Modern Vespa

I know they're pretty rare these days, even as projects. It's my dream scooter, though I plan on buying a second one soon as well. This would be my first Vespa. (And I've waited a very long time to commit to finally doing this!)

The owner took me for a ride on it and it goes! I did have difficulty using the kickstart, I think because it was my first time.

The owner wants it to go to someone who's really gonna love it and not just paint it and flip. I expect to have this scooter for the rest of my life if I'm buying it.

This could probably move to the NSM section, but even then, more info about the condition of the bike would help.

It sounds like it runs fine, but needs cosmetic work?

Moved to NSM.

In europe they are about 10000€ or more , I know two that are fore sale at this moment , one is with orignale paint ( 10500)
The other one restored 14000€

So did you buy it yet? We need pics!

So far it looks like it runs fine. Today I went out to a scooter shop to try and find some other old vespas, just to compare. I especially wanted to compare how the kickstart felt, since I had a hard time the other day working it. I was a little concerned about that, but I figure it's a lathe frame and I'm vertically challenged, so I probably just need practice kicking on it real good.

The paint on it is original and the person I'm buying it from is the second owner, as far as he knows. The woman he bought it from bought it a long time ago and then let it sit for a very long time because she didn't put oil in the gas and that locked it up. So when he got it, he fixed that and it's been rideable since. He called his Vespa a "partial barn find" because of that. He's owned it for about 30 years.

My one concern besides it taking a few kicks to get it to start is I did notice a bit of oil on the outside of the kickstart area. I'll find a similar picture online as an example, I'll circle the area where I saw oil.

He showed me a lot of the parts on the bike are original, including the rear suspension. I could tell a bit when we went over bumps. I was shocked that something that worn was still working at all.

Let's see… sometimes the cable for the breaks on the left side need replacing, but he has a bunch of replacements he's giving me.

I didn't mention that there are 2 HUGE tubs of replacement parts that he's sourced over 39 years, that are included in the sale price. Some of the items include 2 replacement cones and a front fender that he got in Italy. The cowls are still have the oil the factory put on them to store them. I know how hard to source and pricey cowls are for the SS 180.

As far as cosmetic, the paint is original and it looks good as it is. I could leave it like that for a long time. Though I might repaint down the line, because I would do some dent fixes eventually. I checked the floorboard and didn't see any rust. Though I still need to check under the scooter, I forgot. Little things to fix he already had parts for, like a replacement speedometer.

He's asking around 8k for the bike and that includes the 2 large tubs/bins of parts. (And the new tires that didn't fit in the tubs). I have a feeling he's gonna thrown in a helmet as well. He has some service records but it looks like he's done a lot of the maintenance himself so naturally no service records for that, but receipts for any replacement parts.

I think I saw one for $13k USD and then another for 20k USD fully restored. Pretty crazy.

When I was a teenager I found a completely restored one for 6k USD and I was deeply upset that I had to pass on it.

Not just yet, just arranging everything to make it happen. I'll absolutely share pics when I get it.

At that price point make sure the paint is OG and that the engine is correct.

Never hurts to check the frame and engine numbers.

https://scooterhelp.com/serial/ves.frame.serial.numbers.html

Besides just looking, how can you tell if paint is OG?

Thanks, I'm gonna have to figure out how to use this.

Share pics BEFORE you get it
Btw that bike is $$$ and trickier to deal with going forward vs the time-warp Super you were considering.
Piston ported for one, and there are replacement things that are very difficult to source vs the Super or Sprint, if you're thinking a more classic look than the P series. You could build a complete "P" with parts available online.

There must have been something up with that Denver Super to be up 9 weeks with a pretty decent scoot community in better striking range. Guessing title(?).
Looked like a gem from the pics.

Be.Really.Patient.
Things to Consider before Buying a Vintage Vespa

^This. SS came in red (3 variants), Hawthorne white and Pavone Blue.
Start with the serial number of the frame. It can help us determine the possible colors based on when it was manufactured. (IE- an early 65 will not be Pavone blue.)

