See, all thismadnessof VespaandLambrettarestorationswill soon
reachanend, just liketheFIAT 500 fashiononedecadeago. For veryfew
menaremovedbyreal meaning,most of them just followthecurrent of
life'sriver.
transparentliquidsandsteelwoolwere
theonlyobjectsinsidea 3 mx 4 mhovel.
“Ok,nowyouareplayingwithme,youare
nobodyworker,”Icried.Afireroseinside
hiseyes,cursingindialectasifademon
wastryingtoescapefromhell.Hehada
strongtemper,Ilikeditverymuch.He
slammedadoorandreturnedbackwith
fewphotossupportinghistheory.“Weare
tryingtohideourselves,frompain,shame,
ordeathconstantly.SoIwantedtochange
myveryessence.”Nicolaiansweredme
thengotagripagain.Hewasindeeda
bodymakerinhistime,theonlyoneina
rangeof 90 km.Beforeretirementhesold
allpreviousequipmentandstarteda
mid- 70 slife.Sincesinglebychoice,wine
and‘frasca’becameverysoonan
addiction,buthislong-agojobwasableto
cleanhimfrom.
“See,allthismadnessofVespaand
Lambrettarestorationswillsoonreachan
end,justliketheFIAT 500 fashionone
decadeago.Forveryfewmenaremoved
byrealmeaning;mostofthemjustfollow
thecurrentoflife'sriver.”Maybethewine
waskickinginstrong,butallthefollowing
verballevellingwassharpandstrong,asif
sermonisedthroughaguru.We
approached the VBB. “I have been told
thatagood body maker have to touch the
machineconstantly.Itisbecauseofthe
abilitytomodeltheoriginalshapeagain,
nothingmore.Butwhy?Areyouableto
growanewarmifyousmashit?Areyou
abletogrowaneweyemaybe?”Istared
athim,thinkingaboutnewmodernplastic
surgery,butIgotthepoint.Afirmwillto
acceptourlifeasitdevelops.“Lookat
thisVespaforexample,myonlymachine.
DuringthetimeasabodyworkerIwould
havepaintedittolookbetter,butnowmy
jobisrevealwhatitis.Anoldscooter
markedbyalotoftroublesandcloseto
death.”Thiswasremarkableenough
consideringtheageoftheman,butthe
bestwasstilltocome.Iaskedhowhe
wantedtoproceed,sinceallthebodyshop
toolsweresold.
“Lad,youdon’tunderstandathingIam
talkingabout.Youmustleavetheballast
totallybehind.Themoreweightyoucarry,
thelesswillyouhavetoexplore.”Hewent
on:“TheVespa’ssoulwillbefree
eventually,freelikeme.Thenanew
engineandoffitwillgo.Mypersonal
farewell.Mylastwill.”Iunshackleda
punchonthewoodencounter(remember
thewinedosageplease)andchallenged
thecontradictionofthis‘newengine’idea.
Don’t bother preaching soul, and profess
to release ballast... and then fit the
machinewithanewengine.Another
batteryofcursewordsrantedoutfrom
Nicolai’sguts.“Youdon’tunderstand,I
wantyouasatravellerinthisVespa,
otherwisethereisnosenseinthis
encounter:theoldandthenewalignedfor
thelasttrip.”Andjustlikethathelost
me.Astrangermetina‘frasca’wantedto
givemetheonlyVespahepossessedfora
GrandTourride??“LetmeshowyouhowI
workonthisoldmule.”
Mycuriositywastheonlyreasontohold
positioninhisshed.“Pressureandage
makediamondsIheard.Myjobisall
abouttouch,timeandperseverance.Since
thepaintisquiteoldIusedthissharp
metalsheettoscratchtheexternal
surface.Hereisthebigpoint:Isensethe
pressurecarefully,becausethestronger
yougo,thehighertheriskofremovingthe
originalpaint.”Afterthat,steelwools
enteredthepicture,inabiblicallyslow
fashion,gentlyremovingthelayerbeneath
thelastcoat.Every 20 secondsofscruba
sprayofwaterwasdeployed.Aquickdry
usingacleanragwasthefinalstepbefore
thecyclestartedagain.Againandagain
tillthelastpolishingstep.Aneternal‘wax
on-waxoff’processrepeated,advancing
by the cm daily.Old rumours whispered
my ears concerning how weak old paints
108 |SCOOTERING|AUGUST2019
