Modern Vespa

Anyone here on ModernVespa ever seen a Saturn Red ET4? Yes, I mean Saturn Red NOT Dragon Red. I am asking as I have a friend who has one, original color not a repaint, 600 miles. He is considering selling it and trying to determine just how much it is worth since it may be the only one in the US or anywhere for that matter.

A couple of notes:
- I've seen the bike with my own eyes, this is not fiction.
- I cannot disclose the potential seller or how he got the bike, but I promise you this is legit.
- No, it is not stolen or illegally imported.
- Not sure on the model year, but suspect it is a 2002 or 2003

Thanks for any help you can provide as to the value of this bike.

this is a long shot, but a picture might help.

Yes, I thought about a picture but there is no way the color would come out right for every monitor that might display it. Other than the different shade of Red it looks just like an ET4.

My understanding is that the Saturn Red color was used for other Piaggio models but not the ET4 and certainly not in the US market.

When the ETs first came into the US the red wasn't dragon red. I can't remember it right now but it'll come to me at some point. It wasn't till 2002 that the red changed to dragon red.

The very first 9 new Vespas in the US were the old red. They were used for the NY marathon.

There's a bunch of those old reds about. It was the most popular colour and we sold loads of them.

Andrea

Vespa Riverside was mistakenly shipped one...a "Euro" only color. I've seen another in Orange county. I think they referred to as "Rosso red" which is likely a misnomer. Pretty though...not Dragon Red or Vintage Red, more...candy red-ish.

check out the thread in the photo gallery by jhc, his new ET4 is Rosso Red. The thread is called Scooter Shoot and features yours truely...ME and my friend Jon.

Thank you all for your input so far!

Assuming that this bike is NOT Rosso Red or Dragon Red and is truly a unique Euro only Red called Saturn, what do you think it is worth? The bike is in mint condition with only 600 miles on it.

I am asking here as I believe only this community can decide whether a "one-off" bike like this is truly more valuable. The average scooter buyer would simply say "it is red" and not pay a $ more for Rosso, Dragon or Saturn. A true Vespa aficionado may or may not pay top dollar for something like this. So what do you all think?

sounds like you have something that nobody has ever heard of, which will make it hard to get a premium for it, especially since a picture won't do it justice. your only hope is probably to take it somewhere that large numbers of people interested in collecting vespas gather, like a rally, and hope the color really grabs someone. although, i don't think i've seen anyone pay collectible/premium prices for ET4's . . . i keep waiting for the day though, so that i can cash in on mine

There was never a "Saturn" red. There was a Rosso Karkade.

Lift the seat bucket and tell me the paint code shown under there. I'll look it up in my paint chips.

BTW, there were a couple of one off bikes brought here. They were red, but the engines were different.

Andrea

if you like the color buy it

its rare enough just to see ET's anymore

Andrea,

I cannot take a look under the pet carrier as the bike is not here with me but I am pretty sure that Saturn Red was an official Piaggio color. See the list above taken from another post here on ModernVespa. Thanks,

Aaah. Thanks for the part number.

That red is Rubino Red. Thats the name of the early ones that I couldn't remember. Code 996.

Def not Saturn red. Not sure where the Saturn red came from.

Andrea

Well, the saga continues since I don't know that the actual code on the bike is the same as what was quoted above. Once I have that code I will post it.

So if it is Rubino Red... Did you say there were 9, 100s or 1000s of those brought into the US back in the day? Thanks,

1,000s. We sold a lot in the first few months when Vespa first came back. We sold more of those reds that any other colour available at the time. A few still come in for regular service.

I just googled and found an original press release that shows it http://www.powersportsnetwork.com/motorcyclenewsdetail/id=351/newsarticle351.htm

Andrea

Oooh, one more piece of mystery!!!

Just did a flick through my old purchasing database and on all the stuff ordered through Piaggio USA its Rubino Red and on all the stuff ordered direct from Europe its Rosso Saturno. Same in house code of 996. Different packaging.

Andrea

Andrea,

Now you may be onto something. Lets see what's stamped on the frame under the pet carrier and we may just have solved the mystery. Thanks for digging for me!

Ok, folks so here's the scoop... The color is rosso saturno 996 (see pic). It is a model year 2001 and only has 450 miles. So based on this new information, do you folks believe this bike to command any kind of a premium? I am not trying to buy or sell this bike myself just trying to gauge the community for my buddy. That said if anyone is really interested feel free to PM me and I'll pass the word along to my friend.

Thanks for all the great input!

Would this be a Rosso Saturno ET4 too? This is the first modern Vespa I ever rode, back in 2001:

Tom,

Hard to say, what was the paint code under the pet carrier?

ok so this thread is a bit confusing...

to my knowledge, there is dragon red (most common) saturn red ( more rare) and rabino red ( ultra rare)

saturn and rabino are two different colors...

i learned the hard way that they are slightly different, trying to match paint on a rabino scooter.

according to several people i spoke with at the time (3 years ago or so) that worked for piaggio usa, there were 6 rabino red ET4s ever produced. according to the peeps that worked for piaggio, the color was immediately changed due the fact that the paint had a flaw to it in the sense that it was not consistent between the scooters, and after a few days was not consistent between the metal and plastic parts...

long story short... they are very rare, and the paint is IMPOSSIBLE to match, i was on the phone with PPG italy trying to do so... what a nightmare...

if i remember correctly the VIN numbers of the 6 rabino scooters end in 100 -106 i.e the first 6 leader motor ET4's released in the us...

thats what i know about rabino red...