The end of this blog

Yesterday, I sold my wife's 2002 Bajaj Chetak. Last week I sold my 2003 Bajaj Chetak. She no longer was riding and has a fully restored 1967 Vespa SS180. I am in the process of restoring a 1962 Lambretta TV175. Without a doubt, the Bajaj Chetak was the perfect first scooter for us. Our bikes continue to run strong and who knows we may see them again in the future if we are lucky.



What I leave behind is hopefully some useful information for the newbie and novice Bajaj owner or a person considering entering the scooter world. This blog serves as the legacy of owning Bajaj Chetaks for nearly ten years.

The greatest wealth of help, information, and Bajaj family can be found at the Retro Bajaj Forum. The good folks there were my mentors and I owe them so many thank you's. They are friendly and loving like the Lambretta family -- not like Scoot BBS.

As you see in my binder, I have the parts catalog and maintenance manual. I recommend you download those now and create a binder and make notes. You can download those and more here at BajajUSA.com.

I recognize that the Chetaks are not as popular as the Vespa Ps and Stella's, but arguably they are as good as a Stella. Hell they are both made in India for better or worse. A new 4-stroke Stella sells for $4200 from a dealer. I strongly encourage all Bajaj owners to recognize the value and reliability of their Bajaj scooters when selling and most importantly keep a fair price. A 30 year old original Vespa P200 in great condition still pulls $3000 with a lot of miles on them. There is no reason a good condition Bajaj should go for less than $2000 when it costs over twice as much for a new Stella 4 Stroke, which is a very similar bike.

I also stress to you that you purchase parts now that you think you will need in the future. And hold on to your old parts you replace. They may need to be repaired and used again in the future. There is a limited supply of parts available, what ever was left when Bajaj USA closed their doors. Used parts from busted bikes may be necessary some day.

Shops that may have parts:
San Francisco Scooter Centre (Barry G. is well stocked)
Scooter West (Steve)
Pride of Cleveland (Phil)

Take care of and your Bajaj. It is the perfect first scooter for those who appreciate the vintage culture.

I predict a long life for the Bajaj Chetak and know they will remain a steel workhorse in the scootering community.

Good bye "SCTx2" and "PUTx2" (our license plates on our Chetaks. All that is left of our bikes are the license plates, which hang in our shop and the fond memories and photos).

If you wish to learn where owning a Bajaj took me or you found this blog to be informative and you benefited from it you can see my restoration of a 1967 Vespa SS180 or the work in progress 1962 Lambretta TV175.