After visiting Dealer Expo twice, I feel entirely justified in questioning the quality of Chinese scooters just based on build quality and looks, but I’ve had limited experience actually riding them. This weekend, I got the chance to ride a cousin’s “Boss” brand Chinese scooter (Qingqi, maybe?). Aside from the steering column’s desire to whip to the left or right if nudged more than a few degrees from center, and a less-than-peppy engine, it wasn’t the worst bike I’ve ever ridden… until I tried to stop.
Continue reading “ABS scooter brakes?”
Category: Lifestyle
Pics from LML Factory Tour
Two pages worth of photos from the LML factory in Kanpur show the most detailed aspects of PX-clone production we’ve seen to date. Credit to the boys at Eddybullet.com and Xytar of the BBS for posting the link.
sidenote : I really wish that PK copy would have made it to American shores. I wonder if those were part of the Genuine / LML smallframe rumors i heard several years back that never materialized.
Vespadition cut short
Vespa Thousand Oaks officially released this statement at midnight, saying they are putting an abrupt end to Peter Ramstine’s “Vespadition” campaign of which they were a primary sponsor, due to allegations of impropriety coming in from various sources, including this anonymous letter.
Scooters to save gas – a bad idea?
Autoextremist’s Peter M. De Lorenzo turns his sights on scooters this time for his weekly “Rants” column. It certainly takes the opposite stance as all of the “Everyone should buy a scooter to save money on gas!” articles that come out anytime gas prices rise.
Japanese Customs
Here’s a nice collection of photos of customized twist-n-gos from Japan on twowheelsblog. Not my thing, at all, but worth a look.
T-Max 749
For Ryan: A Yamaha T-Max with a Ducati 749 engine. Goodtimes.
Euromopeds on MV
Another company selling the “Lambretta” Pato/Lance Milan/ZNen ZN151T-F, is Euromopeds. Euromopeds’ Massimiliano Versace pulled the old multiple-usernames-with-one-IP shill over at Modern Vespa, and MV moderator Jess ripped him a new one, with a little help from SR of ScooterBBS fame. It’s a fun read, and by linking it here, with my additional “Googly goodness.” perhaps it’ll help push that MV thread above Euromopeds’ own site and their Craigslist spams in search engines.
P.E.A.C.E update
Alix is in New Orleans and blogging strong. Definitely worth checking daily (update:RSS is working now, hooray!). Be sure to check out her weekly raffles.
Next they’ll ticket the scooters inside the shop
Looks like someone in Bristol got the Officer Simone treatment.”
Looks like someone in Bristol got the “Officer Simone treatment””
60 million Cubs
You’d think with 60 million Honda Cubs on the road, they could spare a few for the United States. The good news: Carter is considering bringing in the Sym Sym WoWow Cub clone.
Amerivespa 2008 registration open
Amerivespa 2008 in Chattanooga, TN, is now open for registration. Amerivespa is the Vespa Club of America’s national rally, I’ve been the last three years (Cleveland, Denver, and Seattle) and it’s been fantastic. Events include several rides (including the legendary Deal’s Gap “Dragon,”), a river cruise, a concours and gymkhana, a pub crawl, a vendor area/swap meet, raffles, and an awards banquet, plus much more. If you’re going, be sure to preregister, it seems expensive, but it’s worth it. (The cruise and banquet, for instance, fill up quickly, and generally aren’t included in the [higher] day-of-event registration fee). Of course, it’s cheaper if you’re a VCOA member, and you’ll get four issues of VCOA’s fantastic American Scooterist. The rally (and the VCOA) welcomes all scooterists, new and old, modern and vintage, and it’s a really friendly atmosphere* to make new friends.
*Aside from that one guy.
“Wheels” on the Vespa S
Dan at the New York Times’ “Wheels” blog takes the Vespa S for a spin and gives it a good, honest assessment. I’m digging “Wheels,” (and not only because Dan’s linked to us a few times lately).
SX appeal’s “Pak Rest” case
Via Scooterfix, SX-appeal’s neat new Pak Rest case mounts on your passenger seat, giving you a backrest and storage. It’s available in tan or black. Scooterwest/Motorsport has it on sale for $109. They have some great specials, I don’t even like windscreens, but I just bought one for the Blur because it was only $50.
Yamaha Capitalizes On Racing Efforts With Scooters
As in years past, Yamaha is the official supplier of scooters to the MotoGP paddock. The scooter that will be transporting MotoGP staff and VIPs around the pits is the Yamaha Jog RR MotoGP edition. The Fiat Yamaha Racing team also has made the Yamaha Giggle, known in the US as the C3 and in Japan as the Vox, as their official team scooter. Not to waste an opportunity for branding, Valentino Rossi has a Yamaha Aerox replica for the ultimate fan to show off who he or she pulls for on race day. Not to be outdone, MotoGP rookie sensation Jorge Lorenzo has a Jog RR race replica of his own. The only thing that outnumbers the Yamaha MotoGP-scooter tie-ins in this post is the number of hyperlinks I’ve inserted.
New Vespa Museum opens in Ravenna
If you’re headed to Italy this summer, and you’ve seen the Piaggio Museum three times already, check out Mauro Pascoli’s recently-opened Vespa Museum in Ravenna. Apparently the Massimiliano Fuksas-designed “cloud” museum hovering over the Pontedera assembly line (that was supposed to be finished last year) was just 60th-anniversary P.R. bullshit.
(See also: Machine-translated story from Repubblica.it via Motoblog.it.)