vespa or lambretta?
vespa
Burn em;)
They haven’t made a decent Lammie for decades.
Did they ever? 
Sorry, I’m a Vespa boy.
Then again, there’s probably a reason why they went bust and Vespa kept going.
Lammy for me. A TV 175 is the one to go for.
All it is i have decided to build and restore a vespa or lambretta for my dads 60th in a few years. My dad was a mod with his twin brother. my cuz is building one to but we dont know what to build. this is my first bike build to. im a tech anyway and have all my snap on tools ready to go to work. just need some opions.
If its an old one you are restoring I would go for the Lambo as they seem to be the iconic one of the two:)
The clothing label proves it:cool:
I’d disagree. Lambretta may be a cloths label (nothing to do with the original scoots), but Vespa is still going and the only manufacturers of non-plastic scoots.
I personally like the Vespa shapes a lot more, and I think from an engineering/design point of view they are better. I’m always dreaming of restoring a rally or an old GT.
That said. What did your dad used to ride? The thing is most people stick with the one or the other, so if you build him a classic he doesn’t rate, he may be a bit disappointed.
As for actually restoring one, they’re technically very different. Vespas have a “monocoque” design (however you spell that), while lammies are based around a frame. So you have to look out for different things when you buy a donor scoot. Most Lammie restoration projects these days are Indian bikes, and a lot of people think they are mechanically inferior to the Italian or Spanish bikes. I think most Vespa restoration projects are still Italian or Spanish. A Lammie restoration is likely to cost you a lot more.
One thing to keep in mind is that a lot of restorations are now done using Vespa PX engines. These engines are very reliable and spares are cheap and plentyfull as they are still being made (the 125cc version). If the bike is only going to be used occasionally it may be worth looking at that conversion. With Vespa’s the PX engine is supposed to be an easy conversion to most older models (GT, Rally, Sprint …), they even put them in the smallframe Primavera. They use them in Lammies too, but I’d imagine the conversion would be harder.
I’ve never done a restoration myself yet, so I don’t know the full story (although I’ve been dreaming of doing one, I don’t have quite the confidence). It may be worth going down to a scooter shop or even better local scooter club (or wait for spring and go to a rally) and talk to people who have some experience.
At least Piaggio invented Vespa, have always owned the trademark and have always built Vespas. The Lambretta brand is currently owned by an Italian company that doesn’t make scooters, but does sell the name so it can be stencilled on the side or Chinese built rubbish. This is the latest Lambetta -
Among genuine italian scooter, I prefer Lambrettas because they have bigger tires on bigger wheels which helps the stability, and there are no NEW Lambrettas, just fakes that go about under an assumed name.
I thought Lambrettas had 10" wheels as standard like the later (post 70s) Vespas? I also think a lot of the older vespas get re-trofitted with 10" wheels instead of 8s.