When scooter news breaks, we put it under a tarp in the garage.
Aside from the glorious Achewood, to which you should surely be addicted, I’ve never become too engrossed in web comics. But Cy just hepped me to Questionable Content, in which the current plotline features robots, the VespAvenger, librarian jokes, Death Cab for Cutie references, and assorted cute indie rock lesbians. I think the hook is set.
One Plus One Equals Three’s tribute to the motorscooter: All those Vietnamese scooter photos with six kids and a pig, all collected in one place. Nice. (Thanks, Delahoyde. Yes, I got scooped by a co-worker.)
Lance Robson’s PX200 was named “Best Vespa” by the New Zealand Scooter Association. I was under the impression that SS90s and SS50s were fairly common in New Zealand, and there have to be some nice older Vespas around, so I’m betting there are some Kiwi scooterists who would beg to differ, but props to Lance anyway, he made the papers.
TGB (Taiwan Golden Bee) scooters’ U.S. distributor, Cobra Powersports, reported Friday that in the first three quarters of 2006, TGB sales in the U.S. had already exceeded 2005 total sales.
U.S. Readers: Don’t forget to vote tomorrow.
Ryan’s photos from the Valencia MotoGP race. I have a feeling I’ll be fortunate enough to see the Vespa g-string in person someday.
If our Scooter Parking in Chicago story isn’t comprehensive enough for you, Silent Ron tracked down the entire Municipal Code of Chicago online.
Rumor has it that the 2007 Genuine Blur will upgrade to a 200cc engine and replace the orange panels with black. No word on whether it’ll be an Evo 4-valve engine.
Back when you could count U.S. scooter shops on your fingers, Vespa Supershop was one of the best. They always helped out with 2strokebuzz (when we were a ‘zine) and supported loads of rallies in the mid-90s. Somewhere along the way, they changed their name to Motorsport Scooters and a hundred new scooter shops popped up around the country, so we sort of lost touch, though their tech pages were still always in my bookmarks. Whatever happened, they’re making a comeback attempt with a handsome new site and online ordering. Hopefully, their great customer service and knowledgeable staff remains from the old days, I might have to place an order and see. (thanks, Matty for sending this our way.)
This may be a no-brainer for most folks, but I’ve always wondered why scooter and motorcycle people have always had the compulsion to add accessories and/or custom paint jobs to their vehicles. I’ve always gone along with it because I’m a creative-minded person and it appealed to me, but that didn’t answer why it was so commonly done in the first place. The current scooter boom, and my first new scooter, have answered the question for me. Ten years ago, it was nearly impossible to find two similar bikes at a rally. Perhaps there would be three silver P200s, but their states of repair and accessories would generally set them apart. These days, there’s an ever-increasing number of similar scooters at any rally, there were maybe a dozen or more orange Stellas at Amerivespa, for instance. Minneapolis was three-quarters comprised of more-or-less stock Stellas. When you show up to a rally or ride on a new scooter, there are very good odds someone else will be there on the EXACT SAME scooter in the SAME color. And that pretty much explains it all. Obvious to anyone thats ever bought a new vehicle, but funny that in ten years of riding vintage bikes, I’d never figured that out.
Motoblog found these circa-1980 Japanese ads featuring “Off-the-Wall”-era Michael Jackson shilling for the Suzuki Love scooter. Here come some good comments…
University of Minnesota researchers led by Rajesh Rajamani (a man who wrote the book on Vehicle Dynamics and Control— or at least a book) are working on a three-wheeler of their own. While giving a nod to unnamed “companies in Europe” the scientists claim to be special in that their research is unique for efforts based in the US. As Piaggio touts their age-old tilting wheel technology this group also uses this approach with computer-controlled regulation of wheel angle in turns. Dr. Rajamani also mentions “the perception of safety,” an aspect of the MP3 that its marketers are counting on to be a big draw. Dr. Rajamani refers to the perception of small vehicles being less safe but it is admirable that he at least mentions the concern.
