Month: March 2008

Self Inflating Tires: Shorcut To Safety or Green Innovation?

Imagine it’s springtime and you haven’t done anything to your scooter all winter (I know, it’s a far fetched idea).  It kicks over on the first few tries.  It’s a beautiful day and you want to go for a ride and burn off some of that Stabil tainted gasoline.  It’s time for a safety check.  Brakes work, at least one mirror still attached, license tabs only a month or so expired, it’s time to hit the road.  But within one block you realize that your trusty scoot handles like you are driving through mud.  It soon becomes obvious that you skipped the tire pressure check.  The Self Inflating Tire, SIT for short, by Coda Development aims to make that last snag a thing of the past.  Their system claims to be able to keep the tire pressure up after a short drive using a peristaltic pump system integrated with the tire or wheel.  Check out their video for an explanation.  It’s worth the time if you like to see computer generated machines in action.  This seems to be in the early stages of development and will likely appear on high-end automobiles first, but I imagine it will be only a matter of time before new scooters come with this technology.  Speaking of that, it won’t work on the old split rims of your classic ride.  Besides keeping you up on two wheels rather than skidding across the road, properly inflated tires can help save the planet.  From Jalopnik, via Gizmodo.

Chilean MadAss Anatomic Advertisment Art

The Sachs MadAss has gotten a bit of a bump in interest lately with the new importer, Peirspeed, showing off the new 125cc MadAss at the Indianapolis dealers show.  The New Cafe Racer Society has reported on some artwork done for the Chilean MadAss importer Apumanque.  I’m not sure if they are importing the real deal or a clone (or if it matters).  But their artwork for their advertisements is very eye catching.

Indian makers explore natural gas models

RedOrbit reports that LML, Bajaj, Honda, and Kinetic are all working on natural-gas powered concept bikes, possibly including dual-fuel options. Just thought we’d throw that in there with all the 210cc nuclear-powered rotary-engine automatic time-travelling Stella rumors floating around.

The Dragster Scoop?

Steve Guzmán spills all the beans he can on the Dragster over at the Scooter Scoop. He’s working for ItaljetUSA, of course, but it seems like a pretty honest piece, he answers a few questions, and includes a couple photos of a prototype that’s newer than the one on display at Dealer Expo that I haven’t bothered to write about yet. Hopefully, bringing Steve on board wasn’t the only thing LS Motorsports is going to get right.

WKRP, and merciless demolition with 2SB

This weekend, of course, is the WKRP Rally in Cincinnati, and 2SB will be there, as always, probably with stomach flu. Here are two non-sanctioned events that 2SB fans might want to check out (we’ll be at both):

  • Saturday evening, early enough that you can still make it to the Comet in plenty of time for the raffle, there’s a Demolition Derby out in Hamilton, OH. We went last year, too, and it was great.
  • Sunday at 1:00, the 2SB-sponsored Merciless Tigers FC are playing their first outdoor-league match somewhere in the vicinity of Winton Woods. They accidentally got put in an over-40 league (they have only one player over 40) and their center-back “Number 2” tells us “‘Over 40’ means we’ll be playing guys that have probably been playing together for 20 years and can pass circles around us.” It’ll be a bigger bloodbath than the Demolition Derby. The Tigers need a good cheering section, and if you’re headed back to Chicago or Indy, it’s sort of on your way home. I’ll try to get the exact address ASAP, or ask me about it at the rally. Bring a mug of “coffee” and your MT replica jersey.

The rally itself has become the official kickoff to the Midwest rally season, it’s always huge and always great, see you there.

Aprilia expands Scarabeo line, offers vacation

ApriliaUSA has added two new displacements to its Scarabeo line, which is now available in 50cc, 90cc, 100cc, 125cc, 150cc, 175cc, 200cc, 250cc, 290cc, 310cc, 355cc, 400cc, 401cc, 500cc, 600cc, 883cc, 1000cc, 1200cc, and 1500cc models. (to be fair, a couple of those are discontinued, and not all models are available in the U.S.). Meanwhile, in Italy, Aprilia is offering a free seaside vacation or a €500 travel credit with purchase of selected scooters. That should cover all the Aprilia news for the next year.

MSNBC nails it

Just as I start mocking the rehashed press releases that pop up every spring, MSBNBC posts what just might be the most honest and realistic mass-media scooter story ever written, or at least one of the few to feature real-world advice along with real experience and research, some culled from the ScooterBBS. Bravo! This is the one to send to your scooter-curious friends.