Category: Manufacturers

Scooter Examiner at Dealer Expo

Despite Dealer Expo’s best efforts to actually invite 2strokebuzz (after years of sneaking in as “POC employee” “Michelle Rodriguez”) we couldn’t make it this year. If they’re courting us, you know attendance is down, but there are still things to see, and Ron “Detroit Scooter Examiner” Arnold is at the show posting daily roundups. He’s a little disappointed that the indoor electric motorcycle demo area was cancelled, but he did get to see the Genuine Psycho and the new 2-tone Stellas.

They Forge The Chains They Wear In Life

Forgive me, Charles Dickens. But finding a witty title is a deadly game of one-upsmanship here in the 2StrokeBuzz boiler room.

Motoblog.it shared a video they came across showing some industrious Italians making their Honda SH150 a bit more adherent to the road. That is, at least the rear wheel.

Much of the country has experience a strange winter this season. But I’m sure someone, somewhere, could have used these tidily assembled chains to be a hardcore commuter.

Lambretta Elitism Extends to New Levels
at Jet 200

Once again I’m drinking alone and reading Facebook. I just read about the new service offered by Jet 200 to re-magnetize Lambretta flywheels. I inquired if it was open to Vespa flywheel re-magnetization. The reply of ‘no’ was soon delivered. So I guess if you are one of the ‘cool kids’ with a Lambretta you are set for getting back good spark and bright lights before the next season starts. If not, you’ll have to rely on Motorsport Scooters (aka ScooterWest). How about everyone get on this before Memorial Day weekend when you call your buddy who’s a crack scooter wrench to try and get your scooter running for the first time in 8 months. It’ll probably help.

Any other scooter shops out there have one of these magic magnetizers?

Put on a Trojan

Jen points out that Heritage Helmets now offers Trojan Records helmets to go along with their Consortium-approved Lambretta helmets. They even offer one with both Trojan and Lambretta logos, which is kind of surreal. Beautiful stuff, but, once again, they totally forgot the part that covers your chin and face. If you can afford an extra helmet for parades and photo shoots, pony up!

Bamako By Vespa

Three Norwegians are taking part in an overland rally event called Budapest-Bamako on Vespa scooters. The rally is described as a poor-man’s Dakar and is not unlike the early days of the most famous desert rally, now run in South America for security reasons. The trio are just taking part in the African leg of the journey ending in Guinea Bissau (Yes, I just linked to the CIA World FactBook. Just want to remind people that there is information on the interwebs other than on Wikipedia!), but still no easy task as it appears to be the most challenging part. Their web site and their facebook page detail their progress and challenges. When you think making a trip across a few States in the US for Amerivespa is going to be too difficult, read up here an get motivated to put your big boy pants on and ride.

New Series I-esqe Lambretta Design

Scootermercato shared an Italian language article about a new Lambretta design. I like the color and the headlight has been moved to the front of the leg-shield. The angle of the headset and light position likely taunt those passionate Lambrettisti who adore the the first series of LI model scooters that followed the LD with enclosed bodywork. The photo looks great because the scale would be perfect if those would be 10″ wheels. But they are 12″ and if placed alongside other models it’s lack of proper proportion would be more apparent.

If you are interested in the Lambretta Saga, check out the Lambretta.com site. It is now mostly a posting of legal actions the supposed true copyright holders are taking against everyone involved in anything tangentially related. Tartarini the younger designed this new bike. They should have just done these bikes under a name of a different Lombardy river or maybe just the Italjet founder surname.

MP3, Piaggio Lineup, and Vespa Colors Slashed

Desaturate 100%
A Piaggio/Vespa dealer has told 2strokebuzz that a new 2Q 2012 dealer order form from PiaggioUSA has eliminated a large share of the Piaggio product line from the U.S. market, most notably the full range of MP3s.

According to our source, The Piaggio MP3 250, 400, and 500cc three-wheelers are no longer available to dealers, and the promised MP3 Yourban 300 will not replace them, let alone the endlessly-hyped hybrid that Jay Leno promised dealers in 2008. It appears Piaggio is totally abandoning the MP3 in the United States.

(UPDATE: Other evidence suggests the MP3 Yourban will be available in the U.S. later this year, probably with 350cc displacement. see comments.)

The BV lineup, previously available in 250, 300, and 500cc displacements, is now limited to the new 350 model in black or silver only.

The Vespa line is being desaturated in a more literal way, with a far smaller color palette. The Vespa GTS/Super 300i is no longer available in red, and the Vespa 150 LX S loses its red, orange, and two-tone versions, it will now be available only in Black or Titanium.
Continue reading “MP3, Piaggio Lineup, and Vespa Colors Slashed”

MP3s Lost In Translation: An Efficient Italian Assembly?

SIP Scooter Shop shared a video on their Facebook page today. It is a National Geographic program clip about the Piaggio factory in Pontedera. The video has a few shots of vintage machines in their museum. But one of the views that appealed to me was the factory building tucked in the Tuscan hills shown in the background of the test ride shots. I don’t know if the buildings are the same, but it was reminiscent of those old aerial photos of the factory from the 1950s. Other parts show the processes involved in the building of their larger engines (What are they doing tossing crankshaft halves into big vats of rocks?!) and the assembly of the MP3 hybrid scooter. Not a 2-stroke in sight. I wonder where they build those? I focus on the visual aspects of the video because it’s all in Italian, a language I do not understand. If anyone wants to translate any remarkable points of what looks to be a standard factory tour for the kind of shows that used to make the Discovery Channel great before they jumped the shark, feel free to post below.

Stop & Reflect: Braking Options From TSR

As mentioned here before, The Scooter Republic out of the UK and SE Asia has developed a new disc brake option for a few old Vespa models. Sam from TSR, a 2SB sponsor, sent along some pictures of the disc brake mounted on a Sprint-style fork. Compared to the previous posting on that prototype it looks like it’s gotten quite the polishing job. Bling.

The smallframe, old-style, hub version has also gotten the anti-dive design worked in as well and is currently available via their Ebay store. But as yet I’ve not seen that model mounted. If someone wants to trade me a set of old v90 wheels, hubs and fork and 592.52 USD in exchange for a PK fork with Paoli shock complete with wheels drop me a line and I’ll try to arrange a test!