May 2011 Archives

Wow, this place is lousy with Super Sports these days! Right after the original-condition one we found up in Seattle, here is another one in my own backyard. This Super Sport, for sale in the San Francisco Bay Area, is the opposite of the one we featured the other day. It has been totally gone through. It looks good, and has really shiny lusterous paint. They were certainly not that shiny from the factory, but boy does it look good! The owner/seller has a scooter shop, so he has gone through it to make it run as good as it looks. A cool $5800 will put it in your garage... not cheap, but a really nice scooter.

This 1965 Super Sport is for sale right now in Seattle. It certainly has seen its share of use/abuse. However, it has the original paint, so you can easily see every blemish. That is a very good thing, because there are going to be no hidden surprises. It probably looks a bit worse than it actually is. This would make a very good basis for a restoration. One fairly minor drop on the right side looks like the worst of it. The price of $3500 is on the high end for a solid project, but the seller is a well-known and very reputable scooterist - that adds confidence and significant value. You can be sure that there is nothing that won't be disclosed. Given the fact that this is in the Pacific Northwest, the lack of significant rust speaks volumes for the overall condition. Honestly, you just don't see these things come up for sale in oringinal condition much anymore. If you've been waiting for a good SS180 to take to the next level, this is going to be it. Move fast and make a deal!

Vespa rider Vito Campobasso Italy performs a test jump in Romes Stadio Flaminio on Thursday 30 September 2010 in Rome

First published in the LCUSA members' magazine, the Specialist, April, 2008.

Many of us know of Vittoria Tessera. He owns Casa Lambretta near Milan, Italy. Many of us also know Alex Mackenzie, one of the owners of Vittorio's United States distributor, Casa Lambretta USA.

Greetings and welcome to my first installation on Scooterlounge.com! I will probably post something every couple of weeks, so don't get too excited and go thinking I'm going to be taking over for Paul. My entries are going to be of the same type of stuff that I've been writing for the Lambretta Club USA in my column in the members' magazine, the Specialist and the monthly members' newsbulletin, the LambrettGazette.

A scene from an episode of the old TV show Starsky & Hutch. Huggie Bear rolls a Series I Lambretta. Ya Dig?

This Lambretta Model C is up for its second go-around on ebay. The C's are very rare in the US, since they were never originally sold here. This one seems to have had a good restoration and has been kept in good shape since then. These scooters appeal mainly to serious collectors. They are not very amazing on the road. I own a D 150, and it feels like riding a moped, both in terms of size and performance. However, you sure are a hit showing up to the rally on one of these ancient Lambrettas! I'll be curious to see if this very nice C sells, and for how much.

I'll admit, here is something that I have never seen before... a set of original Vespa accessory goggles. I will have to look through the old accessory catalogs to see if I can find these. This is really cool. (Yes, I'm a nerd for liking them) I'm sure I'll never see another one again.

Via: New Cafe Racer Society

Angie Dickinson was in "Jessica", a pretty well known movie that featured her in Italy riding around on a Vespa. This photo must have been from that era

Last weekend was the "Loose Association of Lambretta Owners" (or LALO) ride in the San Francisco Bay Area. This year was a bit different than previous years, in that there were two separate rides. One in Oakland, and one in San Francisco. Family committments meant that I could only attend the Oakland portion. Convenient, since that is the Scooterlounge base of operations. Above is a photo of the scoots lined up pre-ride.

A lot more photos below the jump

This is a decent summer project scooter on Ebay in Minnesota. Anyone in the area should consider picking it up. I'm guessing this will go cheap because there is no reserve, and only someon local would have any interest. The scooter is in surprisingly good shape for having been in a Minnesota barn since 1965! It does not look very rusty. That must have been a nice barn, because it snows a lot up there. The cowls are missing, and it looks like it was laid down on the right side. Other than that, it looks like this is a good starting point. Someone buy it for $250!

Here is a good project scooter for someone on Ebay. This is the kind of scooter you want to be working on. The VBA's are not fast, but they have the iconic Vespa shape. I love the way they look.

This one has a lot to recommend it. The body appears to be perfect, with no major dents, and no evident rust. The front fender looks perfect. All of the parts are still there, including the speedometer and the amber-lens tail light. The only things that are obviously missing are the floor rails, the "Vespa 150" badge, the front fender crest, and the front suspension swing arm cover. The legshield trim looks great. This would be a very easy bike to restore and make really nice... or just ride it as-is. I like it. Right now, it is at only $650 USD with four days to go on the auction. I would expect this to end up around $1200-1500. We'll see.