Category: 2sb News

Continental Avoids Complete Take-Over

Continental, the company that makes some of the better scooter tires available has been the target of a take-over by another German automotive component giant, the  Schaeffler Group.   The BBC reports that Conti had resisted the move but has now agreed to allow Schaeffler, also the makers of FAG bearings, to take an all but majority stake in the company.   The question remains whether the new structure will continue to keep scooters rolling smoothly in the future.  Signs suggest the relationship will not call for Continental to be parted out like a GS with a rusted frame and no air box, so lets hope that we’ll still be able to get good Continental Zippy 1s, 3s and Twists (not to be confused with the film) for years to come.  (Maybe I could send a letter to Schaffler suggesting they stop the white wall nonsense.)

2sb meets the Breeders

I alluded to this a few times in the past, but I can finally share it:

Anyone who knows me knows that I’ve been completely infatuated with the Pixies since “Gigantic” came out and I bought “Pod” by the Breeders the morning it was released. Many of you remember my dear departed evil cat Cannonball. Many of you have seen the Vaughan Oliver posters around my various dorm rooms, apartments, and now my house. A few years ago, my company was asked to record, design, and sell the Pixies’ reunion concert CDs, and I even got to design an official t-shirt for the tour and work with Vaughan Oliver a bit on some Dead Can Dance CD packaging. Even better, I got to stand onstage at Lollapalooza to watch the Pixies’ set. I thought it’d never get any sweeter than that.

Well, last year, I met a great designer from Dayton named Chris Glass. We hung out at the ludicrous Creation Museum in Kentucky when I was home for Christmas, and he took his leave saying he had to go meet with “the girls about their website” and said something about “you know how rock stars are.” I didn’t know what he was talking about at the time, but later on, I figured out that he was talking about Kim and Kelley Deal.

Well, to make an already long story a little shorter, Chris finished Breeders Digest and my friend and co-worker Steve Delahoyde, also a big Breeders fan, asked me to ask Chris if the band needed any videos for their new album. Chris talked to them and they said “Sure, as long as we don’t have to be in it.” Chris leaked us a few songs, we picked one, agonized over some ideas, scheduled a shoot, then delayed it so long that we got to shoot some footage when they played here in May. We met Kim, Kelley, Mando, and José, and they were fantastic people who did their cameo perfectly in one (long) take, even though they weren’t actually aware we were rolling (it was a four-minute-long cameo). Steve edited the four separate videos, then we messed with the flash interface for months, then waited a couple more months, and at last, I’m ecstatic to share it with you. I hope the video does justice to the song, and I hope you’ll check out their incredibly great not-so-new-anymore album Mountain Battles (get it on LP, it sounds great and is packaged as beautifully as usual by Vaughan Oliver).

Thanks to the band, Chris, Richard, 4AD, the actors and crew, and especially Steve, who put WAY more work into this than I did. Embed this sucker everywhere you can (a link to the “embed” code is next to the Breeders’ logo), I’d love to see Steve’s phone ringing with more video work.

Oh, to keep it scooter-related, all the “running” scenes were shot by Ryan Taylor from my Genuine Blur 150, he was strapped to me with a tie-down, facing backwards. Luckily no one got hurt. The scooter was parked in the background in one scene that got cut, maybe we can get that up on YouTube sooner or later.

Righteous Rotenburg Rally

This is the kind of race/rally weekend I can get behind: a DSSC meet in Rotenburg, Germany. Ryan, who sent the video, points out that all scooter rally raffles should be immediately replaced with “throwing shit.” Oh, and DEBASER. (Keep an eye out for some exciting sorta-Pixies/2strokebuzz related news coming Monday.)

Flipping for “Flip Flop” tees

DOT Flip Flops: Big RyeWe’re almost out of the orange DOT Flip Flop t-shirts over at Scootmoto. Brown is a little better-stocked, but still going fast. I counted wrong and found a couple shirts in sizes that were listed as sold out, so check again if you couldn’t find your size and color. More good stuff is coming to Scootmoto soon. Maybe even tonight.

