COLLECTION DAY

7th April 2011

I had intended to collect the engine last Thursday but June wasn't well enough to go to the Hospice so I had to abandon the trip.  This week June was feeling up to the Hospice and so that enabled me to call Patrick and arrange collection of my engine.

As luck would have it, Tim (eldest son) was staying overnight prior to riding his Vespa to Italy
( 2 Vespas 2 Italy ) and so was able to join me.  We arrived at Scooter Surgery around 1130 hrs.  I had decided that it would be better to face reversing up the narrow road leading to Patrick's arch as it makes it easier to leave.  The problem with this is that the access is on a blind bend under a railway arch.  I needn't have worried because when I got there there was no traffic about so I was able to shunt back and forth and not hold anyone up.  I don't know why I was concerned it must happen all the time when deliveries are made to other arches.

After managing to avoid knocking over any of Patrick's scooters parked outside his workshop we finally parked.  Patrick was sitting outside his shop/stores entrance drinking a cup of coffee.  He apologised for not getting up saying he had pulled a tendon in his leg whilst practicing a ballet dance routine.  He asked Maude to bring the engine out so we could look at it.  Maude didn't bat an eye lid and quickly appeared from behind some racks carrying my engine.  We all stood round looking at it.  I have to say it didn't look much different to the last time I had seen it.  That's not strictly true, it does now have have a barrel and head.  I had hope it might have looked a bit more polished for all that money.  This had never been the agreement so I shouldn't have been surprised.  There's just so much casting on view and the surface is so dull.  The good news was that the engine had run and was almost ready to fit into the frame.  Patrick had not reassembled the back hub on the assumption that I would be painting it.  Patrick and I hobbled down to his workshop whilst Tim talked with Maude about his pending ride to Italy.  We chatted for a while over one of the units he is rebuilding before finding my box of hub parts.  Fortunately before departing I realised that it was missing the centre retaining nut and Patrick had to go and find one.

Maude produced my "wish list" and I agreed to up date it.  I was disappointed that thy hadn't kept one of the exhaust silencers for me when they had them, it was on my list.  They are now waiting for a new supply to arrive.  I bought some of the bits I thought I needed from my list, choke assembly and various brake bits for the foot brake, not a lot for £56.28 but then this is the cost of scootering.


I now had to pay for the engine work.  I already knew the cost but when Maude showed Tim she expressed surprise at the final cost.  I have to say that it is very much higher than the figure we had originally discussed.  There would be no way that I can ever recover this cost when I come to see the scooter.  I might just be possible if I produced a concourse bike but that was never within my capability or my intention.  So I have a loss leader.  Would I have not embarked on the engine rebuild if I had know the true cost of the exercise?  Possibly not but with the other engine having a broken mounting lug I had little alternative and I had become obsessed with getting the numbers to tie up.  So it's back to the garage to plan my next move.  

Oh, and the cost of the engine rebuild, just £2872.28 (including VAT).  I have the receipt to prove it.