Saying goodbye to 'Stacey' our beloved father/son motovespa restoration project

It is always difficult selling something that is much loved. But we have finally bitten the bullet and posted the following sales notice for our beloved motovespa 'Stacey'. Hopefully we will get her to a new home where she will be just as appreciated and so some of the following details appeared on FaceBook, Gumtree and Ebay selling pages. I felt the same way about each car we have traded in. It never gets any easier. Lord knows how I will be if I ever sell Arwen............................

For sale much loved Douglas Vespa small frame Motovespa 125cc super model year 1971 and first registered July 1972  registration ******K. 

762M***** on engine     Vin frame prefix number 762C***** on frame. Research on various websites shows it to be a Motovespa 125 super 1965 although I cannot guarantee that this is 100% accurate.

Kick start, two stroke, pre-mix, petrol and 4 speed manual gear. Tax exempt (Historic vehicle) and MOT’D until February 2018. Ready to ride with 11,280 on clock; speedo is in mph. Original mileage when bought was 10,200.  V5 and original registration document from 1971 present (matching chassis and engine numbers); previous MOT’s and service history present whilst in our ownership. Has been stored in garage since we have owned it and ridden once per month on average until Feb 2017 when then SORN’d and stored under cover in garage (son was away for year). Has been started every month since with no problems and recently passed MOT with no advisories.   

Restored from old barn find as father/teenage son project over two years. Son is now away from home and saving for car and so this is a ‘reluctant’ sale.  Have receipts for most items – all from SIP, AJ Sutton, Allstyles or Beedspeed. Many original features remain.

Restoration work included:

·        Strip down to bare metal and rust removal; Professionally done primer and new paint job – metallic burgundy red

·        New 10 inch white wall tyres and inner tubes  – original rims

·        New floor panel and floor runner kit

·        Engine strip down and replaced all bearings, seals, gaskets, new piston. Had previous Malossi cylinder headset conversion at some stage and also a CDI conversion by previous owner.

·        New shock absorbers front and rear

·        new speedo cables and gearing (installed by local scooter expert)

·        New fuel tap; petrol tank cleaned out

·        New FACO ET3 banana exhaust and air filter

·        New carb dell'orto SHBC 19/19 and  intake manifold

·        New handlebar clutch and brake levers

·        New wiring loom inserted by local scooter expert along with new headlight glass; new rear brake light holder and gasket

·        New brake shoes front and rear

Original features, as far as we know - speedo, rims and hubs, spare wheel holder, most of engine. Please note: we were new to vespa scooters and so kept as much of the original features of scooter that we bought. We cannot vouch that what we bought was all original – please see note below about toolbox for example.

People should remember engine may need little more running in still.

Runs perfectly – starts on third kick normally. Engine and carb needs slight tuning – Can see videos on YouTube....search Motovespa 125 super or plymouthwelshguy and look for playlist.

Other videos can be found in my playlist on my youtube channel at 

www.YouTube.com/c/plymouthwelshboy

Notes:

We have tried to describe ‘Stacey’ in as much detail as possible. In good faith please note the following:
1. Minor cosmetic scratches on engine panel.....it fell off once! See photos/video

2. Being naïve, we had the parts and frame sandblasted and then powder coated…that was before we realised or managed to get plugged in to the local scooter scene and small frames Vespa forum
3. Deep scratch on bottom of rear front mudguard where bolt on front leg shield once caught it 

4. Big note.....when we restored it we didn't know anything about scooters and so didn't realise that bottom of leg shield had small part cut out by previous owner....see one of the photos. May need piece welded back in. We have gone on journeys of 150 miles in a day. It has never been a problem. The ‘hole’ is currently covered with black duct tape which has held for four years!  The back of the hole does have cross piece in it which maintains structural integrity – see photo 

5. The right hand throttle mount on headset broke when an over eager observer leaned against scooter heavily and knocked it over. We had local engineering company cut and bolt in new aluminium plate. Never been a problem, headset fine and throttle and brake works perfectly. However some paint and powder coating lost on edge – see photo

7. The toolbox was fitted at later stage by previous owner and isn't actually the correct motovespa toolbox.....again, we didn't know until much later after the restoration was complete. 

8. Light switch box keeps coming loose and is held on with tape – see photo

9. Crack in paintwork on one part of floor panel  - see photo

We have tried to be completely honest via description, photographs and video clips. But if we can help in any other way, please ask. Thank you for your time and interest. ‘Stacey’ provides a great ride, is much loved and we part with her reluctantly. Looking for an owner who can tune her, restore her further and treasure her as much as we have. UK buyers only and buyer must arrange own collection please. Seller doesn’t accept any returns. Thank you for your interest. Have a good week.  PLEASE SEE BELOW PHOTOGRAPHS FOR PRICE AND PAYMENT DETAILS 

Payment details:

Price is £2,700 : no other offers please.

Payment can be any of the following ways but please note conditions attached.

1.      by PayPal into my PayPal account and monies must clear to my account BEFORE scooter is collected.

2.      By cheque to my bank account – again cheque must clear and monies enter the account BEFORE scooter is collected (minimum seven working days and confirmation from my bank on receipt of money)

3.      Online bank transfer but subject to me being able to confirm that my branch has received monies in to my account

4.       By bankers draft but again cheque must clear (minimum seven days) before you can collect scooter

If you would like to view -  contact me via FaceBook or on this blog comment box below. No tyre kickers or time wasters please. You can see it start up but no asking for rides please as I don't know your insurance details; and my insurance covers it only as SORN'd. Thanks for understanding - there is plenty of video evidence to show it runs fine and it has just passed its MOT.