Police scooter went to another home.....

After several months of inactivity, I decided to let someone else finish the quest to restore the USPP scooter. I am going to leave this blog up for future reference for anyone that can use the information gathered. Thanks for following....

The frame makes it to the media blaster

Well, I dropped the frame off at the media blaster June 10th. It could be ready in as little as a week. He uses a combination of aluminum oxide and plastic media to remove the paint and surface rust. He had another Vespa that had just been blasted and it looked great.

It has been somewhat slow going these past two weeks with progress. The frame is now ready to go to the media blaster and I am finalizing some parts purchases. I did pick up a Versahaul scooter carrier Saturday to make transporting the scooter to events easier than using my trailer. Pictured below is the exact one I bought. I got a good deal on it and it even came with the straps and a Canyon Dancer for the front handle bars.

I am looking for the front reflectors for the fender that look like the below picture. They are about 7/8 high and 1 3/4 wide. UPDATE: It looks like my new friend Carl is taking care of me on these reflectors. These are actually the pics he sent me. I am just looking for one rubber base now and maybe another reflector that the pin is still present. They say "guidex" on them.

Pictures of the super rare police scooter windshield

Here are pictures of the super rare Vespa police windshield. I purchased this complete with the lower vinyl wind deflector. I will go out on a limb and say these may be the only pictures of this vintage windshield on the internet. I searched the internet for weeks trying to find a good picture of what this windshield looked like with no luck. I have cleaned up the aluminum and replaced the clear insert with a high quality acrylic thicker style insert to make her look new again. I may have the vinyl lower insert reproduced since it is not in the best of condition. The mounts are angled strange so I may need to do some modification on those before I mount it. This is a really neat vintage piece that was needed to complete the restoration. All of the hard to find parts have been found!

United States Park Police Logos!

I received the green side decals from Tony today with some surprises inside the package as well! I have scanned them for all to enjoy. Also, I scanned the blue logo side decals for comparison. These green decals are the exact same ones that were on the scooter before I started the restoration process. Once again, Tony saves the day and helps make for the perfect restoration!

What the cowls look like after acid dipping

Pictured is what the cowls look like once they come back from the acid dipping. Also pictured is after they are cleaned up and painted with self-etching primer.

More progress over the weekend

I finally got the scooter completely stripped down and the frame ready for the media blaster this past weekend. There is no turning back now. Tony emailed me and let me know that he had located a 3 piece set of the green style side and front decals for the scooter. I know it originally had these on it so I sent back the blue ones(also correct for this bike) today(5/18/09) to trade for the green ones. Pictured above is the scooter ready to go to the media blaster.

The "Goodies" that Tony the Sgt. sent me last week...

The original side and front decals along with an original shoulder patch. Below the original white shoulder patch is the Marine Patrol's shoulder patch. How neat is this stuff?!

Closeup of the "P" for Police button on the side of the helmet.

Mystery revealed! The unknown sticker on the front leg shield of the Vespa is actually the decal from the back of the original helmet. McHal was a vintage manufacturer located in California that made Police helmets! Police I is the model of helmet.

Closeup of the front badge decal

Full helmet picture. It's a large and I can wear it!

I am forever indebted to Tony. Without all of his help this Police Scooter restoration would not be possible. Thanks Tony and all the Officers of the USPP!

The "New" fuel tank

Here are some pictures of the freshly acid dipped and primered fuel tank. Looks like new with no pin holes or anything else that would prevent it from looking and working like new. I used self etching primer to ready it for the white topcoat.

Pictures of the progress so far as of May 10th, 2009.

With the help of Patrick, I was able to pull the motor last week. Dirty would be an understatement for the condition it was in when pulled. I soaked it down with engine cleaner once it was out and pressure washed it until it looked like the pictures below. It is the original engine and I am planning on having it rebuilt with a 200cc piston/cylinder as well as electronic ignition and a 12V conversion. I hung the frame up from the rafters so that I could continue to strip her down to get the frame ready for the media blaster. The cowls, seat frame, and glove box are being acid dipped this week to rid them of paint and any surface rust. I should be able to pick them up Friday. I will post pics when I get them. The fuel tank came out VERY nice.

The Sgt. sent me a helmet, new decals, and a USPP shoulder patch this past week. I will take pics in a day or so. As a little hint, these items that he just sent are absolutely awesome!

Pictures of some of the challenges ahead with the body

Pictured below are some of the challenges I face with the frame. The frame is not rusty but it has been pretty dinged up since leaving the USPP.....

