Modern Vespa

Ok, not a Vespa but still a classic scooter and it is up for auction, near me. What is the collective thoughts on this scooter? Should I go for it to add to a winter project list? What would be a good price?

https://vermont.craigslist.org/mcd/d/north-clarendon-auction-vehicle-1980/7387738492.html

I guess it depends on how much of a project you want. I found this article from 2018 that might be useful in making your decision.

https://www.scootering.com/scootering-classics-serveta-jet-200-2/

They certainly are pretty when restored.

I say go for it. It's a 1980 - looks in great shape! Perfect project. Mileage unknown. So what! It's a project! I have NO idea on price! Sorry! To share a little story, every time our cousin's parents see me on my Vespa, his mother fondly remembers riding her Lambretta when she was young (in the UK). That would have been easily in the 1950's. Hope you get some good feedback for price options.

I'd say some of the folks on the NSM Forum would know a lot more about reasonable prices for various unrestored Lammies and things to look for in ourchasing one.

Good luck getting it and good luck if you get it😁👍

Get a vintage Vespa

Agreed. This is an excellent question for the NSM crowd.

If you want to get fit a gym membership might work out cheaper than a scooter you need to push everywhere.

Projects have a tendency to suck up more cash than something more modern that's less romantic, broken or actually running.

I'd stay away.

How's that cheap BMW working out Bill?

An excellent question. I have a man who works exclusively on air cooled boxers who is taking it on in a couple of weeks with a strict budget agreed in advance.

Aesthetics aren't going to be a priority so it's all going on mechanics.

The ABS issues look likely to have been caused by a dying battery as expected.

SX 200?

In a heartbeat.

It is the version produced in Spain.
It's not bad, the person to ask for information is greasy125.
If I had to do a project I would take a Vespa PX 200 with automatic mixer, it is less expensive as spare parts and easier to maintain but personal tastes have different values.

^ So does that make it a Jet 200?

What do you mean by Jet 200?

I had a Lambretta Li125 for a few years.

I traded a preliminary design for a back porch for it.

It had sat in a garage for thirty years.

After spending a small fortune with Boris Loose and his brother getting it running, I found that it continued to need more involvement than I was willing to spend with it.

After Boris moved, I tried two more mechanics but they either were too busy or had other problems.

In a weak moment, I offered it to Scooter Raton. He owns it now.

I sometimes wish I had kept it, as it is a classic, but I preferred riding on my other scooters anyway, so I let it go.

Barry, you are more willing and able to do the work than I was. And this 200 is a better scooter.

I think you could have a lot of fun with it.

I didn't notice a price, but I think it is going to be expensive.

Bill

I'm not surprised that he's smiling.

Great scooter.

somerset

well, I am high bidder at $16

I love me a vintage Lambretta so I say go for it if it fits in your budget. Back in my Mod days I preferred Lambrettas aesthetic and owned a few. However there is something to the saying "be a man, push a Lam" I allways made sure I had a P200 for rallys.

As said the NSM folks would be the ones to ask.

That's the last thing I would have posted... but if you want it, and I also think it would be super fun, here's what I would do. Wait until the last 20 seconds (if you have good internet) before the bidding ends and then go all in with the biggest number you can live with giving up. I bid on a lot of stuff and depending on how bad I want the item I never loose but I know my sleep patterns and what keeps me up at night!

Sometimes I work the max number over in my head for a few days until it becomes certain I would be OK paying "X" for "Y". If I sleep OK with that value then I know it's a good number. But I always add more if I must have the item due to rarity or need. This is the how pissed off I would be if I didn't add in a little more delta. This delta is easier to justify if you already have absorbed that max cost number in your mind. .02

You may know all this but I am so remote that to advance/pursue all my special hobbies I have had to adopt this methodology.

