Burgmania spreads

Suzuki’s doing something right, their Burgman continues to rack up glowing news stories nationwide. Interestingly, the bike also seems to be expanding beyond touring scooters’ usual market (the elderly, and wives of touring motorcyclists) in almost every direction. Here are a few news reports we’ve seen lately:

Indian Autorickshaw Challenge

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.

Tukkers update: they’re home!

Jo and Ants return homeAfter 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.

Around Australia

Australian scooterist Julio Languiller is a quarter of the way into his 15-day, 10,000-mile trip around Australia for at-risk and homeless Australian youth. Languilller holds world endurance records on Honda 50, 125, and 150cc scooters and is a veteran of many long-distance charity rides. The Cannonball Run starts in less than a month, their ride is less than a quarter the distance in two-thirds the time, but they’re mostly riding vintage scooters, not 600cc Honda Silverwings, so we’ll cut them some slack.

Tukker update

Jo and Ants, tuk-tuking across the eastern hemisphere, are still rolling and still blogging. They’re off to the Ukraine today after an unintended 4-day stop in Volgograd, Russia. They seem to be under the impression it’ll be easier once they get through the Ukraine, but we’ll see!

Lake Erie Loop 2006: POC Phil’s report

Lake Erie Loop entrants

Phil and the Pink BuddyHere’s Phil Waters’ report on this year’s Lake Erie Loop, a low-displacement motorcycle race around Lake Erie to benefit the Aluminum Cans for Burned Children Foundation:

Any scooter or bike 200cc or under can compete. Bikes over 200cc can participate in the non-timed “tourist class.” All proceeds go to help burned kids, so you can feel good about breaking the law and destroying your scooter or bike. There were 18 contestants this year. We proved that scooters posed a real threat, 5 scooters were entered and ALL of them completed the course with 2 of us taking home trophies.

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