Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Hey Hey, they're on their way

There was movement at the station for the word had passed around that the Heinkel and the Troll were on their way.

At last, the transport is arranged. Or is it? It's been back and forth this week. Klaus dropped of bikes with Pack and Send in Preston, just around the corner from his office. But then there was a problem with the fuel. The Troll was still fueled up and couldn't be transported until it got drained. Now both bikes are boxed up, but there's a problem with the quote. There's a debate whether to price the transport according to weigh, size or volume and each method results in a wildly varying price. I'm a little surprised as Klaus has used Pack and Send fairly regularly so it isn't like this is new to anyone. I've left the debate in their hands for the moment. If things get ridiculous it'll be back to the drawing board. I certainly hope it doesn't come to that. Trusting that all goes well (crossed fingers!) the bikes will arrive in approx two weeks.
Today I also received the original owners manual for the Heinkel. In the end that info was no more than you can download from the US & UK Heinkel owners website, except for several high level diagrams of the engine, which is slightly different between the A-0 and A-1 models. I'll scan a copy and publish it here along with the other owner and technical guides.
It also included an interesting flyer from the German Heinkel club, which shows the evolution of the models. The prototype Heinkel looks exactly like an old Vespa (there you go - plagiarism again) from the front, but the back is distinctively Heinkel. It's only a poor quality photocopy but I'll scan a picture to this site as I think it's worth sharing.
I've been spending every spare moment of my time on the internet searching for parts. Even though I haven't seen either bike in the flesh (or metal), I do have a preliminary lists of missing parts I need to source.
For the Troll:
Battery - done
Indicators - I have some on order
Mirrors -there is a single mirror, but it's set on the wrong side for Australian roads. I'll need to find something more useful. The Vespa's mirrors, while original, are virtually useless when driving. They shake too much and have a tiny field of vision.
For the Heinkel:
2 x batteries - on order
An exhaust
Indicators (front and back) - I have sourced some
Bumper
Badges
I know these are all rather trivial items in the scheme of things, but if I can source them now, I will.
PS. I finally told my wife about the scooters. I'd been dreading this moment for while and the longer it went on the more and more difficult it seemed. But with the bikes almost on their way there was no putting it off. I was expecting a much more negative response but Shelly took the news well. I think she's probably reserving judgment until they arrive.

No comments:

Post a Comment