A Bargain At Twice the Price…

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com

It was the brand name that attracted my attention – Garelli. I’d never heard of it before today. It was while riding into the pizza joint where I meet the guys for lunch every day that I noticed a smallish bike parked outside a house on the property. After spending $8 for a couple of slices and a root beer, I wandered over to make a closer inspection. The woman cleaning out the basement said she’d just told someone else who had walked up that he could have it for free if he’d just cart it off. That was that, I figured, but I placed a quick call to friend Greg Bidou seeking input. “Offer $10,” he advised. I did. The woman agreed. The bike now sits in my garage.

I’ve now learned the that Italian-made Garelli brand dates back to 1919. The bike – OK, moped – that I bought is a 1986 Monza GT. It has a 50cc, two-stroke motor (that won’t turn over) and is capable when running of hitting 30 miles per hour. The odometer reports 4,524 miles. It needs a new petcock, rear brake linkage, headlight cover and a few other things. Was it worth $10? It’s probably worth 20 times that amount in parts alone if I decide to disassemble it. Will I get it running? Well, I’ll take a stab but if the tab starts climbing…

With the help of friends Bill Smith and Bruce Wilcox, who had his pickup handy, the Garelli was hauled home. Bill noted that he’d never had a motorcycle that you could easily pick up and place in the bed of a truck. The three of us have already gotten $10 worth of fun out of it just chuckling over it. Maybe I should just hang it on the wall in the garage.