Dude is putting a 450cc Honda CRF dirtbike motor in his Ruckus 50. Oh, and he’s turbocharging it. (From AxeYrCat on this Modern Buddy Thread with some other trick Ruckii.)
Category: Lifestyle
Chicago Hard Mod and Milwaukee Rockerbox
Chicago’s Hard Mod Weekender kicks off tonight (well, actually last night with the Circuits reunion at the Globe, sorry for posting this so late!). Tonight’s the Stone Lightning Band and the Irving Parkas with DJs at Phyllis’, tomorrow is a Moto Show and Jumble sale at the new Bottom Lounge (can’t wait to check that place out, it sounds great), and more bands and dancing later at the Volcano Room, and Sunday morning there’s a soul breakfast at Holiday.
Tomorrow is also Rockerbox in Milwaukee, one of the best vintage motorcycle shows around. That’s a tough choice to make.
Australian Yamaha scooter TV ad
Via Steve, a nicely-done Australian Yamaha TV commercial showing the economical aspects of their scooters. Genuine and even PiaggioUSA are working on pretty limited budgets, but you have to wonder why Yamaha and Honda, who actually do run national spots on cable TV, haven’t done anything like this here in the U.S. yet. If it wasn’t for the Australian coins shown at the end (and if they added a few models to their lineup), they could even run this one.
#17: Choosing a scooter on a budget
Today’s question for Dr. Buzz and his panel of experts comes from From Erica P. from up in Wisco:
I am looking for a 150cc scooter, but have a very limited budget of 2,000.00 including T/T/L. I would be using it for small trips within 15 miles of my house. My selections are very obviously limited, and I have been looking at the Vento models, but don’t have any information on their quality. In fact, I can find no information on reviews for scooters in this size and price range. You seem to be very knowledgeable on the topic, could you suggest any models that would fit my specs?
Pretty Fly for a college guy
Piaggio USA is targeting college-bound students with the Piaggio Fly, a $50 gas card and a free topbox. When I went to college, a burrito was a luxury item.
Bulgogi and P.E.A.C.E.
Alix Bryan of P.E.A.C.E Scooter fame passed through Chicago while I was at Amerivespa. I’d hoped to meet her for dinner at a Korean restaurant Sunday night with some Modern Buddy folks, but I got back kind of late and some wires got crossed so I ended up eating with Ryan instead. Sorry Alix. We made this peace sign out of the banchan dishes, in your honor.
Alix got some news coverage in Cleveland the other day, and her months-long journey will end Friday (August 8, 2008) with a victory lap around the White House (a group ride leaves from Vespa Arlington at noon), then Scoot Richmond is hosting a party for her at 5pm on Saturday, featuring the final raffle drawing. Congratulations Alix!
Flipping for “Flip Flop” tees
We’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!
Sublimated powder coating
Alright, who’s going to be the first to try this on a scooter? Neato.
Seattle: $38 fine for scooter-moving
Orin reports Seattle is enacting a $38 fine for moving a parked scooter. Not much of a deterrent, but when local governments are even acknowledging such a problem, it’s good news. Orin should be printing up “park here for $38” stickers.
E-Solex
One of France’s proudest moped marques (how’s that for a backhanded compliment?) is back, in electrical form: The E-Solex. Surely Chinese, but kinda neat looking with a totally boss red saddle.
Tucano Urbano’s “Peso Piuma” jackets
Is “Peso Piuma” Italian for “Members Only?”
Commuting with Italian Flare
Italian Flare? Is that one of those smoke bombs that AS Roma supporters light after Francesco Totti scores?
“Yo, Martha!”
An excerpt from a Martha Stewart book:
Another entrepreneur whose intensity, curiosity, research, and devotion to quality impress me is a gentleman who first flagged me down on an East Hampton back road several years ago. I had decided to go for a ride on my turquoise Velocifero scooter and was zipping along when I heard a shout “Yo, Martha!” Across the street on his own turquoise scooter was Sean “Diddy” Combs, the rap star who used to be called Puff Daddy and then P. Diddy.
Thanks for the photo, Dawson.
48 days in Columbus
Columbus Ohio’s new dedicated motorcycle and scooter parking, unveiled last week, has been making national news and will hopefully serve as a model for other communities. The best part: it all happened over the course of 48 days, starting with a well-organized protest, followed by good communication and swift, positive action by the city. It’s amazing to relive the entire process in this thread on the Cutters’ forum. The more I learn about how this happened, the more I’m floored. This is historic stuff, and how cool are the signs?
H-D buys MV
Speaking of Italian motorcycles, Harley-Davidson is buying MV Agusta. Like just about every Italian motorcycle and scooter marque, MV Agusta has changed hands several times since the ’80s. (Thanks to PSF Steve for the link.)