David Wang and a group of students from the University of Washington in Seattle have prepared a Scooter Jacket Survey for a class, with the goal of using the collected data to design and prototype the ultimate scooter jacket, and to hopefully bring it to market. The survey takes about ten minutes, unless you spend another ten minutes adding your ridiculously specific demands in the comments section. 2sb wishes them the best of luck, hopefully they’ll come up with something close to the scooter jacket we’ve all dreamed of.
Category: Stuff to Buy
Porta Scooter
Another idea we all probably have had at one point, then thought “no, that would never work…” A bike-rack-like contraption that tows your scooter behind a car on its rear wheel. Probably not great for long trips or for a Suzuki Burgman, but it’d be nice for emergencies if you had a light 50cc scooter. (Via Motoblog.)
“Why do you keep calling me?”
MotoGP crash-test-dummy Marco Melandri touts a new Nolan helmetphone. Thanks Rye.
Get it before it’s gone
One of my favorite web stores has a nice selection of nifty Ben Sherman merch that’s priced to sell. I had to wait until after Beeb’s birthday because I didn’t want something like the tire snafu to ruin the acquisition of his birthday presents. I got him 4 jumbo treat shirts for just over $100 (shipping included).
Masterfile giving away scooters
Masterfile, the stock photo warehouse, is giving away six Vinos. All you have to do is register and add some of your favorite photos to a lightbox. It’s still a free scooter, even if it is a Vino.
New garage alarm can send text messages
If you don’t happen to have a webcam in your garage, this might be handy: British company Nobells sells a $550 self-contained, battery-powered GSM Alarm System for garages and motorhomes. If the alarm senses motion, the alarm can send a text message to up to three cellular phones. The alarm runs on AA batteries and doesn’t require a telephone or electric connection.
ScootRS develops new Vespa tubeless rims
ScootRS has introduced their third-generation tubeless rims for 10″-wheel Vespas. The new design improves on earlier designs for Lambretta scooters. As big fans of the convenience of the Vespa split-rim design, 2sb would ask: “Why tubeless?” ScootRS, of course, has an answer:
A rim that requires a tube, as all Vespa rims do, means your tire suddenly and dangerously blows out when punctured. On a tubeless rim, however, you merely have a slow air leak, as on a car. No blowout means no danger.
Super-cheap Michelins
Scott Baxter noticed that Motorcycle Superstore has Michelin scooter tires at ridiculously low prices: Our favorite tires, the S83 and the S1 (usually $40 and $50) are $10 and $12, respectively. Stock up! Nevermind, they’re rejecting orders and saying it was a “pricing error.” Whatever. The truth is that some jerky blog posted about it and they couldn’t keep up with demand.
Scooter Bunny T-shirt
If you, like Zach, want to recreate the famous photo of me mowing my lawn, and unlike Zach, you want to do it right, you’re gonna need Project Porkchop’s “Scooter Bunny” shirt. Lucky for you, it’s on sale for only $9.99.
Scooter lamps
Google News is giving us nothing but a hundred more “Vespa 6oth anniversary” and “Scooters get 60mph” wire stories, so how about some home decor tips? Check out these nifty Lambretta and Vespa lamps by Italian designer Maurizio Lamponi Leopardi. It does not appear they’re for sale, but now you have the idea, you can make one and clear one more milk crate full of spare parts out of your garage.
Deus Ex Machina
As the popularity of motorcycles and scooters spreads to well-to-do city-dwellers, there’s been an increase in urban “motorcycle boutiques” (Vespa and Harley each sport a flashy upscale retail location in Chicago) where the machines are a distant afterthought to a line of expensive clothing and accessories. Deus Ex Machina in Camperdown, Australia has taken this trend a step farther by selling a variety of late-model “retro” bikes and dirtbikes in a similar environment. They’ve even produced several custom “Deus” motorcycles and host a gallery with rotating motorcycle exhibits. While Vespa and Harley’s “shoppes” seem like a cheap cash-in, Deus comes off as a more personal, heartfelt venture, though that might just be the utterly amazing graphic design talking. Unlike Vespa’s ho-hum (or plagarized-and-settled-out-of-court) t-shirt designs, Deus’ shirts almost seem worth $50.
Vesparados!
A Matthew Diffee cartoon from this week’s New Yorker. Available from The New Yorker Store on T-shirts, framed prints, and anything else New Yorker readers crave… tote bags? latte mugs? Thanks to DC Rob, pretending he’s literate enough to read the New Yorker. I wonder if my “Brew City Beer Run II” flyer, on which Brent misspelled the name of his own club (“Vespardos!”) is worth anything now.
Return of the 5-speed Vespa transmission
The newest Scooterworks mailer offers a 5-Speed Transmission Upgrade for the Vespa P-series and late-70s largeframes. I remember talk of a five-speed kit that was available in the early nineties, but I haven’t seen one for sale in the last ten years. It’s not my bag to tamper with Piaggio’s genius, but if you’re the type who insists his amplifer “goes to eleven,” order now.
L&N Seats
L&N Products in the UK have been re-covering seats since 2001. They specialize in Ancilloti-style seats, but can also re-do just about any other kind of scooter seat, and they make spare tire covers. Aside from the usual mod targets and Union Jacks, they have many music-inspired designs (like the Kinks tire cover at right), and they do custom work. Probably the old-school upholstery shop in your neck of the woods does equally good work, but are they Kinks fans?
V-Twin Battery Tender
I was going to make fun of this until I realized if they made a scooter version, i’d probably buy it. Link courtesy of the official yarn merchant of 2sb.