Two things people in the vintage scooter world tell you never to do: 1. Buy a vintage bike off the internet and; 2. Buy a vintage bike off Ebay.
I broke both those rules when I saw this 1972 Scooters India Limited Lambretta GP 150 on Ebay. The ad was fairly specific --- bike ran the year before but not well and it was supposedly a '72 imported to the U.S., Indian Lambretta. The kickstart had been welded to the shaft --- a disclosure that signaled to me that the seller was honest about the bike and its condition. I'd rather buy a bike like that sight unseen than one from a seller who is obviously trying to puff up a piece of junk.
It looked like shit in the photos but was all there. The bid was at $640 and there were few bids on the bike. With one hour left, I thought, eh, it's not that far away. If the engine is wasted, I can always run down a faster GP200 motor and plug it in. And if I win it, I don't mind driving nine hours to get it.
It looked like shit in the photos but was all there. The bid was at $640 and there were few bids on the bike. With one hour left, I thought, eh, it's not that far away. If the engine is wasted, I can always run down a faster GP200 motor and plug it in. And if I win it, I don't mind driving nine hours to get it.
I've bought a marginally running Lambretta before and I know that, minimum, it could cost me as much as $900 to make the bike a reliable runner.
I do all of the required mental math before I bid $650. That's all it took. The bike is mine.
Oh crap. What do I do now?
Oh crap. What do I do now?
No comments:
Post a Comment