Listpic is a cool way to browse Craigslist post photos. It can be used for any location and category, for instance “Chicago, Motorcycles” (above). The only drag is that you miss out on any listings without photos. (Thanks, Dawson.)
Month: November 2006
More on Bajaj’s scooter rebirth
Following last month’s reports that Bajaj was looking to re-enter the scooter market, Moneycontrol India reported last week that Bajaj will launch the Kristal (for the ladies) in January, and re-introduce the Blade. Rajiv Bajaj, who seemed creepily gleeful a year ago when he proclaimed the Chetak dead, is hyping his mysterious hi-tech blockbuster 150cc scooter to the press and making it clear that it won’t be secondary to the Bajaj motorcycle line; it will be “insightfully positioned” (is that Rajiv for “boutique?”) at only 100 of Bajaj’s 500 dealerships. You’d think Bajaj could learn from Piaggio’s mistakes, even if Piaggio can’t. “Given that the Honda Eterno sells 90,000 units a year,” says Vespa Club of America historian John Gerber, “I have to wonder if they would try to compete in this niche with another geared scooter.” I think that seems unlikely, but I don’t think for a second that Rajiv would have any problem pillaging the “Chetak” name.
Viva la Vespa (the article)
The San Luis Obispo Tribune takes a stab at “the boilerplate scooter trend story.” It’s somehow better than average, actually.
Fire up the willing engine, responding with a roar
Canadian TV host Rick Mercer has driven a lot of different vehicles while interviewing celebrities and officials, but nothing could be better than riding a Vespa following Neil Peart of Rush to the band’s “Batcave” for a drum lesson. Peart, aside from being an amazing drummer, has written two books about motorcycle touring, and another about “road music.”
Viva la Vespa (the podcast)
Trevor from Southern California wants a Vespa, and has decided to document his journey into scooterdom in a podcast. He’s still trying to sell his car, and doesn’t have the bike yet, but he’s determined. It’s sort of the podcast version of the Scooter Snoop blog. Trevor will thus be happy to learn that Scott from Scooter Snoop finally passed his test last Wednesday and has his GT200 on the road! (Thanks for the link, Rye.)
Burgdog
Reader Bill Meek responded to our “Burgmania spreads” story:
It’s great that a 2-stroke site has information and links about the Suzuki Burgman. Here’s an interesting newspaper article about a Burgman rider (me) and his unusual passenger that I thought you might find amusing.
We certainly did. Bill and his dog Sandy have covered over 10,000 miles in the last year. Sandy even has her own website with photos, press appearances, and videos.
Piaggio’s EICMA site
I could have saved myself a lot of work if I’d seen this a few days ago: Piaggio Group’s site for Milan motorcycle show visitors. Don’t worry, I’ll still do the Piaggio writeup, but this might give you more detail than my stories, and won’t leave out the motorcycles, some of which are interesting. It’s strange that this site calls the Vespa S the “LXS” wheras the press release avoids making any connection between the LX and S models. (Thanks, Myttrr mA5ty.)
Pssst! Secret Sales
We’re not sure why both the Phils (McCaleb of Scooterworks USA, and Waters of Pride of Cleveland Scooters), would both choose to include the word “Secret” in sales that they seem to be promoting pretty vigorously, but both promise the best deals of the year (in-store only), and both insist you “bring a truck.” POC’s “Super Secret Sale” is this Friday (11am-7pm) and Saturday (10am-6pm) at 2078 W. 25th St., Cleveland, OH, and Scooterworks’s “Super Secret Santa Saturday” is December 9, starting at 11am, at 5410 N. Damen Ave., Chicago. As Phil (the POC one) says, “Santa can’t be trusted – shop for yourself.” (The full text of POC’s email is posted as a comment, below).
Aprilia and Derbi at EICMA 2006
Despite our promise to tackle Piaggio’s Milan show offerings next, it proved too daunting a task for one night, so we’ll finish that up over the weekend. In the meantime, we present Derbi and Aprilia’s new products from the EICMA. It’s clear from just the press releases that Derbi and Aprilia are still not fully integrated into the Piaggio machine. The text is organized differently, less details are given, and the English translation is even more awkward (In Derbi’s case, perhaps a result of translating from Spanish to Italian to English).
