I had assumed the Suzuki was dead...this was a mistake.
A biiiiig mistake.
While working on the Targa, I hadda move the Suzuki over to get a bit more room, ok..now keep in mind, by all rights this thing SHOULD be dead, running on an old, rusty cylinder and one of the piston rings is cracked, the mixture is completely hosed, the carb is fulla grunge, and the muffler isn't even really attached to the cylinder - not to mention it hasn't been started since we moved from columbus and it ran like crap then.
Dead...right ?
Nope.
Dead-wrong.
So, grabbing both brake handles to straddle step over it, I manage to accidently hit the kickstart with my left leg as i lifted it over the 'ped...CRacck-BOOM, chug-chug-chug !
So I stand there in shock for a moment, and the damn thing goes into that screaming full-throttle flat-out idle that it does when it's cold.
(no amount of tinkerin has EVER fixed this, mind)
As the engine note wings from lug to shriek...I hit the killswitch, assuming that would stop it, right ? Nope.
So I dived for cover as it went semi-berserk on the stand, catching a tool in the rear wheel (which broke one spoke, I later found) and zinging it in the general direction of the BBQ grill right after it slammed into the fender which broke the one remaining bolt holding it to the 'ped - predictably that came flying off a second later, and it being plastic bounced off two sides of the fence and spun to a stop like some demon possessed jai-alai scoop.
About this time it had begun to "walk" sideways on the stand, and caught my elevator cable, which wound in the back wheel and stopped it, causing the engine to stall out before I thought of resorting to 'really drastic' measures.
After a few seconds of awe combined with hysterical hilary...and being like the rest of you guys, COMPLETELY fraggin nutz, I decided "What the hell, lets RIDE this puppy !" and so took her out...nearly becoming a graffitti spot before stopping BACK at the house to adjust the brakes...I had assumed they'd still work, duh me.
FYI, that thing is quite significantly faster than the Targa, with much better hill grabbing ability, but the acceleration in general is much poorer, and even worse due to the mixture being so hosed - but MAN, when it gets up there...whoooo.
Since it is a 50cc Moped by state law...I just might bring THIS bastard to race with, be afraid, be very afraid, it's possessed, really it is.
Lessons learned today ?
Don't be makin stupid assumptions.
Undead 'Peds are dangerous and want to hurt you personally.
Make sure the OFF switch works before turning something ON.
Technical FYI,
43Mph Flat-level Top end max - 39Avg
36Mph Uphill Top end max - 32avg
Downhill buried the speedo completely.
I wonder if I got time to clean this one up in time, hehehehe
-Ree