Category: Design

Scooter Art From Britton

The main shop-keep of this blogeteria is a self-denied master of many media. Another good pal of mine, John Britton, is also an artist and craftsman and has made a few cool works he has available. The one that caught my eye was the spark plug and scooter print. In the past he has done several fantasttic pieces as rally artwork and branding support for Brookespeed Scooter Disposal Service.

You couldn’t throw a rock into gaggle of scooterists and not hit a few people who are professional artists, designers or generally crafty by trade. Some take it to the highest levels of commerce and others may rely on Etsy or booths at scooter rallies to turn their creative product into bread on the table or spare cables in the glovebox. So if you are a 2StrokeBuzz reader and want to share your scooter shaped potholders that you knit yourself and sell on Etsy or anything else you are proud of drop a line via email to me at brooke at 2strokebuzz (and you fill in the rest).

DO NOT POST A LINK TO YOUR STUFF IN THE COMMENTS SECTION. YOU WILL END UP WITH A LUMP OF COAL IN YOUR STOCKING! (But feel free to comment on anything else!)

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.

Corradino D’Ascanio Honored With Exibit At Pontedera

The New York Times Wheels Blog offers a report on the man behind the original design of the Vespa. The most interesting note for those immersed in all things Piaggio, is that he was left to design trade show displays instead of the helicopters that he really wanted to work on. He was a great designer because he started with the user and moved out from there. Today most things start with an industrial designers screen and are forced around a user, with poor results. Step away from the CAD software and Illustrator, dudes. Just because it makes a pretty picture does mean that it will make a useful object. D’Ascanio knew this. Lets be thankful that he didn’t have the tools that modern designers have.

Thanks to Scooterville in Minneapolis for sharing the post on facebook. The owner, Bob, once designed sets and trade show displays and now sells Vespas. Full circle.

Fremont Motors Electric Scooter Concept Show In Seattle

In the past I have posted a few items on the electric conversion offerings from Soundspeed Scooters in Seattle. Now the man behind those efforts, Jeb Gast, has designed a new electric scooter to be unveiled this Friday, March 4th at Motore Coffee in Seattle, WA. The party begins at 5:30 and the designer/builder will be on hand to show off his work and talk about the process and plans for the future.

The new venture is called Fremont Motors and the scooter has been named “Fido”. The goal was to make a new, clean design that would allow user access for maintenance, but simple enough to minimize the need. Jeb has shared some preliminary ideas and specifications that sound exciting. He’s promised to send photos of the event but if anyone from the gray, damp city can attend, please take some snaps and send them to brookespeed at that google email service.

Fido Release Party
Friday, March 4th, 5:30pm
Motore Coffee
1904 9th Ave, Seattle

Fuji X-100 (Not a Scooter)

As a scooterist/reader of this site, you’ll surely know the feeling of consumerist love at first sight. I’ve become obsessed with countless vehicles at countless rallies and motorcycle trade shows, and I’m sure you have too. Once in a while, you get to the point where you see an early prototype and know you will eventually own that bike, as long as the manufacturer doesn’t screw up between the concept and manufacturing stages (sadly they usually do!)

Well, this week Fuji Co. (The film/camera concern, totally unrelated to Fuji Heavy Industries of Fuji Rabbit scooter and Subaru fame) unveiled the camera of my dreams, and gave me a lot of insight about the scooter market and the difference between what consumers want, what they think they want, and what they get. On top of that, I know of at least two other scooterist designer/photographers that are counting the days and saving pennies until it’s released, so maybe it’s of interest to scooterists in general.
Continue reading “Fuji X-100 (Not a Scooter)”

Take the Kymco

Toronto’s Kymco dealer ran transit ads on Toronto’s TTC system imploring riders to “Take The Kymco,” (TTK). A clever idea, too bad they flagrantly copied the TTC trademark and TTC removed the ads. Whatever your feelings about scooters’ impact on ecological, economical, and traffic impact, public transportation is surely better, but that said, public transportation riders are probably a wise target market for scooter dealers!

Dealer Expo 2009, Part I: Overview

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Every February, powersports dealers from around the nation descend on grey, shivery, boring Indianapolis to see what’s new in the industry. It’s a chance for manufacturers, importers, and distributors to wine and dine their dealers and hopefully round up some orders for the upcoming riding season. This was our third year at DealerExpo, though it was our first with actual 2strokebuzz press passes. Continue reading “Dealer Expo 2009, Part I: Overview”

“Never a better” timing

We just got a Cycle World International Motorcycle Show postcard here at 2sb HQ. Their slogan this year is “Never a Better Time to Ride,” featuring a gas pump with a dollar sign on it. The dollar sign signifies that a gallon of gas will cost $1 by the time the Chicago show opens. Good call. Needless to say, they’ve scrubbed that image from their website and are working on getting some more ’90s tribal tattoo art to replace it.

In just a couple more years, the motorcycle industry will catch up with the gothic-squiggly-coat-of-arms look that all the Westside Polish gangster kids were rocking two years ago. Go to Target right now and see what everything looks like, that’s what everything motorcycle-related will look like in 2012. Except Troy Lee, he’ll never catch up. I hear there’s a scooter pavillion this year. I hear they’re red-hot.

Nipponia unveiled

Scooter Station sure is excited about Nipponia. (Google translation) The designs are actually pretty novel and interesting (the “Renzo” especially). The Japanese company, now based in Greece, plans to produce these Italian-designed scooters in Greece using Chinese-made parts, and start selling them in Europe in late 2009. Type nerd trivia: Nipponia’s logo features the same godawful Revue typeface as PGO’s logo.

UPDATE: more from Motoblog.it.

Decemberists’ Halloween scooter?

The Decemberists are playing in Wheaton? On Halloween night? And there’s a scooter on the poster? Did Carson Ellis actually paint that? What’s up with her website? Is a liberal alt-whine anachronism-gimmick oboe band playing to creationists at a christian college in a dry suburb on halloween night funny, cool, or sad? I can’t tell anymore, but if anyone can steal me one of those posters, please do. (Photo via Mike Marusin, thanks!)