What Marque? Members Experiences

Members Experiences With Various Two-Stroke scooters

My Piatti Experience by Alan Abrahams (1984)

"When you are clearing out let me know how much you want for

that."

"If you can get it in your car, you can take it now!" ... So he

did!.

"It" was a Piatti scooter, shabby and unused for probably 20

years, in a shed. My brothers told me about it. The "lucky" gent

who had found it, was a neighbour of my parents and the Piatti

was now in his garage just along the street. The comments ranging

from "amusing" to "hideous", intrigued me. I went over to badger

Doug to let me have a look. I was amazed, I had never seen

anything like it. The body was like a submarine, the nose like a

grinning shark and it was tatty, but what a fascinating machine.

Doug is an Ariel man, the shed and garage are crawling with the

things, but for him, owning the bits is as far as it seems to go.

Bolting them together and making motorcycles out of them is

reserved for "one day". What a busy day that will be. The Piatti

would stay in the garage for ever.

I advertised in MotorCycle Weekly for "Any information or spares"

Two calls came, one volunteered a workshop manual, the other the

owners handbook. A good start, but no-one offered spares. I

showed Doug the books and he was impressed by my enthusiasm.

"We'll come to an arrangement sometime." Anyway, my brothers kept

an eye on it. He at last saw that I was ready and willing to have

a go at it and around Easter he let my brother bring it down in

the van.

So there it was. What to do? No lights, no saddle cover, no

points or carburettor covers, otherwise it was all there. I

decided to see if it would start. Big surprise - it wouldn't, no

spark. I got new coils, they are the same as one of the Bantams.

I bought them from Richard Hackers of Penge, very useful BSA

stockists. There was no tap on the tank so I lashed up an old oil

bottle and a bit of pipe. It started, about 20 kicks probably,

with a bit of rag stuffed in the carb' to choke it. The engine

started readily after the initial surprise. The best trick was to

run down the hill and "bump it", the engine made lots of noise

but revved well and pulled strongly. The clutch was stuck and

trying to "crash" the gear change stalled the motor, but it went

and that meant it was worth paying proper attention to. The other

deciding factor was the tyres. They are of a size 3.50" x 7" that

is unique to Piatti and impossible to attain. The three tyres on

the scooter were in good condition, so it was full steam ahead.

It all came apart quite easily and bits were slipped into

labelled envelopes. The bodywork was stripped to bare metal and

sprayed up with cellulose of a by now, well known red colour. It

is the same colour as used on my James. Three bits needed

chroming. The gearchange mechanism had to be fabricated anew and

the whole engine checked over. Nothing seemed obviously wrong, so

I left well alone. I freed the clutch plate and checked the

primary chain tension.

The whole thing came back together as easily as it had come

apart. It is now more or less completed, I got the engine started

and ran it up and down the road. the gears are reluctant to stay

engaged at the moment and it needs a bit of wiring up and a new

seat cover, but it goes and that makes it fairly special. I still

know of only two Piatti owners. Someone else must know of them,

I'd love to hear from you if you do. I'd love to hear from you if

you don't, but wish you did.

The Piatti scooter was designed by an Italian, Mr Vincent Piatti,

and put into production in 1956 at the Cyclemaster works at

Byfleet in Surrey.

"They failed to find many customers for this product"....So ends

the very short Piatti entry in the Erwin Tragatsch Illustrated

Encyclopaedia of Motorcycles.

The wheelbase was very short and the steering head angle rather

steep, giving lively steering. The wheels carry 3.50" x 7" tyres

on split rims, bolted to the hubs in car like fashion. The

integral 123cc engine/gear unit is pivoted on either side of the

crankcase and hangs from a spring at the rear, attached to the

bodywork. The engine moves independently of the body, providing

the suspension.

The pressed steel body gave complete enclosure. To get at the

works the bike could be laid on one side, resting on the edge of

one of the footboards and the handlebar end. The footboards run

forward to the pressed steel legshields. Above the grill fronted

nose is mounted a semi-circular plastic coated rack for carrying

chickens to market. The dual seat was mounted on a post in the

fashion of a push-bike, and could be adjusted in the same way. On

the underside of the seat pan are two hooks, one on the left and

one on the right, to hang bags of shopping. The spare tyre is

carried at the rear, beneath the pillion section of the seat.

Covers in the bodywork reveal the points and the chaincase

inspection cover on the offside, and the carb' and fuel tap on

the nearside. Gearchange is on the left handlebar by way of a

twistgrip to the 3-speed box, which is at the rear hub. The

gearbox design was a weak point and frequently broke.

".......the worst scooter ever perpetrated, and was absolutely

lethal." So said Bob Currie in a letter to a friend trying to

find out about them. Harsh words perhaps, but probably not far

wrong.!