Modern Vespa

I finally went and took a close look at the listing for that Sprint. I think it's a low-key Indian bodge.

Lots of little things are off, like...
- only two rivets on the back of the legshield badges--and I can't tell for sure, but I think they're pop rivets
- No tail badge
- No paint on the gear shift numbers.
- They kept the LML/PX kickstart lever.
- Indian manufacturer (Mansarovar) on the tools in the tool pouch.
- Wrong horn.
- That shifter box has major oxidation, which makes me wonder what the rest of the motor looks like.

Definitely not a "spared no expense" job. More like a "pretty-shiny for the unqualified eye" job.

look, kajiit is here to support your poor automotive life choices, just know that.

and what better time to take advantage of a "back to school special"?!? bikes left for storage will have parts periodically added to them until the autumnal equinox!

Can confirm. Includes random pics of unexpected butts perched on your seat.

Damnit! You're not helping!

Once I figure it how bad the damage is on Tuesday, I'll make a decision. I also need to get off my ass and actually sell the white Stella, which is ready to go.

As I understand it, the non-obvious areas of bikes stored in Kajiit's Cave of Wonders tend to emerge bearing a striking resemblance to the walls of a seedy bar's bathroom stalls.

That's part of the appeal of letting them "season" there.

determining value on NSM stuff can be very subjective. some people value originality over anything else, others value rarity, others will only consider bikes prior to [insert model, year, or style introduction] and discount anything else. YOM plates don't mean anything unless they were issued with the bike from purchase originally. in CA you can petition to run YOM plates, so that does nothing to prove originality or provenance. it looks like just the standard sidecar plate. nothing special. I'd be HIGHLY skeptical of this side hack being setup properly, I don't see a steering dampener. which you 1000% need. it's an indo repop. they're okay quality, as far as sidecars go. if the work was high quality AND somebody wanted a sidecar set up, 6K wouldn't be a bad deal. it is extraordinarily difficult to profit on vintage bikes. the best money you could make is to buy something at a smoking deal and immediately flip it for 3~5 hundo without putting a dime into it.

so if you're looking to cherry pick vintage bikes and try and make some scratch as a side hustle you'd be much better off doing like door dash or just like, selling whatever random shit you have laying around on offer up.

I don't think birbs ever found the limerick that I scrawled on the Spanish in a inconspicuous place...

I view it as an analog to Van Halen's legendary "M&M clause" to check attention to detail. Now you know what parts he didn't check

This. Various people and entities have tried this in the past. Olympia Scooters comes immediately to mind. They were buying up pretty much everything that came on the market in the Pacific Northwest for a while, then trying to flip it. Maybe with questionable work done.

They eventually liquidated after discovering that even an illiquid market is hard to corner.

I'm of the same mind.

and like MJ mentioned, I'd want to know who did the work. a Stella motor and 166 says: the stock motor was crap and we replaced it.

I'd guess they got ahold of a indo bike and did the ol' razzle-dazzle.

I'd mostly want to know who did the work so I could advise people to steer clear of them.

I'd forgotten all about those guys… I remember seeing their ads on Craigslist from time, maybe… 7-8 years ago? I just remember thinking, "You want how much for THAT bike?!",
and just generally getting a skeevy grifter vibe from all of their ads.

I saw it.

There once was a crank from Burbank,
Who secretly loved old Buicks and Hoobastank…

One owner, 4000 mile P200
https://reno.craigslist.org/mcy/d/reno-1980-vespa-p200e/7662426618.html

Maybe I'm cheap, but… I would have a hard time dropping 3 racks on a p2 even if it wasn't sporting 3 different colored body panels…

Well asking price and selling price…

Maybe that's what it's getting to. Here in Thailand, values of vintage Vespas increase every year. A P200 like that one would go for around the equivalent of $3,000 easily without any quibbling.

I'd have a much easier time paying $3k for this Rally

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/mcy/d/seattle-1974-vespa-rally-200/7653343160.html





Last edited by macgerk77 on Wed, 06 Sep 2023 00:18:51 +0000; edited 1 time

Or if you are looking for an older bike, and you happen to have tons of old parts laying around, plus you like challenges & putting puzzles together, this authentic AllState might appeal to you for a measly $150. If anybody local gets this, hit me up - I have a few parts you may need.

https://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/mpo/d/woodinville-vespa-frame/7647451440.html

The link doesn't show a price, just a white space. How much are they asking for it, $3,000?

Very cool base to start from! I dig it, shame it's not in the cards. The Allstate frame I have isn't nearly as good of a candidate.

Hope someone here snags it and brings it back to the road!

Sorry, fixed that

that's an awesome blank canvas. if you have a little stash of parts that would be an easy snap together for something cool.

a resto would be a drag, but thankfully people aren't asking the moon for early 2 port boat anchors and pogo stick forks!

Yes, that's a much better deal.

Sounds like you're talking to me…


I have everything this frame needs to be a complete bike disassembled in totes. Leftovers from that VNB I totaled some years back.

Bloody hell…

Lemme see what I can do, I just emailed seller. I would agree, this is the kind of cheap deal I like to find, but it was mor_ who sent me the link and gets all the credit here.

You da man, V! I'll text him tomorrow with my gratitude for his diligence!

Mac, your AllState has landed and it looks pretty good!

My man voodoo comes through in the clutch! Now I really gotta get that rally buttoned up so I can confound myself with another project

Good man, Terry

[quote="Langolson"]
Here's a Super deal!
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/3560674234222295/?mibextid=dXMIcH


Was deal of the day. Now: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/341922614857876

boooooo! hiiissssss!

brutal, price doubled in < 2 weeks

Same seller, or is someone flipping it?

Someone flipping. When it went back up for sale there was no price. I contacted the guy, and it turned out that I worked on his DRZ400SM about 7 months ago to fix an electrical problem as well as a few minor problems. He knows less than me about Vespas (if that's possible) but picked it up to flip because he heard that they're valuable. He told me he had a lot of offers north of $2500. I wished him luck.

Further reduced...
2 smallie frames for $222.00

https://www.facebook.com/groups/VintageScooterCommunityClassifieds/permalink/5900394376728977/?sale_post_id=5900394376728977

It's a dog eat dog world.

*And I'm wearing Milkbone underwear*

would have been nice if one of us who appreciate the Supers of the world had snagged it. at $2600 you still have work to do (needs a tune up can mean any number of things), that's not doable except for love of that bike. If you get it and clean it up, ride it, and go to sell it later, it will be worth......

$2300.

^^^Agreed. Any one that was interested when it was at $1300 is just going to view this as straight up greed. He may find someone that did not know it was at that much cheaper price because it sold so quickly and the add was down shortly after. So he may get lucky. Or he may be open to a lot of verbal abuse. I will say that this area (Charlotte, NC) is a tough market to sell an older Vespa in. People want the look, but don't want to work on them. When I was still plastering I used to tell the younger guys that everyone wants the look, but no one wants to pay for it.