Month: November 2008

Andretti test 1: 2sb crashes the Andretti

I’ve mentioned a few times that PowerSportsFactory has given us a Benelli/Andretti 150XT for a long-term test. I also bought a used Blur around the same time to replace the one stolen at the MotoGP race in Indianapolis, and thanks to a few minor snafus in both transactions, a busy schedule, and a little bad luck, I finally obtained plates and titles for both bikes yesterday. Yesterday it was 46°F and sunny, probably the last decent riding day we’ll see until Spring in Chicago, so it would have made sense to pick up the Andretti that’s been blocking a hallway inside my office for weeks now. But what fun is that? I decided to ride it home in the 34° sleet today instead.
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Like Kymco?

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Another likely winner from EICMA: The new Kymco Like 125 and 50. 12″ wheels, free matched topbox, spacious floorboards, front-and-rear discs, and it looks like a cross between a Vespa LX and a Yamaha C3. What’s not to “Like?” Some of Kymco’s recent Chinese-import bikes are a bit disappointing compared to the quality of their Taiwan-made product, hopefully the Like reminds us why we like Kymco. If you’re not counting, that was four “Like” puns. This bike is due out in mid-2009, no word on U.S. availability.

55 liters of fun

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A new 55-liter Givi topcase fits two helmets, or 27.5 2-liter bottles of RC Cola (note: soda must be removed from bottles first). Those are Givi X.01 helmets, by the way, which have an interchangeable/removable chinguard, and I can’t see if the chinguard is in place or not, but even two 3/4 helmets is a lot. Givi has some cool-looking helmets, though not much in the full-face category. No matter, from now on we’ll post anything we see about Givi as an excuse to post Randy DePuniet photos.

Lambretta International, eh?

Motorsport Craze/Konker Motors of Langley, B.C. is now Lambretta Canada. They’ll be the national importer of rebadged-Adly “new Lambrettas.” Despite the “International” in their name, it’s surprising to see Lambretta International LLC using the Lambretta trademark outside the U.S., they’ve licensed the brand from Scooters India Limited, but there are several companies worldwide that will surely argue their claim to the name is just as legitimate.

New Dates: High Rollers and Ride to Work

Orin kindly reminds us all that the mega-huge 10th-anniversary Las Vegas High Rollers rally, which is usually held on Presidents’ Day weekend, is in March next year (March 19-23, 2009). Ride to Work Day, which is usually in July, will be held on June 15 in 2009. It’s also been renamed “International Motorcycle and Scooter Ride to Work Day”. Neat to see “scooter” officially added to the increasingly cluttered logo (did anyone actually feel excluded that it wasn’t before?). Also note that “International” is now used in the “International Male” sense, rather than the geographic sense.

Cold Weather Challenge

WINNERS:

  1. Bob Hedstrom: -16°F, 10.1 mi
    1/15/09, Minneapolis, MN, 2007 Vectrix
    … I’d been riding a Vectrix a lot during the past summer and always trying to test its limits. I really wanted to see what extreme cold would do to battery performance.
    After checking the temperature at 10:45 am and it was still hanging in at -19. Time to ride. The Vectrix has a lot of torque and even the bare looking portions of the streets had a bit of slip to them. I had to be very careful but kept it upright the whole time. I outriggered my boots in all turns…     Map
  2. Tom S.: -11°F, 11 mi
    1/15/09, Omaha, NE, 2008 Yamaha Zuma
    Commuting in my Jeep is not a whole lot different from being on my Zuma at these temps so I bundled up extra good and headed to work on the Zuma of Doom! 90mpg is always better than 12mpg!… It’s getting cold enuff to where I’m ALMOST ready to give it to the Minnesotans… NOT IN A MILLION YEARS!!! haha!
  3. Colin Doyle: -10°F, 14.1 mi
    12/15, Collegeville, MN, Honda Ruckus 50
    Video!
  4. Luigi G.: -7°F, 10.1 mi
    1/16/09, Dover MA, 1970 Vespa GTr
    I had to do the run early in the night instead of just before sunup as I needed to get finished packing for the long ride to the FYBO rally… (epic report in comments below)
  5. Stefan: -6°F, 10.3 mi
    1/16/09, Cleveland, OH, 1980 Vespa P200
    Old lady was driving me into work…I see the temp at Walgreens was -12°, and i’m all like “it’s on!.” get to the shop, fire up the “mf’n juggernaut beotch p-deuce”, map out a nice 2.5 mile loop, and run it 4 times.…Is it true the runner up prize is a 3 second pull on a bottle of malort with an old style chaser?

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