I would say that my scooter fever started young… with my dad. He would talk about how cool it was when he would see people riding Vespas around in Belgium when he was a boy. He always talked about them, but never felt he could get one himself. He would say it looked like so much FUN.
He told me one day that one of the only decisions in life that he truly regrets is not buying a scooter and riding the hell out of it.
“Life is too short son…”then he would get this far off look.
A Little History…
Fast forward a couple of years. I am between cars, and looking for transportation. I wanted something that was econimical with gas, yet could keep up with Jacksonville traffic. I was discussing it with my father one day, and during conversation he brought up Vespa scooters. I hadn’t even thought of that option. Heck I didn’t even think they still made them anymore. So I did a little research, and that was when the Vespa GTS 250ie entered my life.
I have to pause and say right now that that riding that scooter to work everyday was like riding a cadilac. It had plenty of space, and good fast modern motor, and was a twist and GO. Top speed 93 mph, and with 55 mpg I just couldn’t beat it. I loved it so much that I joined a scooter club (7bsc.com) and started to ride every week with them. I jumped into the scooter culture with both feet. That was when I discovered vintage scooters. They had roughly the same style body type as my scooter, but somehow they had way more style. The curves are different on older scooters, and I liked that old style. So I kept my eyes open for a vintage scooter, while I still rode my modern one every day.
Life happens in strange ways, and I ended up doing a straight trade… my scooter for my current bike a Triumph Bonnevile. I can write a whole other post about why I made that specific descision. While I do not ever regret making that trade, I do miss riding a scooter. Once scootering is in your blood, there is no getting it out. As soon as I tasted life without a scooter, my goat brain started working on getting another one. I wanted a vintage scoot that I could ride around with my buddies in 7bsc. So I kept my eyes open for one. I was looking for something old, and on the cheap. Since this would be more of a pet project, I needed to find something on the cheap side that still looked good, had some years on it but wouldn’t leave me on the side of the road. (Too many times anyway.)Too many scooters to name came up for sale online that were either too expensive, or not the style I liked.
About the same time a friend of mine started to bug me to buy his scooter. He had it sitting in a box, completely unassembled, for the last 10 years or so. It seems that the last owner went and paid for a paint job, then just let it sit there unassembled for YEARS. He purchased it, and never put it together either. He was looking for someone who would buy it, and then put it together again. He told me that the motor had been all sorted out OK, and that he had bought all new wiring, and all new gaskets for everything. If I could pick it up I could have it.
I thought that this would be a great opportunuty to get back into scootering, and maybe even include my son in the process so I went ahead and agreed to buy it off him.
The scooter, before it went into the box, is a 1979 Lambretta Jet200. It was made and assembled in the Spanish plant, and generally has the same engine, and body style as the Italian Lambretta SX200. There are small differences like the electrics, air filter arrangement, and body stylings that make it different.
That is all I know at this point. I took a look at the serial numbers on the frame and motor, and they match, so that is a good thing. I think that I need to research the history of this model more before I get started, just to make sure I know all the ins and outs before I get too far.
So Now What?
I gotta say…I have high hopes for this scooter. I am hoping that the experience of putting it all back together with my son will form lasting memories that he will look back upon fondly. I do fully understand that the process will be a long one, because I have never wrenched on a vintage scooter such as this. I have worked on every car and motorcycle that I have ever owned. I don’t usually bring my vehicles into service stations because I know how to fix most problems myself. If I don’t know, then I look it up.
So…First things first… I think that I should start pulling parts out of boxes. Take stock of everything, and maybe get more clues as to exactly what scooter I have here, and what problems I might have during the build.
Stay tuned because I do intend to post everything here as I make my way through the process.
Here are a couple of pictures that I grabbed off the internet of a complete Jet200. I can’t wait to get mine together so I can start riding it. Hopefully it won’t take too long.
