My First Love
Here are a couple recent shots of my Vespa 150 (VBA). This is
the first scooter I ever bought. Back in the early 80's
I paid $60 for it (plus a ride for the previous owners sick
Harley in the bed of my truck), it was barely worth it.
(Covered in two coats of house paint and
KSJO stickers, with a broken kickstart quadrant, no emblems, no trim,
no electricals.) A backpack with all my early photos was stolen years ago, but
I think I gave Eric Halladay a picture of it when I first got it;
I'll try to get that to put up here. I got it running about twelve years ago
and cleaned it up a bit, but I really had no idea then what was possible.
This Vespa is my first love, and I only hope that the
current restoration reflects and repays a fraction of all the
pleasure the scooter has brought me.
I saved parts for eight years to do this job, and I
learned from everybody who'd teach me something along the way.
Some guys would say that because I put a mountain of
dough into this restoration that it's a bought bike, not my job.
But you see, I've got to give her everything I can
find, because she's taken me around the world,
made friends that I'd never otherwise meet,
and asked only that I ride her as far as she'll take me.
A note about "ownership": On the morning that I completed the restoration I parked her on the sidewalk in front of my house. Before taking
the pictures that appear on this page I paused to have a long look the completion of a dream. I expected to congratulate and admire myself
for what I'd accomplished, but my first and only reaction was to fall in love again and all I could (and did) say was, "Man those
guys from Piaggio sure can cook!"
Below is a shot of the frame en route to this restoration.
Some of the more special details:
Complete metal restoration, NO Bondo!
Matched original primer for undercoated areas
Original legshield trim
N.O.S. accessory spare tire cover & tool pouch
N.O.S. accessory gas gauge
Enhancements:
Undercoated with rock & chip resistant coating
Suspension and wheels are both powder coated and painted
I would have had no idea where to begin this job if I hadn't seen
the beautiful work of fellow enthusiasts over the last many years.
But nothing would have happened without the guidance and assistance
of some very talented and good people.
This restoration was made possible by the expertise,
assistance, contacts, and parts inventory of First Kick Scooters.
Recognition is due to Jeff Burton of the Burgundy Topz S.C. and his partner
Ludwig for extraordinary body restoration and paint.
Specific additional thanks go to: Eric Halladay,
Rolf Soltau, Robert Gunter, Sacha White, and Jason Kidd.
Special thanks go to my wife, Corey Fake, for her patience and tolerance.
