Vespa recovery

So, my Vespa's clutch cable snapped a few nights ago. I eventually got the scooter home safely. Temperatures were just above freezing that night so, it was decision time.

Do I brave the cold and get my scooter sorted myself or wait until the following morning to bring the scoot over to the local mechanic and have him sort it out for me in 15 minutes (it would have taken me at least an hour!)?

The decison was pretty much made for me when I realised that I didn't have any spare cables lying around the house.

I rang my insurance company and sorted the recovery details the following morning. Credit to the recovery guys, a van was over to my place in about an hour after I called.

After making some space in the van, my Vespa was loaded up and secured in a couple of minutes. Just in case any of you're wondering, the cost for the recovery was FREE. It's included in my insurance cover. Like an AA/RAC membership thrown in the insurance premium.

Anyway, after about half an hour or so in rush hour traffic we were at M and C Scooters in Inchicore. The place normally opens at 9.30 but Carl was running late and sent me a text to say so. Just as well. I was late too being stuck in city traffic on the recovery van.

As soon as he got in, he started working on the scoot. It was sorted in less than 15 minutes.

Carl had just bought himself a machine that fits tyres on tubeless rims. Quite a novelty in Dublin as only a few other places are willing to work on the smaller scooter rims. I might bring my tubeless rims into Carl later this month to have them sorted out.

When the cable snaps

A few days ago, the inevitable happened with my Vespa. The clutch cable snapped. It's not like the first time it's happened. It's just the first time it's happened when I'm miles away from home AND didn't have any spare cables or tools with me.

Dammit.

So, there I was in the middle of Phoenix Park doing half-wheelies in the dark trying to get a move on while roaming herds of deers looked on. 

Thank God, I made it home safely. Like my Vespa, ALL the lights were green on the way home (or maybe it was just me imagining red as green!) and there weren't any grannies being extra cautious at junctions.

Note to self: don't leave tools and spares at home. They're no use there. A torch light might also come in handy these days...