My superdorky “Valentine’s Day with Frankenstella” pic won the Genuine Scooter Company’s photo contest on Facebook. That Frankenstella, she’s a looker.

All the credit really goes to Joni James, the mastermind behind the camera.

I’m excited for the Genuine swag that’s part of the prize. I’d share with Joni but she’s moved on from scooters to the world of supersweet vintage motorcycles.

Public acclaim for the beauty of that scooter somewhat validates the blood, sweat, and tears – lots of tears – that went into her!

Me with my Valentine…

Joni Jett captured this very private moment between the Frankenstella and me over the weekend. (I’m blushing right now.)

Genuine Scooter Co is having a photo contest on Facebook. I think this will be my entry.

Just for the record, I’m fully aware that I’m a total cheeseball.

And I’m okay with it.

I picked up my finished Stella cowls on Saturday at long last. I strapped them to the Vespa to bring them home and I was slightly nervous transporting them, fearing the curse of the Frankenstella extended even beyond the garage. I briefly entertained the thought of how darkly apropos it would be to crash right then, totaling the GTS and the freshly-minted Stella cowls in one fell swoop.

Alas, I weathered the 3 miles without incident.

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Saturday’s Frankenstella project report: freshly-minted cowls, complete chrome kit, Genuine license plate frame, retro badges from StellaSpeed, fresh rubber gaskets… just four whitewalls shy of a total remodel. Ain’t she a beaut?
A full “How (not)To” entry is soon to follow. Moral of the story: there are some tasks best left to the professionals.

Here’s some New Math for you:
Seattle=rain
rain=rust
rust=unhappy Stella

I wasn’t fortunate enough to have a garage until five months ago. My scooters wintered outdoors. I rode them in the rain, so I wasn’t terribly concerned about parking them in the rain.

The Northwest doesn’t employ salt on the roads like they do back East. Boston was heavy-handed with the sodium chloride application, so metal parts start to rust after awhile. It’s common and expected. You can minimize the damage by washing the vehicle regularly to rinse the salt accumulation off, but if you drive in the snow, it’s a losing battle. Luckily, almost everything’s made out of plastic now!!

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I’m a big believer in the online scooter forums and I find them an essential source of information, inspiration, entertainment and drama. Each forum offers these key elements in varying amounts. StellaSpeed is packed with useful tips, and the users will immediately jump in to help you troubleshoot – if you can weather the abuse.

It’s not a forum for the faint-of-heart and the testosterone can run a little high. But using the search function will turn up just about any issue you could ever have with your two-stroke, followed by a dozen possible fixes.

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Before Aphrodite and the Frankenstella burst into my life, I had a series of Hondas. My first scooter on the East Coast was a new 1998 Elite 80cc. It was very cute, and white, and according to the manual could handle 2-up riding. The bench-style seat was surely comfortable enough for two, and it even had fold-out passenger foot rests. The only problem was that I lived in Somerville, atop a series of exceedingly steep hills. A few of those required my passenger to dismount halfway and meet me at the top. In retrospect, my friends probably benefitted from the exercise.

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Roger Tango is my hero.

The Frankenstella’s story is an unbelievable tale fraught with so much intense emotion that I’ve tired of even discussing it. Especially among my scooterless friends, who simply don’t understand the level of involvement I have with Celeste.

I had so much invested in that bike that I decided the best plan of action would be to take her off the road, restore her to showroom condition, and retire her to my garage, perhaps taking her out on sunny days for a spin around the lake. Hence the purchase of the new Vespa. I had totally and completely written her off as a viable form of transportation.

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