Modern Vespa

http://scoot.net/classifieds/forsale.html?id=17595


this is closer

find a lump

great deal on a roller

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and this is a no brainer

http://scoot.net/classifieds/forsale.html?id=17588

Alright, Dullivan ..i might have something in the works for you.

A buddy of mine has a early 60's Bajaj. ( think of a VBB, basically ). He's gone and replaced most of the indian shit with Italian. He put a PX125 engine in it, and it's kitted to 177.

I don't know if it's still 8" or 10" ...

He's wanting to sell it... and i'm getting the details together for you ..but it should be in your price range, even after $300 to crate and ship it to you.

here's a pic:

There's THAT option

OR

Another one of my buddies in PA is selling a VBA project that's been converted to 10" wheels, and is rocking a sprint engine. It's a project, needs some love ...we could probably talk you through wiring the electrics.

He wants $900 ... and figure there's another 300 in crating that as well.

http://www.markswift.org/cushman150vba.html

Delivery to your door as well, Dullivan is that your scooter right there?

forward air will deliver a scooter for $300 ..but it will be to your local freight depot...typically by your airport.

I think it's about time you started adding that cost to bikes you see nationally, and considering just having something crated and shipped to you.

Delivery to the airport is still a lot better than some of the other stuff he was considering - if I was Dullivan I'd much rather buy something that I haven't seen but comes recommended by someone who knows a lot about them - instead of travelling 1000 miles to look at something that turns out to be a piece of shit (because nobody ever skimps on the truth when they're trying to sell something haha)

I agree with that.

I'd vouch for the work done on the Bajaj pictured above, as it's a close friend doing the work who's a stellar wrench. I'm also more confident in it because the important stuff is italian now. That bike was a nightmare before, when it was running a bajaj engine.

Plus, i'm honestly more interested in you getting a RELIABLE bike right now to begin with than doing any favors for folks that need help selling their bikes..... ultimately it's more work for me to answer your technical question posts if i got you a bike that needed a lot of help!

Since it hasn't been said in a while....Eric you fuckin rock.

I vote for the Bajaj.

alright, well ...let's hang on and let me finish getting the whole story on the bajaj. I think it's having surgery right now to kit it up and i want to get an idea as to when it will be ready.

Seconded. 8)

So I see folks leaning towards the Bajaj. Can I just go ahead and put out there that I prefer the real deal, however, whatever bike is the better deal is probably going to be what I go with. I'm also not wanting to insult Eric for getting all this together for me...I'm just saying. Besides, it's a Vespa engine now anyway.

Okay, preference aside (because really, the only thing I've tried to be picky about recently is price and largeframe over smally) those are both great looking bikes. I'd considered the crating thing, but wasn't sure about buying a scoot I hadn't seen before. I never thought of using y'all as resources. So my only real question, until Eric comes back with more info, is, what do you mean by "airport"? Jax Int'l is about an hour away, but if we're talking smaller jets, Brunswick has a "jetport" and then there's an airstrip here in Waycross.

Yeah, Eric, you're definitely the man.

Also, totally unrelated, but I'm now the proud owner of a betta fish named Jackson. I've wanted a 10 gallon tank (again) for awhile now, but can't afford all the cost for setup, so my wife brought me this little guy home two days ago. I may post pictures, but he doesn't stay still very well. haha

Here you go... http://www.forwardair.com/locations/falocations.htm

Usually their station is at the airport however, here in San Diego it is about 15 miles away in an industrial park. Their name is a bit misleading as most of the time the bikes are transported by truck. I used them to ship my CB400 from New Orleans to San Diego last year when I moved and had no problems at all. As long as the person who crates it knows how to properly tie it down in the crate it will be fine.

So they're in Jax. Nice. If you don't mind me asking, how much did it cost for you to ship from Cali to NOLA?

About $700... Keep in mind, that it was a heavier bike that required a larger crate. The prices are set by crate size and weight. Scooters will fit in the smallest crate and way much less than that old 400.

FWIW, I got a scooter shipped by Forward Air from Austin, TX to Raleigh, NC for $250, this past January. The shipper crated it well in an Aprillia carton, much larger than the scooter.

I should add that I used their crate.

Is that more or less expensive? Where would I get another crate? Maybe I shouldn't be worried about all that, since I'm not going to be able to do much about it from down here. We'll see what the grand total is and go from there.

The pricing info is on forward air's site. However it does cost more if you use their crate. Whoever you buy it from would obviously have to crate it for you. I would see what Eric comes back with for the complete story on both scoots and decide from there.

I rode my Bajaj exclusively for a with a year a set up similar to the one mentioned, fun bike. Broke my collar bone on it.

While I wait for Eric to get the skinny on these two bikes, my craigslist ads netted another option. Someone replied to my Atlanta ad with this '62 VBB. Sorry for the crappy cameraphone pictures. That's just what he sent. He says it was running till his buddy screwed up the kickstart lever last year. I don't know if its bent, broken, or what. He says he'll take $800 for it. What say you, fellow MV'ers?

I don't care for the seat, or the (aluminum?) center mat, or a number of embellishments, but my feeling is it isn't a "vietbodge," just something that has been blinged out over the years with poor taste. The kickstart is made of soft aluminum and the teeth on that might just be stripped. Or the kickstart gear inside the cases could be rodgered up. If the kickstart system is truly why it isn't running, no biggie.

Get some history on it - where did the current owner get it? If you don't smell a rat I'd say go for it.

Or get some better pics so we can better inspect it

is that a bottle opener on the leg sheild, cool 8)

BUY BUY BUY!

I smell bodge here. Almost every VBB that is legit here in the states have been restored to look stock to the bone like it rolled off the showroom floor. This looks terrible. Looks like they took the asian hub caps off to pose for the picture. Get some better pictures of this thing and have Eric pick it apart like it was a stack of legos.

That looks like a St Christopher badge maybe?

Saw one on a Sprint awhile back, and had the same question. Eric had the answer, as usual.

If it opens up a beer too... well, that's just a divine bonus the way I do math.

Go take some pics yourself, so you can get all the angles needed for the fearless experts among us... don't let the seller dictate what you can and can't know about it.

Plus you will have seen it in person at that point as well

Well, it's up in Atlanta of course, so I can't really afford to drive up there just to look at it, not to mention the time involved. Fortunately though, the guy apparently lives in the same town (Atlanta = downtown plus dozens of suburbs) as one of my best buds, who also happens to be a mechanic. I'll be calling him shortly to see if he can make a trip tomorrow or Sunday. Hopefully he can take some better pictures for me.

Me seeing it without having the okay from you guys first is probably a bad idea anyway. It may result in me immediately agreeding to a completely shoddy bike, just because I'm excited enough to sit on it and push it home using my feet, making *vroom vroom* noises all the way.

That's one of my riding buddy's P. Frame is in good shape. The cowels are from a Stella. He is keeping the engine tho.