Several interesting scooters hit the final bell this weekend, and the results were somewhat surprising.
First was this 1967 Vespa SS 180 in Massachusetts. This is a last-year US market scooter. It has the US-only 1967 round headset. The special '67 "Mickey Mouse" SIEM tail light is missing, but it has the round "tractor style" light, though missing the side reflectors. It looked like a pretty decent scooter. Not perfect, but a decent rider. I figured it would sell for the buy it now of $3250, but didn't meet reserve at $2325. If it was closer to me, I would have made a play for it.
Next was this 1963 Lambretta Li 150 Series III in Portland, Oregon. This scooter was being sold by a well-known Lambretta guy, who completely restored it. It appears to be in excellent condition, and knowing the seller, I'm sure it is a really nice scooter. He rebuilt the motor with all new parts, and put in a 175 top end. It sold for $5000 and I'm sure everyone is happy.
Third is a 1962 Lambretta TV 175 Series III, from the same seller as the Li above. This scooter is arguably more interesting then the Li above, but did not end up selling. This is an early TV Series III and has the Li style cowls, the later ones had the "Special" style cowls. It has not been restored, but has been conserved. The scooter was repainted, but the cowls were not. I'm not sure why he didn't shoot the cowls at the same time he did the rest of it, but whatever, it is still a nice scooter. With a rebuilt motor, and all new cables and wiring, I'm sure it runs great. The 175's are surprisingly quick, and the one I had (also blue like this one) seemed actually faster than my SX200. I thought this one would sell, and the Li would not. I'm guessing that the decision not to paint the cowls really hurt its chances. Reserve not met at $5100.
Finally, there is this 1980 Vespa P125X with a California sidecar in the Los Angeles area. This is a rig that I have seen quite a few times. It has a lot of the accessories that were available in those days, and the dealers really pushed these fiberglass sidecars at that time. I've seen a lot of them. It also has the huge fiberglass windscreen/mirror accessory, that I think was US-only, and the US-only flat rear rack. This is the later, cruder, model or rack, the earlier version was chrome and really nice. Both of the US rear rack versions were super strong, and are are really practical acccessory. This one has a huge rear box, and I have not seen this type of box before. I guess it was from a motorcycle. This scooter appears to be all original, and normally the silver paint of this era was really weak. Most of the silver P's had failing paint by this point. This scooter was clearly garaged all of its life. Note the front fender reflectors, which are normally the first thing to go upon repaint. The speedometer shows 225 original miles, and I'm sure that is accurate. This thing was a novelty purchase. Didn't meet reserve at $3825.