Really nice Ape conservata

I'm certainly no expert on the Ape from Piaggio. But I do like them! This Ape 500 was for sale at the Imola fair. It should be from 1966-1967, or there about.

To be fair there is also a three-wheeler Lambretta in this post, a nice FC from 1950-1952. 

175 cc, 8,2 hp and maybe 60 kph on a flat road (downhill?).

Lambretta FC, 1950-1952. 125 cc and 4,3 hp.

Porchetta and Vespa PK

Rain again here in Stockholm. I took a short ride on the Vespa PK 50 XL to the local "flea market". Have made some bargains there before, but not today.
Before leaving home I put an italian porchetta in the oven. Pork (yes, you can tell) seasoned with garlic, fennel seeds and fresh rosemary. Will cook for five hours!
More interesting maybe, a friend found the table game "Tour du monde en Vespa" in France this autumn. Fortunately he's not a Vespa freak, so I have the chance to buy it! Very nice!
The game is featured in Robin Davy's fabulous book "Vespa Forever". So is the ash tray I bought a couple of days ago. Apparently the ash tray was made in England.

A french table game from the early fifties.

Too blue!

The right colour!

The start of the porchetta, roll it together and then bind it.

Another Vespa ash tray

Yes, I've found another ash tray with a Vespa motif. And a girl but no bloke. The Vespa pictured is a 150, VL1-3, made from 1954 to 1957. 150 cc, 6 hp (or & cv for cavalli) and 8-inch wheels. "Bigger" than the 125 VM2 but smaller than the GS 150.

Chilly ride on the Vespa PK

Once again, the colour is more blue than in reality.

Autumn is definitely here in Sweden. Around zero degrees during the night and 9 plus today. I took the  Vespa PK 50 XL for some errands. Buying groceries, taking stuff to the recycling station and some more groceries...
I have greased the clutch, gas and brake wires. Next service coming up is to change the bearings at the front wheel. There is a small unpleasant noise I'd like to get rid off.
I'm very pleased with the seat and the riding position, very good for my length (1,86 m). It also feels nimble and nice on the road. Although it's no rocket, 53 km/h is the top speed according to a speed camera nearby. Speed isn't everything...

Bought these two at the Imola fair, a bit to big maybe...

The the backside of the fog light to the right has been polished by me.

The license to my PK 50 XL, "il libretto".

PK 50 XL gets new rims

I tended to the PK 50 XL this weekend. Since the spare wheel was missing I bought two new ones. In pearl white instead of silver. At the front I fitted a new tyre and inner tube. At the back the old tire was okay. Good thing, the rims that came with the Vespa was quite rusty on the inside.
I also adjusted the brakes, now it stops better. When the back wheel was off it was easy the clean the engine. Lot's of Italian soil came off. Now mixed with the Swedish and some Finnish dirt, the latter coming off my Lambretta Cometa. A European union?
Well, the PK have some flaws that I missed that hot, sunny day when I bought at the Imola fair (And the money was burning in my pocket). We'll se how much I will tend to. I might get a can of colour to fix the side panels, talk about "orange peel" (?).
To get the right hue I will go to a proper paint shop. Since it's not an original colour it's necessary to use a device (spectrometer?) that sorts out the right colour mix. If you look at the last pic here you cant see that the colour is turquoise, not blue. I think it's stylish, with the pearl white rims!

Some Italian soil on a screwdriver, found under the Vespa.

Actually some sun under the work on the PK.



Pic taken with proper camera, more greenish.

Vespa PK 50 XL goes shopping

Lack of milk, yoghurt and bread this morning made a Vespa-ride necessary. My newly bought Vespa PK 50 XL from 1987 was ready for the task. A 1,5 km long ride in +6 degrees C. Nice!

Three 1953 Vespa faro basso

A picture from an old italian magazine. From 1953-1954 and maybe from the famous Milano exhibition. Showing the new Vespa 125, the faro basso. Or lampe unten. Or low-light.

I'd also like to have that Piaggio sign in my living room!



Scooters from Ducati & Iso

I found some more interesting scooters and stuff at the 2012 Imola fair. The dealer signs for Vespa above seems to be original, the size speaks for it. Wouldn't it be nice to have both in your living room?
The mean green machine is a Ducati Cruiser, a 50 cc scooter that made it's debut in 1963. At first with 47,6 cc and then a 49,6 cc. A 100 cc version was also available according to the Ducati official site. Ducati tried to make break in the scooter market as early as 1952 with the Ducati Cruiser, 175 cc. Designed to produce 12 hp but later reduced to 7,5 hp in order to follow italian road legislations. It was quite a luxury scooter; four-stroke and automatic transmission. Designed with the help of Ghia (did they sell the concept to make the Fuji Rabbit?).
The Iso 150 cc scooter (Diva, Milano or Piccolino) besides it was fairly complete. I made an offer that was refused...


The Ducati Brio appeared in 1963.



Lining up for eager customers.

A rough but almost complete Iso Milano/Diva/Piccolino.

Welding and a parts hunt is necessary for this Faro Basso.

Saddle up! Or something...



A pic of the Ducati Brio from the Ducati archive.

The Cruiser was the first scooter from Ducati, in 1952.

Cigarettes, booze & Vespa?

I just got this jewel. An old ashtray in the form of a Firestone tire where the tray has beautiful drawing of a couple on a Vespa. From the beginning of the 60's? No faro basso, the headlamp is on the handle bar.
Pretty cool, huh?