1963 Other Makes Lambretta Li125

125LI3071724

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Reference Scooter: 1963 Lambretta Li125 Riverside Please wait a few moments while our high-resolution photos load. There was a time when the USA was number 1 in about everything , and that time was from the early 1950s up to the late 1960s when we put a man on the Moon, literally. At the same time, there was a store in the good old USA where you could get about everything you need, and that store was SEARS. One of the items SEARS sold from late 1952 until 1967 were Italian Vespa scooters, marketed as ALLSTATE models. You could buy one from SEARS by mail order and have it delivered to the most remote corner of the country. Mouse Over the Photos to Enlarge. SEARS' competitor was Montgomery Wards, and Montgomery Wards' house brand was Riverside. So after years of selling scooters, in mid-1962, Montgomery Wards finally followed SEARS' example and sold a motorscooter under the Riverside name. It was a stock Lambretta 125Li with 3 Riverside badges added. The standard model -- without as much as a speedometer -- sold for $369, whereas the Deluxe model, luxuriously equipped with not only a speedometer but a passenger seat and rear-mounted spare wheel as well, sold for a meager $415. That was roughly 10 to 12 percent what you had to pay for a pretty standard passenger car back in the day. Yet the love affair lasted only about a year, for the duration of the 1963 model year, and consequently, few of the 1963 Lambretta Riverside models were sold. Of those few sold, only a fraction survived the ravages of time, the abuse and neglect of an item that was never intended to survive half a century to begin with. These scooters were ridden hard and put away wet. They were abused by teenagers and then pushed into a corner of the garage, or, worse, left to rot under a tree in the back yard. Not this one. This one is special. It's a 100% matching numbers reference quality Riverside, most likely the finest one on the planet. VIN *125LI3071724* was found in a blacksmith shop in early 2012, never been registered, with only 400 miles on the odometer. I was purchased by a long-time scooter collector from beautiful Paso Robles, Calif., an attorney who also never registered it. At age 70, when he developed a medical condition, he offered it for sale and I became its first registered owner. The day this happened was July 5, 2012, so about 6 years ago, at which time the odometer reading was a mere 00527 miles. A 3-ring folder with all documents pertaining this scooter is included in this sale, containing bills from Lambretta Works, Jet 200, Scooterwest, Moto Amore, Scooters Originali, and Deanspead. Also included is an EXCEL spreadsheet detailing all of my expenses of exactly $7998.37 to this day. No other than now legendary sex symbol Jane Mansfield was hired to promote the 1963 model line of Lambrettas, now nicknamed "Slimstyle" as they were indeed slimmer now than ever before. This original brochure is also included in this sale. Unlike a Vespa, which has a unibody, a Riverside features an actual frame. Vespa fans point out that a Vespa is lighter and easier to throw around, whereas Lambretta fans claim that a Lambretta is more solid, sturdier, and has more class. Compare a Ferrari to a Lamborghini and you'll get a similar response. Only available in one unique color, beautifully named "Blue Sky Iseo," the '63 Lambretta Riverside exibits the typical Sixties' charme of Italy's la dolce vita. To keep production costs down, even the aluminum horn cover and handlebar controls are dipped in blue paint, whereas these items come beautifully polished on less pedestrian models. Tires and tubes are the long obsolete, original italian CEATs. For safety's sake I have taken them off and put in storage; a set of new PIRELLI SC30 tires with vintage profile is now being used for riding duties, but the original tires are included to be used for show purposes. Removing the side covers is a matter of moving one lever per side. Visible to the right is the ignition coil, the single shock, as well as the primary drive and the large kick starter; visible to the left is the carburetor with air filter and the fan housing. The big box in front is the glovebox (containing the tool kit), the one in the back is the fuel tank. Nope, there is no battery here as it's simply not needed. A magneto produces all the electicity for the 6-volt ignition system and lights, once the engine is running. The Lambretta sits two adults comfortably, but with only 5.2 horses on tap, its performance was seriously lacking. After 2-1/2 years of crawling along, I handed the scooter over to Dean from DEANSPEAD, arguably the best Lambretta mechanic in all of Southern California. He changed the top-end to 185/195cc, changed the carburetor, yet adapted it to the stock air filtration, changed the front sprocket and chain to allow for higher gearing, changed the clutch springs to adapt to the higher power output, and replaced the exhaust with a stock looking big bore unit. I paid $1,420 for this amazing transformation (original invoice included), which I consider an incredible bargain, given that none of it is being detectible by anybody but an expert who has a very close look at the engine itself. The scooter looks still 100% bone stock in every way, shape, and form. Having ridden this Lambretta for over thousand miles now, I'm still excited to ride it every time. What turns me on is the incredible aroma of the 2-stroke mixture, which reminds me of my youth when, in 1974, I had a similar scooter -- a 1962 Lambretta with over 20K miles on the clock. But I'm in my 60s now, have another vintage Lambretta, a Ducati, a couple of classic cars and a big house with a big garden (that needs constant attention), so there's only so much time for me to go riding, and thus it's time to pass this one on to the next caretaker. This scooter is more than the sum of its parts. It's a 100% matching numbers, original paint, reference quality Riverside, fully sorted, with subtile performance upgrades that are invisible, yet allow it to cruise at 60mph with ease. E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G works as it should, there are no needs of any kind, and the scooter is ready to be enjoyed right away. Opportunity knocks, are you ready to answer? TERMS OF SALE By bidding in this auction, you declare that you have read and accept the Terms of this Sale as outlined below. If you have any questions, please ask them before you bid. After the auction has ended, the sale is final. Please, only bid on this scooter if you have the necessary funds readily available! I require a $100 deposit to be paid via PayPal within 24 hours of the end of the auction and the balance to be paid via bank wire transfer (or in cash) within 5 business days, unless other arrangements have been agreed upon during the auction. The scooter comes with a clear California Certificate of Title in my name. It is sold "as is, where is" with no warranty stated or implied.