A day in the life...

[Super_Randy]

i think you found something worse than Asian tiger mosquitos.

i saw this on my home from work. 71 super beetle

[Maddel]

Took my grandfather's 1950 Elite out for a ride.
It handles quite different compared to a modern MTB but once you got the hang of it it's a blast!

[schwim]

wow, your family has some great bikes stashed away and what great condition they're in!

[Maddel]

The Elite isn't in original condition (unfortunately)...
My dad refurbished it back in the early '80s. The original paint was almost gone so the current design is a creation from his memory.
May be some day if time permits and If I can get some info about the original design I may tackle it.

[Super_Randy]

how about a flashback. a day in the life back in i think March 2003

[Maddel]

how about a flashback. a day in the life back in i think March 2003

Removed the KLEIN's fork to address some headset issues and tackle the faulty shifters.



Well... As expected - owing to th PO's excessive use of a pressure washer - both headset bearings were corroded
thus the rough handling. Man... Removing them was fun! New ones are ordered.





Took the shifters apart. Had no idea how they work so learned something new about Japanese precision engineering.
Anyway... The cracked plastic covers didn't cause the malfunction.



That tiny catch in the foreground (shaped like an anvil) didn't engage correctly. It didn't even move.
There were no signs of wear. So what the heck blocked it? Well a few drops of WD40 disclosed the secret.
The deteriorated 20+ years old original factory grease gummed the filigree mechanism up!
After cleaning out the viscid grease I lubed everything with precision mechanic oil that does not resinify.
Shifts and clicks into place like a charm now! This applied to both shifters so they will go back on the handlebar.

[Maddel]

Ever since I added the black speaker grilles to the Bug's interior I felt uneasy about them.
They look way to prominent in that footwell area IMO.
As an experiment I painted the rear grilles gray to to get an idea about the look.
Turned out not to bad. May be the shade of gray could be a tad lighter.
What do you think?

[Super_Randy]

not bad is putting it lightly. that looks way cleaner! dare i bring back the old school VW term "sano"

[schwim]

dare i bring back the old school VW term "sano"

I think it looks totally rad!

[Maddel]

Ok, I'll go for it then.