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@jjwithers avatar
UTC

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1975 125 Primavera +
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@jjwithers avatar
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UTC quote
I have an opportunity to get two Genuine Stella scooters (2003 and a 2005) but I found out that they weren't sold in California due to emissions.

Even though they weren't originally sold in CA, is it possible to transfer them to a CA title and registration?
Has anybody been through this before?

-JJ
@mjrally avatar
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UTC quote
If they are two strokes and have less than 7500 miles on the odometer you cannot register them in California due to the emissions regulations. If you try, the VIN will be flagged and you will never be able to register them in CA. I have a retired DEA agent friend who even with his federal and law enforcement background still couldn't get the DMV to unflag his VIN. He is screwed and has done the next step.

One option you can do until you have the 7500 miles is to get a Vermont title. Use the search function to see a post a made about how to apply for one. You can ride on that until you get your 7500 miles and can then apply for California if you wish.

Or just hire Speedo king (he's just south of LA) to spin your odometer to 7501 miles and register.
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@jjwithers avatar
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UTC quote
Frekking CA is too 'safe' for their own good sometimes. How much pollution can a scooter cause...? And like 7000 miles makes a difference.

Any idea how much the speedo king charges?

I'm wondering if I can hook a drill on it for a day, and have him roll back the speedo's to the actual mileage once they are titled.

Thanks for the response.

-JJ
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UTC quote
Spinning forward is probably simple.

Spinning it back makes things harder. With tamper proof speedo, it would probably have to be disassembled to getbit back.

Probably easiest to keep your original and buy a used 8k or more unit, then swap them. But beware that your title and your speedo might disagree with each other, which could make selling a headache.
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2013 Vespa 300 Super, 2022 Kymco AK 550
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UTC quote
Inspection Regulations
Even Environmentally Safety Wacko Minnesota eliminated vehicle
emission inspections. Most every vehicle passed.

It was a complete money making scam and classic over reach.

Bob Copeland
Watching those stinky tail pipes
@web-tech avatar
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UTC quote
jjwithers wrote:
How much pollution can a scooter cause...?

-JJ
As much as an old diesel truck. Lots of particulate matter there.
@mayorofnow avatar
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UTC quote
What would registering them in Vermont accomplish?

Presumably they have papers already. If it's a VIN that gets flagged, wouldn't the same VIN get flagged when transferring the registration from VT?
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UTC quote
Reg in Vermont is only if they do not have 7500 miles on them already. Reg in Vermont ride on Vermont tags till he get 7500 miles then transfer to Ca tags.
@mjrally avatar
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UTC quote
mayorofnow wrote:
What would registering them in Vermont accomplish?
Its a way to get a license plate and registration easily and cheaply. All they want is a few forms and a check and you'll get your stuff mailed to you. No questions asked (kinda).
mayorofnow wrote:
Presumably they have papers already. If it's a VIN that gets flagged, wouldn't the same VIN get flagged when transferring the registration from VT?
Yes. This is the situation my DEA friend is in. He unknowingly tried to register a two stroke with less than 7500 miles in California. His VIN is now flagged and blacklisted. Anytime he tries to bring it back to California DMV it will always show up as flagged. So, he rides around Southern California with a green Vermont license plate and is happy not changing it. Is it perfect, nope. Cops dont seem to care and he was able to get insurance.

So, the OP should avoid the DMV until he either gets 7500 miles on the odometer (which classifies it as a "used" two stroke vehicle) OR register it out of state until he gets 7500 miles and then tries to register it for the first time in California.

The NSM side of things talks/deals with this a lot.
@mayorofnow avatar
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Molto Verboso
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UTC quote
Ahhh, so you can register it free-and-clear in CA with 7500mi+, and the Vermont thing just gives you placeholder tags that make you less likely to be pulled over in the mean time? I lost track of that part of the first post.

I wonder how that works if you do get pulled over. I got pulled over in college with out-of-state tags. Officer asked "is this your current address?" (It was, my parents'.)

Is your Vermont registration going to have your California address printed on it? I can't imagine CHP is going to be happy about that.
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UTC quote
Moved to NSM to get more attention.
@christopher_55934 avatar
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2007 Stella 225
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@christopher_55934 avatar
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UTC quote
This could be an option,

https://www.ebay.com/itm/VESPA-SPEEDOMETER-LML-STELLA-PX-Lusso-80-125-150-200-120KMPH-70MPH-WHITE-/392690520330


Personally, I would roll forward what you have, and leave it. The mileage going backwards may bite you in the rear as speedometer tampering at a later date. No one is going to question going forward, as long as it matches the title.
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UTC quote
I see one with 4k miles on it for $30

Are those speedos mechanically driven by a cable? I might just hook a drill up to it for a few days until the mileage goes up and then swap speedos, get it registered, and swap them back.

Are the 2003 and 2005 speedos the same? if so I can repeat with the other scooter.
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parallelogramerist
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parallelogramerist
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UTC quote
Someone in Cali just needs to buy one Stella speedo that has more than 7500 miles in it, then use it to get the scoot registered, then remove it and pass it on to the next person!
@christopher_55934 avatar
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2007 Stella 225
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UTC quote
whodatschrome wrote:
Someone in Cali just needs to buy one Stella speedo that has more than 7500 miles in it, then use it to get the scoot registered, then remove it and pass it on to the next person!
That sounds like something I would do as a F U.

