Post Sale Update: sold for $12,200 after 38 bids on eBay in Chicago, Illinois.
The overlap of people who are passionate about golf and motorcycles isn’t particularly large, but this beautiful scooter could unite the two fronts! Built by the Bobcat company of Wheeling, Illinois, this was designed to let people “play more golf, better golf, more relaxing golf.” Amusingly, in a period ad the mileage wasn’t referred to in mpg, but rather “72 holes per gallon.”
This was internally designated as the Model 69 Compact, and it utilized a 4 hp four-stroke engine with an automatic clutch. The entire thing was wrapped in a fiberglass body with distinctive styling and weighed 165 pounds. They also made a four wheel version, but who cares about that? Back to the two-wheeler: there were pull start and electric start variants, both of which had a center stand that automatically deploys when the rider gets off.
The seller of this example (VIN: 60166) describes riding it as “interesting and not very difficult, once you ride it for a few minutes. Press the starter button on the side of the scooter and it comes to life. After a short warm up, you sit down on the scooter to retract the “landing gear” type center stand, which retracts when the rider sits on the scooter. Balance the bike while lifting one leg off of the ground, place it on the foot pedal, and depress it to begin moving. Brake is on the right side of the handlebar.”
The sale includes a large reprint of a period advertisement with Bob Hope in Golf Digest, and he believes that the scooter for sale is the same one from the advertisement as “this Bobcat was always in Illinois from new and found in a collection a short distance away from the former Elmhurst Country Club (now named The Preserve, a Forest Preserve District of DuPage County golf course). And according to the records I’ve researched from the Forest Preserve District, everything points to the fact that it is the same machine.”
The seller states that he rides it once in a while and that everything is original except for the paint and the battery.
Find this Bobcat for sale in Chicago, Illinois with bidding up to $760 and the reserve not yet met here on eBay.