3 Decade Nap – 1968 Wards Riverside Scrambler 250

In America, Dual-Sport, Italy by AbhiLeave a Comment

Post Listing Update: This Scrambler did not get any interest at the opening bid of $1,500.


Friend of Bike-urious Dan D recently acquired a mini collection of British bikes he wanted and a Wards Riverside Scrambler that needs a new owner.

This bike was originally manufactured by Benelli, who marketed it as the Cobra under their own name. Wards Riverside resold it in the US as a generically named Scrambler. The bike had been sitting in a garage for over 30 years, but Dan cleaned up the carb, installed a new battery, adjusted the valves, changed the oil, installed a new spark plug, put in some new gas, and it fired up in just 4 kicks. Not bad.

He also gave it some elbow grease to clean it up, but it’s going to require a lot more scrubbing if you want it to look like new. Impressively, the bike comes with the owner’s manual, parts manual, two original ignition keys, steering column key, and the tool kit (complete with extra links for a bigger sprocket). Everything is said to work except for the kick starter (which “has been welded in the open or kick position”), and you’ll want to lubricate the clutch and brake cables and installed new tires/tubes if you want to get this bike back on the road. The hardware to hold the battery in place is present, but the battery case itself is missing.

Find this Wards Riverside Scrambler for sale in Redwood City, California with an unmet opening bid of $1,500 and no reserve beyond that number

This bike-uriousity brought to you by Dan D!