Derbi
Derbi scooters are still unavailable in the U.S, but for what it’s worth, their Atlantis and Senda models will be offered in new colors. The GP 125 and 250i have been modestly updated, note that the 250 has been given electronic fuel injection. The only all-new model is the Boulevard S (pictured above), a nice-looking big-wheeler offered in 125 and 250cc displacements.
Aprilia
Aprilia hyped some new motorcycles in Milan, but didn’t have too much to show as far as scooters, not deeming any of them important enough to include a photo with Piaggio’s press kit.
Four variations of the Scarabeo line have changed. The 2-stroke Scarabeo 50 Street has been given some minor cosmetic changes, including new wheels and a new front fairing. The Scarabeo 125 Street and 200 Street have been given “a lighter design and form make for perfect access to the Scarabeo range,” whatever that means, and are now available in “Blue Couture,” “Shot Grey,” and “Shine Red.” The 250 has a new fuel-injected engine. No mention is made of the 4-stroke 50, 100, 400, or 500cc models, which are presumably unchanged from 2006. It’s also unclear why the world needs eight versions of the Scarabeo.
The Atlantic 400 boasts a new top-end design, a watercooled one-cylinder with a higher-flow valve that meets A2 licensing and Euro 3 emissions standards. The Atlantic 125, 250, and 500 presumably remain unchanged.
The venerable SR 50 has been given new replica graphics based on Jorge Lorenzo’s World Championship winning “Spain’s No. 1” Aprilia RSW 250 .
The range also includes the Sonic 50, Mojito Custom (pictured above, and rumored to be returning the the U.S. at a lower price in 2007), and the Sportcity 125, 200, and 250.
More photos in EICMA06 Gallery.
Cheer up, Peter Reid…
This one’s for M5, complaining about the recent lack of football news on 2sb: Sunderland’s 19-year-old goalkeeper, Ben Alnwick, hit a teenage girl on a Piaggio scooter with his Range Rover yesterday morning. Alnwick was questioned and released, the girl went to the hospital on a stretcher. Amazingly, among the witnesses was Graham Poll, who presented the scooterist with a yellow card for her blatant dive.
4th Annual MGPC Scooter Cup
This weekend, Macau (a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China) plays host to the 53rd annual Macau Grand Prix.  The Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix, run on the Guia Circuit made up of the streets of Macau, is part of a dieing breed of Real Road Racing. The notoriously dangerous race is favored by racers who normally take part in the celebrated Isle of Mann TT. Also being held is the 4th annual MGPC Scooter cup. The race is open to Macau residents and follows the 40th annual Motorcycle Grand Prix on Saturday November 18th. The race includes 50cc or 70cc two stroke scooters and 125cc 4 stroke scooters, each with their own class. PGO entered a G-Max 125 (aka Genuine Blur) in 2004 and won the 125cc class by placing 14th overall. This years entry list does not show a PGO taking part but there are plenty of Yamahas and a smattering of SYM scooters making up the race grid. 2005 podium residents Kin Fei Lai, Mou Heng Tou and Kin Fai Chan (finishing in that order) return for this years challenge. The Scooter Cup, run on the same circuit, has got to be the coolest scooter race on earth. The Macau Grand Prix Committee website offers live audio of the race.
Goodnight, Ilene
Saying goodbye is never easy.
Oompa Loompa “scooter”
A custom moped ridden by Oompa Loompas in Tim Burton’s Willy Wonka remake sold on eBay yesterday for $2750.
