OK guys, the good news is, I'll be re-joining my family (wife and kid)
so no need to go househunting...
The bad news is, I work full time until Fri 31 August in Naples,
and then report for the new job Mon 3 September in Rome
OK, so it's only 200 miles, but August is holiday HIGH season here and I'll NEVER find a mover in August !!!
Which means having to pay rent in September just to get the furniture out...
Naples Rome = 200 miles may not seem much,
maybe the equivalent to NYC-DC or similar, but that's the deal I got... take it or leave it...
I took it, period. Saves me over $1000/month in rent and expenses alone!
Now, to the bike...
Weeell, I ...
... finally got the old spark plug out, without having to remove the tank
... drained the tank and fuel bowl from 1y.o. fuel,
... recharged and refitted the battery,
... slipped the key in the ignition,
... tried lights&horn hoping for the best,
... remembered to pull the choke
... squeezed my eyes shut and gave it one shy try...
chugchugchugvrrrRRROOOM !!!
SHE DID IT !
SHE STARTED !!
DON'T GUN HER !!! just let her idle patiently...
pushed her out of the garage, allowed her to get that new oil in the system and tried to engage 1st gear
KERRR-LUNK and away I put-putted into the sunset !
OK, I drove "the gerbil's rounds" a few times (around the condo court), slowly clocked a full 3 Km (2 miles), mostly in 2nd gear, a few attempts in 3rd but never above 2500rpm (I'm a tacho man, no use for a speedo), finally eased her back into the garage...
Lay my ear to the ground like an Indian Brave waiting for the train, checked the oil, yep, it was all there, a tad darker but I expected that (oil change in a cold engine)
Unfortunately my ear isn't really trained to tell a loose chain, I know what a loose chain sounds like but it's been close to a year since the last bike ride...
but man oh man was I a happy kid yesterday evening!
So, I'll be busy through the weekend, commuting back to wifey and kid,
but come Monday I think I'll start commuting on the Savage again.
Whew !
Pages: 
