1963 Vespa GL (Gran Lusso)
This right here is how she looked on the day I brought her home. I wasn't really in the market for another scoot but on a morning peruse of ebay I did a local search and brought up this sweet babe less than 30 miles from my house.
Not knowing the seller I threw out a hail mary to the seller to see if he wanted to sell it offline and take the easy way out.
The seller responds very simply "Peter; this is Sam. Give me a call and we'll talk." Turns out I did know the fine gentleman who owned the bike and after a short discussion on the phone a deal was hatched.
Not knowing the seller I threw out a hail mary to the seller to see if he wanted to sell it offline and take the easy way out.
The seller responds very simply "Peter; this is Sam. Give me a call and we'll talk." Turns out I did know the fine gentleman who owned the bike and after a short discussion on the phone a deal was hatched.
It was meant to be as although I didn't have the scratch to pay for it; I was building a hotrod allstate for my brother at no charge so I promptly fronted me the cash I needed. After getting off of work I grabbed my ramp and my extremely understanding wife and went to visit Sam. It was a great visit as Sam has lots of cool vehicles to oggle at and I also had the chance to test out the my Honda Elements ability to fit a whole scoot int the back.
It turned out that the bike was an italian import that had been packed into a shipping container with tons of other bikes in the late 90's. After arriving here it was sold to a gentleman in Mpls who had the motor rebuilt by Derrick at Tonka Bay Scooters. The owner didn't change anything other than ride it. After acquiring it I noticed a nasty sag in the motor, the front fender was dangling on the fork and the speedometer read 46000 kilometers.
I cut out the center of a junk Rally fender I had and welded that to the inside of the front fender. I also rebuilt the fork, replaced the rear
I cut out the center of a junk Rally fender I had and welded that to the inside of the front fender. I also rebuilt the fork, replaced the rear
shock and changed out the tires. After a little spray bomb color match with some period dealer special style white accents I was on the road. To this day believe it to be my favorite bike. The Gran Lusso's square headlight and squared off body lines make it my first choice when heading out to the garage. Someday I may give it a proper restoration; but for now I will continue to celebrate it's worn out italian good looks and not be afraid to take it anywhere.
1964 Vespa VBB
I landed this particularly sweet machine in summer of 2006 shortly after graduating college. I had been looking for a vintage scoot that was turn key but was low on funds. I had been running a 76 Yamaha XS650 that was very original minus some clubmans. It was a great runner but having owned a few of those before I was getting bored so I put out some feelers in the scooter community.
After some interest, a local guy contacted me and was keen to trade straight across as he wanted some more power and the vbb was a bit
After some interest, a local guy contacted me and was keen to trade straight across as he wanted some more power and the vbb was a bit
slow for his needs. One look and I was sold so the deal was done.
I keep this particular sweet little number in my house in the dining room that my wife converted to a library. I pull it out every once and a while and spin it and can say it rides as good as it looks. It's 100% original minus the scootrs seat covers and 1 rim which is has it came to me and how it will remain. I changed out a lady luck decal on the legshield for a cowgirl pin-up and replaced the original siem tailight I cracked with another original siem lense so it remains true.
I keep this particular sweet little number in my house in the dining room that my wife converted to a library. I pull it out every once and a while and spin it and can say it rides as good as it looks. It's 100% original minus the scootrs seat covers and 1 rim which is has it came to me and how it will remain. I changed out a lady luck decal on the legshield for a cowgirl pin-up and replaced the original siem tailight I cracked with another original siem lense so it remains true.
1980 Jet 200-the project that never ends...
1960 API Lambretta Series 2 LI150-The indo express is currently getting a complete overhaul with lots of super trick bits. On the road in spring/early summer 2011!