Some updates for the last week of April

It looks like I may have found a NOS lower windshield cover up in NJ at Scooter Originali. I am awaiting pictures to make sure it is the correct one. Gene and I spoke about the possibility of converting the engine to 12V and upping it to 200CC. The NOS lower cover would be a great start to my windshield quest. I also met Eric today from American Scooter Center in Texas via the telephone. He has seen one of these windshields and had several ideas as to how to make a new one with more readily available parts. Eric may also have some of the actual parts to one of these windshields as well as other hard to find parts for the Rally 180. Eric was very knowledgeable and we had many similiar interests including this scooter and the history behind the USPP. I look forward to working with Eric locating the parts needed! No word yet on the fuel tank de-rusting but I should hear something by Friday.

Good news from the Sgt.

I had the pleasure of speaking with the Sgt. last night. He shares the same interest as I on this scooter. Tony is a super nice guy that is really going to great lengths to help me put the Vespa back together as it was originally. Tony has located 2 original side decals and even a period USPP helmet for it! I am really excited to see these items and will take pictures to post when they get here. Tony also mentioned that the Metro DC police department may have a windshield since they hardly ever get rid of anything. I am going to put out some calls to see if I can get to someone in the motorcycle division or property office. The Metro DC is a very large department so I think it is going to be a challenge. We'll see. I purchased a couple of parts from ScooterPartsDirect last Friday. I now have a new fuel petcock, Haynes manual, and oil site glass. I sent the fuel/oil tank out to have it acid dipped to remove all the rust and paint. The fuel tank should be ready this Friday.

Police windshield search pictures

While trying to locate a supplier for the windshield last night, I found several neat period pictures of other police departments with Lambretta and Vespa scooters with the same windshield. Apparently the windshield attached at the mirror mounts with two bars that went straight up for the windshield to attach to. The gray vinyl cover below the frame acted as a wind deflector and was cut out around the headlight. See the neat pictures. The one that has all of the DC scooter police parked was taken in 1973 during the Nixon campaign in Washington,DC. The first one pictured is one I found quite by accident but it is a USPP officer on a Vespa Rally 180 at the Washington Monument?

The Picture

Saturday the picture that was found by the Sgt. in the archives of the USPP arrived. Wow, what a neat picture. I assume it is from 1972 or so, but it looks like a stock photo for press purposes. It shows the scooter in the correct police format. The officer pictured sadly has passed away. The Sgt. explained to me that he was one of the best liked officers on the force. I took a second picture yesterday to show what it looks like now in the same format. I would like to find out as much as I can about the front windshield that is missing now. I have looked quite a bit on the internet and can't seem to find anything even remotely similiar. If it is going to be put back to original, I am going to have to find one. The search for the elusive windshield is on!

More history

After I found out about the CandO canal, I found this information:

The Anacostia Substation, opened in 1970, had 36 officers under Lt. Thomas J. McDonnell responsible for Anacostia Park, the Suitland Parkway, Fort Washington Park, and other parklands in eastern Washington and nearby Maryland. Although the parks they served were old Park Police responsibilities, the current Rock Creek Park and George Washington Memorial Parkway substations opened in 1971. Lt. Richard E. Magee commanded the 29 officers assigned to the Rock Creek Park Substation, with jurisdiction over numerous park areas in Northeast and Northwest Washington in addition to Rock Creek Park. Lt. W. Franklin Stevens had 39 officers under him at the George Washington Memorial Parkway Substation, located at Glen Echo Park, Maryland. They covered the parkway on both sides of the river, Wolf Trap Farm Park, Arlington National Cemetery, and the Cheasapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park as far as Seneca, Maryland.

The first contact with my new friend

I emailed hoping to find out anything on this old scooter:

Hello,
I recently purchased a 1972 Vespa scooter that was previously used by the US Park Police and I am planning to do a complete restoration back to it's previous glory to show at local and possibly national Vespa events. It still has the remains of the side decals and front decal along with the property number on the front and also on a small decal behind the cowl. The bike is also marked with a small decal that says "McHal Police I". I would like to get the history on this unit if at all possible with details like who the officer was that used it and where it was used. Do you have any idea where I would start or what this bike may have been originally used for? The only thing I know so far is that it was purchased in Virginia at a sealed bid auction in the late 70's from the government. Thank you so much for any help you may be able to give me. Sincerely,

I actually got a response!

I was a Sgt. that trained officers on this scooter. If you can send me a photo.

