Modern Vespa

I am curious if anyone else has seen these type of for-sale ads: These are very nice looking, "recently, completely restored", reasonably priced scooters. On the face of it they cannot be getting their money out of the project, can they?
Many of these are mechanical and cosmetic restorations, and often with low miles since restoration. I am pretty sure that these are not bodgejobs, just restorations. Wouldn't you want to ride your restored scoot? Am I just being overly suspicious of these situations? Is it their personal mission to put fine looking restorations on the road?

I will add some references now that I have thought about this and am wondering...here are some, maybe not those that have made me go hmmm, but...

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/mcy/1382863232.html
http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/mcy/1389116929.html
http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/mcy/1385943745.html

or from scoot.net... (all look very good, sorry I can't do imgs)

Year/Make/Model1967 Vespa Description170 motor. Runs great. Full restoration. $2200. Jim


Year/Make/Model'74 vespa sprint-veloce Description'74 sprint-v, about 1,000 mi. on bottom of motor(bearing,seals,clutch, cruciform,brakes ect., w/polini 177 kit,24/24 non inject delorto carb, new shocks (fr & rear)/new wheels,tires(incl. spare)/inners/seat/mirror(2)/repaint at some point very nice (silver), euro tail light. bike is a strong runner and my daily for about 4-5 yrs. all work over the yrs was done here and isn't an asian import. $2,300 obo, (704) 531-1714. nice solid scoot not junk!


Year/Make/Model1959 Allstate 125 DescriptionThinning out the herd. Somebody should be riding her. 1959 Sears Allstate 125 (VNA2T). Original piston-ported engine. New NOS jug and cylinder. Freshly run in. Has been painted once somewhere in it's history. Paint is really nice. New front fender matched and painted by Mark at Bulletproof. Rebuilt carb. Rebuilt clutch. Reworked shift and throttle tubes so they spin freely. New cables throughout. New tires. New brakes. All electricals work. Added a regulator to avoid blown bulbs. Upgraded front fork and suspension. New grips. Plenty of extra parts included. Starts and runs excellent. Very reliable engine. Bike only ever worked on by me. Garage kept. All receipts. Clean title. CA Registered until the end of the year. Pick up only. Bike is in San Francisco and there are a bunch of folks here who can vouch for it. Very original 50-year-old Allstate. I took good care of her and hope you will too. Serious inquiries only please. No trades. $2400 Mike [/img]

Usually, those ads are from people selling Vietbodge scooters, or some other kind of shifty shady business. You don't want that.
As for the rest, "recently restored" can mean "i spent a ton of money on this 2 years ago, but now I need to make car/house payments and this is my bike that's worth the most."
Never ever buy a scooter where the owner can't detail everything that was done. Every degree of separation from the person that did the work is another degree of sketchiness.

What a shop charges(full restoration)

Strip Down $400-$500

Media Blasting $250

Bodywork and Paint $1,200-$2,000

Engine Rebuild $500-$700

Powder Coating $200

Polishing/Chroming $200 plus

Parts Replacement $200 - $1,500

Final Assembly $1000-$2000

This is what it costs for a full restoration(ground up)
in the USA if you have someone else do all of the work.

If you see a scooter for sale that is in mint
condition(with no miles on the clock),
and it has a price tag of $1,800-2,500
then it's a person who is loosing their shirt,
and needs money fast, or it's not been
restored in the United States, or the UK.

Just to have a shop do ½ of the work mentioned above
is very costly. That's one of the reasons why many people
try to do a lot of the work themselves.(and it's still expensive
to restore a scooter!!!! even on your own)

And I didn't even mention the cost
of buying the vintage scooter that needs restoration
in the first place.




Rob

I am pretty sure they are.

At this point, just the words "completely/fully restored" are red flags to me.

But I'm sure everyone here would be happy to comment on some links.

gonna have to go with h on this one

I'm restoring a 1960 VBB. Have never ridden a Vespa, don't have a licence and will only run it up and down the road when it's finished before I sell it.

I'm doing it because it's fun.

Charlie

I wonder how many folks actually do it your way. If I were local I might buy the scoot from you. Good luck.

Looks like it's going to be a nice one too.

Responding to the edit and added links...

The thing is that while none of those look like outright bodges, I wouldn't really call any of those scooters completely, or (and this is the important bit) correctly restored bikes. Believe me, the difference between a non-enthusiast seller who says "completely restored" and when someone like Rover Eric says it is literally thousands of dollars in value (not to mention time and effort).

The sad thing is when someone has obviously spent time and money on a bike and could have easily doubled the value by paying more attention to the right details rather than just making things shiny.

Out of those 3 I would get the Rally.

The VBB looking thing..eh

The PX125 with the "stuff"...eh

usually these scooters are imported restored form Asia, but the work was did badly ... believe me, you don't want this one ... I've seen some Vespas imported from Asia restored and it's disaster ... They looks good at the first sight, but ...

Heh, that's my bike. It's not restored, def not a "bodge"--just a fair deal on a really nice, all-original machine. Come buy it, you won't be disappointed.

It's my personal opinion that you should stay away from restored bikes unless you know the person or the shop and trust their reputation. Look at the costs that Music quoted, and then factor in that whoever is doing it will probably eff something up along the way. Dollar for dollar you can't beat a nice, original, unmolested bike, and nothing rides like one.


I'd bet that most people who have been into this pursuit for a while aren't losing money on the bikes they sell. That is, unless you are an economist and want to factor in the opportunity cost of all the hours we have into them. I don't do restorations, but there is a definite satisfaction in getting a bike back on the road that's been out of commision for 10, 20, 30 years.

hp likes this.

(But still appreciates customs and restos.)

Me 3

I like stock GS160's all day long and I like crazy German P cut down racers too.

I don't know the story is the Allstate. It looks like maybe a hobby project/toy. Nicely done, but without regard to original detail. It's being sold by a dealer... who knows...

If I had a garage (I wish) I would build bikes for fun... there are people who do that... especially with old cars. i've seen a few for sale like that.

the P. it has performance modifications because it's a slower model. it looks like a solid road bike... not a restoration. what's up with the Bajaj bars?

It's a great hobby I'm In my 70's an have done 7 scooters in 3 yrs, 3 Vespas even a GS160 MK1, 3 Lambretta's and a Fuji,, I worked at the local scooter shop as a kid Wizzers and Cushmans, I buzz them up and down the street when they are done but don't really ride anymore, I can do them in the garage 4 stall, and when it gets cold here in Michigan I take them the the warm basement, and play with them. I retired my race car last year 50 years of racing is enough, and found scooters are cheaper than race cars, I have a 66 Sprint 150 and a Li3 125 forsale and have put them to sleep till spring then I will sell them. Dick

Your Sears Sprint is awesome. If I had extra money laying around that's what I would buy at the moment. I hope it sells to someone that will take good care of it.

What sort of race car did you have?

i saw the sprint on the rovers site. very nice. i love the black.

That's sick. Gotta love the teeth grill! Nice work!

[quote="volvo15"] ur tasted for a race are are crazzzzzzzzzzzzzzy but so cool and awesome

Now that's a $3500 Rally...