A seller in Los Angeles is letting go of three oddball mopeds – two run, but the third isn’t producing a spark.
1970 Speedway Silver Shadow
Post Listing Update: This Silver Shadow did not meet reserve despite 26 bids up to $7,500. I’m not a huge fan of minibikes, but this is one of the most collectible of them all. Don’t believe me? Well, bidding is already up to $7,300 with plenty of time to go in this auction. I’ve seen one or two non-definitive mentions …
1960 Cezeta 501
Post-Listing Update: This Cezeta did not meet reserve with one bid of $4,500. The Cezeta 50x series of scooters are some of the most interestingly-styled vehicles that have ever been built. This is an example of the 501, the first of the series made by the Czechoslovakian company.
Wanted – 1949 Lowther Lightnin’ Scooter
I know that normal posts on Bike-urious are for motorcycles for sale, but I got a special request from a reader that has bought 4 bikes through Bike-urious in the past and I thought I’d raise the flag on his request. From what I can tell, only about a dozen (or even less) Lowther Lightnin’s were built, let alone still …
Needs Some Work – 1957 Rumi Formichino
The Rumi Formichino (Italian for “Little Ant”) was an impressive scooter with a very distinctive design – there’s a prototype now in the renovated Petersen.
1961 Demm Dick Dick
Yes, that’s the real name. Demm was an Italian manufacturer based out of Milan that specialized in small (50-175cc) two wheelers. They created bikes between ’53 and ’82 (some were briefly imported to the US between ’76 and ’78) and had some truly interesting names for their bikes, like the Dick-Matic, Ping Pong, and this Dick Dick.
1962 Laverda 60
Did you know that Laverda made scooters? I sure didn’t. In 1959, Italy changed their highway code, allowing for riders without licenses to finally use ‘mopeds’ without pedals, as long as they were limited to 40 km/h. Laverda immediately started building a 4-stroke scooter with a 49cc engine.
Parascooter – 1944 Cushman Model 53
Post-Sale Update: This Model 53 sold for $7,631. The Cushman Model 53 is probably as cool as a scooter gets. 4,734 of these bikes were produced to serve the US in World War II. These bare-bones scoots were intended to primarily be messenger bikes, helping to increase the mobility of troops and assist in communications. Their diminutive size was supposed …
Centaur Folding Scooter
When it was released, the Centaur was claimed to be America’s only “full-size” folding scooter. It was marketed as a portable transportation solution that could be carried on a boat, plane, trailer, or car.
1920 Briggs & Stratton Scooter
In 1919, Briggs & Stratton acquired the patent and manufacturing rights for the Smith Motor Wheel. What they learned from that engine led to development of the ubiquitous Briggs & Stratton motors seen in lawnmowers and all kinds of small equipment, but before that the company used the motor wheel to power vehicles like this (restored) scooter, which won the …
1982 Honda Motocompo
Post Sale Update: This Motocompo sold for $3,400 after 21 bids on eBay. Yes, I just featured a Motocompo, but cut me some slack – these things are cool and they so rarely come up for sale!
1983 Honda Motocompo NCZ50
Post Listing Update: This Motocompo did not meet reserve despite 11 bids up to $3,262. Sold for only 3 years, the Honda Motocompo was a tiny 50cc folding scooter designed to fit into the trunks of the subcompact cars Honda was making at the time, like the City. In fact, the City’s trunk was designed specifically to house the Motocompo. …
Folding Scooter – 1971 American Doni Bike
Well, here’s something I’ve never heard of before – the American Doni Bike.
Needs Some Work – 1957 TWN Tessy
Here’s a Tessy scooter from ‘the other Triumph’ that the seller calls “well used.”
1947 Salsbury Imperial Rocket
Back in 1936, a man named E. Foster Salsbury co-developed the Salsbury Motor Glide, a scooter with an enclosed drivetrain underneath the seat. His later development of the first CVT to be used on a scooter made his product such a success that he even tried to license the design internationally. This design defined the second generation of scooters worldwide, …