Finally something worth lobbying about! Colorado Springs is hosting the 2012 Lambretta Jamboree and somehow convinced the city council to declare June 30th Lambretta Day in Colorado Springs. Good work Adam.
Now Here’s Something You Don’t See Everyday..
Not wanting blend in with the crowd? Looking for something that makes a Heinkel look pedestrian? Well check out this scoot.net ad for the rarest of the rare in the scooter world – a Bastert Einspurauto. Compared to the utilitarian offerings from Vespa and Lambretta in 1952, the outrageous German Bastert looks like it came from another world with an amazing attention to detail and unheard of luxury for a two wheeled vehicle. We would love to know who ends up this!
Vintagelectric: A Split Mind For A Modern World
Good design is timeless. Even though some talentless hacks think that the creator of the Fido electric scooter is a bit ‘hung up on vintage scooters’, I think this electric conversion kit for Vespa Smallframe scooters is the best choice for someone wanting an scooter that doesn’t have a carbon footprint (at least not anywhere near your back yard!).
Jeb has put together a kit that has all the speed with less of the range. Now it’s not cost effective in terms of being all inclusive or as cheap as a competitive performing scooter. But there isn’t design on the market that can rival a PK in terms of ergonomics or a Primavera in terms of aesthetic. None.
Wanting a retro design isn’t something that’s dated in itself. The drive for anything NEW is what fuels our disposable society. There is no shame in saying someone got it right 40 years ago and no one has done better since. You’re likely not in that contest so don’t worry about looking bad.
Bikini Buddies
You can’t buy publicity like this, but if you could, you’d be sure they cited the right brand of scooter in the caption. Between this photo, gas price paranoia, and the weather, I bet it’s been a busy coupl’a days at Genuine dealers nationwide.
Continue reading “Bikini Buddies”
Vegas High Rollers Gallery 2012
If you’re like me, you hate the idea of the city of Las Vegas on principle, but it’s worth the trip every few years to remind yourself, “anywhere is incredibly fun, with enough scooterists.” I skipped the rally this year, but our pal Jordan from the Mayday SC was there with the mob of British and U.S. scooterists, and brought back a bunch of great photos. Thanks, Jordan!
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Scooter Poetry!
My pal Jamie just came across an epic poem about a 1984 Honda Elite for sale. No idea what the backstory is, and I can’t backtrack on the site to learn more about author Paul Ruby, but I’d like to think it started life as a Craigslist ad. “Max’s Scooter Page” of Scooter Quotations & Poetry dates it to 2005, and features lots more scooter poems and humorous quotes, some from a few familiar names of the Usenet days, and the early ScooterBBS. Crazy!
More Scootsafely
Just wanted to remind you that scootsafely.com continues to kick ass, posting long, well-researched, must-read posts, far more frequently than our scattershot sentence or two of blather here. If you’re not RSSing it and watching for new posts, get on it. We’ve been around the block and seen a lot of scooter sites come and go, and if history is any indication, the sites that burn the brightest burn the quickest, so here’s hoping Alan doesn’t burn out and keeps his great site going.
Calendar Update
Just updated our Scooter Rally Calendar (down to the right there, see it?) with a few emails and facebook invites we’d recently received. If you have a scooter-related event you’d like to add, just drop us a line (if you did already, we missed it, try again!) or link it up to our facebook page. Thanks!
Even More Lambretta Elitism
The 2012 Lambretta Jamboree put on by the Lambretta Club USA will be held in lovely Colorado Springs, Colorado this summer, just one week after Amerivespa. While Amerivespa is open to any type of scooter and has even been sponsored by the likes of Kymco in the past, the Lambretta Jamboree is 100% vintage – 100% Lambretta. You have an all original 1963 Vespa GS160? Well that’s cute but you aren’t getting in the LamJam with it. 2SB will be reporting at both rallies.
Vespa/Lambretta Cable Lengths
One of the most super-helpful pages on the internet, SCOMO’s table of vintage scooter cable lengths.. Most cables you buy these days aren’t the right length, Confirming and adjusting the lengths can save big headaches and make your scooter work more smoothly.
Electric Scooter Survey
Modern Buddy user “cpaden” posted an interesting Electric Scooter Survey and is looking for everyone’s input. Go post your answers there where Cindy will see them, but I’m going to post mine here (and there) because I’m so important and everyone cares what I think.
Continue reading “Electric Scooter Survey”
We Can Learn from a Drunk Zamboni Driver
I’m not posting this drunk Zamboni driver story because it’s funny, nor because 2/3 of our staff are from Minnesota, but because of a paragraph tucked away at the bottom of the story:
…just because Bruss was driving a Zamboni on an empty ice rink and not a car on a busy road doesn’t lessen his coming punishment. [Minnesota] State law allows a DWI to be given for any sort of motorized vehicle, including a lawn mower or forklift.
I might be dense, but I was unaware it’s possible to be arrested for drunk driving at a private event on private property. Many of us, self surely included, have been guilty of some pretty stupid hi-jinks at scooter rallies over the years, and we’ve always hopefully taken our/others’ safety and property into account, but I suspect most of us have been unaware we could get a life-crushing felony DUI in Fresno for riding 500 feet across a farm or campground to visit the bathroom. Rules vary from state to state, but a little Googling shows that this law is pretty widespread. Scooterists have, in general, become far more responsible in recent years, but there are still a few rallies where anything goes, so it’s worth keeping this in mind.
Source: https://smithjonessolicitors.co.uk/road-traffic-accidents/.
50% off at Veloce on World Book Day
We generally dig Veloce Publishing, they have several great scooter and microcar books. They’re a bit more expensive than we’d like, but March 1 is World Book Day and Veloce is offering 50% off any book.
We’ve reviewed their Lambretta LI, A-Z Scooters and Microcars, and Vespa Buyer’s Guide, and we’re currently reading their Caring for you Scooter, look for a review soon.
Winter Almost Over; Get Off The Couch And Build (Updated)
As our unusual winter winds down here in N. America, it’s getting to be that time of year where thoughts turn to the upcoming prime riding season as well as this summers Amerivespa. There have been shows and build-offs in the US. But I’d like to see some more customs in the class of what SIP Scooter shop has most recently shared on their Flickr and Facebook galleries. Check out the custom show photos and be inspired!
This is as much as a ‘note to self’ as a call to action of Western Atlantic/Eastern Pacific scooterists and scooter shops. Stickers on Stellas and Baskets on Buddies are all fine and good, but I’m talking about top to bottom uniqueness. Who has some plans in the works for something special like those seen at this Ried Custom show? What are the latest jaw-dropping custom or preservation jobs you’ve seen?
Update: That bike won Best Smallframe. Here is a report of the show via SIP.
Watch The Evolution Of German Badness
No, I will not be recapitulating Godwin’s Law. But instead I will offer forth this pictorial display of complete bad-ass-a-licious-ness that is the process of turning a raw smallframe project into a sweet custom ‘racer’.
For Scooter Center’s 20th anniversary, GP One Tuning has participated in the build of a celebratory machine. You may know this Austrian tuning house for their CNC engine cases. Look them up on Facebook and they have plenty of eye candy in their galleries (as well as being where I picked up the main link).
I would criticize the use of the larger than 10″ wheels. That’s normally a deal-breaker for me. But overall this is shaping up to be a scoot that’s jam packed with goodies. Check back on the GP One or SCK sites for updates. They already have progress from that first raw material page.