Classic Scooter Collector

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 one of these old scooters apart. Some of the hardware and small parts are impossible to replace, so you have to be careful not to lose or toss out items that can’t be replaced. There have been occasions when I had to fabricate lost or missing parts for a restoration project. It’s fun and challenging, but very time consuming. Lately, my time is not in surplus. 

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 time. 

The Heinkel frame and inner mudguards are powder coated the original grey. The Bella frame is at the powder coat ing shop now. It will be black like the original. The solid aluminum Bella rims will soda blasted and new Heidenau tires will be mounted on them. Those were very hard to source. My only other choice was Coker repros, which are terribly expensive, or a Chinese knock off of a Pirelli tread pattern. The next big step is to rebuild the forks for both bikes.

I’ve finished rebuilding the Heinkel engine, and admit to being a bit nervous about firing it up for the first time.

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 in the garage, and a Zunapp Bella and Heinkel Tourist at the paint shop. It will be along time before I can get around to doing something with this old timer and the cash proceeds will help fund the completion of my numerous other projects. After exchanging a half dozen emails with the buyer, my impression is this bike is going to a good home. They seem like people who know something about ‘vintage’ scooters and will take care of it. Even so, I will probably get a little ferklempt when I take it to the shipper and drive away.

A couple of weeks ago, I got the itch to buy an old Heinkel Tourist I saw on eBay. It was in bad shape, but restorable.  It was tempting, but somehow I found the strength to not bid. No more new projects until all of the current bikes are finished. The last few projects bikes I acquired were good candidates but not very satisfying after the thrill of the hunt wore off. What I really want is to add some of the more obscure models such as a Rumi, TWN ‘Tessy’ or Ducati Brio to the mix (see below).

Another that I have been searching for is a mid 1950’s Peugeot. They don't run well, but the French get an A+ for unusual design. The French Bernadet “Texas'” had hand-tooled leather seats and saddlebags with fringe. An homage to the brief post-war fascination with Americans? Who knows.

Looking at the date of my last post, it is obvious how little time I have devoted to my scooters in recent months. Now that the warm and dry weather has arrived here in Mosstown, I will be a bit more active. The paint for the Bella and Tourist will be finished soon and I’m looking forward to seeing how they turned out.

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 Shut Up competition. My day job has been keeping me very busy and there’s been little time to work on the bike I chose to enter. Moreover, the time, cost, and hassle with shipping a scooter to the rally was more than I wanted to bear. Ironically, after I cancelled my plans I learned that the LD I sold was being hauled from Seattle to Las Vegas by a few people going to the High Rollers rally. Oh well. Maybe next year.

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 me just say that I enjoyed that first ride of Spring, but it took about an hour and a half to regain the feeling in my hands and face after arriving at the office. Exposing your skin to thirty or forty miles per hour at 40 degrees F isn’t a great idea. That night, I made the effort to find my gloves and was able to ride every day except Friday. I rode the ‘59 Zundapp on Wednesday. What a great machine.

The pain in my hands, and memory of the horrible road rash, broken ribs, and months of pain from the spill I took in Key West last March has motivated me to upgrade my safety gear before a new season begins. My gloves and helmet are getting a bit tired, and I never had a proper riding jacket. It really is a good idea to have an armored jacket and gloves. And a full face helmet. Good gear is expensive, but hospital bills cost a lot more.

My minimal, brain bucket helmet and cheap gloves have to go. I’ll order the best lid I can find this weekend. Why put your brain in a cheap helmet? A new jacket and gloves will most likely be Corazzo, a local company based in Portland, OR. The nice thing about Corazzo gear is that it’s fashionable and doesn’t look like the armored uniforms typically worn by the crotch rocket crowd. When it all arrives, I’ll post some photos and comment. In the meantime, I’ll be cleaning the cobwebs off some old scooters and dreaming about warmer, dryer days.

It has been a while since my last post and I’ve been feeling guilty about that. The truth is I haven't devoted much time at all to my scooters in the past couple of months. Like many others in these difficult times, I have been devoting a huge amount of time to my day job. And I spent the holiday season visiting relatives and friends. It’s clear that everyone is feeling some pressure as a result of the economy. When ordering parts, fewer items are in stock and backorders seem to take longer to fulfill.

My work schedule is very crazy right now and as a result I have begun to consider the option of removing myself from the High Rollers Rally and its associated Put Up or Shut Up National Scooter Competition. There are several dimensions to this situation. First, given the demands of my day job I’m not sure that I can finish in time. Second, the cost of shipping the scooter there and back is very pricey – and as I have mentioned before there’s no way I’m driving 2400 miles there and back. I have a reliable truck that’s suitable for hauling scooters, but that drive is way too time consuming. Third… I’m questioning the sanity of spending money on a trip to Las Vegas. I love nothing more than sitting in a swanky bar sipping a vodka martini. There are plenty of places to do that in Vegas. The wide range of restaurants are outstanding, but the thing is I’m not into the shows or gambling. I would end up dropping a couple thousand dollars for the trip no matter what I do there. Frankly, at this point in time there are a lot of other places I’d rather spend that money – or not spend it. My final go/no-go decision will be made the first week of March.

Over the holiday season, I decided that I need to thin out the herd and sell a few scooters I don't have time for. I listed one on the scoot.net classified pages. It received some some interest, but not a lot. I’m always a bit torn on the subject of selling. Each classic scooter is chosen carefully. I get attached to them. And the tire kickers, time wasters, and scammers that a classified ad attracts are terribly annoying.