Wow, now this scooter just became live. A member of the USPP that remembered and actually used to train officers on these Vespas. Some of the other history and emails that I have learned and received from the Sgt so far:

The Mcal sticker is probably something an officer added.It has nothing to do with the USPP. I am going to go thru so 800 Park Police photos to see if I can find a photo or two

These scooters were used on beat patrols especially us on the CandO Canal. Officers were trained on the canal, then sent to different districts. Its hard to remember that far back but I think the initial count was 8. If you are able to preserve the arrowhead decal, that was the National Park Service property number. I found in my archives a really nice photo of scooter. They will take it tomorrow and have a copy made.

The clams and such you spoke of on the scooter were often used to carry rain coats and rain pants.

I am really appreciative of all the work and time that the Sgt. has put in for me concerning this Vespa scooter. I want to make it available to the USPP when they have events after it is complete and restored. The Sgt. even had lunch recently with some fellow officers that also rode these unique Vespas. He is still searching for some original USPP scooter items that will really go well with the display of this scooter. Thanks Sgt!

In search of the history via internet

Ok, so I got the scooter home and found some interesting things under the fuel tank. What's next? Do I restore or leave as-is and get it running? Well, after many hours looking for pictures or anything else I could find on these scooters, I came up with the USPP website through the National Park Service main site. Although this website is very good describing the history and USPP organization, it told nothing of these scooters. The only website that really showed anything even remotely related was this one:

http://www.scootersoriginali.com/blog/scooter-history/new-york-police-scooters-vespa-and-lambretta/

After reading what was on that website, this old scooter really became something of an interest to me. I am a history buff and the fact that the United States Park Police were the first uniformed police force in the United States really made up my mind that this scooter would be restored to it's former self. After many more hours in front of the computer, I found another website that was run and maintained by retired officers of the USPP. This is where I found a friend and historian that seems to care about this scooter as much as I do and has greatly helped me understand more about these very unique Vespas.

Here are some of the other pictures that the seller sent

The intial cleanup

The next day I checked out the bike a little closer and noticed that it did not smell like an old scooter should. After pulling the gas tank this is what I found. Apparently, even mice like this old Police Scooter! It smells much better now :) Before and After pictures.

The Purchase

I spoke to him about the old Vespa and he stated that a friend of his wanted an import motorcycle that he had and they arranged for a trade. He said that he only had it about three days when I called him (I think it was a Friday) and that he was thinking about restoring it but had enough projects around the house. I asked him the story and it went like this:
"They guy I bought/traded it from used to ride it around his 60 acre farm when he was a kid somewhere around Port Royal, Virginia. His father mistakingly bought it at a sealed bid government auction back in the late 70's. His father thought he was bidding on a dump truck but wrote the wrong number down for the Vespa instead. He was very upset when he found out that he bought the scooter instead of the dump truck. He let the kids ride it around the farm until the clutch cable broke and it sat until I got it." I drove up to SC the following weekend with my trailer and son and picked it up. It actually looked a little better in person than the pictures showed because what looked like rust was actually........bat poop from the barn it was stored in! Apparently the bat poop is very oily and helped keep the floorboards almost rust free. When I arrived home that night my wife once again called me crazy....

The purchase story....

I found this scooter on a national scooter forum that typically talks about and starts threads about modern day Vespas. A gentleman in South Carolina had posted this add in the "For Sale" forum.

Please Don't Laugh 1972 Vespa Rally in S.C.
Thu Apr 09, 2009
Took this and cash in on trade for another Kawasaki I had.I need money for my triple rebuild so this is for sale if anyone is interested.Motor kicks over and is supposed to run. It looks rusty but is very solid. I only spent 30 minutes cleaning it.It was used at a park service as a Police bike.Would make a good rat bike or a good one to restore back to it's former glory.Make me an offer if interested.

The reason this blog was started...

This blog was started because of the fact that little(virtually nothing) was found on a 1972 Vespa Rally 180 Scooter that I recently purchased. This very unique scooter was used and purchased originally as a United States Park Police scooter back in the 70's. I purchased this scooter because of the history behind it and the fact that it had survived through the years still intact and identifiable as a Police Bike. This blog will tell the unique story behind the scooter, the complete restoration as it unfolds, and a little bit about the people that are helping as this journey unfolds. I will also give some detail into the history of this very prestigious and historic police organization. I hope to find out as much as possible as fellow historians and enthusiasts learn of this police scooter. I hope those that follow will find this as interesting as I do.........Allen