Month: April 2006

MetroSpecial Stella

Metro Special StellaIn the spirit and tradition of 1960s dealer specials like Andre Baldet’s “Arc-en-Cielâ€? and Eddy Grimstead’s “Hurricaneâ€? Vespas (both very well-documented in issue 48-49 of American Scooterist), Cincinnati’s Metro Scooters has revealed their “MetroSpecial.â€? Strangely, there’s nothing on their site about it, but the one they gave away in the WKRP raffle appeared to be a stock silver Stella with custom rims, racing stripes, and a windscreen. The brochure from the rally says it’s available in tangerine, red, and mint as well.

GRO’s Electroscoot

Electric scooters, usually a heavy battery and a rubber belt jammed into a Chinese faux-Vino frame, don’t generally wow us here at 2sb, but GRO Design’s Electroscoot is an amazing design, even if it is just a concept and its specs don’t really set it apart from other electric bikes. But one can dream. (link courtesy Motoblog, where you can see photos without waiting for Flash.)

Schwinn & TNG links linked?

We’re still getting a lot of hits from Schwinn’s link, and we just noticed that they’ve borrowed more than design cues from TNG:
Schwinn Scooters’ “Extras” Page
TNG Motor Scooters’ “Extras” page
Which got us thinking “maybe they’re actually related somehow” but Whois records and Google searches provide no indication that CMSI (TNG’s parent company in Washington state) is involved in Schwinn Scooters (a division of Pacific Cycle who own Schwinn, Mongoose and GT, based near the Pacific in Madison, WI). I’ve emailed TNG to hopefully find out more.
(UPDATE: 4-18-06: It turns out there’s much more to the story.)

Revealed: Excerpt from Quadrophenia the Musical

Jimmy:What the bloody hell you doin’?

Postman:We could’ve killed you!

Jimmy: (Singing) Ah, fuckin’ heellllll!
Look what you’ve doooone!
You cuuuunts!

Postman: (chanting) Why didn’t you stop? Why didn’t you stop!

Jimmy: (Singing) You’ve killed me scooter!
Look what you’ve doooone!
Fuck off! Leave it alone!
Get off it! Why don’t you kiiiiilll me?
All of ya! Fuck off! (jazz hands)
(etc.)

Quadrophenia heading for the stage

First there was ABBA’s “Mamma Mia”, then Queen’s “We Will Rock You.” We even have the “Boney M” musical arriving in London’s West End later this year.

However, pretty soon it looks like we will have The Who’s Quadrophenia made into an on stage musical as well.

I wonder if they will have the scooters riding around on the stage?

(note: we just realized the linked story was from 2001… oh well.)

Bajaj stops production of geared scooters, ArgoUSA future uncertain

Maharashtra Scooters, the factory that produces the Bajaj Chetak, has stopped production of manual-transmission scooters. 2,450 Chetaks remain on the factory floor, and it appears ArgoUSA (formerly Bajaj) isn’t expecting any more: (From their site)

“We are working to solidify relationships with other scooter manufacturers that can provide us with the quality and reliability that is expected by the American scooter rider.”

BajajUSA’s sales message of economy and practicality was ahead of its time in the US, when other importers were pitching scooters as luxury toys to internet millionaires, and $3/gal. gas was unthinkable. A serious blow was dealt by the introuduction of the similar, but trendier—and not-much-more-expensive—Genuine Stella about a year later. The Bajaj featured a more modern and fuel-efficient 4-stroke engine, and owners and dealers gave the Chetak and Legend high marks, but the Stella’s arrival, and a seeming lack of interest in the US market from Bajaj HQ, loomed over BajajUSA for the last couple years. (Another Maharashtra Scooters story)