Vespa at EICMA 2006
In part two of our rundown of Piaggio’s offerings at the EICMA show, we look at Vespa’s new products. Not quite so exciting as Gilera’s, but some interesting variations (and yellow paint!) on some models, and a couple big surprises. As always, keep in mind that Piaggio themselves probably don’t know if these bikes will end up stateside, so your dealer will, as usual, know less than you do when you call. All aboard…
GTV 125, GTV 250
After presenting some one-off 60th-Anniversary retro concept Vespas at last year’s EICMA show, Vespa suprised the world this April, announcing that the three models would actually go into production. All three were basically retro-cosmetic upgrades of existing models. The first, the GTS-based GT60, is shipping now to dealers in a very limited edition that’s probably already sold out. The next two will see a wider release, and are apparently coming very soon. The first of these, the GTV, is a GTS remodeled to emulate Vespa’s exposed-handlebar fenderlight bikes of the early Fifties. It’s been talked-about for a year now, so the only surprise is that it will be available in both 125 and 250cc displacements, and in a traditional green color called “Portofino” in addition to the promised “Avio Grey.” Our prediction is that a 125 cc four-stroke engine in a GTS body will give the rider the true experience of a fifties Vespa — speedwise, anyway (see GTS 125, below).
LXV 125, LXV 50
The other Anniversary model promised in April was the LXV, which brings the glamour of the Sixties Vespa to the LX range of modern Vespas. Again, the only fresh news to report is that it will be available in both LX displacements (the LX50 features the new 2-stroke Hi-Per2 motor), and like all early Vespas (and the new GTVs), it will be sold in your choice of leftover battleship grey, or leftover tank green.
S 50, S 125
Luckily, Piaggio kept one Anniversary model a secret until last week. Seeing the first photos of the Vespa S, we accurately noted it’s stylistic nod to the Vespa 50 Special, but mistook it for a superficially retrofitted LX. On closer inspection, while the general dimensions and displacements (50 and 125) match the LX, there are some rather significant design differences. Most obvious is the legshield, which discards the plastic insert of the LX, returning to a more traditional shape and contour than any scooter since the PK series. The Corsa-style seat looks as magically uncomfortable as the original. Details like the fender and tailight add to the impression that the Vespa smallframe is back, although for some reason, of all the great smallframe models to choose from, they gave it the horncasting and square headlight of a Vespa 50 Special. (Apparently, every European teenager in the 1970s lost their virginity on the 50 Special, so we’ll let that decision slide) It’s impossible to look at this bike and not want to add a dummy tank and spare tire behind the legshield. It evokes the spirit of the original without being superficial or corny, and that’s more than can be said about the bigger and more expensive 60th Anniversary models. The 50 features the 2-stroke Hi-Per, the 125 has the 4-stroke LEADER. Hello, Neue Primavera.
GTS 250, GTS 125
Differences may be eluding me, but I see nothing new about the GTS 250. It seems like every GTS I’ve ever seen was green, so perhaps “Midnight Blue, Lime Yellow, Excalibur Grey, Shiny Black and Dragon Red.” are new colors, but perhaps not. (Are the optional anti-lock brakes new? Does anyone actually want ABS on a motorcycle?) The new GTS 125 is targeted towards European teenagers with a A1 license or older riders who don’t want to go through motorcycle testing. It features the 125 LEADER engine, which as noted above, doesn’t seem like much displacement for a heavy GTS frame, though the same engine will power the even heavier US-market MP3 (or whatever they decide to call it here).
LX series
As with the GTS, the only changes from 2006 in the LX range appear to be displacement and paint. Four engine choices are available: a 50cc 2 stroke Hi-Per2, a 50cc 4-stroke Hi-Per4, and 125cc or 150cc 4-stroke LEADERs. Colors for 2007 are Tibet, Sky Blue, Lime Yellow, Excalibur Grey, Graphite Black and Dragon Red for the 50s, Portofino, Midnight Blue, Lime Yellow, Excalibur Grey, Graphite Black and Dragon Red for the 125 and 150.
Check out our ever-expanding 2006 EICMA Gallery for more photos. Still to come: Derbi, Piaggio, and Aprilia’s EICMA offerings, plus anything else we can scrape up about the non-Piaggio-made scooters on display.
Piaggio shareholders sell 6.1%
Does anyone with financial background care to analyze this? I’m guessing that’s Rocco and some of the IPO underwriters unloading their shares, right?