Mystery scooter – Do you want to take a guess?

Sat, Apr 26, 2008

Scooter


Seems inspired by a cut down Vepsa small frame, eh?


Italian? Spanish? Japanese? What could it beeeeee?
I’ll give you a couple of guesses before I let the proverbial “cat out of the bag”.

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11 Responses to “Mystery scooter – Do you want to take a guess?”

  1. Tim Says:

    It looks like Subaru or Suzuki on the seat.

    Reply

  2. Superlucent Says:

    Hi,

    Certain it’s a Suzuki Love CL50 4-stroke.

    Reply

  3. Dan Durston Says:

    It’s clearly a Suzuki (as per the name on the seat) but I don’t think it’s the Love CL50. This mystery scooter has a single front fork leg whereas the CL50 has dual fork legs….and they don’t look quite the same.

    It’s not a Yamaha Salient / Riva 50 but it sure does look like one.

    Reply

  4. Aki Says:

    Hello from Japan,
    SuzukiGemma 1981 model,
    This scooter frame made by press metal like Vespa, Not plastic cover,

    Reply

  5. Steve Says:

    Well, Suzuki is right. As for the model, I can’t say because I can’t read it. You can see the whole photo here:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/tokyo_scooter_stuff/2415530377/

    A friend of mine, who says his Katakana isn’t so good, thinks it reads “Jienma 50″ or that it may be read as “Jenna 50″?

    Similar in many ways to the CL50, but not the same.

    Any more guesses?

    Either way, I couldn’t find it in the Google. *sigh*

    Reply

  6. dan durston Says:

    Looks like ‘aki’ is correct with his ’81 Suzuki Gemma 50 guess. I did a little google searching and things are lining up.

    Check it out:
    http://www.gasolinealleyantiques.com/kits/images/Motorcycle/otaki-gemma.JPG

    Reply

  7. Steve Says:

    Hehe, oops! I didn’t see Aki’s gave us the correct answer just 9 minutes before I finished my comment.

    Thanks to all of you for participating! It was a tough one.

    I like the Gemma, especially now that I know it was metal.

    It’s also interesting that Suzuki’s new long & low prototype is ALSO named the Gemma. Perhaps after one of their more popular scooters? Though, they look NOTHING alike.

    If you do a Google Image search for Gemma, a mix of the two will show up.

    Reply

  8. Steve Says:

    I also saw a Suzuki Gemma 50 Special with a windscreen and rear mounted spare tire. Very sweet! I tried doing a search for “Gemma 50 Special” using an English to Japanese translation tool, but nothing came up with “鈴木ゲンマ50特別”.

    Reply

  9. Steve Says:

    Nice links! Thanks for showing us all the 80′s coolness.

    That’s how this all started. A friend of mine, Kuroneko, showed me some Flickr photos of Japanese scooters from the 80′s. Great stuff!

    Reply

  10. Dan Durston Says:

    Wow that geocities link is a great look at this scooter. Everyone should click that!

    Reply

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