The man who owns 49 classic British scooters

By Matt Ware
Features
 | 10 Dec 2025
Classic & Sports Car – Also in my garage: classic British scooters and a Lotus Elan

Geoff Burton has 49 scooters stored on two levels in his garage, and every one was made in Britain.
There isn’t a Vespa or Lambretta in this collection of some very rare, some weird and some wonderful machines.

Classic & Sports Car – Also in my garage: classic British scooters and a Lotus Elan

“If I see a beautifully restored, painted and chromed scooter I’ll think ‘that’s nice’ and walk straight past. But if I see one that needs a lot of TLC, I’ll fall in love”

In all, there are scooters manufactured by 14 different marques and, if you didn’t realize many of them existed, you’re not alone.

It’s the reason Geoff became hooked in the first place, after spotting a Triumph Tigress on eBay when he was working overseas as an engineer.

“When I saw the Tigress advertised I thought, ‘That’s interesting, I didn’t know Triumph made scooters,’” recalls the 71-year-old.

In the 20 or so years since, he has amassed a truly extraordinary variety of machinery.

“I was given a book about British scooters, and that was a really big mistake,” he adds. “When I realized how many there were, I had to go for it and see what I could get.

“I get a bee in my bonnet and there’s something driving me to do silly things. If they made it, I wanted one.”

Classic & Sports Car – Also in my garage: classic British scooters and a Lotus Elan

A blue James scooter (middle), flanked by a Triumph pair

For example, there are six different versions of the Tigress: there’s the 250 with kick-start, the 250 with electric start, as well as the 175, in addition to the same three models that wear a BSA Sunbeam badge. Geoff has five of the six.

The Dayton Albatross came with single- and two-cylinder engines – so, of course, Geoff had to have both of them, didn’t he?

When he ran out of space, which was perhaps inevitable, he bought a workshop five years ago to house the collection.

“It was in a bad state,” he says, “so I’ve spent a lot of time doing it up, creating the mezzanine level and a manual vehicle lift.”

Classic & Sports Car – Also in my garage: classic British scooters and a Lotus Elan

The Bond P1 scooter’s elongated rear is a quirky design

Among the more intriguing motorbikes are a Bond P1 with its distinctive ‘jet age’ rear end, a DKR Defiant with its bulbous front fairing and the DMW Deemster ex-police scooter, complete with its (possibly) original radio.

Oddities grouped together in this amazing collection include an Ariel 3, a tricycle moped with a £2million development cost that’s said to have killed off its maker, BSA; a Brockhouse Corgi, a civilian version of the Welbike dropped by parachute to support troops in WW2; a Swallow Gadabout; and a BSA Dandy.

The one nod to Italian scooters is the Raleigh Roma, a Bianchi produced in the UK under license.

Classic & Sports Car – Also in my garage: classic British scooters and a Lotus Elan

The rare Velocette Viceroy’s boxer engine is at the front

Elsewhere, a very smart Velocette Viceroy is a particular source of fascination for keen collector Geoff.

“I always thought it odd that a scooter’s weight is over the back,” he tells us, “with nothing over the front.

“Velocette thought that wasn’t right, so they put the boxer engine in front.

“It’s the machinery that fascinates me. If I see a beautifully restored, painted and chromed scooter I’ll think ‘that’s nice’ and walk straight past. But if I see one that needs a lot of TLC, I’ll fall in love.”

“The objective is to get as many British scooters together as I can,” continues Geoff.

“I’m doing well and, although it’s not quite finished yet, I do think it’s almost reached a plateau.”

Classic & Sports Car – Also in my garage: classic British scooters and a Lotus Elan

The BSA Ariel 3 (left) in a line-up of British-built mopeds

When he first started collecting, Geoff had a “masterplan” to retire at 60.

“Then I would spend a year doing up each one of 20 scooters,” he explains, “and by the time I reached 80 I would just hug and polish them.

“Well, I didn’t retire at 60, and probably because of that I went well beyond my 20,” he admits.

“My new plan is to just enjoy myself, and when I come here I enjoy myself – no matter what I’m doing.”

The scooters share their garage with a 1969 Lotus Elan S4, bought in 1978 but subsequently off the road for 20-plus years.

“For handling, there’s nothing like it,” says Geoff. “The only limiting factor in taking a corner is how quickly you can turn the wheel. It’s phenomenal.”

Images: Simon Finlay

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Matt Ware