You have scoots, and then you have this, Ellaspede’s Piaggio Liberty 150. Now if you’re familiar with the Liberty scooter, you will note that this custom flat-tracking scooter looks nothing like the model in its stock form. It didn’t even have a backbone.
Now, the Piaggio Liberty that Ellaspede’s Steve Barry, used was an old one, it was actually found in the shed of a junkyard. After he loaded the bike up to his workshop, it was promptly made into the flat tracker we’re seeing now. Steve Barry’s been into small scooters that are rather unconventional. Not looking to go with the mainstream look for most retro builds, he opted to remove all the parts that weren’t necessary to his flat tracking vision.
The steel frame was maintained during the build, but due to other modifications, a backbone was made for the frame to reinforce it and to ensure that the metal doesn’t buckle under the load of the motor, more on that in a bit.
Other chassis upgrades include a 70-millimeter longer wheelbase and other chassis reinforcements apart from what was mentioned already, and also a 19-inch front wheel with a hand-build 17-inch rear wheel that are both wrapped in knobby Continental tires.
The additional steel also allowed Steve Barry to put a seat that’s more forward-set than stock. The handlebars are also set up for a proper flat tracking posture, and tapered sides allow for proper cornering ergonomics on the dirt.
Gallery: Ellaspede Piaggio LIberty 150 Flat Tracker
Derived from a scooter that was built for going around town, the chassis revisions were also done with more power in mind. Steve Barry opted for a larger engine capacity, boring out and working on the engine to bring it from 150ccs all the way to 245ccs. A new camshaft and exhaust system, which were both lifted from an XR600, were adapted into the build. Going up in ccs means that you’ll have to go up in the carburetor size, so a larger one was fitted and tuned for the bike’s engine. Malossi is the brand of choice that Stever Barry used.
Following the additional power, the builder opted to put a cooling system that includes a small radiator from a small motocross bike.
This bike stands out as one of the more interesting scooter builds we’ve seen. It appears that there’s not much of the scooter that’s left, but it’s definitely a break from the ordinary, and undoubtedly awesome.
