Modern Vespa

I'm thinking about getting a 1964 150. It looks like it's in great shape, my purpose is to drive it to work and back ( 5 miles) and take it on an occasional countryside tour. Is that to old of a bike, or should I look for something newer? I'd like to stick with the manual transmissions. I know there's a lot of factors here to take into consideration, I don't mind tinkering on something a little bit.
Thanks for any comments 👍🏻

Perfectly fine on a vintage.
Post pics!

Post pics to make sure its not a Bodge!

I already smell bodge. Post pics here before buying.

Here's some pictures

More pictures

https://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/mcy/d/everett-1964-piaggio-vespa-150/7763126473.html

Certainly not a bargain but it sounds more than capable of what you are looking for, and I love that original paint and nice straight body & original trim. It's been listed for 25 days, maybe offer 3500 & see what he says?


Clean motor! There should be a cover plate for the flywheel.

A 1964 150 is pretty much the sweet spot for Vespa simplicity x reliability. All the parts are still readily available.

Cons: It has 8" wheels and the suspension isn't great.

I had one as a daily driver for a couple of years. I wouldn't commute with one now because other drivers are nuts.

if its been off the road for a while expect some teething problems when getting it going again, gummy carb, leaky seals, dry bearings etcetera. I've used a few old bikes for regular transport and once they are in regular use they perform just fine, it is what they were built for after all.

find out what the regular failure points are, such as the clutch cable on my old Enfield that broke once a year whether I put 3000 or 10000km in the last year and get used to having those few small spares in the tool kit for quick change outs at the side of the road.

My old flat head Triumph was used for the 50km round trip to work pretty regularly and rarely gave any trouble in 20000km in spite of being quite original and almost 40 years old when I bought it.

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I picked it up yesterday and it is a lot of fun to drive. It came with a lot of odds and ends parts, and im eager to get tinkering on it.
Thanks

It'll take care of you just fine.

I rode multiple vintage bikes: Stella, SprintV, VBB, as daily riders year-round in Chicago for almost twenty years--rain, shine, snow, ice...didn't matter and if set up correctly for the season (carb, I'm lookin' at you), never had a problem with starting and running just fine.

The 8"s are actually better than 10"s for snow and ice because they get your center of gravity down that much lower, not that you'll hopefully ever need to know that.

And you have a shot at the 60mph on 8" club! I love my 8" Allstate.

I'm relieved to see that you got yourself a really nice scooter and that it's not a bodge.

When I first got my VBB, I was advised that it wasn't the best for anything beyond tootling around town because of the smaller wheels. I read a lot of info about converting to 10" wheels and found a lot of riders preferred keeping the scooter on 8" wheels. Lots of riders were using their scooters for the exact same purposes as the 10" models and that 8's were a feature, not a limitation.

As mentioned earlier, old vehicles do best when they are ridden or driven to a state of reliability. Ride, repair, repeat. Eventually, you end up mostly riding and just doing a little maintenance.

Unless you're me, but I'm not sure I'm a great example.

Or maybe that's because I never really post about my mildly tuned scoots that I just ride drama-free.

Pros: it has 8" wheels and the suspension looks right.

some folks just get themselves in to the wrong bikes and/or have a hard time wrapping their heads around things.

Investment from the point of view of fun and enjoyment? sure.. it can fullfill a lot of joy and can get you back into hobbying with wrenching. They also hold their value no matter if you sell it tomorrow or in 5 years, 10 years or 20 years down the road.

As far is reliability for daily riding? if I were on an deserted island and had to pick on a scooter I would say there are more reliable and better choices out there without breaking the bank and in my opinion a better scooter to ride. Any Hondas, Sims, kymcos or Buddys or even a 125cc 4 stroke modern vespa would be my choice for daily riding unless you are willing to wrench on it.

Even the newer version os Lambretta alike are great investments for the price.

I would be all over a modern scooter if:

It had a manual transmission

and

Didn't look as boring and uninspiring as today's cars.

It's my own fault for being permanently stuck somewhere in the late 70's.

There a couple of modern scooters I like the look of. But if I had that sort of mad money, I would be looking at a starter bike.

I like your RCAF patch. Maybe you got it at the warbird museum? That's where I got mine. Great collection there.