Thanks for the photo, Ryan!

Indian Scooter Maker Bought By Indian Tractor Maker

The Central Chronical reports that Kinetic Motors has been purchased by automotive giant, Mahindra & Mahindra.  More commonly known for their utility vehicles, M & M thinks that scooters and small displacement motorcycles are the way to go and there’s a still plenty of untapped market in India.  In the last few years, Kinetic has been linked with a possible new entry into the U.S. market under yet another incarnation of the Italjet marque.  The new company will be name Mahindra Kinetic Scooters & Motorcycles Limitied. Following the 2strokebuzz lead, M & M have their own football club.  Will we see even more rugged, tractor-like, scooters on the market?  Or just an Indian premier football league team moped?

Scootmoto

Hey, I’d really like to thank everyone that’s ordered 2strokebuzz t-shirts via Scootmoto. Sales have been great (we’ve already sold out of a few sizes) and we’re all caught up on shipping and it seems like things are going smoothly (now that I know I have to sign the customs forms for canadian orders).

Scootmoto isn’t much right now, it doesn’t even have a logo, which is the true measure of corporate success. But like I’ve said, I have big plans for it, and I’m a fan of slow, sustainable growth. I’ve been working on the idea and researching the market for a long time, so I’m going to go back and hit up some of the people that said they were interested. If you have something you’d be interested in selling at the scootmoto store, please drop me a line at illnoise@2strokebuzz.com. If you’re a shop and you’re interested in a wholesale account, or in help sourcing and manufacturing merchandise for your store, let me know, too. I think there’s a hole in the market for grass-roots scooter merchandise, and I’d love to help people with good ideas get their plans in motion, and I’d love to help scooter shops find interesting, original stuff to sell to their accessory-hungry customers.

Thanks again, customers, for your support.

Motogiro America underway

When Brooke posted about Motogiro’s American debut a few months ago. It sounded like a tradition-steeped dream-come-true vintage weekend. Now that it’s here, with Ducati, Guzzi, and VespaUSA as official sponsors, it looks like an upscale marketing binge targeted at the heated-garage crowd.

I’m figuring VespaUSA surely dropped a lot more coin on this than Amerivespa. Jealous much, Bryan?

DOT-approved flip-flops T-shirt

DOT approved Flip Flops t-shirtAfter months in the works, new 2strokebuzz t-shirts are finally here! Share your love for the hottest scootering footwear of The Great Scooter Boom of 2008 with a 2strokebuzz “DOT-approved flip-flops” t-shirt featuring artwork by Rod Hunting based on an idea stolen from Silent Ron.
Continue reading “DOT-approved flip-flops T-shirt”

Blur 3000km service

I had a Big Merchandise Announcement to make today, but instead I stayed up until 2am writing this step-by-step guide to changing the oil in your Genuine Blur 150. All 23 Blur owners in North America are totally thanking me right now. I tried to make it a little funny, so you might want to read it anyway, just to make fun of how little I know about changing the oil in a Genuine Blur 150. But stay tuned, we’ve got new t-shirts going on sale very soon.

Where retribution gets you…

“Arkansas linebacker faces felony charge”. It’s hard not to get angry when a cager endangers you or your scooter, but it rarely pays off to fight back. I’ve had a gun waved at me for flipping off a dude that almost killed me, another guy I flipped off tried to run me off the road once, then chased me for blocks (documented in a comic in 2sb issue #3), and a friend of mine was even stabbed by a cabbie once.

Still, the most upsetting confrontation I ever had was with a guy in a van, who nearly hit me. When I pulled up next to him and started yelling obscenities, he was nearly in tears, and said “I’m a motorcyclist, too, that could have been me!” Most of us are cagers some of the time. Drivers are generally sorry enough without us getting in their face, and if they’re not, they’re just going to get even more dangerous when confronted.

Another tip, if you do get in a near-accident, or a shouting match, pull over and calm down, riding while you’re jittery and overfocused on what just happened will just increase your odds of something worse happening.