THERE’ S A HOLE IN MY PISTON …..
There’s lots of talk about how scootering is a community but it’s not until things go wrong that the truth of this emerges. I didn’t ask for any help but I got it. Not just from BAD SC but from those who kept my spirits up with banter, coffee and even a hot meal.
Not only did complete strangers rescue me from the side of the road but they also agreed to take me on to Wollacombe. Diagnosing a holed piston was easy but the amount of collateral damage was unknown. Anticipating the worst case scenario I arranged for a replacement top end to be shipped down overnight. On Saturday morning I found no major pieces of piston floating around but there was fine metal dust/paste everywhere. During the morning I’d bumped into my saviours and together we hatched a cunning plan. I’d reassemble the top end and on Monday they’d take me in the van to the furthest services north before they turned towards Wales. There I could ‘break down’ in comfort and wait for recovery. I’m surprised no one’s thought of that one before… (a nod’s as good as a wink).
Any sensible story would end there but, contrary to Dan’s editorial a couple of issues ago, I haven’t needed recovery in decades, I’ve always limped home. As our plan required a top end rebuild, the only extra work to try and get things running was clearing out the swarf. Consensus said the best way was a high pressure wash and a trawl round the parts fair which equipped me with WD-40, some petrol pipe and an old bicycle tyre pump. The exact process will be covered in my book ‘Collonic Irrigation for Vespas’ but you get the picture. The end result was that I made it home under my own steam but sadly the air leak persists and my P2 has seen its last rally of this season.