Bajaj sidecar antics, starring POCPhil

Bajaj wheelie!

Rossi is allright, but he’s no Phil Waters, who sent us his tips for scooter sidecar jackassery, in this case featuring a Bajaj/Scooterworks sidecar combo:

  • 3-wheel-skid: “With a 120 lb. rider we achieved full 3 wheel drift with a reasonable amount of control. Note the tire stripes on the entire parking lot.”
  • Stoppie: “We completely “Stoppied” a sidecar rig (with the back tire a foot off the ground).” [no video of this one-2sb]
  • Wheelie: “More dangerous than you’d think– If you try it from a dead stop or anything other than a left-skid it pulls too strong to the right causing you to simply ‘drive around’ the sidecar and nothing goes airborne… but you do end up running into whatever is to the right of you.”

Video from POC’s Avon Lake Ohio City testing ground: clip 1, clip 2, clip 3. (right-click to download)

LML seeks investors as Bajaj sales soar.

As LML seeks partners to help get back on its feet, (wasn’t Piaggio’s Roberto Colaninno just talking about investing in the Indian market?) Bajaj Auto reported a 37% increase in motorcycle sales this April (“Big deal,” you might say, “it’s spring, of course they sold well,” but that’s 37% over April 2005’s sales). Apparently the 137,858 bikes they sold last month are justification that it was time to ditch the Chetak.

Buddy 125 Assembly Line

Genuine Buddy scooters on the assembly line

PJ Chmiel at Genuine Scooters has posted some new photos of the first Buddy 125 scooters being assembled at the PGO Factory in Taiwan. These bikes are on the way to the US now, and should arrive here in about a month. The 50cc Buddy and Black Cat models are expected in early July. Genuine also plans to introduce two more PGO models to the US this summer (“but not the 3-wheeler,” says PJ). We’re betting the quite-cool PGO EVO G-Max is one of them, that’s the scooter PJ rode from Chicago to Cincinnati and back last month.

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.

LML locks out workers at “Stella” factory.

DNA India reports that LML has locked out workers at their Kanpur plant, where Genuine’s Stella scooter, among other scooters and motorcycles, is manufactured. LML declared the lockout this morning in response to “external rowdy elements…disrupting the peaceful atmosphere and working of the factory.” LML management failed to pay employees full wages and has suspended production in response to financial losses and restructuring.

Genuine Black Cat

At the Dealer Expo in Indianapolis last weekend, Genuine Scooter Co. (of Stella fame) unveiled their Black Cat scooter, and some other surprises. Not much technical info there, but it’s eyecatching, i’m guessing PJ had something to do with that and hopefully he’ll chime in with some backstory. We’re also hoping to repost Phil Waters’ (of POC Scooters) recap of the DealerExpo later today, if he gives us permission.

PX150/Stella compared!

Adding fuel to the fire (which is how he broke my chiminea) Rob Hodge points out that The Scooter Lounge has posted a history of LML’s relationship with Piaggio and a comparison chart of the two scooters. According to the chart, the only plus of the PX is the larger brake disc, but then again, they (and Hodge) sell Stellas. The PXes are on the street now, so I’m sure some more hands-on comparisons will start springing up.