Saturday, my search for a daily rider ended with the purchase of a white Stella. Although it's a 2004, there are only 1500 miles on it. Just broken in... but in spite of it's lack of wear it does have some problems. The previous owner bought this scooter for his wife. Soon after, she had a minor accident and never rode it again. The mudguard, left side cowl, and left edge of the leg shield are slightly damaged.

I went over the bike carefully with the seller and found some issues that were not revealed in his Craigslist post or the photos he sent me. In addition to the buggered sheet metal, the bike was stored outside and not ridden for a long time. Bolt heads are rusty and all the aluminum is oxidized. It's very dirty and there's oily grime all over the engine. I'm assuming for the moment that this is from oil spilling out the breather when it was laid down. The battery was dead. Some of the rubber is dry rotted.

Given the condition, I considered not buying it. Instead, I made an offer well below what the seller was asking. After a test ride, we did the deal. Mechanically, there doesn't seem to be any problems. After loading it onto the truck and making my way back home, I wondered why the seller didn't take the time to clean it up. Mechanically, the bike is in great shape. A little cosmetic maintenance would have made a big difference toward getting even more than his original asking price.

The sheet metal damage is minor and doesn't bother me. This Stella is going to be a daily driver. In a way, the fact that it's not perfect cosmetically is liberating. I wont be worried about every little ding or scratch. I will spend a day or two cleaning it up and hope for a few days of warmer and drier weather.

I have a relatively short commute every day. The problem is that for two thirds of the year it's dark, gloomy, and wet. I've become accustomed to that over time and don't complain about it as much as I once did. Even so, these are not optimal riding conditions for a scooter or anything on two wheels.

Subjecting a meticulously restored, sixty year-old year scooter to rain and road grime doesn't sit well with me. This is further reinforced by the fact that these old machines were not intended for today's roads and traffic. They are slow. The lighting and brakes are not up to today's standards. I need a modern scooter to ride every day. Proper lights, mirrors, brakes, modern tires.. these are important to safe riding in the Pacific Northwest climate.

Although it's slowly changing in the USA, scooters are still perceived by many as "fun" recreational vehicles. In Europe and other parts of the world scooters play a more important role in people's basic transportation needs. There's a reason why you don't see a lot of old scooters on the roads in Europe. The old bikes aren't as reliable or as safe as their modern counterparts. Nobody wants to spend their morning coaxing a cold machine to start or fiddling with a temperamental carburetor before they they go to to work. That's a weekend ritual I enjoy, but not Monday thru Friday.

A lot of 'vintage' scooter enthusiasts bristle at the idea of owning and riding a modern scooter. I'm not in that camp. No one loves the classic machines more than I do, but it's not the least bit embarrassing for me to be seen on a modern scooter. No apologies.

My search for a commuter bike has begun and nothing is sacred. Almost nothing. Japanese scooters from Yamaha or Honda and the scores of Chinese makes flooding the market have no appeal to me. Some Made in China scooters offer decent quality, many do not. The Japanese Vespa knock-offs annoy me with their lack of originality. I do like the maxi scooters from Japan, such as the Burgman and Morphous. And Vespa maker Piaggio has some nice maxi's. There are others, but that's not the class of bike I'm looking for. After careful consideration, my choices narrow down to the list below - in no particular order:

• Genuine Stella
• Vespa GTV
• Aprilia Mojito
• Vespa P Series

The Stella is a copy of the 1970's Vespa P Series and made for the Chicago-based Genuine in India by LML. A decent bike and faithful reproduction of a classic. The Vespa GTV is a modern 250cc automatic with the traditional Vespa steel frame. It takes it's design queues from the faro basso Vespa's of the 1950s. I like the retro looks. Like all other Piaggio bikes it's a high quality (and very pricey) machine. The Mojito 150 has a cool design; a unique mix of classic and modern in a well-built scooter. Aprilia is owned by Piaggio - so you get basically the same engine and reliability of a modern Vespa. A new Vespa P Series can't be found in the US, but they were briefly reintroduced a couple of years ago to the US market and I've found several of them for sale. The "P" is a great four speed 2-stroke scooter with a long history of reliability.   

I could be happy with any of these. I'd prefer not to buy new because there are plenty of people who buy new scooters as an impulse then quickly sell them with very few miles on the clock. I'll let those people take the depreciation hit and pay the absurdly high dealer prep fees. My time horizon? I would like to find something in the next 30 days but if I don't find the right bike at the right price I can wait a little longer. It pays to be patient.

• Kidney shaped vents in the side panels (vs. "portholes") first appeared in '56
• DellOrto MA 19 carburator (not made intil 1957)
• Rear shock absorber (added to all LDs in '57)
• Horn not located below the headlight (same as above)

About a year ago, this LD came to me at the same time as my other French-made Lambretta. The seller tossed it in to the deal for a small additional cost. I spent a little time over the recent holidays looking it over.

It's unusual to find French LD's in the US - or elsewhere for that matter.  I need to do more research, but I'm estimating this as 1953 or 1954 model. Probably one of the earliest French LD models made in Troyes. There's not a lot of documentation on French Lambretta's. What I have found is in French only - so I will need to seek the help of a translator.  Here's a few photos I shot the other day along with some comments. You can get a larger, more detailed image by clicking on the photos:

	At first glance, The most obvious difference from the Italian LD are the saddles. They have an unusual shape and thick rubber covers vs. vinyl covers used on most other scooters of the era.
	This old Lambretta is nearly 100% complete, but it is obvious it has been in storage a long time. Salt air takes it's toll on metal. No rust through, but every inch is covered in surface rust. The engine is seized. It's going to be tough to find parts for the engine.
	Note the Cote d'Azur badge on the right side of the leg shield. This is a very cool and collectable accessory. This old LD obviously spent it's youth cruising the French Riviera. It's great when you find an old scooter with this type of accessory intact.
	The carb and air filter can are different from their Italian counterparts. Also note that the choke and fuel tap rods come out in front vs. on top of the frame
	The unusual glove box and badge are unique to LD's built in France. I've never seen one like this before. My other French LD does not have this badge and the box is slightly larger. This suggests to me this is an early model - but I need to verify that.

Barring any breakthrough in regard to sourcing parts for the engine, the odds are I will do a complete cosmetic restoration on this scooter and leave the engine alone. Of course, that will confine this old bike to forever be on display instead of a rider, but sometimes that's the only reasonable option. I prefer that alternative over tossing the engine and putting a more modern one in. I have plenty of scooters I can ride. Who knows... with a little luck I may someday find the parts or even an entire engine that matches this old Lambretta.