2002 Bajaj Chetak sold

There was a second person who wished to look at my 2003 Bajaj Chetak scooter, but missed it. I gave him first dibs at it as well as a price cut, because he just missed my scooter. I sold my wife's scooter to him for $1700, which is a fair deal.

Below is the Craigslist listing. It sold in 24 hours.

2002 Bajaj Chetak w/ 4K miles &many upgrades - $1850

Before reading on, please note that this bike has a clutch and is a 4-speed on the handlebar - left handgrip and lever.

Two years ago my wife was 3 months pregnant and into the garage her 2002 Bajaj Chetak went and stayed except for a weekly ride around the block to keep the oil moving to reach the engine gaskets. Now with our daughter she is just not riding at all and the bike needs to go to new rider who will ride it often and proud.


My wife is the original and only owner. The bike has never been crashed. It did have a fallen motorcycle hit it while parked, but the damage is minimal and Barry G. of SF Scooter Center gave it a clean bill of health. It's beneath the floor matt and even when you see it you'll laugh at how small it is. Body is in really good shape, especially for the bike's age. It has always been garage stored. Less than normal wear for a bike its age.

Before you gawk at the price, consider that a brand new Stella 4-Stroke runs for $4200. This scooter is way less than half that price and has only 42XX miles on the ODO. Beyond that it will rally any Stella 4-Stroke all day long. If you wonder about the value of this Bajaj call Barry at SF Scooter Center and ask him. He has sold 1200 of these scooters and is very familiar with them. He would sell this scooter for over $2100. Title is clean and is registered as non-op since my wife wasn't riding it - to save us money (but you will have to register it anyways so no difference to the buyer).


History: about 500 miles ago, Kent L., who was the official mechanic for Bajaj USA, performed a comprehensive tune-up and safety check on this bike. It runs solidly and is extremely dependable. It is a first kick bike. It will easily pull you SF hills. Bike includes chrome rear luggage rack and chrome crash bars upgrade. The bike has received well over $350 in upgrades in order to ensure a long-hassle-free life for you, including new float bowl at gas tap, two brand new tires, spark plug resistor cap replaced with NGK one, new spark plug, brand new battery, halogen upgrade headlight bulb, battery regulator/rectifier (the 2002 ones broke down and did not recharge the battery properly) upgrade, and a 2003 Bajaj flywheel (the 2002 flywheels had a tendency to break). As of July 25th, 2011 oil was changed, new headlight bulb installed, and a new battery were put in.

To sweeten the deal, I'll thrown in a brand new "Cuppini (Italian-made) legshield trim" set, which you can install on the Bajaj to chrome it out more. Price it out and you'll see it's over $50 to buy and ship it to you.



With low-miles/similar condition, Bajaj Chetaks like this sell for around $1600 without the upgrades. Upgrades and recent tune-up is about $450 plus $50 for the legshield trim puts a fair value around $2100, but I'm letting this bike go for a lot less. If you buy a used scooter you are still going to have a tune-up and probably new tires, maybe a battery, etc. You don't need anything at all with this bike.

$1850 cash and it's your's. I have title and DMV bill-o-sale on hand.



Note: engine cover not on for Craigslist photos as I was riding without to let the new flywheel settle before I hit it again with the torque wrench.

Good bye to my 2003 Black Bajaj Chetak . . . lament

On July 20, 2011 I sold my Bajaj Chetak for $1500. Considering I paid $2800 out the door for my scooter I am not super happy with the price. I spoke with Barry G. at SF Scooter Center and he said he would sell my Chetak for $2500 and it is a great bike. The new Stella 4-Stroke sells for $4200. Bajaj sellers need to begin to raise their prices to reflect the great bike it is. $2000 for my bike in the condition it is in is fair. Currently, the economy sucks and the prices are low.

San Jose Vespa posted to Craigslist:

2006 BAJAJ CHETAK
4 stroke 150 motor
4284mi
this is a manual 4 speed scooter
clean bike, serviced and running perfectly
$1,599 + tax, title.

Here is my bike on Craigslist:

Unemployed teacher selling his noble steed.

