Like a part of me is missing
I am car-less for the first time in my adult life. I sold the 86 last night. Got what I payed for it, too (or at least the value of the Subie I traded for it). It was kind of difficult to say no when I saw the crispy hundred-dollar bills come out of the guy's wallet. You know what they say; cash talks. I took all my stuff out of the car and bid her adieu. Now she belongs to some guy named Brandon from Cincinnati. Hope he treats her well.
It's a bit depressing not having a car. I mean, I can walk to nearly every place I have to go (not including the grocery store, but I'm pretty well stocked for a while), but if I want to go somewhere well beyond the campus area I have to either get a ride or borrow someone's car. Luckily, Kyle is a around for at least a little while so I can borrow his car. I looked at an old Nissan Sentra today. Aside from an unhealthy amount of frame rust, a little engine sputter, some saggy door hinges and a 45mph vibration from the left front wheel it wasn't too bad, at least for the asking price. I could easily fix most of that stuff, and as long as there aren't any catastrophic failures it will probably make a decent commuter car.
But why trade away my nicely equipped (if old and rusty) lightweight, RWD Japanese rice rocket for a humdrum gas-sipping sedan?
For this:
This, ladies and gents, is a 1981 Suzuki GN400. It is a single-cylinder, air cooled kick-start only motorcycle from days gone by. And it is MINE for the measly sum of $300. Alright, so it needs a battery, a new set of gauges and a front tire. But I can probably get all that for another $300, maybe less. I've already got a helmet, jacket and gloves. I'm signed up to take the Motorcycle Safety Foundations class this Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. So long as I pass everything, I get my endorsement for a motorcycle license.
So long as everything goes smoothly, I think this is going to be AWESOME. I don't really have anywhere to put it, but Kyle has graciously agreed to let me use his parent's garage until I move into my apartment in the fall (where I'll have my OWN garage!) I'm looking very forward to getting on this thing. And the running costs will be far less than any car, thanks to cheap parts and 60MPG fuel consumption :)
CAN. NOT. WAIT!
It's a bit depressing not having a car. I mean, I can walk to nearly every place I have to go (not including the grocery store, but I'm pretty well stocked for a while), but if I want to go somewhere well beyond the campus area I have to either get a ride or borrow someone's car. Luckily, Kyle is a around for at least a little while so I can borrow his car. I looked at an old Nissan Sentra today. Aside from an unhealthy amount of frame rust, a little engine sputter, some saggy door hinges and a 45mph vibration from the left front wheel it wasn't too bad, at least for the asking price. I could easily fix most of that stuff, and as long as there aren't any catastrophic failures it will probably make a decent commuter car.
But why trade away my nicely equipped (if old and rusty) lightweight, RWD Japanese rice rocket for a humdrum gas-sipping sedan?
For this:
This, ladies and gents, is a 1981 Suzuki GN400. It is a single-cylinder, air cooled kick-start only motorcycle from days gone by. And it is MINE for the measly sum of $300. Alright, so it needs a battery, a new set of gauges and a front tire. But I can probably get all that for another $300, maybe less. I've already got a helmet, jacket and gloves. I'm signed up to take the Motorcycle Safety Foundations class this Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. So long as I pass everything, I get my endorsement for a motorcycle license.
So long as everything goes smoothly, I think this is going to be AWESOME. I don't really have anywhere to put it, but Kyle has graciously agreed to let me use his parent's garage until I move into my apartment in the fall (where I'll have my OWN garage!) I'm looking very forward to getting on this thing. And the running costs will be far less than any car, thanks to cheap parts and 60MPG fuel consumption :)
CAN. NOT. WAIT!