The scooter I chose to sell was my all–original 1955 Vespa “faro basso”.  I have several of the early and late 50’s handlebar Vespa’s and don't feel too bad letting one go.  It is all original and runs great as you can see in the video. It’s rare to find an unmolested low lamp these days. So far, there have been no serious offers but I’m not in hurry - nor will I entertain silly lowball offers.   

It’s hard to not let dreary weather, a busy work schedule, and the flagging economy get me down. I’m going to make some time to work on my bikes in February and go to the gym. Both are very therapeutic and some healthy distraction from everyday responsibilities is probably a good thing. With a little luck, maybe I’ll find a way to make it to Vegas.  

Paint for the Mk1 frame and body parts is complete and it looks great.

An LD always takes a long time to reassemble. There are a lot of small parts. You also have to be very careful to not scratch the new paint when putting an LD back together. It’s a good practice to use masking tape to protect the finish – especially when mounting the engine and leg shield.

The saddle frames were blasted and etch-primed a few weeks ago. The front and rear frames, the tubular toolbox, torsion arm, and hubs were originally finished with a silver/aluminum paint. The front hub has not been dismantled and blasted yet. It will be easier to paint them all at the same time, so laying down the finish coat on these parts will have to wait.

The next step was to drop in the engine and reassemble the fork. Next, mount some rims. After that the wiring loom and cables will be installed. Except for tires, none of the parts needed for all that have been ordered. I held off on placing an order until I can find the time to take inventory of my LD parts on and.

Recently I have been reconsidering entering this scooter in the P.U.O.S.U. build-off.  My concerns center on the cost of shipping the bike to Las Vegas and the possibility of it being damaged in transit. It will run more than $1000 to get it there and back. On the other hand, I could load it on my truck and haul it to Nevada. That’s not a great option in my mind. Driving long distances is one of my least favorite things to do. The trip from Seattle to Vegas would be about 1000 miles one-way.

Times are tough with the economy. Thankfully, I have no financial worries but a few of my old friends are out of work and have been for a while. Calculating the high cost of the restoration, then adding at least two thousand on top of that to participate in a rally and judging contest seems a little selfish. Maybe a bit frivolous. There’s plenty of time to make a decision between now and the end of March, but it’s definitely something that’s been on my mind.

It sounds like the name of a comedy team. These two scooters have taken a long time to get to this point. As indicated in a previous post, the Heinkel frame was powder coated the original gray color. The fork has been rebuilt. Once the new bearings and shocks arrive from Germany, it will be reinstalled along with a few miscellaneous parts that have been refinished. The engine rebuild will be last. That’s the opposite of my usual approach. Below is a photo of the repaired body shell. The front cowl is almost finished. It needed a lot of work.

It really is great to have access to all the Heinkel parts through the Club. I wish all old scooters had such a well managed organization of enthusiasts. Language is a bit of a challenge. I always hoped that studying the German language might come in handy someday.

There’s not much information about the original colors beyond a description, but I will retain the original ‘harvest gold’ and black combination. The leg shield is very rusted at the bottom and I still haven't decided if it should be replaced or not. Either invest a lot of time and effort in repairs or toss it and get a replacement. The latter is a lot faster and simpler.

The Bella needed very little metal repair. It was in very good original condition with a thick coat of bad paint on it. The engine is still in the frame, which is rusty and needs to be blasted and powder coated along with the fork. I’m nervous about the availability of Zundapp engine parts, but I will cross that bridge when the time comes. The battery cover and side panels/doors had been chromed by a previous owner for some odd reason. Blasting them worked well in providing a good base for paint.

My other Zundapp Bella is Coral Red, so I will choose something else for this one. For the moment, Forest Green appeals to me. Originally it was a light blue metallic. I don't care for metallic finishes, so that’s not an option.

The schedule for laying down the finish coat on the Heinkel and the Zundapp Bella is about two weeks from now.

After a bit of welding and grinding, the frame and sheet metal prep is nearly finished. Following the phosphor treatment, the frame and panels were primed with a base coat, sanded, then a hi build primer applied to take out some of the imperfections.

The parts shown in the photos await final wet sanding before the top coat is applied. This will be single stage urethane. Two stage was a consideration. It’s more durable but it doesn’t look as original as single stage paint.

One minor challenge was getting the old side panel handles out. They had been rusted in and wouldn’t budge. Heat, penetrating oils, nothing worked. They ended up needing to be cut off and drilled out.

The paint shop will take care of it from here. A lot of parts need to be ordered. Backorders seems to be more common now that ever, so it could take several weeks for all the parts to arrive.

next up after the paint is cured: fork, rims, and tires. Then the loom and cables.  

I met the next milestone with my #2 Zundapp Bella. This is the R203 that I made the trek to Pocatello, Idaho to pick up last year. The sheet metal has been media blasted. The photo shows the result. The parts are very straight. Very little repair needed.

My new blasting shop does a terrific job and they are very prompt in getting the job done. I will prime it this weekend and put it away for a while. No plans for the finish coat at this time. The engine needs to be removed from the frame. I have a few OEM finish colors in mind, but haven’t decided which one. Before that happens, the frame needs to be media blasted and powder coated.