Modern Vespa

I have an opportunity to purchase a rad Italjet Velocifero..
What is/are your thoughts on these scoots??
I really like it.. but not hugely familiar..
Thanks!!!!

are these the retro looking 50s that were being sold a few years ago? the main problem with anything italjet is parts.

Ummm, yes, hard to find parts

Very interesting scooter though:

hard to find parts.. italjet have been bust for quite a while now.. i think.

If the price is right and the scoot is in good shape, I say get it.

Yes, parts are hard to find. I hadn't seen one of these in SoCal until a couple weeks ago at Swerve 'n' Curve. I spent some time chatting with the owner about it. She replaced a lot of parts on it, and was able to get them though some took some time to track down. These didn't sell very well in this area from what I've heard, but did sell well in NYC, where the importer was based.

The Velocifero is an oddball scoot and increasingly rare. I'm not saying it'll be worth a bucketload anytime soon, but if I were building a collection I'd love to have one. It may not have been the best scooter ever made and some say it's goofy-looking but I have a bit of an affinity for them. It was largely responsible for my second wave of scooterlust, which didn't abate until I finally got my LX several years later.

I think the Velo launched in Europe around the same time as the original ET. When they came to the US in '97, it was the only metal-bodied Italian scooter sold new here. Design-wise, it's more of a bridge between vintage smallframe and modern scooter than the ET (except for that oddball headset). The legshield is actually identical to some Vespas; the body was pressed in India by Bajaj.

The debut of the Velocifero kicked off a huge wave of interest in scooters, which had been diminishing since Honda took over the market in the '80s. For the first time in many years, mainstream media was paying attention to scooters. The Velocifero quickly found its way into the hands of musicians and celebrities, which then got coverage in major magazines. This rise in demand and visibility helped pave the way for Vespa's return to the US market a few years later.

The first Scoot! Quarterly I ever bought (#3 with Jerry Seinfeld on the cover!) has a Velocifero review. I just re-read it but don't know if there's much good info for you in there now.

My opinion is that I really really really want one.

motor wise, they're the same as an ET2 or ET4.
chassis wise, they share a few parts-- fuel tap, relays, perhaps some cables. beyond that, it's all specific parts.

granted, having a leader motor is a plus, but trying to find anything else is a total and utter nightmare.

need bearings on the front wheel... well... that's gonna be sitting in the shop awhile.

catch my drift?

best,
-greasy

gotta love the bug eye twin headlights. probably the last truly all stamped steel italian scooter ever (not sure about the front fender though). I always wished they had put this out in a 125 or 150cc it may have lasted longer in US. yeah parts will be tough but w/internet there's always some parts out there albeit for a price. I say yes if you have the coin & the time this would be a real head turner at rallies. is it a 2 stroke?

Totally fly.

Seeing a Velocifero always reminds me of Johnny 5 or Wall-E.

Seeing a Velocifero always reminds me of my first scooter crash I like them and will admit to glancing eBay now and again for a cheapie

I thought they were a really cool scooter. To me, with the exception of the headlight, they did a 'modern vespa' better than vespa did.

It's built on the same scale as a vintage vespa.... same legshiedl ... it's like they took a vintage vespa and kinda stuck an auto engine in it. Kept it steel... etc. It's got a horncast like old models... the turn signals are understated and don't bother me. I even think the fork is a modernized p-series looking thing. It's like they took a bunch of old vespa parts and made a functional modern scooter out of it.

I like them a ton.

The headlight(s) is making me strangely aroused...

Immortalized in the opening to the anime Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad.



The full vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jcGPUoUx3M

I love them and want one real bad!

Here in London they used to be fairly common when new - I think they really took off when Oasis's record company gave the band a Velocifero each about 1997-8. Patrick Cox also did a special edition with (I think) a snakeskin seat and trim. Jamie Oliver (the chef) also had one. I believe earlier models had smaller wheels than later ones, and I was told by no less than a local Italjet dealer that the older ones were death traps.

I seriously considered buying one when they were still being made, but I heard a lot of bad things about build quality from Velo owners, especially issues with rust and bits just falling off - most notoriously the tiny pillion seat which cost £100 to replace (and was an extra in the first place!). They still look great though.

There is one in San Diego w/ only 163 miles on it...a bit pricey...but a nice lookin' scoot.

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/esd/mcy/1355067193.html

I don't remember seeing that back seat before:


Very stylish!...
But can a passenger really sit there?

Yes, I remember seeing Noel Gallagher wobbling about on one in Soho.

They are quite cool. But I don't think Noel rides it anymore.

He's out of a job now, he probably had to sell it.

I bought a Velocifero 2 years ago off ebay,i put a Malossi 70cc kit on it to give it abit more speed,i only use it round town and in the winter months when my GTS is hibernating.It is fun to ride and i have had a few people ask me about it.The engine is i'm told a Morini A/C and it's 2 stroke,there is a list on "Lambretta innovations" of other scooters with this engine so there is more choice of parts.Pmtuning also do some tuning parts for it.Italjet.uk stock parts as well.

