It's 1977 all over again
03.29.2003
Today was the grand opening party for 1977 Mopeds, Dan's new moped shop. Moped Army members from the Ann Arbor, Chicago, and Elkhart branches showed up. And, of course, Decepticons were out in force. It was great to see the whole projet come together after months of hard work (mostly Dan's hard work).
Dan made his first major sale from the store itself. He sold a TFR Kinetic off the sales floor; he'd already sold three other models before he opened. That's clearly a good sign. He'll start selling online through his website in April.
Most of us just milled around, catching up w/ each other and gorging on veggies and dip, pita and hummus, cake, soda, and other assorted treats.
The shop area looks great. Here you see Dan's Cimatti Twin Sport up on the rack awaiting a new rear wheel and other repair work. I can't wait to get my Bianchi in and worked on.
Everyone played around w/ the new mopeds, taking turns sitting on them and posing. Most of really like the Kinetic (essentially a Vespa SI). They're not quite the same as the classic vintage mopeds of the 1970s. But. They're solid bikes. I'm more impressed than I thought I'd be.
Swarm & Destroy, the Moped Army documentary film was also released on DVD tonight. It's available for sale at the shop (or online) for $16. The film took third place at the East Lansing "Michigan's Own" film festival.
All in all, it was a good day (despite the bitter cold and snow flurries). I can't wait for moped season to start for real. It'll be great having a moped shop in town where I can get all my parts and whatnots (even strawberry-scented two-stroke oil).
Posted by Miguel at 11:14 PM
Comments
damn- Congradulations dan and Kalamazoo- you have a new shining star
Posted by: bil at March 30, 2003 08:06 AM
I am going to have to make a trek to K-zoo here soon. I tried to e-mail Dan about procuring a few mopeds, but it seems that he is not currently online. It looks like everyone had fun at the grand opening and the shop looks like it has had a good start. Looking forward to seeing it.
Love,
Micah
Posted by: Micah at March 30, 2003 04:37 PM
Hi I just picked up a 1977 cimatti city bike someone discarded .I need some info on it first is it two stroke or four? And I dont have the key for it can I hot wire it?
Thanks
Pasquale Siraco
Posted by: Pasquale Siraco at June 15, 2003 10:53 AM
I just got a cimatti twin sport for 70 bucks at a yard sale, already done some work on it and runs great, but i still don't know how many gears it has! can you tell me please!!. steveneven@aol.com
Posted by: the Cap'n at August 25, 2003 09:11 PM
hey i just got a peugeot 103. im having trouble getting it running and i think its because of the fuel system. how could i clean the rusted out tank? it cant come off, its welded to the frame. i also think i need to clean the carb is there a special way to do that? thanks for helpin me out
joe
Posted by: joe at March 20, 2004 10:46 PM