Up for auction, with no reserve, is this Classic Vespa Super Sport motorscooter, 1968 VSC1T.

In 1968 Piaggio, the manufacturer of the Vespa, manufactured Vin #'s 32633 - 36700 of the Super Sport 180, a production run of just over 4000 (worldwide). It was the last year of the Super Sport which was only manufactured between 1964 and 1968, a very short production time period. Now, notice the name "Super Sport" or SS. Any factory production vehicle with these words on it usually means that this is the muscle model of the company. Top research and development goes into these muscle models. This holds true for Piaggio and the Super Sport was their factory race bike, with top of the line 10" wheel utilizing a wider rim, better front suspension, carried a spare tire, larger fuel tank, legshield glovebox, and the biggest displacement engine that they could engineer at the time in 1968.

Piaggio started their VS series program in the mid-50s with the GS 150 (Grand Sport), VS1, VS2, VS3, VS4, and VS5. The VS5 ended production in 1961 and the next VS scooter was the GS 160 VSB MK1, MK2. The next VS series bike followed in 1964, which was the SS 180 (Super Sport), being produced until 1968. In 1969, the next VS series scooter was the VSD Rally 180, which ended in 1973, giving way to 1974's VS series scooter, the VSE Rally 200. This lasted until 1977, when Piaggio then put out the P200 in 1978, which is a VSX.

The Vin # for this frame is 0036606, which means it was within the last 100 Super Sports ever in production. Piaggio ran the US export scooters at the end of each year's production run. The thing about this scooter that is different than any other year of the Super Sport...this one came factory to the US utilizing the new US market Rally headlight. To compensate for the new DOT mandates imposed by the US in 1967, Piaggio made alterations, which included this Rally headset. This headset is correct and original to the scooter, as confirmed by myself Bob Darnell. Please take a look at my other items for a copy of the book that I wrote on Vespas. That also means that this headset is one of the last of the first production of this particular headset, that it is original to the bike, correct, and very, very rare! It is my educated guess that only about 100 of these Super Sports were ever made for US market. From my years of collecting and coming across some very rare Vespas in my time, this is one of them!

Furthermore, I found this scooter in low mileage, original condition, here in Arizona from the original owner and restored it some time ago for a friend of mine named Chris Bianco. This scooter then sat in front of Pizzeria Bianco for years. The scooter was in very rough shape when I got it. It was all original, intact...I pulled it out of the original owner's backyard, where it had been parked since an accident in roughly 1969. Chris Bianco's restaurant is very busy and a lot of people were sitting on it and taking pictures, etc. and it got left out in the sun. The bike would be picked up routinely to be maintenanced because of the abuse it received as a result of its busy location. It needed paint and a better motor to be a daily driver.

Chris sold it to my current customer, Steve. He had tried listing this a few weeks ago on eBay, but I am now helping him to dispel the confusion regarding the correctness of this headset. Steve, upon receiving the Vespa from Chris, asked me if I could go through and do a quick paint job and get it running to use for daily transportation. I disassembled it, sent the sheet metal out to be painted Chevy white (which is very close to the factory color it came in), and found a VSE motor (that would be a Rally 200cc motor). The VSE motor makes a good fit because it is still a VS series motor, in line with the original motor, but adds the bonus of oil injection. What is also nice about using this motor in this particular scooter is that it bolts in. The stator plate that they used was a standard SS GS 160 VBB, Sprint, and so on...very common wiring harness. The stator plate bolts on to this style of 200 motor, versus it will not bolt onto the 1977 Rally P200 style of motor and on. This enables the stock wiring harness diagram to be used, matching the stock VIN number.

Please notice the picture of Eric Brockway's Illustrated History of the Vespa cover, which pictures the stock accessory rear rack. The seat is the original style Super Sport seat. Please also note that the Vespa SS badge has been drilled and large aircraft rivets have been installed on the front of it. But, this can be replaced if desired, as the badges are available. This paint job was supposed to be done as cheaply as possible, basically a tear-down, scuff and shoot, and reassemble. The horn casting badge, speedo, legshield trim, grips, and seat are weathered. The paint does have some imperfections, but is about a 3 on a scale of 1 to 5. Speedo cable has not been attached. I can't remember if we needed the inner cable or the drive gear or something, so you will have to figure that one out after receiving it. The motor is newly rebuilt and in excellent running condition. Additionally, upon reassembly from the tear-down, I went through and thoroughly checked the scooter to make sure things are assembled correctly and precisely, how they would have done it at Piaggio.

All said, as is, this is a great, reliable daily driver with 12.35 horsepower and an estimated top speed of 70 mph (versus the 65 mph of the SS motor). This is NOT, repeat NOT, a Vietnam restoration. If you wish to contact me about this scooter, you can reach me at 602-413-1437. -Bob

Shipping is the responsibility of winning bidder. I recommend UShip.com for reasonable cross-country rates. They are an eBay company. I am willing to crate the vehicle in a real wooden Vespa crate for $100, plus $100 labor...total $200. Dimensions of the crate are 2'x 4' x 6' and approximate weight would be 300 lbs. Payment due within 24 hours.