This past weekend Scooter-Attack hosted a custom scooter show in Saarbruecken, Germany. If you missed out on seeing the show you can catch up with a few Youtube videos. Some wild stuff was shown off and even if bling isn’t your bag, you’ve got to be impressed with the level of professionalism in the event. Another custom show is in a few weeks and hosted by Scooter-Center in Cologne.
Category: 2sb Archives
Stuff from the old site
Quadricycles: Another Case Where Four Is Two Too Many?
The Geneva Motor Show has brought out a few new rides that further blur the lines between car and motorcycle. The Yamaha Tesseract made distinct impression when the concept ‘bike’ showed up in 2007. Four-wheel ATVs have been around for a while and distinguish themselves from cars by having the pilot centrally located, straddling the engine in a ‘horse-riding’ position while steering with a handlebars rather than a wheel. As on-road vehicles these have only started to catch on outside of the USA. The NHTSA would define these vehicles as automobiles and require them to pass the same safety standards as any other automobile, including requirements for restraints, airbags and collision tests. These requirements wouldn’t make any sense on something more akin to a motorcycle than an SUV, but one can appreciate where rules are rules and as defined it is an automobile with four wheels in contact with the ground at all times. Regardless of U.S. marketability, the world marches on. Enter the Lumeneo Smera and the Sbarro Pendolauto. The Smera is a proposed cabin-enclosed electric vehicle that has four wheels but tilts similar to the idea behind the Piaggio MP3 and the Sidam Xnovo. The Sbarro Pendolauto is a much more sporty quad concept with the rider in the open air in a very low position that shouts corner-speed. The saying ‘four is two too many’ regarding the four-stroke engine is often recognized by fans of two-stroke powered motorcycles and the same could be echoed in regard to these four-wheelers. So, why a pseudo-cage when a bike is so much fun? Obviously the stability of four corners would be an asset as well as the additional grip offered by two additional wheels. The drawbacks would include the increased size and weight of the extra wheels. Size is a big deal to many scooter and small displacement fans that are frequent readers of 2SB, where we typically get excited about smaller being better. But the quadricycle concept does retain several aspects of the motorcycle that many people enjoy such as nimble handling, better fuel efficiency, the open air rush, leaning into turns and a smaller footprint when it comes to traffic and parking. The quadricycle concept for personal transportation is intriguing. If the NHTSA would redefine the motorcycle as a vehicle where the rider is centrally located and any passenger would be required to sit in-line with the pilot (or if the quad was given a class unto itself) we could possibly see things like this on the road in the USA. Surely the auto industry would have something to say about it. But maybe it could be an asset to them if they were to join in by scooping up one of the several fine ATV makers in the US like Polaris or Articcat and kick start their entry into the field. BRP is already on the case and half way there.
Obiboi Re-Invents The Honda EZ-Cub
Motorcycle and scooter designer Oberdan Bezzi has turned to applying the aesthetics of classic motorcycles to modern creations. Some of his latest drawings posted on his blog, Scooter Design, include an enduro inspired series of scooters that draw from the Honda EZ-Cub in form and Honda z50 part info. The scooters definitely have an off-road look with knobbie tires, a crash guard on the bottom and motocross style number plates. The paint schemes are modeled after KTM and Penton dirt bikes of the 1970s. These drawings follow on his most recent motorcycle designs transferring the look of 70s off road bikes to modern bikes. What I like most about his designs is that he superimposes a rider on his creations. I believe that many motorcycle and scooter designers forget to do this anytime before they hit the sales floor.
Return of the 2SB Action Toy
A repost from the old days: the 2strokebuzz Action Toy. (Click on image for print-friendly .pdf file)
Continue reading “Return of the 2SB Action Toy”
Death of a Dream: R.I.P. Amarcord Concept
The critical words used when Italjet products are discussed have their origin in the frustration felt when their excellent concepts often fail in the execution of delivering the legendary products we hope for. The Velocifero, Dragster and Formula models made it far when reaching for iconic status but fell short in the end due to poor product support and the ultimate demise of the company’s incarnation at the time. Some exciting designs have yet to make it from prototype to production. Examples include the Scooop, Rollercraft and Amarcord. While the Scooop may have been outdone by the Piaggio MP3 in arriving first and the Rollercraft may yet arrive, the motorcycle-with-a-scooter-engine work of art known as the Amarcord seems to have died and it’s name lifted onto a Chinese scooter. Reported by Cyberscooter.it from the EICMA in 2007, the scooter with the Amarcord name appeared as one of Italjet’s new offerings. The scooter doesn’t look all that horrible it is slightly reminiscent of the Velocifero’s retro design with some tell-tale accents of mainland-China construction. Also note the yellow Rollercraft model in the background. What moves me to feel sad and mourn the loss of the of a great design is that the name transfer of the Amarcord label from an incredibly eye-catching and novel design to an homogenized standard scooter signals the death of an idea that’s time is ripe and appears to be lost on most (but not all) manufacturers. R.I.P. Amarcord concept.
