First appearing as a brand name in 1946, the iconic Vespa started life from humble beginnings as a solution to mobilising Italy whilst it was recovering after the war.

Piaggio were a renowned aircraft manufacturer and devised an extremely simple solution that featured what was essentially an aircraft engine starter motor for the engine, wrapped in a monocoque chassis that was designed with enclosing the mechanical components inside in order to protect the elegant Italian clothing the rider was expected to wear…

As it turns out, the Piaggio design turned out to be be very aesthetically pleasing and over the decades has become as closely associated with Italy as Pizza, the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Colosseum.

The first model Vespa in production was the now iconic 98 which featured a 3 speed, 2 stroke 98cc engine with it’s headlight on the front mudguard, 8 inch pressed steel wheels and it didn’t even have a stand, so were often seen leant over on curbs around cities.

The basic design never fundamentally changed right the way through to the latest PX design which was still in production until as recently as 2016. By the mid 1950’s, the Innocenti “Lambretta” was starting to catch up, so in 1955 Piaggio decided to build a sporting model based on their "Sei Giorni” racing model and thus the GS or “Gran Sport” was born.

The GS was an utter styling masterpiece, featuring enlarged side panels, a dual seat which followed the line of the frame, a faired in handlebar mounted headlamp unit and beautiful curved leg-shields.

Mechanically it was also no slouch, featuring a 23mm carburettor, 10 inch wheels for the first time on a production model, a 150cc cylinder and also for the first time a 4 speed gearbox!

The GS 150 is thought to be the most beautiful scooter ever designed and quickly found favour with scooter enthusiasts and in the early to mid 1960’s it became scooter of choice for the young, well dressed Mods of London.

The Vespa GS150 for sale here is a “VS5” variant (the 5th version of the GS150 and the most usable) and is the last year of production for the GS 150 prior to the release of the GS160.

There is not a huge amount known about this particular machine prior to the current vendor’s ownership apart from that it was owned by an investor who kept it along with a number of Lambrettas for a long time before selling them to the vendor who is a regular with us and has a beautiful collection of well kept machines.

The machine has been painted at some time in it’s life in the famous “Moto Baldet” dealer special paint scheme and features all of the correct badges for this and has been tastefully accessorised to represent a period 1960’s machine.

Moto Baldet was a scooter dealer in Northampton who famously painted their machines in beautiful two tone schemes when they came in for accident repair, rather than repaint the whole machine.

They then became nationally renowned for this work and many scooters have been done to imitate these designs since. This particular machine is an import from Italy but has been allocated with a “UL” registration which is a London registration number, making it look even more authentic as a Mod scooter! The current vendor has now decided it is time to move it on as he has not used it as much as he would like to and believes it’s time for somebody else to love it.

Due to being an Italian import, there is not a great deal of paperwork apart from a few old MOTs, a dating certificate, some photographs of the restoration and it’s current UK V5C.

When we visited the machine, the first thing we noticed is just how period it looks! It sits, glistening under the sun with its period accessories adding to that fantastic period paint scheme.

The Vespa has had a restoration at some point in it’s past which still looks fantastic today although there are some age related marks from use where the paint may have flaked off and as a result there are some very small signs of surface rust which could be very easily sorted with a bit of time.

The chrome work still looks great although some parts are showing minute amounts of tarnishing to be expected, but this really adds to the “aged” look of the machine. All of the rubber work has evidently been renewed at some point and is in good fettle.

The correct 120 km/h Veglia Clamshell speedometer sits proudly in the headset with the correct, original Siem ignition switch above it and the correct I.C.E.T “shell” horn sits in the horn casting.

Having been subject to a comprehensive restoration, the scooter doesn’t leave much to be done and starts up well and idles with a steady pace that begs to be ridden. The Vespa hasn't been used often in the 8 years of the current vendor's ownership so we advise a checkover prior to serious riding. 

The engine has been rebuilt in the past and the engine casings present very cleanly. The bike has an original (and rare) 23mm Carburettor in fantastic condition. The flywheel cowling could probably do with a blow over of paint (if one is that bothered) but everything else presents very well. 

It has a nice original “Ken Cobbing” style sports fitted with a pretty chrome tailpipe that makes a great noise compared to the standard item. The ignition system is the standard 6 Volt Battery system that is reported to work well by the vendor. 

GS150’s are plagued with charging issues as they use a battery type ignition similar to a car (rather than a magneto) but this one appears to work well! The suspension and brakes appear to all be in fine fettle with it stopping up well and most of the suspension components renewed during the restoration. 

The GS 150 is about as good as it gets if you really want to turn some heads and they are a rare sight these days. They are utterly beautiful and in the “Baldet” paint job with original accessories this one really looks the part. 

With dedicated scooter events up and down the country and a huge amount of resource available both in terms of knowledge available and spare parts, you could win yourself the opportunity to become a true enthusiast with a machine to be proud of and a whole new scooter life ahead of you!