Modern Vespa

coming to the community for info on this one...

picked up a primavera et3 over the weekend. vin on frame matches title, everything looks kosher with the title, but it's titled as a 1971, while a frame vin search on scooterhelp says it's a 1985 model. thoughts?

btw, this bike was apparently owned, 2-3 owners ago, by a mechanic at firstkick. pretty sure that's who kitted the bike. if that person is on here, lemme know. i'd just like to go over what all's been done to it.

Perhaps the engine was put into a newer frame? It looks like the ET3 was manufactured through 1990 so both dates look plausible.

FWIW - - I bought my 1962 VNB in 1964. I knew it was a 1962, but the shop made an error and registered it as a 1952 in a non-title state. I simply left it that way. When I finally moved to a title state, it was easier to leave it incorrect. Sold it in 2005 as 1952. No DMV or insurance company ever checked, nor had any "official" way to check.

Al

it looks like the et3 was first offered in 1976, though. almost every classic vespa title i've seen doesn't quite match the production year for whatever reason, but a 14 year difference is striking, and for a bike first titled in the mid 80's. i was thinking perhaps, just perhaps, the titling of the bike was some kind of workaround for a 125cc two stroke bike sold stateside in 1985?

edit: also, it doesn't have turn signals, which were definitely a DOT requirement in 1985.

Hint: it's easier to title an early '70s Vespa than it is an '85 (in California.)

I believe the Primavera was offered much earlier though (mid-late 60s?). Are you sure it is an ET3 Primavera?

Please listen to Len and your own words about turn signals.

Also, 1974 is a magic number.

pretty darn sure it is. the frame stamp vin prefix is vmb1t. the frame vin (full stamp, prefix + serial number) matches the vin on the title. haven't checked the engine stamp, but it is points-free (which, on an unrelated note, feels great at the throttle.)

indeed. i think my assumption is correct (workaround)....so i guess my real question is, "how the hell did they accomplish that? and who is 'they'."

Who knows? Enjoy what you have there.

This is in fact the answer.

I was trying to tell you this on our ride home after checkin' it and seeing the year: my shit's a '74, titled as a '71'.

Years, man. Gets easier to title things, or claim it's out of the system, blah blah blah, when they just "accidentally" knick a few years off here and there.

Oddly, my insurance company, based off my VIN, says the DMV record shows my v9a as a 125. Maybe that's wishful thinking (or advice?)