Bowtie you are exactly right. Only as old as you want to be. I can relate to that 100%.

I actually did ride my bike a few days ago and wouldnt ya know it I lost one of the screws that holds the heat shield on the exhaust. No wonder it was making a noise. Bought some regular bolts, lock washers and some thread locker so I hope that will hold. As somebody else said earlier, you will eventually replace the crappy stuff on this bike with better quality parts one at a time. That is the beauty of this bike. It allowed me to get a new bike for very little money and mold it to what I want. Yes I want a bigger bike some day but I dont see me selling this one any time soon. Its a great first bike for a noob like me.

And like you I love the RAT look. NOBODY and I mean nobody makes bikes with this retro syle except the Chinese so I thank them for that. As long as the engine is solid Im not sweating the little things. It's worth what I paid for it and I still get looks, comments and thumbs up on this ratty looking moped on steroids. Love it!

Oh and like you I have a desk job now. I like my life. Take my meds in the morning, work my job and suck up the suds on the weekend with my buds. And if I get some riding time in all the better. Life is good. Look forward to making my 300 miles turn to 3000 miles. Not enough hours in the days off though sometimes.