Blog Review: The New Cafe Racer Society
Back when people rode new bikes that looked like what people today call a cafe-racer, did they refer to themselves as cafe-racers with pride and machismo? Or was that a jibe that would come from others poking fun at groups of wannabe Grand Prix heroes? I don’t know. But I came across a blog called The New Cafe Racer Society that has some great material. It has many stories about vintage and modern motorcycles and culture as well as an ample amount of digital ink devoted to scooters. It’s good to be reminded that there are people out there with great passion for motorbikes for the sake of art, technology, performance, style and down right sensibility. I have yet to see a comment listed in the posts so I fear it may not be getting the exposure it deserves. Take a spin on over and check it out. It’s now on my daily list of sites to check with new content nearly every day. Alternatively, you could just keep tabs on it over here at 2SB for when I re-post some of the more sweet morsels I find there.
Jet200.com, Lambretta Spares From A Lambretta Enthusiast
Mark Houghton has opened a new online outlet for Lambretta parts called Jet200 Performance. A quick scan of his online catalog shows he’s selling some tasty-looking bits for improving on the Lambretta experience as well as some work-a-day spares. Lambretta Club USA members qualify for monthly specials. Mark is a nice guy from the Seattle area and has long had a passion for the scooter from Milan. He’s the kind of guy that spares no expense on doing things right so hopefully his customers will be as happy as I’m sure he is with his new venture.
Agility Is The New Black (or Cobra)
The Kymco Cobra was once the favored clone style second only to the Yamaha Vino. While doing some ‘research’ on what the new offering from Italjet America (a.k.a. LS Motorsports) will look like and I found an Italian site, Motorino.it, showing some photos of the ‘new’ it.50 scooter.
It looks sharp in yellow but it struck a chord of familiarity when I looked at the photos for a few seconds. I compared it to the Kymco Agility and it appears to be nearly identical. Differences appear to include the fender and headlight, but are minor compared to the similarities. The it.50 seat is like the Agility 125 rather than the jump-seat style on the 50cc of the Kymco model. The it.50 does not appear on the Italjet site but has been tipped to be a possible new model shown at the dealer show in Indianapolis in a few weeks.
The Agility is made in mainland China and the price is reflective of that. I wonder how many new Agility clones we’ll see in the coming few years. It’s not a bad choice for something to clone, regardless of what one feels about the state of intellectual property in developing economies.
Motogiro d’California
Motogiro d’Italia is a motorcycle touring rally made famous in the 1950s and revived in 2001. The event, showcasing classic Italian machines, is venturing outside Italy for the first, of what I would imagine will be annual, Motogiro America. The oil leaking event will be held in and around Monterey, CA preceding the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix in July 2008. Webbikeworld.com reports that the routes will include a lap around the racetrack at Laguna Seca as well as scenic rides around the picturesque Monterey Bay area. There is a range of entry classes including a “Vespa Class.” Hopefully other vintage Italian scooters will be allowed as it would seem very fitting to have some of the beautiful Lambretta D race machines participating (I’m talking to you, Alex). It sounds like a dream week for any Italian Iron enthusiast.
Is It Time For An American Scooter Confederation?
The Australian website, mcnews.com.au, reports on an association of scooter importers that will represent manufacturers and dealers in an effort to “assist riders to avoid potential pitfalls”. This seems aimed directly at upstart importers of lower quality scooters brought in by the container load for fly-by-night organizations. The Australian Scooter Federation boasts membership from many top flight manufacturers including the marques of the Piaggio group, Honda, Yamaha and Kymco. The article states that the ASF members will conform to a ‘code of conduct’ to ensure high quality and dealer support. Is it time for such an organization in the U.S.A? I think so. I recall a little sticker on the gas tank of many an Allstate scooter that suggested there once was. Discuss.
Shoulda used a ssssaddlebag
Note to self: When taking a rattlesnake for a ride down the highway, refrain from attaching it to the bike with twine. Bungees or ssssaddlebag preferred.
May he rest in pieces
To help you with your mourning and to begin the healing, here’s a diagram of Evel Knievel’s injuries. Thanks, Antigen.
The Mods
A nicely-done Mod history site, there’s even a “retro porn” section. My only gripe is the consistant and huge misuse of the apostrophe in the dates (“1960’s”). To make it worse, it’s not even typgraphically correct apostrophe. Why can’t I just enjoy anything without being so hypercrytical?
German Scooter-Weekend just one month away
There is still time to call the travel agent, pack your bags and get to Germany for their annual Scooter-Weekend celebration, sponsored by Scooter-Attack. On September 29th the Hockenheimring will host hordes of scooterists from across the world in what has become one of Europe’s premier modern scooter events. The schedule includes drag racing, custom scooter shows and dyno shoot-outs. The event is for scooters and mopeds only. Quads, motorcycles and scooters with motorcycle engines are not allowed! 2strokebuzz.com reporters are still open to any offers of sponsorship to attend the event. In the case of no live coverage from this correspondent, check back in about two months and there should be a nice link to a gallery of photos detailing the weekends festivities.
Click here for computer friendly flier in German.
Thanks, woman on cell phone in Lincoln Navigator.
Lowrider scooters are cool and all, but a month after picking up his restored and kitted Vespa Rally 200 from POC Scooters, Kyle Rose would probably have preferred not being smashed between two SUVs. Sorry Kyle. Here’s a video of Phil riding the bike, which would be uproariously funny had Phil and Kyle wanted the bike to look that way.