HotVWheels
Well-known member
So we've all heard the story of the Jack Russel that chased a lorry, caught it and then did not know what to do with it. Kinda sums up my emotions at the moment.
It all happened when I drove past a sleazy pawn shop in the scary part of Johannesburg's CBD this morning...
Saw a funny shape portruding behind a fence, and decided to stop to have a look. At first I thought it was one of those kid's mechanical toys that works with coins at the supermarkets, or a dodgem car, (the image of a guy with a helmet being shot from a cannon in a circus even flashed through my mind), but on closer inspection I realised it must be the side car of a motorcycle.
Now yours truly often claims he knows a lot, but that is unfortunately not the case with motorcycles. My dad said to me over and over, over a timespan of many years, that motorcycles are 'coffins on wheels', you tempt death on it, you'll break your neck and so on. So I never asked for one, never had one and actually never cared about motorcycles. When I was in high school in St 6, some Matric guy had a Katana which was cool. But it was only cool till another Matric guy got a Ninja which was cooler. And that sums up my knowledge of motorcycles.
So why do you ask, did I buy it then? Well, in spite of the really nice diamond-stitched old school bucket seat that is inside, I don't really know. And that is the Jack Russel principle.
When the Wife came home tonight, the conversation went more or less as follows:
Wife: Hi Hunny, what is in the back of the Kombi?
Me: A bobsleigh
Wife: Uhm...OK
wife: WHAT?? I could have sworn you just said BOBSLEIGH!
Me: That is exactly what I said
Wife: Well..uhm... HELLO!! Don't you actually need SNOW to use a bobsleigh?
Me: No, haven't you seen the movie 'Cool Runnings?'
Wife: Yes, I have! But this is NOT JAMAICA!! And they were a TEAM, and your so-called BOBSLEIGH only has one seat!
Me: It is for solo races.
Wife (somewhat confused): You are SO NOT gonna get in that thing!!
Me: He he he he - APRIL FOOL!
Wife: That's only tomorrow - stupid. Serious now, what is that thing?
Me: It is a fibreglass sidecar for a motorcycle
Wife (starts looking for bread knife): Jokes are OVER, smartass! YOU DON'T OWN A MOTORCYCLE!!
Me (worried): No, serious! Got it for a good price, and only bought it for the nice seat for OUR buggy, my dear!
Wife (loosens grip on bread knife): But there is only one seat....
Me: Yes, I know my Love, but that will make it easier to find another one!
Wife (starts loosing interest): Ok, sure, right, whatever. What are you gonna do with the rest of it?
Me: I have no idea!
Wife: Well you most certainly are NOT gonna bring it into this house. Make a plan.
END OF CONVERSATION - (for now)
So I took a few pics:
Front quarter view - very nicely designed, streamlined. Looks like it was built in a factory, but no plate anywhere on it
Rear quarter view, it has a lockable hatch at the rear, with quite a large compartment (no sparewheel mount as one would have thought). From the front it is perfectly symmetric, so I guess it could be installed on either the left or the right side of the bike? It has four of rubber dampers, 2 per side, and inside you can see the actual reason I bought it - a removable diamond-stitched racing bucket that just screams OLD SCHOOL!! :hangloose:
Now I have a very vague idea in the back of my head, and I would love to hear the opinion of the Board..er... Forum. Picture that bodyshell with some old wire wheels, and a nice paint job - don't you think it would look like those early racers of the 30's and 40's? Add a steering mechanism and Red Bull Soap Box Cart Race, here we come!!
It all happened when I drove past a sleazy pawn shop in the scary part of Johannesburg's CBD this morning...
Saw a funny shape portruding behind a fence, and decided to stop to have a look. At first I thought it was one of those kid's mechanical toys that works with coins at the supermarkets, or a dodgem car, (the image of a guy with a helmet being shot from a cannon in a circus even flashed through my mind), but on closer inspection I realised it must be the side car of a motorcycle.
Now yours truly often claims he knows a lot, but that is unfortunately not the case with motorcycles. My dad said to me over and over, over a timespan of many years, that motorcycles are 'coffins on wheels', you tempt death on it, you'll break your neck and so on. So I never asked for one, never had one and actually never cared about motorcycles. When I was in high school in St 6, some Matric guy had a Katana which was cool. But it was only cool till another Matric guy got a Ninja which was cooler. And that sums up my knowledge of motorcycles.
So why do you ask, did I buy it then? Well, in spite of the really nice diamond-stitched old school bucket seat that is inside, I don't really know. And that is the Jack Russel principle.
When the Wife came home tonight, the conversation went more or less as follows:
Wife: Hi Hunny, what is in the back of the Kombi?
Me: A bobsleigh
Wife: Uhm...OK
wife: WHAT?? I could have sworn you just said BOBSLEIGH!
Me: That is exactly what I said
Wife: Well..uhm... HELLO!! Don't you actually need SNOW to use a bobsleigh?
Me: No, haven't you seen the movie 'Cool Runnings?'
Wife: Yes, I have! But this is NOT JAMAICA!! And they were a TEAM, and your so-called BOBSLEIGH only has one seat!
Me: It is for solo races.
Wife (somewhat confused): You are SO NOT gonna get in that thing!!
Me: He he he he - APRIL FOOL!
Wife: That's only tomorrow - stupid. Serious now, what is that thing?
Me: It is a fibreglass sidecar for a motorcycle
Wife (starts looking for bread knife): Jokes are OVER, smartass! YOU DON'T OWN A MOTORCYCLE!!
Me (worried): No, serious! Got it for a good price, and only bought it for the nice seat for OUR buggy, my dear!
Wife (loosens grip on bread knife): But there is only one seat....
Me: Yes, I know my Love, but that will make it easier to find another one!
Wife (starts loosing interest): Ok, sure, right, whatever. What are you gonna do with the rest of it?
Me: I have no idea!
Wife: Well you most certainly are NOT gonna bring it into this house. Make a plan.
END OF CONVERSATION - (for now)
So I took a few pics:
Front quarter view - very nicely designed, streamlined. Looks like it was built in a factory, but no plate anywhere on it
Rear quarter view, it has a lockable hatch at the rear, with quite a large compartment (no sparewheel mount as one would have thought). From the front it is perfectly symmetric, so I guess it could be installed on either the left or the right side of the bike? It has four of rubber dampers, 2 per side, and inside you can see the actual reason I bought it - a removable diamond-stitched racing bucket that just screams OLD SCHOOL!! :hangloose:
Now I have a very vague idea in the back of my head, and I would love to hear the opinion of the Board..er... Forum. Picture that bodyshell with some old wire wheels, and a nice paint job - don't you think it would look like those early racers of the 30's and 40's? Add a steering mechanism and Red Bull Soap Box Cart Race, here we come!!
