We’ve waited a long time for these Lambretta tubeless wheel rims but finally there appears to be a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel!
Pinasco Vespa Wheels
I first heard rumours of these wheel rims while attending the Eicma Motorcycle Show in Milan around 2014 or 2015. Pinasco had recently launched a version for Vespa scooters and I met up with Piergiorgio Bettella at the Pinasco stall to find out more.
I have used Pinasco tubeless split wheel rims on a couple of my Vespas since they were launched, with both early and their later TUV approved version (TUV is basically German’s Ministry of Transport) still serving me well. The principle is simple: the rims are designed to be split as normal, thus making the fitting and removal of tyres a lot easier to do at home or by the side of the road when compared to a one-piece wheel rim. The joining faces of the 3.50×10 wheel rims feature a machined groove into which sits a rubber O-ring to make a seal and thus the rims become air tight. And if for whatever reason you need to, being a split rim you can remove the screw-in valve and insert a normal inner tube if you want to.
Gori Joins PInasco
In 2020 Bettella S.r.l acquired the Firenza-based Gori from Giancarlo Gori, which gave the company the opportunity to produce new Lambretta products under the Gori brand name, rather than the Pinasco brand that they also have which has been inextricably linked to Vespa since Andrea Pinasco founded it in 1969.
According to the Gori website the new Lambretta light alloy wheel rim has, “a 2.10 channel perfectly centered on the Lambretta frame in order to maintain maximum stability. The split Gori tubeless rim has been designed to ensure maximum structural rigidity in all driving conditions, the shoulders have been reinforced in order to obtain a groove inside for the sealing O-ring. The anti-bead breakage is obtained by mechanical processing, all surfaces are perfectly rounded to facilitate tyre mounting without special accessories.”
Soon Come
Exciting news indeed for those of us who both use tubeless wheel rims and especially those of us who also ride Vespas and know how good the Pinasco rims are too. By the way, for our German friends reading this, TUV approval is apparently in progress.
We don’t have an exact arrival date in the UK nor an official RRP yet, but prices listed in Italy suggest each wheel will retail at around 106 Euros, and like the Vespa version replacement O-rings and valves will be available too. We’ll bring you more details in ScooterNova magazine as and when we get them and hope to have some fitted as soon as possible so we can start clocking up more tubeless miles!
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