Coumnist Sam Fulwood III of the Cleveland Plain Dealer has seen the light. And one-man public-relations army Phil Waters tells us POC‘s phone has been ringing off the hook with people “one of those scooters from the Fifties like in Quadrophenia.”
Month: February 2006
Scooter Ball!
This fine example of a scooterball was pointed out to us by POC Phil. It looks like great fun, until you wonder where the exhaust fumes go…
Protect your crotch
Here are some ways to keep your thighs dry in the coming months. (Yup, it’s a slow news day.)
- Metroscoot Lap Aprons by Corazzo.
- Scooter Skirts can be custom-made and custom-embroidered.
- Tucano Urbano’s Termoscud Aprons (pictured above, available from Wheelup’s slow-ass site or Ryan has a few for sale).
- Deiffe Aprons from ScooterworksUSA.
- The “City” series from 365UK.
- Baglux aprons and muffs.
- Vespa’s Magno heated apron.
- Rainlegs, if you just want to keep part of your legs dry.
- Or make your own scooter apron, courtesy Girlbike.
If this wide range of available scooter aprons is not proof that scooters are as popular as they’ve ever been, I don’t know what is. In other cruddy weather news, the Cold Weather Challenge ended yesterday, we’ll post the results when Ryan makes it official.
2strokebuzz/gallery
OK, I’ve been messing with the Photo Gallery, I spruced it up a bit and added some older pictures. Now to figure out how to integrate them into the blog.
2sb’s Chicago Motorcycle Show photos
We finally set up our photo gallery, so here are all our photos from the Chicago Motorcycle Show. We’ll be changing the look of the gallery to match the rest of the site, but at least it works now.
Vespa Turbo
Nitro sent me this video. It appears to be from last year, from Denmark, and it appears to maybe be an early 60s Vespa (note the Hella taillight). I know sweet nuthin’ about turbocharging, but whatever they did to this engine, it sounds freakin’ sweet.
Alarm system for Vespa GT/GTS
Piaggio is selling an alarm system custom-made for the Vespa GT and GTS. It plugs directly into the wiring loom without soldering, though if you’re a GT or GTS owner, I just lost your attention at “wiring loom” and you already blackberried the boutique to come pick up your bike to have one installed.
The Vespas
Surely with bands out there called “The Scooters,” “Scooter,” (two!) “Lambretta,” and “The Lambrettas,” you just knew there’s a band called The Vespas. And you’d be right, you can find them in Detroit. They claim to sound like the Pixies/Breeders/Cure, but i think they’re a bit more grungy/punky than that, more like Screaming Trees (and there’s nothing wrong with sounding like Screaming Trees). Their logo appears to be an inverted (aka French) bloaty mod target, but other than that, they seem pretty cool, and they’re worth a listen.
Rear-view helmets available soon
British manufacturer Reevu claims their motorcycle helmets—with a rear-view-mirror system integrated within—will be available this year, for about US$400, less than many “regular” motorcycle helmets. The helmets reportedly meet worldwide safety standards. It’s a great idea, if it works well, though just about anything would beat the hell out of a wobbly-ass vintage scooter mirror.
3 wheels are better than 2?
Looks like Piaggio could be investigating the possibilities of a 3 wheeled scooter. Who knows if it will make production… Piaggio X2. Thanks to Art in Memphis for this..
Vespa PX200 Serie Speciale Owners Register
“The Serie Speciale model was made in 2002 to celebrate the end of a 25 year run of the Vespa PX200. Only 400 Serie Speciale Vespa PX200s were made and the aim of this site to log the owners and history of each one!” The Vespa PX200 Serie Speciale Owners Register, aside from being the best source for information on the Speciale model, has a lot of useful general PX200 info as well.
PGO and Genuine: a bit more information
Phil and the PGO website (note “English” link in top right corner) helped me answer some questions about Genuine Scooter Co‘s two new scooters:
Continue reading “PGO and Genuine: a bit more information”
More Indy dealer show photos
Alex of Motorsport Scooters in San Diego posted some good photos from the dealer show, including the new Kymco People and the new Genuine Black Cat and Buddy.
Bajaj: Now with magical talking prow!
For those unfamiliar with Greek mythology, Argo is the ship that carried the courageous Jason and his crew, the Argonauts, on a remarkable journey in search of the Golden Fleece. We may not find the Golden Fleece, but we are certainly looking forward to the voyage.
BajajUSA is now ArgoUSA. Not sure when that happened, but best of luck to Al and his Argonauts, who pioneered the whole “good gas mileage, affordable transportation” message back when most distributors were scouting boutique locations on Rodeo Drive.
Manawatu, NZ’s first scooter rally in 20 years
“An affordable vehicle of personal expression in the 1960s and 1970s, scooters are on the verge of going mainstream, but not yet…” Ah, I remember those good old days, it sounds like it’s still 1998 in New Zealand. Enjoy it while it lasts, kiwis!