Modern Vespa

Would you guys buy a mint condition 1 mile GT-60 with the box of extras plus all the catalogs?

I had a friend of mine offer me the bike and I'm on the fence about it. If I buy it, I would feel pressure to put it in my living room as a piece of modern art and keep a 1 mile bike for posterity. If I don't buy it, someone else who might thrash it might get it. But if I do but it, I'll be one of "those" people who have trailer queens....



What should I do?

If the price is right buy it and enjoy it.

Why bother? If you don't ride it and enjoy it then it will be a waste of money. Frankly, the GT60 isn't all THAT special... get a GTV for a ton cheaper if you want a fenderlight, plus you'll be willing to ride it.

Consider this: yes, the GT60 is a "collectors item" but the money you will pay for it... it will have to sit for many years to really turn you much of a profit (I don't consider 1 or 2 thousand a mindblowing profit in the grand scheme of things). Plus, by that time, allowing for inflation, the profit might actually not be much better than what you would have made flipping it next week.

Granted some old scooters are collectors items, but generally speaking I think it's a shame to waste a good machine as a trailer queen. My vote is buy it and ride it, or don't buy it at all.

If you can afford it, Buy it,
Just drive it in really expensive neighbourhoods.

No brainer. If the money's right, buy it and ride it

+1

Too good an opportunity to miss, assuming the dosh is right.

In 20 or 30 years time you can always do a resto...

Good luck

If it is priced like the showpiece scooter it is, pass on it. If it is priced like a used scooter in today's buyer's market, buy it, ride it, and forget that it one was somebody's investment mistake.

I'd say the money is between an investment scooter and a new scooter. I already have a super modified GT-200 which I sowed all my wild "modify the crap out of it" oats on so it shouldn't get completely touched all over.

In that case, only buy it if you are
fine with never riding it or it will abyssmally drop in value.

At least 2 I've seen have sold for under 5K!

6K USD with Topcase, crash guards, windshield....current ad

There's a saying I once read in a collector car magazine that I'll paraphrase: As soon as something is deemed a "special-", "limited-" or "collector's-" edition, it's value as something truly special, limited, or collectable goes down the toilet.

Most vintage vehicles today that command high dollar due to their collectability typically do so because they were not desirable to the masses when originally sold. The Vespa SS90 is one example, an L88 Corvette from the late-60's would be another.

Consider baseball cards as another analogy - How many "perfect 10" Babe Ruth cards are out there? How about DiMaggio? A handful, maybe? What about Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, or Nolan Ryan rookie cards? *Thousands*, if not more.

Why? Because everybody, their neighbor, and their neighbor's kids collected 'em and saved them thinking they might one day be worth as much as "old cards" were worth when they started collecting. The simple fact is, they won't.

The same goes for Vespas, I believe. A 1 mile GT60 will never command the same price in 50 or 60 years that a 1 mile 1940s or 50s Vespa will command today. There are just too many of the former in existence, and hardly any of the latter.

Don't buy it just because you can.

If you're in the market for a new scooter, and this one is in your price range, buy it.

If you're not in the market for a new scooter, pass.

Always wondered if anyone had done that headlight mod. Now I know!

Best,

Mark

Be aware that a GT60 in excelent condition recently sold on Ebay for $3500. So much for "special, collectable status" for the GT60. As long as you don't pay too much for it, they're nice scoots but so are GTV's which are the same scooter .

I'm not a believer in buying any PTW in order to place it in a living room (or garage) and never ride it. I ride a 62 y/o Harley-Davidson as my every day transportation. Sure, it would be worth more in original (not restored) condition, but I'd rather ride it. Nothing worse in my opinion then a beautiful old PTW rotting away in a garage where nobody ever sees it.

I've had the biggest thrills riding my old bike when the eyes of some old grey-beard light up when they see it. I actually had one guy who was probably in his 80's stand there and look at my bike for about 30 minutes. When I approached him to talk about it I saw tears running down his cheeks. All he could say was "Thanks". I have no idea what he was thanking me for, but something about seeing the bike meant an aweful lot to him. That alone made all the hard work to keep the bike on the road on a daily basis worth it.

If I was a collectors of special Vespas, I'd buy the GT60 and ride the wheels off it.

-Craig

Update. I bought it. I pick it up Sat morning. All paperwork, all documentation, old catalogs, came with it. I ordered a topbox for it today.

I have a space in my living room cleared out for it.

Enjoy it in any manner you like!

Way to go.

Can you post some pics of the various books, etc. that came with it after you pick it up?

Congrats and show us some pics. Not going to be a loaner huh

It is clear now that you wanted it, so: congratulations! Get the most out of it, whichever way that is.

Out of curiosity, and only if you don't mind the question: what price range was it in?

Eh... Sounds like it will eventually become like old exercise equipment... dusty, ignored, covered in laundry and best intentions. I think it needs to be ridden. It is just not fair to the scooter. Consider its feelings, its emotions. This scoot longs for the road. It needs to feel the wind and be free with all the other scooters.

Nah no dust. I know slowmike. That will be hermetically sealed. That will just to stop him from modifying it.

Congratulations, enjoy the beautiful scoot!!

This GT 60 wasn't orange was it?

Hell buy it and enjoy it. I would love to have one in my living room My ruby helmet sits in a special place in my living room when i'm not using it. It's not only a helmet but a piece of art. Why not enjoy it all the time. Good for you.

There's one on eBay right now that ends on the 9th. It's at $611 and has no reserve.

I picked it up on Saturday. It was 100% as described. 1.9 miles, did a quick lap around the block to make sure that all was good before handing over my check. Scooter now has 2.6 miles. Got both keys, code card, all the manuals, box of accessories. Took it home, polished and waxed it, cleaned excess wax off with q-tip and toothpicks and put a dust cover on it. Set it up on a battery tender, have an outlook reminder scheduled on Fridays to warm it up.

It's definitely special. When the insurance is done I'll talk more about it. Previous owner was no dummy.

You ordered a top box for it? Even though it is going to be displayed?

If you want to make sure this bike is going to be as nice as possible for the next owner you should remove the battery from the bike, and drain the gas from the tank. Warming it up once a week is bad for the motor, as it will not get up to operating temps unless you ride it for a couple of miles. Just running the motor will result in condensation and acids forming in the motor oil.

If your intention really is to just display the bike, check to see how museums prep their machines for display. I'm sure a google search will yield adequate results.

+1

This one ended at just over $3000 however as most of us knew it was a scam. The zero feedback seller is "no longer a registered user" and after the auction closed it was removed.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220649986959&ssPageName=STRK:MEDWX:IT

I had emailed him thru the auction however got no response, typical of a scam auction. No vin number, no information, easy to recognize.

Mike, where are those pictures? Isn't yours a "special" number?

SDG

SDG: The completed auction is still up. If it was a scam, Ebay would have deleted it by now (wouldn't they)?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320559671306&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT#ht_500wt_948

Now, ride it and enjoy it! There is no other reason to own a scooter IMO.

At 1.9 miles it was worth a lot of money. But at 2.6? Not so much.

Dude. Even worse. This is the same bike of the auction that ended and was deleted, of which it was last listed in Nampa, Idaho. I was a bidder on it when it was in Idaho

Total Scam

SDG

Ebay is lousy at dealing with scams. It's as if they don't have a fraud prevention dept...
Lots of times I've given them the heads up on items, some on counterfeit items (like fake Dainese leathers) and more often than not they do nothing.
They only care about the sale and commission.