Paso musings - the ramblings of a lucky man...
Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 1:54 pm
Some of you might have seen Rhino's post about a nice blue Paso 750 up for sale on eBay... well it is my bike that's being advertised, or should I say was being advertised...because this morning I ended the sale. I am going to be allowed to keep the bike. Hang on, I hear some of you say...he said 'allowed'... is this guy a man or a mouse?? Let me explain.
I've just calculated that I've known my wife for 72% of my entire life, indeed we have been married for 69% of it (and in case some of you think this is Methuselah here chipping away at a stone tablet somewhere, I've just turned 55!!). So she knows me pretty well - my foibles, my indulgences and, hopefully now and again, a few of my good points!!! She also knows that, apart from motorbikes, one of my long term abiding interests is in the science of aquaponics. Basically this is all about growing fish in tanks then circulating the water through growbeds in which plants grow in a kind of mini ecosystem that gives you fast growing fresh organic veggies and fish to eat. I've hankered after setting up a system for years and this year actually went about making it happen.
Now life is, usually, a series of compromises. And in this case my compromise was to fund the required polytunnel by letting my Paso 750 go. Maybe as I've grown older I've accepted that you can't have everything [I know Queen sang 'I want it all and I want it now' but for us mere mortals that usualy doesnt work!]. After all the Paso was a bit surplus to requirements, had been an impulse purchase (although I'd admired them for years, never quite understanding why they had never had the recognition they deserved for being such a groundbreaking, individual bike) and was very much a second bike to my BMW R1200RT.
So last September, when the MOT ran out I cleaned the Paso, popped it up on the paddock stands to preserve the tyres, plugged in the Optimate and covered it over with a duvet to keep it safe and sound. And up it went for sale. There was some tentative interest (it is a nice example, just ask Rhino) but it didnt move. Hardly surprising as we were heading into winter so I let things go quiet until a couple of weeks ago and then readvertised it and it has definitely been generating more interest this time.
To be honest, over the winter I found I had been ignoring the bike, in fact postively avoiding it. I didnt want to look at it, didnt want to fettle it. Ok I occasionally started it up but that was more out of necessity than out of a desire to hear it running. I guess, in fact, what I was doing was turning my back on it...casting it adrift, so to speak. Distancing myself from it.
And then last night, still full prepared to uphold my end of the agreement to sell the Paso to cover some of the cost of my aquaponics indulgence, I admitted to my wife that I wished it didnt have to go. And she said ok...keep it. No strings, no 'payback', no quid pro quo. Like I said - Oh lucky man indeed.
So I went out the garage, peeled back the cover and just looked at the bike. And it was then I realised I already felt different about it.
Ok, it's quirky, hey it's a Paso!
Ok, at somepoint soon I'm going to have to put some spanners on it for some TLC...and change the tyres... and do the belts and...and...
But what I really felt, instead of studied indifference, was a sense of pleasure, a sense of relief and a feeling of happiness.
Happy that I am going to be able to keep something that has individuality,
that isn't a UJM or faceless squids sportsbike,
something that people actually notice and ask me questions about,
something that is a bit of biking history,
something special! :-)
I've just calculated that I've known my wife for 72% of my entire life, indeed we have been married for 69% of it (and in case some of you think this is Methuselah here chipping away at a stone tablet somewhere, I've just turned 55!!). So she knows me pretty well - my foibles, my indulgences and, hopefully now and again, a few of my good points!!! She also knows that, apart from motorbikes, one of my long term abiding interests is in the science of aquaponics. Basically this is all about growing fish in tanks then circulating the water through growbeds in which plants grow in a kind of mini ecosystem that gives you fast growing fresh organic veggies and fish to eat. I've hankered after setting up a system for years and this year actually went about making it happen.
Now life is, usually, a series of compromises. And in this case my compromise was to fund the required polytunnel by letting my Paso 750 go. Maybe as I've grown older I've accepted that you can't have everything [I know Queen sang 'I want it all and I want it now' but for us mere mortals that usualy doesnt work!]. After all the Paso was a bit surplus to requirements, had been an impulse purchase (although I'd admired them for years, never quite understanding why they had never had the recognition they deserved for being such a groundbreaking, individual bike) and was very much a second bike to my BMW R1200RT.
So last September, when the MOT ran out I cleaned the Paso, popped it up on the paddock stands to preserve the tyres, plugged in the Optimate and covered it over with a duvet to keep it safe and sound. And up it went for sale. There was some tentative interest (it is a nice example, just ask Rhino) but it didnt move. Hardly surprising as we were heading into winter so I let things go quiet until a couple of weeks ago and then readvertised it and it has definitely been generating more interest this time.
To be honest, over the winter I found I had been ignoring the bike, in fact postively avoiding it. I didnt want to look at it, didnt want to fettle it. Ok I occasionally started it up but that was more out of necessity than out of a desire to hear it running. I guess, in fact, what I was doing was turning my back on it...casting it adrift, so to speak. Distancing myself from it.
And then last night, still full prepared to uphold my end of the agreement to sell the Paso to cover some of the cost of my aquaponics indulgence, I admitted to my wife that I wished it didnt have to go. And she said ok...keep it. No strings, no 'payback', no quid pro quo. Like I said - Oh lucky man indeed.
So I went out the garage, peeled back the cover and just looked at the bike. And it was then I realised I already felt different about it.
Ok, it's quirky, hey it's a Paso!
Ok, at somepoint soon I'm going to have to put some spanners on it for some TLC...and change the tyres... and do the belts and...and...
But what I really felt, instead of studied indifference, was a sense of pleasure, a sense of relief and a feeling of happiness.
Happy that I am going to be able to keep something that has individuality,
that isn't a UJM or faceless squids sportsbike,
something that people actually notice and ask me questions about,
something that is a bit of biking history,
something special! :-)
). Yeah I know what you mean . I think they are all a bit quirky.... probly what made them attractive in the 1st place. 
