TW560: back on the road – first few km

Finally – the day I’ve been waiting for has come! TW560 is ready for a first week of driving in minimum configuration in order to detect any major problems before going ahead and concentrating on the remaining details. I will be collecting TW560 from Andi in a ‘barely driveable’ state. This means: No fog lights No reverse light No internal lights No 12V outlets No windscreen wiper! The hood will not fully open No wheel covers No battery bay cover! Lots of non-connected cables everywhere No serial number…I’m incognito 🙂 but: All drive-related parts are functional! Front lights work Indicators […]

Re-build of TW560, part 2

As TW560 cannot monopolize Andi’s business for days on end, TW560’s revival had to pause for a few days. Other TWIKEs need repairs, too! We rejoin the action for the second part of TW560’s re-build. The goal for today is to get TW560’s back on its own wheels, able to break and propel itself – a bonus would be to have the hood fitted. Let’s see how far we can get today. Last time we left off with the main frame mounted and the battery bay ready. A good next step is to add the back suspension assembly. When this […]

Re-build of TW560, part one

I was very much looking forward to this part: Finally, TW560 is going to be put back together, as a Chimera of TW560’s main parts, TW524’s outer hull and TWxxx’s hood. It will take time to get used to. But I have really missed my TWIKE unlike any other possession I’ve had in my life. It’s a very strange and strong feeling. I don’t know if other rare vehicle owners have similar feelings. It’s similar to how you might feel towards a very old and very dear friend. Anyway: today is the day TW560 fights its way back to life…and […]

Stripping down TW524

With TW560 reduced to a square cube meter of parts, it’s time to remove all parts from TW524 and get its Space Frame ready for transplantation to TW560’s frame. Everything else will go towards my ever-growing TWIKE spare-part collection. I’m really happy to finally have many parts in storage which can make problems (such as this one) go away very easily and cost-effectively. As I mentioned, we had to source a back top Luran cover as the one that came with TW524 was non-standard … and I really want my stock-edition non-modified outer hull TWIKE back.   This is why […]

New hood found!

Good news: We’ve been able to source the type of hood I was looking for: More or less new, no scratches and super-transparent (not a given for 20-year-old Plexiglas)   It has just been delivered from Germany, where it was in storage for the last decade and part of a TWIKE easy which was exported to Germany from Switzerland. Welcome back to Switzerland! I’m super happy. More entries on how TW560’s repairs are progressing are coming up soon!

Tear-down of TW560

With the hood and original Luran top taken care of, we can start repairing TW560. First of all, we have to tear-down both TWIKE 560 and 524. In this entry TW560’s gets taken apart: from vehicle to parts. The image below visualizes in a very simple way what we’re going to be extracting from TW560 during this process.   My job allows me to be super-flexible with regards to where I can work: Anywhere. (Which is important – I travel a lot in Europe…and beyond) I just need my laptop to be connected to a decent Internet connection. I have […]

Welcome TW524!

As one of the parts of TW560’s rebuild strategy after my catastrophic total loss accident with TW560, procuring a new TWIKE was a cornerstone of making it happen within the means available. As always, Karma somehow handed me the solution on a silver tablet: TW524. The serial number of the TWIKE providing the parts for mine may not be too far off, as there were major changes during every single production series making many parts incompatible. An acceptable price for TW524 was found and within 2 weeks of getting the go-ahead from my insurer I am now the proud owner […]

TW560 – rebuild strategy

I have CHF 15,000 to spend. What needs to be replaced? Space Frame Hood Plexiglas front windshield Luran outer skin How do I get the parts … and from where? Buying new parts is expensive. Used parts are the way to go. However, finding larger used Luran components is near-impossible, because they are usually attached to a TWIKE….hmmm. Quite a few people suggested I just buy a used TWIKE and transfer everything of value over to it. This wasn’t an option for me, as it wouldn’t be TW560 anymore. After some deliberation and lots of phone calls TW560’s rebuild strategy […]

My insurance company got back to me!

After a few days back and forth, my insurance guy agreed to my suggestion of keeping the case as an accident and me signing a waiver! This is very good news – this means: TW560 will not be auctioned. TW560 stays with me. TW560 will be repaired. TW560 will live on as my partner on many future adventures. I’m extremely happy! Now comes the difficult task: What needs to be replaced … and can we stay within the 15k available?

TW560…a total loss

After registering my accident – Just a few days later, I get a call from my insurance (I really like Swiss efficiency!) The appraisal had led to the conclusion that my vehicle was a total loss. Given all the money I had invested into the vehicle during the last 11 years, they were ready to pay more than they would usually do for a vehicle of this age and mileage. Before I go any further, here some context: Prior to this conversation, I called a few of Switzerland’s TWIKE service centre owners (very happy know them all) and got their […]