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141 days ago
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This Bella R203 frame and engine isn’t pretty but it’s all there. It’s not clear what state the engine is in. There was a lot of dirt and grease covering it. The photo was taken shortly after being power washed. It cleaned up pretty well. If it seems odd, that’s because fork is in in the frame upside down. That made it easier to clean. I’ll remove the engine in the next week or two. My plan is to use this frame with the R203 sheet metal that recently came back from the paint shop. The green color turned out to be a good choice. It looks great. The frame, fork, mudguard, center stand, and chain guard will be media blasted and powder coated in a semi-gloss black by my local shop. The engine for this project was finished almost a year ago. I’m undecided what to do with this one. I may keep it as a spare - or sell it. Parts for Zundapp scooters are scarce in the US. For that reason, it is very important to bag and tag everything when you take ...
150 days ago
Gott in Himmel! It has taken forever to get these two German scooter projects to this point. As shown in the photos, I went with a yellow/gold color on the Heinkel Tourist and a deep, forest green color on the Zundapp Bella. The original color for the Tourist was a bit more subdued harvest gold, but I wanted something a bit more lively. The leg shield will be black like the original. The green is a close match to an original Zundapp color. The original color on this scooter was a metallic blue. I have a thing about metallic paint. Just don’t care for it and really can’t explain why. In both cases, my choice was a high quality DuPont single stage paint that costs around a hundred dollars per pint. The single stage coatings look more original. Two stage is definitely more durable and that’s normally what I would choose for a scooter that’s going to get a lot of riding. The majority of my restored scooters are Sunday riders. There are only a couple of bikes I ride all the ...
174 days ago
I’ve mentioned many times that selling one of my classics is always a tough decision. Space is always at a premium in my Seattle garage and after spending last weekend cleaning it out it and organizing things it was obvious that a decision needed to be made. After a significant amount of hand wringing and a couple of Heineken's, I settled on my all-original VM2. It’s very rare to find one of these in original paint and in such good condition. It starts right up with a couple of kicks and shifts like it should. The light switch is missing, lost long before it came to me. The front hub spinner and unusual cowl protectors came with it. I’ve considered selling them separately in the past but been too lazy. Every bike in my stable was hand picked and I tend to develop an attachment to each of them. On the other hand, I have a full range of ‘faro basso’ Vespa models from a 1951 V30 the last VM2 to roll out of the Pontedera in 1957. There are four unfinished Lambretta projects sitting ...
253 days ago
There are few things more difficult than selling an old scooter that you had plans for. Last week, my all-original LD Mk1 went to a new owner in Las Vegas. It’s comforting that the new owner knows what he’s doing and will not ruin it. Even so, it’s a little depressing to let one go. The scooters in my stable were all hand-picked. I spend a lot of time hunting for the best project bikes I can find. This LD Mk1 is completely original and in remarkable condition. There were several offers for it and there was no trouble in getting the asking price. It’s rare to find a Mk1 in the USA and even rarer for it to be in unmolested, original condition. I didn't need the money, but as I have said many times, space is becoming a problem. The space available in my Seattle location is limited. When finished with a restoration project, I normally ship the finished bike to my Chicago digs. Space is becoming a problem there as well. I decided to bail out on the High Rollers Rally and the Put Up or ...
282 days ago
It seems like every year around this time we get a break from the wet and gloomy Seattle weather. As March rolls in you suddenly realize the sun is coming up before 7:30 am and the winter darkness is waning. Whenever there are few days of dry, sunny weather, motorcycles and scooters emerge like locusts. Monday was one of those, so I was determined to choose a bike and ride to work. The decision about which one was easy. The Stella. Having been too lazy on Sunday to do the usual Spring maintenance on the vintage rides, this was the obvious choice for a Monday commute. The older bikes need a bit of coaxing to come out of hibernation. Carburetors need to be cleaned. The stale fuel drained, gearbox oil checked, tires filled, and so on. The Stella fired right up and I was ready - except for one problem. My helmet and riding shades were right where I left them but the riding gloves weren’t. A quick search didn’t reveal them. In a moment of weakness, I decided to go on without them. Let ...
