With the rise in blue chip car collecting in the last 30 years or so, there has also been a lesser corollary in big time motorcycle collection. Naturally the prices for motorcycles are not up to the crazy level of some of the cars, but it is pretty serious nonetheless. Once of the biggest auctions happens every January in Las Vegas. Since it is getting pretty close, the list of bikes for sale is now online for your perusal. There are a lot of cool bikes this year... and, as usual, quite a few more pedestrian models. Not only are there motorcycles, but there are also a few scooters thrown in for good measure. I'll highlight a few of them, mainly for fun. I'm not going to the auction, but if I was, I'd probably try to low-ball several of these scooters and more than a few motorcycles to see what happens...
First up, a Vespa GS
This looks like a pretty good straight-up restoration. I would say that it is up to "nice driver" quality. The main thing that I notice that is wrong have to do with the seat. It looks like a standard bench seat, not the GS-specific seat. The GS had a larger gas tank with a raised center area, which necessitated a different style seat. The seat also had a special seat cover, which is different from the normal bench seat. This does not have that seat, and I suspect does not have the large GS-specific gas tank. Other things I notice from this photo are that the tail light appears to be a plastic aftermarket item, and the metal spare tire cover is missing. I'm sure I could nit-pick a few other things if I saw the bike in person... however, this looks like a pretty nice scooter. I'd be happy to own it. I'll be curious to see what this goes for at auction.
12/16/10 Update: The listing for this scooter has been updated, and now lists the restorer of this scooter as Tim Stafford. If that's the case, then I would say that this is a scooter I'd buy without reservation, and take back my assumption that it was a "nice driver"... I'm sure it is up to a much higher standard. He was the best restorer in the US, and sadly has stopped working on scooters and moved on to motorcycles. Every restoration that I've seen of his was just excellent. Still, I'm not sure what's going on with the seat...