Scooter Wallpapers

Scooter Wallpapers Collection features 1600 x 1200 photos of scooters, mostly high-quality press photos with a white background. The selection is a little strange (no Vespas, lots of Derbi and several defunct brands) and the blog format maybe isn’t the best way to organize the photos, but it’s a neat resource.

The “American Girl in Italy” Lambrettista

Surely you’ve seen the poster, it has graced countless dorm rooms, and hangs in every other Italian restaurant in Chicago. Ruth Orkin’s photo “American Girl in Italy” has been a popular symbol of Italy for decades, but the first thing any scooterist sees is the early Lambretta to the right of the frame. Corriere della Sera recently tracked down the Lambrettista (now 79 and living in America) and interviewed him,. From what little sense the Google translation makes (he’s a Clint Eastwood lookalike? What?), it sounds like a fascinating story.

The New Stella, unveiled

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For more than a year, rumors have been circulating about a new 4-stroke version of Genuine Scooter Company’s Stella motorscooter. Genuine confirmed the model a few months ago, but has otherwise been very quiet about the project. This week, Genuine allowed 2strokebuzz a quick look at a “New Stella” prototype (and a ride!) just before it was sent for CARB testing in California.
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“Swimsuit Issue” is just a Sonic Youth song

Most of us stopped “reading” Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue in about 6th grade, when we finally tracked down some real porn. But there will always be 6th-graders, so SI keeps publishing it, and comically pretending it’s a guide for women shopping for swimwear. Their portfolio now includes athletes’ wives, tennis stars, cheerleaders, bodypainted nudes, Danica Patrick (you’re killing us, Danica) and the usual fashion models, but, strangely still no men (don’t men need swimsuit shopping advice?). It’s always beautifully-shot, and always edging just close enough to pornography to create a stir and sell magazines. To anyone with a connection to the Internet, the Swimsuit Issue (and even the Swimsuit Issue website) seems as anachronistic as the Sears catalog lingerie section, but as a public service, Michael dutifully searched through the sprawling site to find these photos of Daniella Sarahyba blocking our view of a vintage Vespa 50 Special in Naples, Italy. As fans of imperfection, charm, and natural beauty, we find the scooter much more appealing than the model. Is there something wrong with us if our eyes are immediately drawn to that aftermarket fenderlight, rather than Daniella’s headlights?

PiaggioUSA 2008 Fall Dealer Meeting

From our spies at Piaggio’s fall dealer meeting:
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Dinner meeting features Jay Leno: 45 minutes of stand up, closing with “when Piaggio called me they said, ‘we don’t have much money,’ and I said ‘I’ll do it free, I’m Italian, I want to support an Italian product, I like Italian bikes,’ then I get here and find out how your sales are up and your dealers aren’t exactly hurtin’.

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