1977 Batavus VA Moped

batavus01I picked this up to use as a pit bike.  It was extremely fun to drive.

This was the bottom-of-the-line model; the VA Standard.  It came in red, yellow, violet, and orange and had a tank that held about 1 gallon of fuel.  It originally retailed for about $430.

IMG_1504It was powered by a Laura M48 engine; 48cc / 2.4bhp.  It originally got about 150mpg.  Nice.  Tubular steel frame, front and rear shocks, stainless fenders, illuminated speedo, electric horn, lockabke steering, drum brakes and 16″ wheels.  The standard was pretty basic; it didn’t have the blinkers and battery that the Deluxe received.  The battery box on the Deluxe was pretty cool; it looked a little like an ammo box.

This is just some of the rust that came out of that little tank!
This is just some of the rust that came out of that little tank!

My moped was purchased as a non-operational moped.  The tank was very rusty.  I got out everything I could, and sealed the tank.  New fuel lines/ filter/ petcock and it fired right up.  Awesome.

When I moved to CA, I ‘registered’ it here to make it legal with the DMV, and I think I was allowed to drive it without a motorcycle license? <shrug>  I ended up selling it to a young guy who was going to use it as his main transport.  I dig that.

 

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