Howdy folks! I don't pop in here too much, but I have a good reason to today - I'm now officially the original owner of Stella 4T #000003!
I picked it up today from SF Scooter Centre, where it has served as the demo bike for the past 4 1/2 years. It has just over 400 miles on it, and aside from a little road rash, it's in great shape. It's now tucked away in my garage, getting a battery massage... tomorrow I'll give it a thorough going over, along with a good cleaning and detailing.
I've had my eye on this particular bike for a long time, I'm so glad that I was finally able to go up and get it today! It's a sweet ride!
Tom "Bagel" Donohue - 155,000+ miles and still scooting!
Vespa Club Los Gatos - vespaclublosgatos.com
Congratulations on the great score! I suspect you had an in, because SF Scooter Center had been advertising them as all gone.
Definitely the bike for a leisurely ride. My buddy bought a theft recovery and proceeded to flog it mercilessly. He finally managed to get it to run in the upper fifties and pull the first three gears like my '81 P200. Shame that he busted an inner exhaust valve spring and chunks of the cam chain guide started coming out in the oil. Treat her right and the ride is stately but quite civil.
At what point does a hobby become an addiction? I'm uncertain, but after the twelfth scooter, it sorta feels like the latter...
I took my Stella to SFSC once earlly in my ownership for an electrical problem. I can't remember the part, but they ended up scavenging a part from your Stella (which has presumably since been replaced) to replace my defective part.