Also, making sure you have the correct motor (based on the serial #) is also key. If someone swapped in a sprint motor or a p-series lump then it isn't worth close to 8k.

Yes the time warp vespa, that one is great! I'm still considering it. The owner of that one still has to transfer the bike into her name, since it was (or is) her daughter's, and her daughter unexpectedly passed away this year. So she needs a little time to get things in order. She was also waiting for her mechanic to return from vacation to give it a once over and check the seals. She seems a bit older so she's not super active with messaging. I'm fine giving her time to get things in order.

True, The ss180 is pricey in repairs. Having an SS180 has been a dream of mine since I was 12, They're unique and exceptional, I really love them. But they're rare and the parts are hard to find, so they're pricey. I know it's gonna be a commitment regardless. But with any luck I'll be buying one that's the right one. One that had the right engine, preferably isn't gonna burst into flames on me, and doesn't need a crazy amount of work for me to get on it.

I'm gonna attach some pictures but I'l also include the link for this SS180 so you guys can see what I'm looking at, there's also a video.

The owner is running it with more oil than the standard so it's a bit smokey. And there seems to be some oil on the outside. I know Vespas can be leaky but I'm still concerned about that.

I wish I'd arranged for another experienced scooterist in the Bay Area to come check this out with me. I still have time to do that I think. I'd love to go take another look and make it more in depth. The owner is a pretty chill guy so he'd probably be cool with that.

I'm trying so so hard to be patient. I'm checking out a few Vespas and I think that's gonna help. I don't have enough experience and I haven't seen enough scooters and talked with their owners. Gotta really get into it.

Link to the scoot:
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1331667767899724?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3A73f014d5-341d-4de4-ad4f-69d53ffa318b

I also just wanna thank everyone for taking the time to give me so much information. I'm excited but it's also stressful since of course it's a financial commitment. And anything this old can easily turn out to be a project.

The left side cowl is all beat up, and what's up with the right side cowl? It sure doesn't feel like OG paint, but I'm looking at dinky pictures on my phone

It is a bit beat up. So the history on that is the first owner crashed it. Then she rode around never putting oil in the gas, which caused it to overheat So they cut the side there thinking it would give it more air flow. (it didn't) Eventually not using oil inevitable led to the piston locking up, and because of that she stored the vespa away. Not wanting to fix it.

Then the current owner is a friend of her family, he bought it and had someone take out the old piston, which had actually melted a bit, but came out pretty easy with a mallet, he said. He planed to replace the side cowls and the front fender.

I really love the amount of history he gave me on the scooter.

Everyone I've talked to about original paint is split on it 50/50. Some people take a look and go "yeah that's original alright", and the other half don't think so or are very doubtful.

I'm curious as to how you can dent the left one like that and not have the paint chip at least.

That's a project bike.
Ignoring the bodywork (what's under the rubber floor cover?)...
Everything would have to be completely gone through to be a reliable rider.

Guessing close to no way. I'm including other dents in this guess, but pics can distort things a lot.

Man, just my opinion… But that is not an 8k bike.

I concur doctor.

Dubious stories about the scoot's history, at best. Plan on spending a lot of time and money making it right, irrespective of the purchase price. My $0.02 worth.

A quick follow up note...

I want to strongly discourage you from buying that SS. Especially at the price point or anything close to it. I think that is a 3k or 3250 project bike for an experienced Vespa guy. A very heavy lift for a novice with tons of rare and expensive parts to sort out.

I want to strongly encourage you to hang out here and keep looking. If you have the capacity for an 8k expenditure you can get some minty ass and well sorted stuff to start with.

I suspect in 4 to 6 weeks you could probably find a well sorted original paint Rally 200 for that kind of coin. If you are dead set on a SS it may be 3 or 4 months to run down a good candidate, but you should be able to find one in far better cosmetic and mechanical condition for that kind of money.

Do it right and you will be a happy scooter addict. Do it wrong and you will feel bitter and disappointed in the experience quick fast.