As tilting at 3 wheels is now the official academic and industry focus, one wonders how the old non-tilting two-wheels-in-front trikes of the past were deficient. Micro car enthusiasts may defend the old designs and modern versions can claim they’ve been at the forefront of the market but they both lack in that 2-wheel feel. Now this new effort seems to bridge the gap with a tilting recumbent. Check out the video. The clip is not as slick as the Piaggio marketing videos of their MP3, but the background suggests that the vehicles of the future are being tested a stones throw away from Scooterville in Minneapolis.
Last Saturday, 2 Stroke Buzz racing team stalwart Matt DeVries took to the track for the final track day of the season at Iowa International Raceway in Marshalltown Iowa. The Squadra Corse/Crafty Planet/Brookspeed pilot enjoyed the first outing using modern slick tire technology The experienced scooter racer also took the opportunity to try out the Genuine Scooter Company Buddy 125 provided by Bob at Scooterville Minnesota. Even in standard off the showroom floor form, the Buddy performed admirably after some acclimation to some reduced transmission side clearance.Â
A bit more info on an earlier post (but not much): Tuesday in Rome, Piaggio brass presented their new 2007 vehicles to Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi and other government dignitaries, in advance of the official unveiling at the Milan Salone della Moto in two weeks. The lineup featured some Aprilia sportbikes (including a nifty RSW250 race bike to remind us all that Aprilia won the 2007 MotoGP 125 and 250 “Constructor” titles), the Moto Guzzi 1200 Sport, the 60th-anniversary Vespa GTV, and two never-seen-before scooters. The press release still sheds no light on the Vespa S, but I’m sticking to my theory that it’s an LX50-based tribute to the Vespa 50 Special (Note the square headlight, front fender, and horncast cover). I guess Europeans are sentimental about the 50 Special (what with the Lunapop song and all), but they weren’t Vespa’s prettiest bike. Likewise, there’s no info about the new Gilera three-wheeler, other than the name (“Fire”) and displacement (500cc). The next couple weeks and the Milan show will reveal more, but it’s probably safe to assume it’s based on Piaggio MP3 technology and the 4-valve 4-stroke Piaggio MASTER engine found in the Beverly/BV500.
Rather than manufacturing replacement GTS exhaust manifold gaskets, or telling us more about the Vespa S they’ve teased us with, Piaggio and Vespa have put their combined energy into a new fall line of accessories and clothing. Since it’ll be months before PiaggioUSA posts this on their site — or tells Vespaway about it — I’ve translated it from Itanglish and posted it here, so you can call your dealers and pre-order stuff before they even know about it.
Vespa’s new showpiece is a Dainese-designed Vespa Club jacket and gilet (a fancy word for “really expensive quilted polyester liner that’s sold separately”). The jacket “can be personalised with armour protection,” which apparently means it has pockets for armor (sold separately). (The use of the word “Club” is cute, since the Vespa World Club is entering its seventh month of total inactivity.) On the accessories side, Vespa is releasing a line of leather bags designed to fit inside Vespa topcases, including one designed specifically for laptop computers. if that’s not enough leather, try a leather seat, now available in tobacco for the GTS, and tobacco or red for the LX. Why not throw in some matching grips? And a new Vespa Soft-Touch half-helmet? (why no full-face, guys? It’s 2006!) Rounding out the new line is a full complement of of chrome accessories, and a must-have Vespa-branded chain lock (with matching carrying bag!).
Piaggio further dissects your helmet fraction choices, with new three-eighths (Micro), five eighths (Copter) and seven-eighths (X-Jet) models. The “Micro” features snap-on goggles to cover another small fraction of your face. Continuing Vespa’s “personalizable jacket” theme, they’ve also unleased the “Technocomfort” line, with the unisex GT4 jacket, the Executive for the boys, and for the ladies, the, erm, Lady. The jackets can also be “customized” with armor, liners. or goofy leg covers they’re calling “Flapsâ„¢,” at additional cost, though the adjectives “Revolutionary,” “Elegant,” “Dynamic,” and “Innovative” are yours at no charge.
Photos of all this glorious crap (I kid, some of it is possibly worth looking into) are available for your perusal in the 2strokebuzz Gallery:
Vespa Fall 2006 Accessories
Piaggio Fall 2006 Accessories