Original and only owner. 2003 Black Bajaj Chetak. 4-stroke - no oil mixture in gas. 4-speed manual shifting. Shifter/clutch-lever is located on the left handle bar. 80 plus miles per gallon. First kick. Runs very very strong (my Bajaj mechanic told me it's the strongest Bajaj he has ever ridden). Garage stored. Registered through Spring 2012 (cost me $76 for the year). Ready to ride with no additional investment. Never dropped nor crashed. Includes rear rack, chrome legshield trim, and front fender chrome. Also included is stock plastic hub caps and the passenger handle bar for beneath the seat. Additional parts available through Barry at SF Scooter Center.
I just invested $155 in the scooter this weekend. On July 8th, 2012 I installed a brand new battery and tune-up including carb rebuild, oil change, spark plug resistor cap upgrade, new spark plug, new halogen upgrade headlight, and new tail light bulb plus blinker bulbs at just over $65. I put on brand new tires at $90.00. In my mind, I am selling my scooter for $1345.00 plus the cost of tune-up, battery, and tires at no profit -- just my cost; therefore a total of $1500.


Odo reads at 7203 miles. I recognize many of you are looking for scoots with low miles, but what people won't tell you is that when older scooters sit and are not running the oil is not cycling and reaching the seals/gaskets in the engine and therefore dry and crack resulting in a loss of engine compression and possibly creating a leaky engine. What this means to you is that the engine will need to be rebuilt. An average of 800 miles per year is not a lot of riding on my scooter.

My scooter runs an honest 55 mph and I have hit 61 mph on it. I would happily put my scooter up against any Stella 2-stroke and I know the Bajaj has less issues and is more reliable than a 2-stroke.
Serious inquires only. No low-ballers. I am offering a very fair price for the scooter considering the recent tune-up and new parts. The parts I installed and the tune-up most buyers would need to make those anyways with a used scooter they buy, but I did it for you. $1500 cash and the scooter, clear title, stock plastic hub caps and the passenger handle bar are your's.

Scooter Rider Magazine review of Bajaj 2003

Before reading there are two things to note:
(1) There are many typos in this article that I commented about to the editor/publisher, but I was never responded to. I do race to get info up on my blogs and have limited time, but as a journalism major when it comes to print I want my words to best represent me. I assure this article did that, but was cut down and revised by the editor without my approval. For an example in the 3rd paragraph it should NOT be "Asians or Indians," but rather should be "Asian-Indians". The meaning was completely misconstrued, likely because the editor did not know that a Bajaj is Asian-Indian made.
(2) After owning two Bajaj's in our family for 9 and 8 years I can say that they have required nothing more than the normal maintenance; hence without a doubt the Bajaj Chetak is a perfect first scooter for those that love the vintage look and feel. I now own a 1962 Lambretta TV175, because the Chetak made me comfortable enough . . . .

Foto do dia

Foto de Aksveer
   

What the hell is in my oil filter?

Two days ago I changed my oil on my Chetak and you will never guess what I found in the outside of my oil filter?! It looks like two torn pieces of engine seals. They are a back paper-like substance. I have over 6,000 miles on my bike; therefore I know these two torn pieces are not recent.

As an added precaution, I always check my oil filter for slivers of metal, possibly from clutch wear and alike. To do this I stick a white paper towel inside the oil filter so I have the silver metal or any other alien form pops out from the white paper towel background.

After that I use compressed air to blow the filter clean from the inside out. This frees it of all debris.

I emailed my mechanic, who worked for Bajaj USA at their corporate office and at a Bajaj dealer (also Vespa, Lambretta, and everything else) as a head mechanic, and this is what he had to say:

"Be honest with you, I have been a mechanic for almost ten years and I have seen a lot of crazy stuff coming out when performing oil changes. Normally, I will not worry about it unless the engine sounds weird or runs like crazy.

Do you have any problem with the engine? Any oil leak? Any idle issue? If not, then don't worry about it since those pieces are already broken or came off."

With that response, I filled it up with new oil and will ride the bike and pay special attention to it as all of my answers are "no" to my mechanic's questions.

FOLLOW-UP FROM MECHANIC AFTER SEEING THIS PICTURE:

Jeremy,

Looks like those things are the engine case paper gasket. Do you have any oil leak out from your engine? If not, don't worry at all.

What happen are..... those engine paper gaskets for most of the time are larger than what it is supposed to be. And sometimes due to the engine design, gasket can't cut out exectly or match the engine cases because if everything matches the paper gasket are not strong enough to seal, hold and keep the oil inside the engine. For some cases, when the extra stick out paper gasket inside the egine has soaked oil for too long, they will be soft enough and tear themselves apart. That is what you see in the screen filter. And that is why engine will leak oil when they get old. And of couse, the material to make the paper gasket is also important. For bajaj you don't expect they are top qualities.

So for now, if you have any oil leak, you know what happen.

Hope this information would help you.

Kent

Hot Rod Al Pipe

I paged the Bajaj Yahoo Group to see who has a Hot Rod Al pipe and how it compares to Phil's POC pipe. The Hot Rod Al pipe is a little less expensive, but both are basically in the $300 range.