Watch the deal of the day thread for options. (Albeit, DoD posts are usually projects or more common bikes.) Hell check out Bello Moto or Second Ave scooters to see what they have for sale. And, I and other folks can post up options here in this thread or if you want to start another thread for potential candidates go for it. Bottom line is, we hope you get a great scoot and become a regular. (I don't think that will happen if you pull the trigger on that SS.)

YMMV

Thank you so much for the advice on this ss180. I decided on a middle ground with it and requested the seller take it to Bello Motto or San Francisco scooter center, and have them do a full inspection of it. That's a decent starting place to go from. As far as this one goes, It could potentially be a very cool project but that's heavily dependent on what they find.

There's also a handful of other vespa's I'm looking at right now. A primavera with service records from Ptown Scooters in Portland OR, the "time warp" Vespa 150 (Which I'm gonna do a road trip to go see because it seems like a REAL cool find), and a Rally 200 with original paint. The Rally is one of the furthest vespa's to see besides the "time warp" vespa, as it's in Vancouver and I'm in Riverside California. I can list the links out for these in another comment if anyone is interested in seeing them.

I'll be in contact with Bello Moto when they're open, which seems like only Saturday's. They don't seem to respond to emails/calls/texts except for Saturday's, as well. They always have some pretty clean stuff. I'm sad I didn't get to visit them during my last San Fran trip. The last ss180 they had was very pricey, but they often have Rallys and other Vespas I'd consider. I'll check out Second ave, they seem close enough to me.

I'd love recs from other people on scooter candidates, either here or in a new thread. (Here is fine for now) The DoD sounds cool and I'd be open to having a project Vespa. The only Project scooter I have atm is a pos 86 honda spree, and I'm not very excited to do maintenance or work on it at all. I think that's why the ss180 is exciting, I might actually really look forward to slowly restoring it. It's much more worthwhile and rewarding imo.

*materializes from a cloud of 2-stroke*

I heard somebody was looking for a project bike?

*raises eyebrows*

Awwww son, now you done summoned the wizard.

How do you feel about John Deere Green?

*rubs hands with glee

Hahahaha!

I have a Super in OG paint, and the front end of the scooter was scorched in a garage fire. The front of the legshield looks very 'tarnished' (brown/black stain), but it came up solid and shiny with some buffing. Lord knows what type of paint Piaggio used in the factory, but it is really tough like enamel. A repainted P series (red one behind in the photo) was also scorched, but to a lesser extent. The paint has blistered and gone kind of orange peely, but the Super's paint stood up really well to the heat and flames.

My point is, you'll know if it's OG paint !!

Wow!!! So I had to google this because that's amazing. Apparently enamel paint was common back then. It was prone to fading but as you can imagine, if the enameled paint on a cast iron skillet can survive the kitchen, the same paint will survive on Vespas, as it seems.

Pretty neat. Then original paint should have a feeling to it when tapped or scratched by a fingernail. Now I gotta go scratch and touch a bunch enameled cast iron pans and enameled tin coffee makers.

Not necessarily but if I found one that I really wanted I'd consider it. I guess that's what this thread is really about. We've been taking about an ss180 that I'm eyeballing.

Technically I do have a project bike already but I'm a bit disenchanted with it.

What is that project bike you feel disenchanted with ?

I see that you have an SS 180 listed under your avatar. Is that a bike you own or the one you were hoping to own?

Those pre 77 bikes were lead based paint. That's why it's indestructible. Until it isn't then you get brain damage from eating the paint chips

The enamel on metal pots and pans is a different material. More of a fired ceramic. Cars used to be painted and then run through a huge oven to bake and set the paint. They couldn't wait around for it to dry or set.

Comika mentioned having a Honda NQ50 "Spree". Not exactly gonna light ones world on fire.

Now, if it had been an SB50P "Elite E", there's options to make a tiny scoot scary without lots of frame modifications. Metropolitan forks bolt in and a variated AF05/AF16/AF18 can be bolted on with the use of an NB50 "Aero" engine mount.

Oh sure, now you tell us.

Thanks for the advice not to eat the paint. Is it ok to just lick the scooter though?