British magazine Scootering is celebrating its 21st birthday with a extra-large July issue. Their website and magazine have improved recently, yet they remain an acquired taste for American scooterists who don’t really see the point of engraving and murals. Even if you’re not a fan of the British custom scene, this anniversary issue looks worth tracking down as it includes a “Where are they now” article checking in on many of the hundreds of custom bikes they’ve featured over the years (a sample).
Category: Europe
Organized Drag Racing
at Scooter Weekend Meinerzhagen
A sign of scooter rallies to come in the U.S.? I could only hope. Also, I could only hope to not stick out like the creepy old guy hanging out near the playground.
From the Scooter Center scootermatic news letter:
The Whitsun bank holiday weekend is over and so is a superlative Scooter weekend! Despite of two accidents on Saturday morning it was a great weekend with lots of joy for everyone – custom scoots, racing, sprinting and meeting great people! Thanks a lot goes to our customer MCE Sport Matthiesen for the invitation as well as for the properly organised Run. We are looking forward to next year Whitsun – a day off and awesome good scooter meeting!!! What else one can want!?
 Small, grainy, but none the less interesting photos here.
Portugese motorbike sales
This weird, fragmented report on Portugese motorbike sales is some sort of weird logic puzzle that only a Chinese PR writer could love:
Continue reading “Portugese motorbike sales”
India and Italy, true love always
The Economic Times reminds us that the Kinetic/Italjet deal is certainly not the first collaboration between Italian and Indian corporations. As we all know LML, Bajaj, SIL and others have made Italian scooters in the past, and just as Italy helped fuel India’s original manufacturing boom, a new wave of Italian cooperation is fueling the current Indian boom.
Continue reading “India and Italy, true love always”
Oldham’s Mod Mayor
Vintage Lambretta rider and ex-Mod Bernard Judge was named mayor of Oldham, England this week. Judge, who is also a huge Motown and soul music fan says, “Music has the power to change things,” and is already being called “The Musical Mayor.” An old photo of Judge in his mod days adorns an album by L.A. band The Jamie Lamb Quartet.
Scooter squirter sent to prison
This will be hilarious to Cy and Rob and probably no one else. Have a good weekend, and if you’re anywhere near Chicago, I’ll see you at Galewood.
Garelli is back, if only in name
Motoblog.it reports that Garelli, thought to be lost forever in the never-ending shuffle of Italian motorcycle brand names, has three new scooters on the market, but as one reader comments, “Oltre al marchio cosa ha di Garelli questo pezzo di plastica?”. It’s another case of a once-great manufacturer that exists now only as a trademark, slapping their esteemed name on Chinese scooters.
And… wheeeeee!
I was almost killed today by a billboard truck advertising a gentlemen’s club. Is this a kindler, gentler solution?
Giro d’Italia visits Pontedera
Workers at the Vespa factory will be sticking their heads out the window to watch the Vespa’s human-powered cousin as the eleventh stage of the Giro d’Italia bicycle race starts and ends in Pontedera. Thanks Lu$ (In other Pontedera news, local chocolatier Amedi was featured in this month’s Food and Wine magazine.)
Tip for scooterists:
How to guarantee a public beatdown
A suspectedly-drunk man on a scooter was detained by onlookers and arrested in Herzogenrath, Germany on Friday, after crashing three times within a two-hour span:
[…] The 22-year-old man first crashed the scooter as he took a
corner […], losing his helmet in the process, police in nearby Aachen said. Unfazed, the man remounted and plowed straight into the back of a parked car. He flew head over heels through the back
window, landing inside […] “Then he crawled out of the vehicle again, and sped off,” an Aachen police spokesman said. […] Onlookers tried to stop the man, but he fled. Two hours later, bystanders were shocked as the scooter crashed leaving a gas station, this time with the man as passenger.
Please don’t ride drunk.
SCooTS gives wheels to rural british students
Herts24 reports that an organization called “Scooter and Cycle Transport Solutions” (SCooTS), with the help of the North Hertfordshire District Council and Hertfordshire County Council, is loaning 50cc scooters to rural 16 to 25-year-olds where there are no other transportation options, allowing them to travel to school or work. Training and safety checks are also included in the program.
Piaggio and ECN re-test FRESCO hydrogen fuel-cell scooter
According to Fuel Cell Today, Piaggio and the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) tested a newer version of their “Fuel-Cell Reduced Emission Scooter” (FRESCO) at Piaggio’s Pontedera testing ground on February 28, 2006. The FRESCO project, (download pdf) was based on the Piaggio X9 frame and is not to be confused with the Piaggio X8 and Vespa LX hybrid prototypes. The international collaboration was supported by Piaggio and started in 2002, officially ending in July 2005. The test in February was a continuation of the project–with assistance from the University of Pisa–with the goal of improving performance. The FRESCO scooter is entirely self-propelled by a hexagonally-shaped on-board hydrogen fuel cell, and creates zero emissions. While the specs weren’t listed in the new story, the original goal of the project was to create a vehicle capable of 75kmph and a range of 100km.
Teenager’s terror over scooter kidnap ordeal
I’d think after my third scooterjacking, i’d pretty much be ready to give up riding in Croydon.
Yamaha UK offers free insurance with two scooter models
Yamaha Motor UK is offering free liability insurance on its Aerox 50 and Cygnus-X 125 scooters. The insurance covers up to three family members and comprehensive insurance is available for a very reasonable upgrade fee. The scooters also include 1 year of RAC coverage (the UK’s AAA equivalent) and Datatag anti-theft markings installed.
Ride for Engerland
Piaggio UK is offering a special Piaggio NRG Power 50 done up in England colors. If you plan to ride it to Germany for the World Cup, you might want to invest in a good, opaque cover. In other news, the new “Italia” model Bonneville is now available on triumph.it.