Category: Lifestyle

News bits, June 3, 2007

Some news from the last few weeks, See if you can spot the Bob Balaban reference!

Swearing, drink-driving and smoking in public

A stereotyped-but-funny quote from a Times real estate story last week:

Ask the average Briton what he considers the most socially unacceptable forms of behaviour and he will probably answer: swearing, drink-driving and smoking in public. Ask the average Italian man driving home from the bar on his Vespa why neither he nor the eight-year-old on the handlebars are wearing a helmet, and he’ll tell you to mind your own business before stubbing out his Kent Light on your shorts.

Can an Adly pull a pop-up camper?

pathecaravan.jpg

If the Lambretta tent video we posted a few months ago was inspiring, but a tent just isn’t “all-mod-cons” enough for you, check out this video from the same source (Britsh Pathe Archives): a Lambretta towing a pop-up camper. I can’t imagine that it was wise to load a 150 or 175cc engine, even when factory-fresh, with a pop-up camper AND a boat AND gear AND a pillion passenger AND a sidecar with a child. (Thanks, Dan Epstein, who sent this so long ago he surely forgot about it.)

Julie Plug’s “Blue Sky Propeller”

Julie Plug

Once again, YouTube (via John Rana) serves up a great music video that slipped by unnoticed (to us anyway) a few years ago. Julie Plug (on MySpace) is a Bay Area band influenced by Britpop and the Sundays. Their 2003 “Blue Sky Propeller” video is pretty much the Filipino-American “Lloyd, I’m ready to be Heartbroken”, only a few years older and more scooter-ific. Read John’s post for more about the band.

Portland Advisory Committee

I know, I know, you’re all waiting for a DOT meeting summary, and it’s coming, I promise (along with some other big news that will explain why posts are so few and far between lately). In the meantime, here’s good news from the West Coast: Portland City Council unanimously approved aMotorcycle and Scooter Citizen Advisory Committee (thanks, Matty). Maybe the McCabes can give us some more details?

Vicious Cycles

Vicious Cycles

Dave McCabe has long been searching for a short film he remembers seeing before Star Wars or Indiana Jones at the Polar Theater in Anchorage. He finally found it on good ol’ YouTube. Despite a resurgence in popularity in the 80s, Vicious Cycles was actually made in 1969. It’s a goofy live-action stop-motion animated film featuring the grungy Vicious Cycles MC facing off against the bowler-hat-clad Mild Ones Scooter Club. If nothing else, it proves the go-to newspaper headline “Mild Ones” (drink!) was already an old joke in 1969. It’s fantastic and authentic, right down to the squeaky Vespa drum brake sound. Stick around ’til the end for a Coke ad featuring vintage motorcycles and a public service announcement about loud pipes.

2sb on SCTRCST

I was so busy last week, I forgot to mention that I was interviewed on Episode 9 of Dave Mangano’s “SCTRCST” podcast. Being a chronic mumbler, I was careful to enunciate, but something went awry with the audio so it’s pretty hard to understand me anyway (transcript coming soon). Don’t let that prevent you from listening to SCTRCST regularly, it’s a great show, and usually the guests are much more interesting and easier to understand. : )

Vespa exhaust gasket update

Two new developments in the Vespa GT/GTS exhaust gasket recall story:

  • VespaUSA CEO Paolo Timoni vaguely addressed the exhaust problem in a story naming him “Powersports Business’ 2007 Executive of the Year”: “‘We have made some really good improvements in parts availability and our capability to serve dealers,’ he said, ‘although we cannot claim the job has been completed. We’re still working on, for example, the manifold casting.'” While not quite public, (the magazine is targeted at dealers), and not very specific, this was the closest we’ve seen PiaggioUSA come to addressing the problem publicly. (The rest of the story is enlightening, too.)
  • An Australian reader reports that Australian importer Peter Stevens Motorcycles has sent letters to GT/GTS owners advising them to visit their dealer for a free 35-minute service to replace the “exhaust leader pipe.”

Chicago Scooterist Roundtable TOMORROW

Here’s the final info for the Scooterist Roundtable tomorrow, sorry to post it so late. Please come if at all possible, we may not have as big a group as we hoped, but we have a good variety of quality people representing scooterdom, and we’re hoping this meeting will be the starting point for a great relationship with the city.

Pre-meeting

Meet at The Twisted Spoke (Ogden location) at noon to compare notes. If you plan to eat, come a bit earlier, we need to leave at 12:30 sharp to arrive at the meeting at ten to one (Dan Epstein is recording our arrival for his radio piece). This pre-meeting is optional, you’re welcome to proceed directly to the meeting, please for once, don’t run on “scooter time,” (he says, knowing he’ll be the late one).

The Roundtable

Meet a little before 1:00PM at the Chicago Center for Green Technology (45 North Sacramento). Dress respectfully, and try to bring a clean scooter, meeting participants will be welcomed to come out and have a look. There’s a parking lot, we’ll try to park together (orderly!) and lock up appropriately.

We’ll be meeting with our CDOT contact who arranged the meeting, Charles Roesner, and CDOT Deputy Commissioner of Project Development Luann Hamilton. Other CDOT representatives will also be present, as well as people from the Departments of the Environment (the “green” issue) and Revenue (who handle parking enforcement). The meeting will last about two hours. We’ll let the organizers direct the pace and content of the meeting, and there’s not a lot of time, but for reference, I’ve made a “wish list” of topics that we hope to discuss. See you tomorrow!

Vespa exhaust gasket recall?

Greek and German scooterists in the Modern Vespa forum have reported local rumors of a recall program for the Vespa GTS exhaust gasket “problem.” It’s unclear whether an official recall is underway, or if dealers in those countries are responding to concerns regarding “Technical Bulletin No 18/06” (September 18, 2006) and checking previously-serviced pipes. GTS riders have complained of gasket failure resulting in heat damage and potential dangerous situations. While Piaggio insists proper maintenance techniques will prevent failure, Modern Vespa readers have reported multiple failures, even on Vespas where the pipe had never been removed. Many modern Vespa riders have switched to third-party exhausts (apparently with problems of their own), while others are using and recommending aftermarket brass bushings.

Here’s Piaggio Technical Bulletin No 18/06, the offical document that Piaggio sent to Vespa dealers, outlining proper maintenance and replacement of the GTS exhaust gasket.