is really impressive. The Lambretta has last been used for occasional drives in the summer of 2021, after which it has been storage and enjoyed indoors in showroom on racks specially made for it in Naples.

The sale includes a photo piece featuring Miss Lambretta 1951, Liliana Spagno with the Lambretta LC 125 scooter.

Lambretta is located in Vantaa, 25 minutes from Helsinki-Vantaa airport.

Worldwide shipping with generous rates.