I asked riders to write a review of the pipe and include photos as well as a movie showing the speedo with audio of shifting through the gears.

Chris P., of Calif., responded and told me he planned to buy a pipe. I recently checked back in with him via email and this is his response:

"hey Jeremy, I installed the pipe today and it is awsome. It is loud but not too loud and I could real feel a kick in the horse power. I was also toping out at 55mph before 60 today so I am very stoked. I didnt get any photos of the install but it is very easy. I also did the tricks mod today. Hot Rod Al will probably not be making any more of the pipes so you may want to pick on up ASAP. Al is also going to a custom made 26 carb on it in a few weeks. I will try to send you photos and a video of the pipe." -- Chris

I look forward to Chris's review, photos, and video to share with you.

The story behind Bajaj

Below you find high resolution scans from Vespa, style in motion, which documents how Bajaj, as a company came to be. It gives a good history for you to tell every time someone asks, "hey is that a Vespa?" It does not address the 1980s and 2000s attempt to sell Bajaj in the USA.

Click on the photos to enlarge to read or to print.

Bajaj history (abridged)

In the early to mid 1960s Vespa outsourced to India to build Vespa Sprints. The Indian factory had to uphold Vespa's quality assurance and factory system. The relationship was short lived as legal issues came into play. The end product was that Bajaj purchased the factory from Vespa. After this happened the Bajaj badge began to appear. At first, with any brand transition, the bikes had a Vespa and a Bajaj badge on the legshield. You can find these bikes in the USA. Or you may be riding a Vespa Sprint that was made in India and not know it.

As you can see in the photograph above of this classic Bajaj, it's basically a Vespa Sprint with its trapezoid headset. It's a handsome bike.

The "Chetak" was named after a famous horse that belonged to a Indian Prince, I believe. The horse belonged to him and helped a lot in battle and such. Pictured above is a 1980s Chetak I believe. In my opinion, much more handsome than the newer 4-stroke Bajaj Chetaks. These bikes were 2-stroke and can be found in the states. They often sell for less than a Vespa of similar model.

In the 1980s Bajaj tried to sell in the USA. It didn't go well. It returned again in the early 2000s with Al Kolvites as the president of Bajaj USA. 4-stroke versions were imported. Bajaj USA died around 2006 and became Argo USA -- Chinese plastic scoots. A strong Bajaj culture existed via Bajaj Yahoo Group while the bikes were being sold. Note: some Bajaj are still available new as 2005 models. Check with dealers. The only thing about the newer Bajaj's that I could do without is the horncast and a little more chrome, say floor rail kit and a legshield trim would have been an added bonus.



Like its predecessor and its competition the Chetaks & Legends are work horses, like the Vespa P200s, and take a heck of beating and keep on running. The roads in India are harsh with pot holes and the Bajaj was built to withstand the harsh roads and to be easily worked on and repaired.

Like the Stella (LML), Vespa P-Series, the Chetak is the last of line of the work horse scooters. The Stella and Vespa horncasts are much more handsome than the Chetak and there is more chrome on the other bikes, but I have spoken with dealers and the overall report is that the 4-stroke Chetaks have way less problems than its 2-stroke rivals. I intend to give my one-year-old son my Chetak when he gets his license. My Chetak should run for a long long time. I ride hard and it remains to be very trustworthy and dependable.

If I was to buy my first scooter all over again, I'd buy a Vespa PX150 from Vespa Mechanicsburg for $3600 (sale price -- only have 3 left). My wife's Chetak costs $1999 and you just can't beat that price. Now the Chetak is $3000 and the Stella is $3300. Genuine Scooters runs a very smart marketing campaign for its Stella, because the bike uses Vespa aftermarket products. So this makes upgrades and accessories CHEAPER and easier to find. I have no intention of selling my Chetak, because it is a tank of a scoot, but if you're purchasing you should consider all your options and what you plan to do with your scoot . . . ie buy a Stella or PX and put a DR177 kit on it for a cheap speed/power upgrade. Or buy a Vespa for resale value. If you're looking to be accepted into the classic/vintage culture either a Vespa P-series or Genuine Scooter (Stella) will get you in. But if you're looking for a dependable daily rider that requires next to no maintenance, a 4-stroke Bajaj Chetak or Legend will deliver that to you at an affordable price.

If you come across a Bajaj from 1980 or earlier for a good price (it will be cheaper than a similar Vespa) it is worth picking up. The vintage crowd will accept you as well. And the bike is prettier than the newer bikes.