If Ants’ and Jo’s three-month Tuk-Tuk adventure wasn’t enough for you, or you thought they needed more competition over a shorter distance, you might want to schedule time off work next August for the 2007 Indian Autorickshaw Challenge. Sounds a bit better organized and a bit more fun, though I think Ants and Jo could have blown away the competition.
Category: Lifestyle
Tukkers update: they’re home!
After three grueling months driving a Thai tuk-tuk from Bangkok to England, Jo and Ants (and Ting Tong) are safely home in Norfolk, UK. They’ve raised £25,000 for Mind, a mental health charity, and are hoping to double that amount through local appearances and donations. With the giant potholes, civil unrest, mysterious food, border crossings, amazing scenery, and even an earthquake behind them, their blog is great reading, and now there’s the luxury of reading it all at once, rather than waiting for the next installment.
University of Wisconsin parking crackdown
The downside of scooter popularity: The University of Wisconsin in Madison is charging $55 for an annual parking pass and limiting parking to designated spaces. It makes you long for the days when you were the only outcast weirdo in town with a Vespa. Still, at least there is a clearly-defined, legal place to park, unlike, say, in Chicago.
Aussie motor group speaks up for scooters
As Spring arrives in Australia, bringing along a U.S.-like scooter boom, The Age quotes the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce:
Scooter riders need safer travel routes, better sharing initiatives, better education for riders and drivers, better traffic management, better licensing and training laws as well as better infrastructure. Government policymakers and road planners are failing powered two-wheeled transport users. We need a system of designated `safe routes’ and better traffic management features to make road-sharing safer for scooter and motorcycle riders. It is time the growing army of scooter riders was heard and their concerns addressed.
Hear hear! We feel the same way in the U.S. (and we want parking!). Some Chicago scooterists are looking to join forces with ABATE, the next meeting is Wednesday, September 20. We’ll post more details soon.
Tower Scooters’ advice
Tower Scooters (London) claim that 40% of secondhand scooters shouldn’t be bought. I’d say in the U.S., that’s a conservative estimate. They offer this advice to anyone looking for a used scooter.
Catching up
A few good news stories that got lost in the fog of the last week:
- The Salt Lake Tribune on Vespas at the Italian Festival.
- BusinessWeek on the Suzuki Burgman craze
- FloridaToday on the Bajaj Rickshaw in the U.S.
- SmartMoney on the scooter boom.
- The U.S. scooter boom is also news in the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates, via a French press agency.
- Forbes on vintage motorcycles as an investment.
Washington Post on the Cannonball
The Washington Post has a good story about the Cannonball Run, which starts Sunday.
Vespa GTS250 safety alert?
an uncredited-but-frightening photo, posted on ScooterScene
The UK Scooter-Scene forum is reporting a possible safety issue regarding a Vespa GTS250 exhaust gasket. According to the post, some GTS250 riders are reporting the gasket degrades over time and can fail, releasing excessive heat that can damage the rear brake hydraulic pipe, throttle cable, or gas line, causing a loss of brakes, locked-up throttle, or even the risk of a gas fire or explosion. Piaggio UK has been notified of the problem, and is looking into it. It’s unclear how common the problem is, or if it’s an issue with all GTS250s internationally. It could even be a hoax or a freak occurence, but until more information surfaces, GTS250 riders may want to keep an eye on their pipes and look for signs of damage (louder pipe, excessive heat), and also make sure they’re properly registered with your dealer in case there’s a recall. Thanks for the tip, Nitro.
Smallframes.com
Niall King’s Vespa Smallframes site is an oldie but goodie, with tech info and photos of Vespa’s smallframe scooters, and a good amount of info on Asian-market models. It also features a downloadable font “Primavera,” a Mac or Windows version of the 70s Piaggio logo font (sort of a stylized Clarendon Bold Extended, if you’re a type nerd).
Slaughterhouse pre-party tonight!
Los Corazones Negros’ annual Slaughterhouse pre-party is tonight (Thursday, August 31) at Liar’s Club, 1665 W. Fullerton Ave. 9pm-til-midnight, an $8 wristband gets you free beer, Midnight-to-close, beer is only $1 DJs spin all night. 2strokebuzz will be there, running the Crapraffleâ„¢ and selling merchandise to support Scooterrelief.org.
Slaughterhouse 12 continues Friday night at Frank & Mary’s (2905 N. Elston Ave), with Karaoke and a midnight ride.
La Dolce Vita scooter in California?
Rocco’s Ristorante and Pizzeria in Walnut Creek, CA claims to have the original Vespa from “La Dolce Vita.” There’s a picture in the slide show, anyone care to speculate on its authenticity?
živeli!
How many things are wrong (read: freaking sweet) in this picture? It’s from the Oldtimer-Grand Prix, held at the Vrsac airport in Serbia.
Piaggio Typhoon giveaway at Slaughterhouse
In a surprise last-minute announcement–days before the rally–Motoplex/Old Town Motocycle Shoppe has told us they’ll be giving away a Piaggio Typhoon in the Slaughterhouse raffle this Saturday night at the Cobra Lounge. Big thanks to Dan and Derrick at Motoplex for the scooter!
Slaughterhouse countdown!
Only a few days left until Chicago’s oldest, biggest and best scooter rally; Slaughterhouse 12. We’ll be at Los Corazones Negros’ pre-party (Thursday night at Liar’s Club) running a Crapraffleâ„¢ to raise some money for scooterrelief.org, please bring along a few extra bucks to help scooterists in need. And be sure to try the pulled pork on Saturday!
Kids ain’t too smart in Hemel Hempstead
I can’t even believe this is true, but apparently there have been multiple reports in Hertfordshire, England, that kids are carrying around extra gas for their minibikes and Go-Peds in motherf••king plastic bags. So that’s one more sticker that the MOT will require on all new bikes, just because people are stupid as all get-out. I don’t think I need to tell you that’s a bad idea. Everyone knows you’re supposed to store your extra gas in a styrofoam 72oz. Big Gulp cup*.
* That was a joke, don’t be stupid.