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I'm a sucker for scooter memorabilia. Specifically, I'm into old dealer items... like signs, brochures, manuals, tools, and obscure stuff like that. Over the years, I've gotten a bit of a collection. However, sometimes you just come across something that is essentially unique. That is what I have here with this Fuji Rabbit dealer sign. I've seen a lot of different Vespa and Lambretta signs, but never one for a Rabbit. Not many Rabbits were sold in the US, and I can't imagine many dealers bothered to get a sign.

This one is a cut above. The sign is essentially in as-new condition. It is perfect. The color is bright, and there is no flaw in it anywhere. It still has a "made in Japan" stamp on one of the sides. It is a double sided sign, and both sides are the same. The lettering and logo are made from cut pieces of plastic that are about the same width as the white part of the sign. This thing is fantastic.

Of course, I don't have a Fuji Rabbit scooter... which is kind of a shame. Anyone know of a Rabbit collector that is dying to have a rare piece for their garage?

When hunting for vintage scooters, always follow up on every lead, no matter how unlikely it may appear.  Yeah, most of the time it's a wild goose chase, or a some old guy's moped. But every now and then you strike gold. You never know what it is until you see for yourself.

This particular find was described to me as "a rusty old thing, kinda tapered at the back . . . doesn't look like your Vespa there."  Lo and behold, it turned out to be a 1948 Salsbury. Rusty, damaged, missing engine, but an honest-to-goodness holy grail of American scooters - a Salsbury Model 48, sitting quietly in the woods behind an abandoned house.

Sadly, this tale doesn't have a happy ending. What happened next? Loaded it on my truck. Cops came; said I was trespassing; had to unload it. Tracked down the property owner. He told me in no uncertain terms that he didn't want me (or anyone) on the property. Time goes by; I approach the property owner again; he had sold the property; I track down the new property owner. He gives his blessing for me to remove the old rusty thing (also tells me if the cops show up tell them to call him so he can confirm he gave permission to me); I drive over to pick it up and it's GONE. Scrapped, most likely.

But hey, I owned a Salsbury for 5 whole minutes! I'll find another someday. And until it does, I follow up on every lead.

You know, although scooters are pretty small, they do take up some space in the garage. At some point, if you are not Jay Leno, you max out space for storage. At that point, what do you do if you still are crazy for scooters? Well, you start collecting scooter-related memorabilia. I've been doing it for years. I was inspired by a good friend of mine, Ansgar Fulland in Germany, who built one of the best alltime scooter sites, Vespa Das Archiv. He had collected brochures, and when I saw his collection of memorabilia and it really impressed me with its quality. He was also one of the first to scan brochures and paper material and put it up on the net. Well, I took that inspiration, and have built my own modest collection.

Here is a photo of one of my most recent aquisitions. It is (obviously) a Lambretta dealer sign. There are a few things that set this sign apart. First, is the fact that it is a US market only sign. There are quite a few of the big heavy porcelain European Lambretta signs that I have seen, but very few of these lighter US signs have survived. Second, is the non-obvious fact that this sign is NOS, or "new old stock". This sign has never been hung. It was in the original packing cardboard box from the manufacturer up until about six months ago. There is a slight bit of edge damage from storage at one corner, but otherwise this sign is perfect. It would be hard to find a better one. I'd been looking for one of these signs for at least a decade, and I'm happy that I finally found this one!

There is a pretty neat Vesap 125 for sale right now on Ebay.  I can't say that it is the most desireable scooter, I can't say that it is the most rare scooter, and I can't say that it is in very good condition... however, there is something about it that I really like.  I guess if I had to describe it, I'd say that I really like the patina on it.  It looks rough, but solid.  This is the sort of thing that I would simply replace all the wiring and cables, rebuild the motor (perhaps with a 150 top end), and drive it just like it sits.  Cool daddy-o!