If it's one of those anger-inducing "auctions" that resets a 3 minute timer to bid everytime a new high bid is reached I am sorry...I am not much help. I don't like those, they are dangerous. Do not bid with a few beers in you! LOL

What I'd suggest is having a budget in your head of what you're prepared to spend on it's restoration and then compare that to something that actually works.

Vintage scooters are a brilliant attention seeking devices so in that regard they are worth every penny.

http://www.ilambretta.co.uk/lambrettascooters/spanish.html

EDIT:- It is a Jet 200 it is displayed on the auction site pictures.

Oh! Now I understand ... Thanks for the clarification.

As a bonus, some people even enjoy owning them

I can't believe that. Says the man with the Royal Enfield

Who are the NSM folks? Is that another forum I should be a part of?

Hit the back button. not-so- modern

Any job like this is going to come down to parts. If you can't get them, then you will have to make them, and that eliminates ME from the equation.

But IF I had the ability to source/make parts for a project like this, then I'd go for it.

Just had to move this. You should get some better feedback than from us modern crowd wankers. Good luck.

I'd buy it. I love how they look, but know nothing else about them. I do know that I can restore my Vespa and find parts and know more or less what it will cost.

Loads of stuff is available, just maybe not in the US.

Most of it you can find here. The parts are definitely more expensive than Vespa unless you buy junk from India, then you can buy it again. Lambretta Indian parts are very hit or miss compared to Vespa. Check out casa Lambretta usa or scooters Originali . And get in the Lambretta club usa if you do it.

Wow, its an automatic. No thanks

I have a lambreta LI 125 with an upgraded 175cc cylinder kit right now. My lambretta looks literally as if you pulled it out of a Tennessee barn after being parked for 50 years, it is greasy, it is dusty, muddy, there are places with traces of spyder webs and despite all of that I WILL NOT wash it because I like the looks as is.

The lambretta looks so cool, I personally like the SX, TV and LI series 3. You are definitely going to get your as4 kicked with the maintenance, it is not even close as the vespas. The vespas are super easy to work on, very simple, very accesible and much cheaper to upgrade. With the Lambrettas is the opposite, they are more complex and not that many people that work on them.

I personally love the look of the Servetas, specifically that Ocre color. If one of those came into my sphere, I'd be hard pressed to not get it...

I also like the way the MotoVespa legshields are shaved a little inward. Spanish flair on the Italian jewels...

It is not an automatic. I can see the regular shift perch, the clutch lever arm, the standard gear cables, etc. There were no automatic Lambrettas.

https://it.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innocenti_Lui

You should have a Lui 50, a refined design object.

This is required reading.

Grab that if you can. Jet 200s are great bikes, and that one is all intact, looks like it would clean up nicely. You can still find all the parts for Servetas.

That bike in California would be a fortune.

The mileage reads 1919, and looks genuine. It has very little wear, and all the original parts.

I suspect that thing will sell for a small fortune. Looks as OG as it gets for a Jet 200.

Here's my 2 cents... My brief foray into Lambrettas was interesting, but I don't know that I'd do it again. I do like to tinker and while not a good mechanic by any stretch, I am competent at least a few days a week. That said, my Li125 was a right pain in the ass. Nothing was severely wrong with it either. It was *somewhat* sorted when I bought it, but it was definitely a fussy, bratty, piece of machinery.

Gorgeous and so very different from the old Vespa's in design and engineering. Really fascinating how the two scooters are so different. I think cruising on a Lambretta with it's longer wheelbase is special experience. Smooth as anything you've ever ridden. Man, it's a helluva ride!

But, yeah, a PITA to work on constantly. Small stuff like jetting out the carb, adjusting the throttle cable, etc was just more work than doing it on a Vespa. Or... maybe it was different enough that it "felt" like more work? Anyway, bottom line if you really like to tinker, go for it. Lambretta's aren't inherently less reliable than Vespas -that's an old joke that gets beat to death, but they are certainly higher maintenance machines.

YMMV, IMHO, etc, etc