Picture of moped.1976 Demm Smily

“Hey, were you at the concerts in ’76?” asked the welder as I approached.”Nope,” I responded. “Man, that was the best, they were just giving you drugs, now you have to buy ’em.”

I was not yet born in ’76 but I’m not sure this guy knew his age either. He was a rough, scraggly looking bastard missing a few faculties. I entertained him though – I was there to do business. I had called this guy earlier in response to a classifieds ad for a $350 running moped.

“I have this moped… you want to buy it?” he asked.

“I might be interested, how much do you want for it and can I hear it run?”

“I just had it running this morning… but now the stupid thing won’t start… I dunno, since it’s not running… how bout two hundred bucks?” he said scratching his scruffy cheek.

“How about 180?” I responded. He had listed it for $350, so this was sounding reasonable, assuming it actually had been running.

He froze for a second, squinted his eyes and glared deeply into mine. “How about 150?”

“Ok… deal?” I said hesitantly, not sure what was happening.

“Alright, let me get the title!” He dashed inside, then he popped is head back out the door. “Wait, I said $150 right?” I slowly nodded and he said, “Right on! $150!” and scurried back in for the title.

When he returned, his eyes lit up. “Wait a second… you aren’t the guy who called this morning, are you??”

I got that bike to ride around town when I was in high school. It was a 1976 Demm Smily from Italy, and I rode that thing everywhere and anywhere. Down to the courts to play basketball, out to parties, or even just cruising around town. The bike played a part in many fond memories with great friends. For the past 16 years, it has been with me through high school, college, my first job, my first house, and getting married.

I used to ride it everyday, but the last few years, it’s been sitting idle in the garage. I thought about selling it every now and then, but it had sentimental value. Mrs CK knew it meant a lot to me, so she always supported me hanging on to it. It’s not worth that much money anyway.

Picture of Tony riding a moped.A younger Crazy Kicks, 16 years ago

But lately I started to realize it was not only taking up space in my garage, but also in my mind. Every time I would think of things to clear out and sell, the moped popped up. After thinking about how much I might be able to get for the bike, I would decide it wasn’t worth selling. Besides, how could I give up on this thing that had so much history and meaning to me?

It not only took up my thoughts, but also created a roadblock to clearing out other things. How did this piece of machinery all of the sudden become something I needed to keep with me? While I was writing about my RSX Type-S recently, I looked through the pictures of my first new car, and was able to relish in the memories as well as appreciate the gift my past self gave me by selling it. I decided to once again pay it forward to my future self. I dusted the moped off, got it running, and shined up the chrome one last time. After advertising on Craigslist, I quickly sold the moped for $340.

Sure $340 is not that much cash. But I still have the photos and the memories, which are even better than having an old bike dripping oil on my garage floor as it sadly sat unused. Now my future self won’t need to spend time maintaining the bike and stressing over whether or not to sell it. It makes for one more possession that no longer owns my mind, and the extra cash can be used to travel and make exciting new memories.

An added perk is, I gained another great memory from selling the bike. The new owner of the moped is an 18 year old kid, just like I had been when I first got the bike. He was really excited, telling me about all the plans he had for restoring it, and wanted to ride the bike home 8 miles away. Now, rather than wasting away in my garage, the bike will have a chance to make great new memories all over again.