The Story of Peter Caroline
 My scootering career began at Ft. Belvoir, VA, in 1957, when I bought a
1954 NSU/Lambretta 3-speed scooter, which I subsequently drove home to
Boston, MA, after I was discharged. It was a 4-day trip, and great fun. I
made the mistake of selling it when I got home and buying a 1953 Austin
A40 sedan. What a POS!
After many years of driving boring cages, I purchased a used 125cc
Aermacchi-built “Hardly-Davidson” motorcycle. I managed to get it airborne
and upside-down at one point, fortunately in a field and not on the
pavement. The Hardly was followed by some odd moped of Italian or Austrian
origin – I can’t recall. It was a bitch to start and wouldn’t go over 25
mph.
In 1995, I moved from MA to AZ, and shortly afterward, acquired a used
Honda Elite 80. We get about 350 days of good scooter riding weather every
year here in southern AZ. When I discovered that anything over 50cc
required a motorcycle endorsement on my license, I took the course at a
local community college and got qualified. Unfortunately, this gave me the
brilliant idea that, now that I was licensed, I should have a real
motorcycle. I sold the Elite and bought a Honda Shadow VLX. It was a
lovely bike, fast and black and shiny, and it weighed 452 lbs. I know how
much it weighed because when it fell on me, it broke my leg in three
places, necessitating a titanium rod implant.
Okay, so a man’s gotta know his limitations. I sold the Shadow, and with
the proceeds, had a custom revolver built and also bought a used Kymco
People 50 scooter. Now there is one great little machine! But I
made the mistake of frequenting ScootOver in Tucson, where I bought the
Kymco. The ScootOver people are a friendly and knowledgeable bunch, and
they also sold Stellas, which they convinced me to try out. I’d learned to
ride on a manual shift scooter, and I took to the Stella like the
proverbial duck to water. It cost me $3,000 to scratch that itch, but it
was well worth it. I’ve since added a performance muffler, a windscreen, a
top case, a front package rack and several other goodies, and when the
tires get old, I plan to spring for whitewalls (for un bella figura!).
I have about 2,500 miles on Stella, and I love it. With nearly 90 mpg,
it’s a far more practical shopping and commuting vehicle than my 15-mpg
Chevy pickup. I’d really like an extra 100cc, but that’s not an option,
and it would probably get me into trouble.
Peter Caroline
Green Valley, Arizona |
