Posted on 09/10/2014 5:39:38 PM PDT by TurboZamboni
Jac Kelvie was holding court in the parking lot of Dulono’s Pizza amid a cloud of exhaust, cigarette smoke and machismo. Hundreds of bikers turned out for the regular “First Thursday” event in south Minneapolis to show off their Harley Sportsters and Ducati Monsters and talk shop.
While others revved their engines, Kelvie used bungee cargo nets to secure a single change of clothes, a toothbrush and a walking cane to his moped. A red plastic gas can was strapped to the front fender. Passersby in leather vests paused to gaze at the 5-foot-4 man in polyester pants with a layer of long underwear as he was outfitting his short-range vehicle for a long trip.
Kelvie was preparing his 1984 Honda Urban Express 50cc to head off on a 315-mile ride to Dubuque, Iowa. He would pass through the river bluffs of the Wisconsin-Minnesota border, sticking to roads suitable for the vehicle’s top speed of 30 miles per hour.
“I can go wherever I want to on this moped,” Kelvie said proudly. “It’s not about how fast you go — the slower you go, the more you see.”
At 80, Kelvie has spent the better part of his life on a motorcycle or, later in life, a moped. In fact, he rarely gets off two wheels.
Whether it’s a bicycle trip to New Mexico or a moped trip to Sturgis, S.D., Kelvie often sleeps on picnic tables, behind truck stops or sometimes even upright hunched over the handlebars.
“You can go a long way on three hours of sleep,” he said.
With each trip comes a story — like the time he went to see a lady friend in New Orleans for pie and coffee, then turned around and came right back home.
(Excerpt) Read more at m.startribune.com ...
Back in 1959 a cousin gave us two old not running, Whizzer engines. They were made to convert a regular bicycle into a moped. I suspect these were made in the 30s.
My older brothers were able to get one running from the parts. The only problem was we had to push it to get it started as they could not get the starter to work. You would push it, then engage the engine then when it started, you had to jump on it before it ran away.
It was actually a neat machine. It would easily pull my best friend riding on the handle bars and me up a steep hill.
Reminds me of a movie where an old guy hops on his rider mower to travel across three states to see his dying brother.
“The Straight Story”
Whose life did he take?
Did he know Alvin Straight?
Did he know Alvin Straight?
maybe. from “The Straight Story”?
Those are worth some bucks today.
That would be him!
The bike we put it on was an old “Western Flyer”. I think Daddy bought it used after he got back from WWII but it might have been in the 30s.
My Brother used it to deliver papers in the early 50s. One day a guy backed up on it, his rear bumper riding up on the front wheel. It bent the fork and destroyed the wheel. Daddy made the guy pay for it getting fixed.
The last I remember, that old bike and motor was leaning against a timber in my parents old barn. They sold their place in the early 2000s and moved back to where they grew up. I bet the old thing is still sitting there.
The title could be read to have a meaning quite different from the article.
Thanks for posting that. It looks like that model was made as a mo-ped from the ground up.
The one my Brothers made was probably a little dangerous as the engine was connected to a groove attached to the spokes of the rear wheel. There was no shield at all and I could just see a person getting caught in it.
It probably was supposed to have one tho.
I need one of these
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