Have one in my colection, love it, beutifull scooter, great handling. A bit slow, will do 70kmh on a good day.

Difficult to source parts, takes time.

If you can, buy one, it will be the oddbal scooter from the 90s in the future.

as ISO is Compared to Lambretta,

There's a tidy looking one on UK Ebay right now http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Italjet-velocifero_W0QQitemZ220742106659QQihZ012QQcategoryZ122297QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I love this scooter. Bought it a year ago at auction. Having some problems though. At the end of the warm season last year it quit running. It turns over but wont start. Took it to someone and they will not touch it. My grandpa and a few other people say clean the carb. I know what a carb is and I know how to clean one but working on a scooter is new to me. Any Ideas? Lynn

Was it sitting for a while before quitting or had you been riding it regularly?

Carb is a possibility but it's (usually) not something that will suddenly stop working if the scooter's being ridden regularly. Other possibilities are spark plug (easily enough replaced) or something else impeding the fuel supply.

I'd start with the plug.

I know this is an old thread, but this isn't true at all for the Velocifero. I think Greasy was thinking of the final production year of the Torpedo 50 and 125. The velo engine is unique to the velo. Some shared motor morini parts but a very unique design to fit a modern engine in a vintage body without making them huge like modern Vespas. Ended up being a horrible engine, but he chassis design is thoughtful if not great.

What you are looking at is quite possibly the Worlds most Expensive and the Fastest Velociefero ever.

I have reciepts totalling almost $8000 that included the original purchase.

Every kit available, every option available. It goes almost 60mph on a flat road.

I blew the motor and had it rebuilt 3 times. Each rebuild Italjet promised 70MPH and it barely made 60. Had a polini Alloy 65cc, then a couple of Malossi Cast Iron 50cc kits. Malossi Variatorm Delta Clutch, Race gearsm Carb kit, kevlar belt, you name and I threw it at it.

Bought new directly from Italjet USA and all the work was done by Italjet USA as well. Which wasnt always a good thing.

I retired it when I bought my Stella in 1993.

It was raffled off, last summer during Long Island's First Scooter Rally: SCOOTSTOCK.

Jimi at Zoom Scooters in Maspeth Queens, NY is the guy that fixes them and he is really into them. He got it going in a day after it sat around unstarted since 2003 and the guy who won is grinning ear to ear.

A very good scoot but not enuf for me, it was my first and I sold a 1984 Honda Nighthawk for it and never looked back.

Martha Stewart still has her 2 Velocifero's on the road. If you need the parts, you can still find them.

There will be at least one in Tom Hanks' movie, "Larry Crowne." They bought a couple for the shoot; one for parts.

The Velocifero, immortalized in anime:

Totally fixed it today. It wasn't getting any fuel. So cleaned the lines and tank out. Found a few parts to my long lost fuel cap. Road it every day then, it started raining for like a week. Sun comes back out and little love wouldn't start. Now it seems to go faster. I'm still picking bugs out of my teeth and hair.

Kinda wondering what the Hanks flick will do for the US scooter market if anything. Still with gas going up and Tom & Julia putting around with 20 somethings might give sales a much needed shot in the arm.

The velocifero is riden by one of the main characters and is featured in many shots. It should spark some interest. Doubt italjet will go back into production but maybe China will make another knockoff.

Very hard to tell if the movie will stimulate sales. There are 20 minutes of solid scooters & riding in the film. I think scooterists are favorably portrayed. But I'm not sure that will give sales much of a boost. New scooter sales were up 50% for Q1 of 2011 (over last year). I think those who are inclined to buy right now and can are buying.

3rd time's a charm?

Ha, I deleted the duplicate posts.

Coming soon...

We can only hope that never happens.

Okay, but what is it?

Here's the link. who ever owns the italjet USA name tried to bring back the Velo about a lttle more than a year ago. Looks all plastic and chinese built at that. Don't think it'll make the states if anywhere. Some of the old lines but without the bug eyes or steel body not exactly the same.

http://www.thescooterscoop.com/2010/09/28/italjet-giving-it-that-old-college-try/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thescooterscoop+%28TheScooterScoop%29

"Italjet Veocifero 50
Moped scooter. Finally the relaunch of the famous Velocifero. This stunning cult scooter will be available in several colour options. Italjet are an Italian company who have produced motorcycles and scooters since 1959. The Velocifero was a famous scooter in the 1990's and gained huge visibility with the likes of pop bands like Oasis who were passionate about there Velocifero scooters. Style and elegance. We will be landing a small consignment in April. Orders are being taken with deposits to secure your scooter"





http://www.te.co.nz/te-motors/Motorbikes/Scooters/Auckland-City/Newton/adId-7963373.htm

Best of luck