2 Wheels Maybe

When I was kid growing up in Odessa, I never realized how cool it was that there were so many nifty old microcars around. (But I always thought they were the coolest.) I remember seeing one Messerschmitt driving, I located two BMW Isettas in backyards, and I drooled every time I saw the two Austin Minis. The first Mini was a Brtitish racing green Clubman Panel (across the street from Bowie Jr. High) and the second was an old Mini Cooper in full race mode - BBS wheels, fender flares, rally lights, and a racy three-tone paint job (blue, yellow, white). It even had racing numbers on the doors and lots of stickers in the quarter windows. (Strangely, it was also across the street from a junior high - Bonham.) So cool. To this day, I still very badly want an old mini - but these days I want a classic electric Mini . That's not to say I don't like modern Minis. I've test driven a handful of them and enjoyed them all, but they have not yet become as (or more) appealin...

Normally, I like to write about odd and unexpected vehicles, but today I'm writing about a rare and unexpected occurrence - a reader not only used the comment feature but also asked a couple of questions. This is exciting stuff! The Pigeon Projects (Where I Talk too Much) My e-Vespa Years ago, I converted a vintage Vespa scooter to run on batteries. I replaced the original running gear with a rear hub motor and replaced the fuel system with a 48 volt battery pack. And it was mostly a success. But I made one minor miscalculation - I ended up with a scooter that would run only 28 miles per hour. And Lubbock is pretty much a 40 mph town. Even on residential streets, West Texans have little use for dorks inconsiderate enough to run less than 35. The Vespa has been ridden very little, but no one has run it over! I learned then that the biggest drawback to using a hub motor is that the only practical way to add speed is to add more voltage.  But I had already spent a l...