The leather of the gloves seem like a part of your skin as you slide your fingers through them. But this is all automatic, all the minor actions as you prepare yourself for some fun. For your attention is frozen on a yellow three wheeled wonder called a trike. Big deal some might say. For me “tweety” is a big deal.
But what others think and say makes no impact as you finish waving that fleecy lined cloth over the chrome of the twin headlight peaking above the girder forks. You had the dream all night but now its reality, its happening as you slide your butt onto the seat. You feel just millimetres from the ground but the custom roof is actually higher than common cars.
You give the throttle a squirt and that Subie 81 engine fires into life, rumbling, a soothing jiggle down to your nuts….oh yeh!. The jiggle turns into a throb from that twin 'erect' exhaust each of the four tail pipes emitting its own throbbing gurgle but in unison. Thoughts go to Bennie- mmm think he’d have body parts hard at this point!
You allow it to settle to a nice idle then finally your wife has arrived and you both ride off. The Subie flatty sounds a bit loud as the trike weaves to towards the windy tarred road at a hamlet called Boho ahead then a burst of throttle and we are away. The higher the revs the quieter that engine becomes. Knowing the trike is highly unlikely to ever roll, with all that weight down low, you set about flaunting with the bends….oh wow! . You approach a bend that you know is uphill as it straightens and has an advisory sign of 25 kph….you take it at 50 then at the apex you pull that throttle hard on and the kickdown to second is instant that causes the front wheel to want to lift…..yeeehah!. You know if it does lift the trike will cease turning so its perfect…..the fact is that too much power and rear end weight on a VW trike needs more concentration for this reason, but the ea81 is just right- measured power, controllable response- spot on.
The trike remains in second and as you climb that hill about 300 metres long you reach 100kph and the engine howls at around 5000rpm with a delight you haven’t felt for decades. At the top of the crest the throttle is backed off and third is automatically selected but even though this little gem of a motor is only 1781 cc you get a small shove in the back leaping you forward a bit- oh nice.
You pull up in your garage. Its dark now and the green led lights above the engine shine on that motor reminding you of what you have. An engine not remarkable but adequate, reliable and simple. You take a moment to back off the timing 2 degrees to end that little pinging you got ascending that hill and grab that fleecy polishing cloth to place on the chromed headlights….then you back off- its done, its just what I wanted…and no need to polish anymore at this time.
Tweety thanks his forumites.
Tweety is happy. Tweety is resting….
I think the bug had bitten you too, and I'm not talking about the VW sort either.
