Rest in peace........JOE.....A tribute

[Blackwidow]

Joseph Valenti

passed away

Tuesday December 20, 2005

J+L sales is closed at this time. No parts are for sale, no inventory is for sale, there is no liquidation sale planned. We will all be able to buy the goodies we always have from Joe again in a few months.......so don't toss that Rupp project aside!!

[Blackwidow]

OUR FRIEND JOE

This is a tribute to our friend Joe Valenti from J&L Vintage Sales who passed away on 12-20-05.

Joe touched the lives of many Rupp fans and enthusiasts across the nation….and in some cases around the world, such as his friendship with Owen in Korea and several customers in Canada. Most Rupp fans never had the benefit of meeting Joe in person. For those of us that did, we are grateful.

I only knew Joe for a little over one year, but during that time, I had the opportunity to hang out at his shop on many occasions and watch him in action. Juggling between the never ending phone calls for parts and working on some project bikes with me was the man that knew everything about Rupp bikes inside out. He was a perfectionist to say the least. He was always exchanging ideas and solutions with Brandt to continue their quest towards recreating the perfect Rupp. I remember one occasion when he was forced to go out to dinner that night because he had just painted my new Black Widow engine and he was baking the new paint in his kitchen oven! Thank you Laura. Often a neighbor or friend would come by unannounced with a lawn mower or snow blower problem. Joe would mumble under his breath how he didn’t have time for this….but would fix it for free on the spot anyway! Joe loved to tell stories about Mickey and the company back in its heyday and how he still kept in touch with Mickey on a regular basis.

I can still see Joe ripping up his road on one of the bikes with the straight pipe doing a test run and wondering to myself, how come the neighbors don’t call the cops and complain. Once I got to know Joe better, it became clear to me why no one did. He was the kind of guy that when you saw him making all that noise, you just smiled and said, there goes Joe again.

Joe you were a true asset to all Rupp fans and a friend to many. We will miss you down here.

Ed DuBlois

Joe, your generosity and kindness of spirit will always be remembered. Those of us lucky enough to be included in your circle of friends were treated like family. It was great last spring visiting your home. I was so impressed with what you were able to get those little engines to do. I'll always picture you riding down the street on your black widow with your lab jacket and hair flying in the breeze. You taught me to be young is to live young and never lose the child inside.

Joe was a man of great integrity and will be missed by us all.

Paul Zisser
RuppBikes.com

It is strange the way that peoples lives cross paths. At 50, I look back on my life long passion for minibikes and think about the folks I've met, if only by phone or internet, that share my love of little bikes. People like Joe Valenti made my dream come true. His patience, knowledge, and creativity allowed my dreams a spot on the map. I look at my garage full of Rupps I've restored and it says "Joe" all over it. Memories of the many calls back and forth, sometimes for parts, sometimes just bench racing, allowed me some insight of the man and his life. He was a great guy , honest man, and I know the loss we feel in our hearts is testimony to that. We will miss you Joseph.
Vernon Hall



Back in Summer of 2003 at the age of 45, I purchased my first Rupp minibike. I was given a number to call for replacement parts. The first time I spoke with this "guy" at J & L Vintage, he scared me a little. It seemed like I was bothering him when I called. As a result I would usually forget an item and have to call back and add on to my order, sometimes 3 times. By the third parts order, I again apologized for having to call back and Joe said, "it's fine, I have learned to wait a day or two before shipping your stuff because I get tired of writing your shipping labels!" It seemed like that was the ice breaker. As the time passed and several parts orders were received I felt very much at ease speaking to Joe. He always offered technical assistance if I asked a question, and spent as much time as was needed to be sure I understood the right way to resolve a problem. I had for a friend who shared my love of these machines. I felt Joe's heart was in his business so this is where I chose to buy my parts.

The red / black 72 is a good example of before and after pictures. This was my first total ground up restoration. The color is the exact paint number obtained from Joe. Every replacement part on this bike (except the NOS HS-40) was obtained from J & L along with on-line technical support. Most of which was late in the evening. Joe would usually reply in a few minutes from the time I emailed the question. One night we were going back and forth for quite some time then there was a very long pause. I just assumed had had gone to sleep. However about an hour later, another response popped up. It seemed Joe had taken a break for a little special time with his wife, however he used a more direct description of why there was a delay on the last reply. He then explained she was the only thing more important to him than his bikes.
Keith Fox




As we journey through our lives here on earth, shuffling the daily responsibilities of family and work, we often find ourselves reminiscing of the days of our childhood. It is, for most of us, a book of great memories that we often feel the desire to return to. For me, some of my fondest memories were the hours and hours I spent riding minibikes with all my buddies. I often think about how great it would be to still be that 10 year old kid with nothing to do in the Summer except to find another trail to blaze or hill to climb. Then, reality sets in..... back to life in the present.
Some 4 or 5 years ago, I decided to embark on a project of restoring a Rupp minibike and to, hopefully, relive some of those great childhood memories. Joe Valenti was the man that made that project happen. Every part I needed, he had. Every question I had, he would patiently listen to and answer with great detail in our countless phone conversations and emails. I didn't take long to realize that not only did he possess a tremendous knowledge of the Rupp minibikes and sleds, he also loved the trips back memory lane and had more great stories than one person should be able to remember. He had that same patience for me each and every time I called on the next 25+ Rupp bikes that I've had. I always envied Joe for having the worlds best job... one in which he never had to stop being a kid.
I'm sure that most people who had met or dealt with Joe will agree that he was a man with a zest for his profession and, more importantly, his wife Laura. He will be missed by many. But, we can take comfort in knowing that right now he's most likely riding his Black Widow in a place where he always has the fastest bike and never needs to work on it.

Here's to one of the original Rupp Riders!!

Bill Woodthingy