Tuesday 14 February 2012

The Moped Army

I have news. My mate Matthew has just acquired a Honda Melody! He is as excited as I was when I first got my moped. Farai, another good friend is busy fixing up his 150cc Lambretta tuck-tuck and I another two friends, Chris and Johanli, already have mopeds. Plus there are still many of my friends who are looking for mopeds.

I have arranged that the four of us go out on a ride to De Rust on Sunday, and hopefully everyone will make it. The plan is to ride out to De Rust in order to have breakfast. On the way we will be able to race one another, play around and experience the beauties of riding ones moped without any cares in the world.

Once we get to De Rust we will be able to order some breakfast and coffee, and discuss various things about mopeds. If anyone has a technical or mechanical problem we will be able to discuss it, and find a solution. Then we will meander back to Prince Albert.

We must just remember to take enough petrol along!

What an Idiot


Hey Passola Fans!
It has been a long, long time since I last posted... The truth is, I have been trying to find a way to tell you what I have done without making myself look too bad. It has taken me this long to realize that there is in fact no way of doing that. I am going to look bad anyway.

I did something no Passola owner should do; I did not put two-stroke oil into the tank! Before you go ahead and judge me, let me put my case foreword. 

The dude I bought my little red devil from said to me at the time that I should put some oil in the tank every now and then. This seemed simple enough for me, and that is what I did, until I got back from Oudtshoorn. I had left my oil reserves in Oudtshoorn, and did not have any with me in Prince Albert. So I simply kept filling her up without two-stroke oil. I assumed that she would be fine for a while. Little did I know that she would not be fine. 

The first time she broke down, I had just left town. I did not think much of it, and after a while, kicked her back to life. On my way back into town she broke down again. At this point I started getting worried. There was a acrid smell, and it took me a very long time to get her going the second time. I had just entered the town when she broke down a third and final time. I had to push her back home :(

Not to worry, I thought, there must be something small wrong with it that I will easily be able to fix. Now if you know a thing or two you would immediately know that no two-stroke oil means messed piston rings. I did not know this, so my friend Matthew and I proceeded to clean and fix everything, except for the rings. Every time we accomplished something, our hopes were broken down when the damn thing wouldn't start. 

Two weeks ago I decided that I had had enough, and I took it back to the Kobus, the able mechanic in Oudtshoorn, in order to have it fixed once and for all. I am hoping that it will be done by the end of the week. I have not rode on it since my last post, and I am dying to feel that familiar wind in my hair.

I hope you will not make the same mistake as me, because the heartache of not being able to ride it is almost unbearable. I know that I will never make a similar mistake again. I was an utter Idiot!