Modern Vespa

So, today the G/F's son sold my...I mean, his Shadow (see Avatar). I guess it was time; since selling it to him for $2,000 16 months ago he has managed to put 200 miles on it. Put it this way: his registration and insurance have both lapsed, and before he could take it to the cash-for-bikes dealer, I had to help him push-start it because his battery had died from lack of running.

Last year he acted like he was going to die at any moment if he didn't have a motorcycle; as soon as he had one, he discovered it was a pain to push it out of the shed and out to the driveway, and a lot easier just to watch reality shows about motorcycles on cable.

After I got it started, I tried to hand it over to him while stopped on gravel and was reminded how convenient tilt-lock really is!

Boo-hoo very sad to hear You know, that I know how it feels to say goodbye to Shadow ...I still miss both of mine (2002 & 2005). What a disappointment that he rarely rode it...shame. Hope it got/gets a loving rider that will clock some miles!

So is this the "new generation"? When I was younger, the chance to ride would keep my bedroom empty! At the age of 12, was hardly home, except for food and sleep! Being the baby of the family, guess when all those boats, trucks, cars, scooters, and motorcyles crossing my path in life, had an influience on me!

>Hope it got/gets a loving rider that will clock some miles!

Exactly. I hate to seem so pathetically sentimental as to resort to anthropomorphism (oops, I guess I'll be hearing from Heinlein about big words), but: there is something terribly forlorn about an unridden motorcycle. Think about it: bikes genuinely, truly need to be ridden. They "go bad" much faster than cars, they simply cannot tolerate long periods of being alone.

I saw an episode of "Nature" about parrots recently. Did you know that parrots are the only creature besides humans that can go insane from long periods of solitude?

Well, parrots and motorcycles, anyway.

Guess the research was done with "humans / Married"?

200 miles? That's only like 3 hours of riding...

Well...a little more than that, if all you ever do is drive around the block...

True, very true. I guess I'm thinking in terms of highway riding, which is how I spend most of my miles...

Mark

I'm sceptical that they have studied every creature on earth in enough scenarios to conclude that only 2 creatures will go insane if isolated for too long.
My first thought is insane for a domesticated creature translates to the same as feral. Domestic creatures become feral if left/lost in the wild.

I haven't ridden my 2 stroke for 6months, after dusting it down, cleaning, battery charging etc. and finally building the confidence to take a gamble and start it down a big hill away from home, it paid off as the short run burnt clean the iridium plug and started first full kick on the way home.