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Claire Gayle has been into scooters for some fourteen years. Her introduction was when she was just fourteen, and fancied a local lad who rode around on a BMX bike, with an ariel and fox tail, wearing a fishtail parka, adorned with a collection of Mod button badges like armour plating. She talked her mum into buying her a parka. Her mum returned with a Millets parka. Poor mum was sent smartly back to Millets to get a refund. Eventually Claire got her US Army parka, but our BMX hero didn't follow the plot. He got off with Claire's sister instead. Claire wasn't too bothered though, she had her parka so she was a mod.

After a bit of a dodgy experience with a thrown together Lammy 150, based loosely round a Servetta (Spanish made Lambretta), Claire's dad purchased her a Vespa 100 Sport. Her first rally was Lowestoft Mod Rally in '84. She made the trip on her own as their local club wouldn't allow girl members.

She has been mainly involved with the Mod side of the scene for almost all of her fourteen year interest. Her MK II GS Vespa 160 was imported from Italy and cost her £750, before she even started on it's make-over.

Now here is a new and novel approach. Firstly Claire had the seat recovered in two colors, then she enlisted the services of a friend to carry out the two tone paintwork. In case you were not aware, Claire's GS has been painted as what could be called an Eddie Grimstead Replica.

For the uninitiated, at one stage, especially during the sixties, Eddie Grimstead produced some of the earliest and best remembered 'Dealer Specials', predominantly during the heyday of the original Mods. The seat is a genuine Grimstead item. The chrome accessories are all original sixties parts, with the exception of the ariel mirror, which is considerably much more modern - although Claire is keeping her eyes open for a stadium mirror. The Jaguar light is a genuine item, not a sixties copy, and the price she paid reflects this. How does £200 grab you?

It took just eight weeks to complete the GS160 MK II from stock to Grimstead Replica. A large amount of that credit goes to her boyfriend Ernie, who had to put back working on his own restoration project to accomodate her.

The intention was to complete the GS in time for this year's Euro Lambretta Rally in Austria, which they did. Next outing was the August Bank Holiday Rally on the Isle of Wight, where Claire's Grimstead Replica carried off the silverware for Best Vespa.

So far Claire has invested nearly £2,500 in her GS, yet she is far from finished. So far, money has been spent on aesthetics. The engine, which is still on its original piston, is next for some attention. A 180 conversion, to Grimstead spec, of course, is planned for the winter. But that will be after Claire's first visit to an NSRA event - The Trade and Custom in Yarmouth.

While there are still a number of people heavily into nut and bolt, as it left the factory, restorations, there is a growing trend towards Retro Street Custom Classics, which in my opinion is much more of a true reflection of classic scooters as they were ridden in their prime.