Zundapp Bella

[mini-me]

Mad, just mad.

Beauty is also retrospective, all that bathtub stuff amd trimmings I, we, threw away was, in my case to turn my old Thunderbird into a Bonneville look alike.
Now I feel quite nostalgic for that old iron head 6T I did 1000s of miles on.
Sometimes they turned out quite well thanks to the  numerous breakers yards I did the rounds of.
No one bothered about the matching number nonsense back then, all we wanted was for it to go like excrement from a digging implement, and a T120 pulled the birds better than a bathtub 6T.

Now I feel quite nostalgic for that old iron head 6T I did 1000s of miles on.

[33d6]

Hi Mini-me,
1950's scooters were very handy when I was in that single income, small children, big mortgage stage of life. They were cheap, they were reliable, had a spare wheel, were clean to ride and motorists actually saw you and treated you as another car driver. For round town work and commuting they were great fun and with small children at home the leash was pretty tight in those days.
This was in the 70's and 80's and they were more than cheap, people gave them away. I was given a GS160 Vespa. It was a little beauty and only went to finance my first lathe. I finally ended up with a Rabbit Superflow, Pathetic name but brilliant machine. Earles fork front end, electric start, adjustable airbag rear suspension, hydraulic torque converter transmission, and built like the proverbial brick whatsit. Made by ship builders Fuji Heavy Industries it was obvious they'd given their marine engineers a little side job for amusement. The marine engineering thinking was evident everywhere. Everything made to do its job effectively and to do it for a long time. Scooters gave me a lot of satisfaction when money was very short.
 
Cheers,

[Rex]

Like all machines where the rider sits so far above the C of G, 'orrible to ride though?
I think I'd have a Honda C50 if I was that desperate, and they're shite to ride too, although the Honda Benleys and Bantams which followed were at least fun to ride.

[mini-me]

Rex, I used to think like that too, but I have found my Piaggio with big wheels surprising in its handling, I can ride it to a standstill feet up. Hardest to get used to is not changing gear to go round corners.

I have to get off it sideways, like a tart in a tight slirt, now and again I forget and try to dismount like a real bike, and end up on the floor with it.

But you can't beat a proper motorcycle, preferably vintage, big wheels a lively engine and just enough tubes to hold it all together, like my 1933 A2 Levis I wish I'd never sold.

Before the Piaggio I also had a Honda 90 stepthrough, and yes it was crap.


When money was short here in UK,[when wasn't it?] I could always find some old banger for transport, such as an AJS 350 for £1.50, a BSA C12 for a fiver, had several baskets cases for free. Never  paid more than a fiver for an MZ back the 80s

Which is what I meant when I said we have been spoilt here.