<VV> Re: Kid's car

Tony Underwood tonyu@roava.net
Wed, 07 Jul 2004 14:42:06 -0700


At 10:17 hours 07/07/2004 -0400, Ken Wildman wrote:
>At 09:16 AM 7/7/04 -0700, Tony Underwood wrote:
>>
>>
>>Have any of them taken a turn at  the handlebars of that Vespa?
>>
>>
>>tony..
>
>I bought a "beater" scooter for them to ride in the yard and alley.  When 
>they took their motorcycle endorsement test they each chose to ride my 
>Vespa rather than their motorcycles.  Much easier to navigate the tight 
>corners and slow maneuver portions of the test. :)
>Ken



Sounds kinda familiar.    And that Vespa is an easy little tyke to spurt
around on, stuff it into narrow slots between cars, up alleyways, turn it
around in less than two of its own lengths, park it anywhere.     



Ironically, a few years ago after I'd managed to let my license expire,  I
went off to the DMV and got it renewed... and had to take the test again,
regs at work.   No problem... however after I left I noticed that they
didn't renew the motorcycle endorsement.   I had to go back and take the
bike test and then a bike driving test.    I showed up on a modified
tweaked (read: *loud* header and pipe) and borrowed Suzuki GSX-1100 to take
the test...  my own bike being down with a worn out and somewhat flat back
tire, sitting in the basement.   Hey, Goldwings are heavy, they wear out
tires.    That Suzuki was *Not* the sort of bike to try to ride slow, rough
idle and twitchy throttle and ruppetyruppety idle, just begging to bust
loose.    It's the sort of bike that gets you arrested... or hospitalized.
 It was also all jet black, looked like something out of a cheap
future-anarchy Sci-Fi movie only without Mad Max in pursuit.    

The examiner looked at me with a jaded eye when I started the bike.     

The tacky part was that there was someone else there getting their first
bike license, about 18 years old with a small dirt bike of some sorts with
his mom watching, and after I finished and the examiner signed off on me,
the kid came over, said Wow! and asked if he could borrow *my* (borrowed)
bike to take his test.     

Is it just me or was this a somewhat dumb thing to ask?   



Another time when I'd stopped at a sound systems shop to talk to a friend,
I'd parked the 'Wing outside and upon coming back out to leave, some kid
with a nappy head of hair and no shirt and his pants halfway down around
his ass w/ green boxer shorts halfway up to his armpits approached me and
asked what kind of bike it was (the name GOLDWING was on the side in chrome
letters.. maybe Mr Raphead couldn't read).  He then asked me to let him
take it for a ride up the street and back... "c'mon man I can ride it
good."    He was persistent.   He was also about 110 lbs wet and likely
wouldn't have been able to push it up off the kick stand nor did he look
like anyone who'd ever touched a motorcycle of any sorts much less a 750 lb
fully dressed 'Wing.    He acted as if I'd talked bad about his mother when
I said I'd rather not let someone I didn't know from Adam ride off with my
motorcycle.    


Again, is it just me...?    


If *I* had a Vespa I'd have it parked outside in the work parking lot as we
speak.    Saw a guy last week commuting on a Vespa, pearl white, him with
briefcase on a strap across his back and suit/tie.   

Maybe I'll run across something along the way before it's over...  although
it won't be soon since I won't have much money seeing as how I just blew my
budget and bought an old Porsche with no engine in it...    

Clarks sells axle shaft adaptors which will mate a Vair transaxle to the
Porsche axles.    Little sucker is Hersheybar chocolate brown, which looks
OK if it's shining.   However, it's a repaint over top of what appears to
have been bright red.   

Who the HELL repaints a RED Porsche brown?    Sounds to me like it needs to
eventually go back red.  


Humm...   I'll need to fabricate engine mounts in back and a trans bracket
up front, cobble an early Vair shifter (sans tube) and figure out what to
do about clutch linkage.   That, and measure, measure, and measure.
Before all that's done I need to address some rust spots in the pan,
typical nongalvanized 912.   Body is pretty decent, however.   I'll get on
it...   

...after I get the blue '69 Monza finished/painted and the engine installed
in the '62 ragtop... and get the just-installed engine in the green '69
running and roadworthy... and whatever else I still have to finish up.    

I'll be sneaking some licks on the Hershybar car in between the other
stuff.      I bet an evening buzzing around on a Vespa would be more fun
than scraping dead enamel off the  blue'69 Monza.     



And Mel, I know you're out there...  I'll be talking to you about a trip up
there to look at that Frankenvair and bend your ear about 912 Porsches.   

...my daughter has already announced that the Porsche is to be hers, I
might as well submit now.    Sheesh... it hasn't run for two decades and
already it's an issue.   




tony..