Category: Lifestyle

Racer Redding Road Legal On A Piaggio Zip 50

One of the most dramatic events of 2008 British motorsport was the victory by Scott Redding in the 125cc Grand Prix race at Donnington Park. Redding’s win ended an over thirty year drought for Brits in the One-Two-Five class as he set the record for being the youngest Grand Prix winner at about fifteen and a half years of age. MotoGP.com posted a nice report on the Gloucester lad passing his Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) test. Scott can now drive himself around on a scooter. I am fairly sure 50ccs of unbridled 2-stroke fury will make him feel a bit like he’s moving in slow motion compared to his Aprilia RSW125. But maybe he can get some help tuning the bike from his Team BQR mechanics. Mr. Redding is pictured on MotoGP.com while astride a Piaggio Zip 50 scooter. Scott races for Blusens Aprilia. As Aprilia is under the Piaggio umbrella of companies, I hope they set him up nicely with the ‘ped for free.

CWC Update, and another quick contest

Entries in the Cold Weather Challenge have been slow thanks to schloads of snow in the northern U.S., but don’t forget runners-up will be recognized by state, so wherever you live, you have a chance at everlasting glory. One notable recent entry is Clayton from South Korea, who holds third place after a fried-chicken-inspired ride through Namhansansong. Chicagoans scooter through the snow for bibimbap, Koreans scooter through the snow for the Colonel. Who knew?

Anyway, here’s a new mini-contest until we have rideable conditions again: That there photo is CWC cosponsor Ryan’s Yamaha Razz, he did a few doughnuts in his back yard on Jan. 9th and then threw it into that snowbank with the centerstand up. Guess what day and time it falls over (in the comments) and the closest guess gets a $10 gift certificate from Scootmoto.com. Go!

S-No Excuses For Winter Scooter Retirement

Motoblog.it reports on the work at Riminimoto aimed at extending the use of scooters into the winter months. I’m not referring to Seattle San Diego winter. I mean the kind with snow. Riminimoto takes the simple if not original approach by replacing the front wheel with a ski and studs on the rear tire. The example scooter is the MBK Booster (aka Yamaha Zuma). Other examples show the use of the Honda Ruckus and the Honda EZ-Cub. All are likely candidates due to their faux-off road image that has endowed them with the engine configuration or tire profile that is amenable to the use of knobbie tires to accept ice screws. It doesn’t hurt that they are sufficiently masculine in appearance for hardy outdoor types to use.
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Adolf and Benito, EU-capitalist version

The Scooter Scoop reports Vespa and Adidas have teamed up for some co-branded apparel and shoes.
The last time Adidas teamed up (unofficially) with Vespa, we got the greatest commercial of all time:

The gear looks pretty sweet, though not too “outside the box.” What we need now is for Piaggio and Adidas to sponsor a Serie-A team, anyone, THAT would be the greatest soccer jersey since PGO sponsored Akademisk Boldklub of Denmark. (And of course, these.)

Become A Fan of 2SB, If You’re In To That Kind of Thing.

This 2strokebuzz.com contributing author was highly resistant to social networking sites. It wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine how Facebook could degenerate into the next myspace with horrible backgrounds and unavoidable embedded music. But a networking site that allowed 2SB to have it’s own fan site can’t be all that bad. If you are a fan of the ‘blog’ and are on Facebook, show your affection and Bryan will probably be touched, or possibly disgusted (Your guess is as good as mine.). If you’re not ‘on Facebook’, you’re not missing all that much except the possibility of finding that one girl from high school that you always wished you had asked out on a date.

Scooter books for the holidays

Sorry for the lack of posts, we’ve had an eventful couple weeks, both good and bad, and we’ll catch up soon, but in the meantime, here’s a post from last year about great scooter book gifts. I’ll write a new post about books that came out this year, but this should give you a headstart on your Christmas shopping:
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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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