It smelled of motor oil and friction heat

“It smelled of motor oil and friction heat” – Hand on the Shoulder by Ian McEwan

12 thoughts on “It smelled of motor oil and friction heat

    1. Unfortunately not, but you are right: a scooter is the only motorized two wheel vehicle that I might ride where my feet can touch the ground.

      1. You sound a bit like my wife. There are restaurants that we can’t go to because the chairs or booths sit too high making it quite uncomfortable for her to sit. You must be gnome-sized like her (:-)

  1. What a fine old scooter and sidecar. Not a machine for the open road, but great for running around town. Looks like this photo could have been taken 50-60 years ago. Back in the 1960s my wife and I toured Europe for three months on a BMW and sidecar we bought in Munich. A lovely trip. Thanks for posting your photo.

    1. The license plate is one that was only used until 1973 – they seem to keep the vehicle in a very good shape. Stupid me didn’t look what model this is so I decide it’s a Vespa. Every old scooter is a Vespa, isn’t it?
      Aaah, what happend to the BMW? Did you take it with you to the US? Wonderful. The trip and all.

      1. After about 3,000 miles around Europe had some motor troubles coming into Lyon, France and shipped the rig to Chicago from there. Picked it up several months later, and still have it sitting in my garage. Needs a bit of work now to put back on the road. It’s one of my summer projects. It was a great trip, and the bike ran great until the last day.

        1. :-) – summer has started, hasn’t it? ;-) – it’s a wonderful story. Would be nice to see the one or other photo of your project eventually.

          1. You can find all contact info – including my email address – on the About page … I am looking forward to seeing it :-)

      2. After a bit of looking, I’ve been able to identify the scooter as a Zundapp Bella from 1951-1958. Popular in Germany in that era. It has a 150 cc motor producing 10 horse power. From your photo it is obvious a well loved machine.

        1. Aaah, thank you very much for the info. I didn’t know Zündapp made scooters, too. In my youth Zündapp was one of the most common mopeds (50 ccm³). They went bankrupt in 1984. Sigh. Long time ago.
          BTW it’s a shiny red.

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