I was arranging to have it serviced by Chris and Alex at ACE, but decided to see if it would start this past Saturday.
I kicked it three times and it fired right up.
I couldn't let that happen without a big ride so I geared up and headed out.
With it's reliability suspect, I chose to ride within a few miles of home, but got in at least 25 miles of riding. And as the miles add up, it keeps getting better.
The stiff throttle is getting lighter. The clutch lever the same.
It still wants to jump out of second and third gear, and the front brake is worthless, but it is a hoot to ride.
Sunday was beautiful, so I rode it again, this time a little further from home. I stopped to talk to my friend Drew for a few minutes. It started on the first kick after we ended the discussion.
Then I rode around looking for a photo op and decided to go by the River House that I designed and was completed a couple of years ago. It continues to be my favorite project ever, and that is getting reinforced as Southern Living magazine is coming by this month to photograph it for an article in an upcoming issue.
I was so confident that it would restart that I turned it off. After the minute or so to shoot the photograph, it wouldn't start. I gave it a break of a few minutes and it still didn't start. After another break I kicked several times in succession and it finally fired up. But in doing this, my bad knee got tweaked and started hurting. I could barely walk for a while.
I rode it home and put it up for the rest of the day. It is truly a cool machine. I enjoy riding it a lot. It is painfully slow, going through the four gears.....10 mph in first, 15 in second, maybe 20 in third to finally get into fourth. From there it is good for maybe 45 mph, but it probably takes 20 seconds to get there. It challenges my need for speed, but I have come to the realization that it is a lot more fun to ride it like it prefers. So we go slow and easy and enjoy the ride.
Today I took Rocket to work. When I arrived I had a message that clients on the other side of town wanted to meet to talk about an addition to their house. I rode Rocket, briefly on I-95, then down Hendricks Avenue and San Jose Boulevard. It felt like a rocket ship compared to the old Lambretta. I would tear away from traffic at lights and pass anyone I wanted, whenever I felt like passing. It is such a cool machine.
But I truly like both.
At the park on Saturday
At the River House on Sunday
Waiting for it to be able to start.