The only issue I can see, is if you go to sell it with 8700 miles and the title had a mileage of 8762 five years ago. I'm not sure if the DMV computer system would catch something like that.
UTC

parallelogramerist
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parallelogramerist
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UTC quote
Christopher_55934 wrote:
whodatschrome wrote:
Someone in Cali just needs to buy one Stella speedo that has more than 7500 miles in it, then use it to get the scoot registered, then remove it and pass it on to the next person!
That sounds like something I would do as a F U.

The only issue I can see, is if you go to sell it with 8700 miles and the title had a mileage of 8762 five years ago. I'm not sure if the DMV computer system would catch something like that.
Simple fix for that. Just remove all of the gears from inside the speedo so that you can roll the numbers quickly to wherever you want them! Any other state and I would play by the rules, but California has it coming to 'em.
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stellah
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UTC quote
I have a pair of emissions compliant stella speedos (7,523 & 14,627) that i would gladly trade for your lemans. (Or pm me if you want to buy them).
UTC

parallelogramerist
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parallelogramerist
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UTC quote
Yarrrrr wrote:
I have a pair of emissions compliant stella speedos
That's pretty funny there Yar. Well said.
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UTC quote
Yarrrrr wrote:
I have a pair of emissions compliant stella speedos (7,523 & 14,627) that i would gladly trade for your lemans. (Or pm me if you want to buy them).
If i had a Lemans... the photo is actually a V50 Monza. More rare, but not nearly as fast.

I ordered a used speedo on ebay with 5k miles on it. Depending on the work involved to get it over 7500, i might take you up on your offer. Time will tell. Thanks for the offer!
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UTC quote
Good luck. I have had to do this with a 35 yhear old motorcycle that had < 5K on it. Kind of a pain. The PO of the bike that one of the speedos came off of said it took him days of running a drill to get over the required mileage. A real PITA.
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@jjwithers avatar
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UTC quote
What are the Genuine Stella scooters even worth?
They are the 2003, and 2005 with 200 and 800 miles. Paint faded. Need new seats. Both run.

And these are new-ish, why did this topic get moved to the 'not so modern' category?

I thought the not-so-modern was for the 80's and older vintage scooters.
@swiss1939 avatar
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UTC quote
Those year Stella's are two stroke engines which are the same as the 80s Vespas so they are technically vintage engines and not so modern.

I regularly see them selling in nyc for 1200-2000. I wouldn't pay more than 1500 max for one in good running condition. Be patient and you can get one.
@greasy125 avatar
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Weird 80's Vespas & Cool Vintage Lambrettas
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@greasy125 avatar
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UTC quote
jjwithers wrote:
What are the Genuine Stella scooters even worth?
They are the 2003, and 2005 with 200 and 800 miles. Paint faded. Need new seats. Both run.
as is, probably about 700ish to 1000ish if they were tagged up maybe something like 1500 range. pretty up the paint, drop new seats on and a comprehensive tune up with a fresh battery, drop some tires on and maybe you can squeak 2K out on each of them. more likely you'd probably see something like 17-18

the problem you're looking at is that you've got two bikes that are 15 yrs old, weren't that desirable when sold new and have been sitting. even though they're low miles, there's sure to be problems to crop up from non-use.

i'd take a flyer on one at $500 because that's about what it's worth in parts. but think about it this way: you drop 5-ish on one, then you gotta do seals, clutch corks, a big ass tune up, throw a seat and a battery at it, probably clean the tank, definitely throw a fuel line and oil line at it, maybe even a tap and what not, rando rubber bits and bobs and then tires and tubes and then for sure flush and bleed the brakes.

now i can do all that myself and i know what those parts cost. if somebody bought that and took it to a shop they'd be out damn near a grand, easy money.

so, unfortunately you're kind of in this nebulous state of having somewhat clean but low mileage bikes that will most likely need a healthy cash infusion in the immediate future, added to that is they're not particularly sought after and thus you have a low price point.

-g
@christopher_55934 avatar
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2007 Stella 225
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@christopher_55934 avatar
2007 Stella 225
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UTC quote
greasy125 wrote:
jjwithers wrote:
What are the Genuine Stella scooters even worth?
They are the 2003, and 2005 with 200 and 800 miles. Paint faded. Need new seats. Both run.
as is, probably about 700ish to 1000ish if they were tagged up maybe something like 1500 range. pretty up the paint, drop new seats on and a comprehensive tune up with a fresh battery, drop some tires on and maybe you can squeak 2K out on each of them. more likely you'd probably see something like 17-18

the problem you're looking at is that you've got two bikes that are 15 yrs old, weren't that desirable when sold new and have been sitting. even though they're low miles, there's sure to be problems to crop up from non-use.

i'd take a flyer on one at $500 because that's about what it's worth in parts. but think about it this way: you drop 5-ish on one, then you gotta do seals, clutch corks, a big ass tune up, throw a seat and a battery at it, probably clean the tank, definitely throw a fuel line and oil line at it, maybe even a tap and what not, rando rubber bits and bobs and then tires and tubes and then for sure flush and bleed the brakes.

now i can do all that myself and i know what those parts cost. if somebody bought that and took it to a shop they'd be out damn near a grand, easy money.

so, unfortunately you're kind of in this nebulous state of having somewhat clean but low mileage bikes that will most likely need a healthy cash infusion in the immediate future, added to that is they're not particularly sought after and thus you have a low price point.

-g
Don't forget about them liking to break a crankshaft at around 5000 miles. Have seen them replaced as part of the preventative maintenance. I have one and no complaints so far, it did have the crankshaft replaced and new bearings. I paid $1400.00 with a new mazz crankshaft, dr177 kit and sito+ exhaust.
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