Category: Concepts/Innovation

Genuine Blur 220: test ride

Blurristas, rejoice, your favorite bike may be back!

Genuine’s Blur 150 was a great scooter that never sold well. Its fans will gladly extoll its virtues, especially its sublime braking, handling, and suspension. Unfortunately, Genuine discontinued the Blur after two years on the market (the 2007 model was orange and charcoal, the 2008 model was black and charcoal) and many bikes sat on dealer floors until lucky riders snapped them up at a discount in the big scooter rush of 2009.

Meanwhile, PGO in Taiwan has been making several versions over the past few years (it’s called the G-Max in most of the world) and it’s become popular in other markets. Why didn’t it succeed here? Was the modern styling ahead of its time for the U.S. market? Was it too orange? Was it the fact that a Buddy 125 was hundreds of bucks cheaper and offered roughly the same top speed? Whatever the reason, American scooterists missed out on a really well-engineered bike that was leagues ahead of most 150s in everything but speed.
Continue reading “Genuine Blur 220: test ride”

Oberdan’s dream world

Oberdan, just stop it already, I can’t read Italian and Google translations never make it clear if the insane vehicle I’m looking at is a real manufacturer-endorsed concept sketch, or just random nuttiness that popped into your head.

Update: he’s got a new Gilera sketch, too.

And a million more on his Motosketches site, which is a joy to visit. We love you Oberdan, we just can’t tell the difference between fantasia i realtà.

Dispatch from the Hodge Republic

Just got an email from Rob Hodge. If you don’t know Rob, you’ve never really experienced scootering. Rob’s sort of a scootering mad scientist, with emphasis on the “mad,” and comically tactless, and we sort of miss having him around the Midwest, though we’re not necessarily asking him to come back. He’s worked at some of the best scooter shops around, and generally knows his stuff, but sometimes when he’s pouring half a gallon of Marvel Mystery Oil into your open cylinder, you start to wonder. Anyway, here’s what he’s got to say, translated from Hodgespeak:

I’ve created a new Yahoogroup to spread information regarding
Hodgespeed Tuning’s ongoing projects. […] If you only want to receive product updates and bulletin-style notices, these will be sent as “special notices.” if you
want all the info, sign up to “receive all e-mails.”

in other news, it’s short notice but i’m having an “open house/garage night” tonight, (July 1, 2009) at 5:00 at my location at 2314 Thorndyke in Seattle. The main project for the night is a 4-speed upgrade and complete re-wire of a smallframe with one of the new Parmakit ignitions. Feel free to bring your project over for some wrench time or to get an opinion. My father in also in town and he’s extremly competent in electricals, as am I.

See, at least he’s modest. His dad is entertaining, too.

Yes, he’ll uprgade a transmission and rewire an entire bike in one night. And it will work. But it won’t be pretty. Worth checking out if you’re in Seattleland, but have an excuse ready (“I need to pick up my girlfriend at night school!”) or you’ll be there all night.

Note: no, he didn’t include the Yahoogroup address, and yes, I have been looking for an excuse to throw that art up for ages.

A Cheap Electric Scooter?

Wired reports that Austin-TX-based KLD Technologies plan to launch a electric scooter in the price range of a Vespa sometime next year. We’re confused how an all-electric scooter that’s the same price as a high-end gas scooter is a “cheap alternative.” Sure, it’s cheaper than a hybrid Piaggio MP3, but so is a biodiesel-powered school bus. Maybe their “nano-crystaline technology” is something special, and the concept drawing is adorable, but people seem to keep forgetting there are many relatively inexpensive electric scooters and bicycles on the market already,

Can YOU Beat Piaggio To An Electric Vespa?

Jeb from Soundspeed Scooters in Seattle dropped a line to say their electric vintage Vespa conversion kit is now available to the general public. The price tag isn’t for the weak of heart but it has a few things going for it. First it’s the only way to get a good looking electric scooter. Second is that the price is over half made up of the new lighter Lithium battery pack. Hopefully advances in technology can drive this price down in the future. But most importantly it’s stated to come with directions. I’m sure people have run in to DIY projects about electric motorcycles with vague descriptions of the accumulation and assembly of parts. This kit is supposed to fit any largeframe Vespa. While Piaggio has made (and burried) the Zip and Zip in the past and has promised a hybrid vehicle to be coming soon, it’s not here yet. Any tree huggers up for taking the situation into their own hands?

TSR Vespa smallframe disc brake in the works

tsrdisckit4In the 2strokebuzz tradition of finding scooter news and putting it under a tarp in the garage, we bring you month old news of a new Vespa smallframe disc brake system in the works that uses the traditional smallframe fork. The Scooter Republic is an outfit based in Vietnam that has been stealthily producing some reproduction and bespoke parts like SS90 replicas and some crazy exhausts for the smallframe range. When contacted for more information regarding the new smallie stoppers, a representative from TSR said the unit is in the late prototype stage and heading for production. The project is advanced to the point where they are currently accepting deposits on the first round of production. Now there appears to be an option for smallframe enthusiasts to get modern stopping power without resorting to the use of a PK fork. One caveat for the unit shown and to be produced first is that it is suited for the older style V90/V50 rim. While the numbers of riders with these wheels are smaller it is a great look and it’s possible to convert a scooter with the new style hubs and rims to the old pressed steel hubs. Further news revealed the addition of an anti-dive solution as well as a prototype for the newer style rims. Contact TSR by emailing: info AT tsr DOT vn. The tsr.vn website doesn’t give any additional information beyond a cool scooter cartoon but it’s worth the price of the click.

The New Stella, unveiled

newstella1
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.
Continue reading “The New Stella, unveiled”

Venti venditio veritas?

Orin reports that Hammerhead’s Venti (and a 50-cc verson, the “Paris,”) are expected to arrive at his local shop in June. Opinions vary, both about the scooter itself and its potential in the market, but Hammerhead seems to be walking the walk and following through (rather quickly) on a concept that could be very popular. If they handle dealer support as well as they’ve handled everything else so far, and if the bike is of halfway decent quality, we’ll probably be seeing a lot of Ventis on the road soon.

UPDATE: (4/16) Ryan at Scooter-News heard a different story from Hammerhead themselves, including a possible name change.

Brains

No, this is not a S.P.A.Z. post. Japanese neuroscientist Ryuta Kawashima, who designed “Brain Training” for the Nintendo DS, has determined that riding a motorcycle can improve memory, space recognition and other prefrontal brain functions. That’s a way better excuse to buy a bike than fuel efficiency, right?

You know, our Brooke is a neuroscientist too, and he would say anything Yamaha wanted, if they’ll fill up his garage with Asian-market Zumas, but since Yamaha didn’t come to him first, I imagine he’ll have an interesting opinion on Kawashima’s findings.

(Thanks for the story, Victor!)

UW Engineers Get It Wrong

University of Wisconsin engineering students tackled the problem of why 50cc 4 stroke Vespas are so slow and no fun to ride. Correction, they went after trying to improve the gas mileage by designing some sort of fuel cell system to aid normal gasoline combustion. They claim a ten percent reduction of fuel used. Let me list their mistakes in no particular order of significance.

1) They are trying to improve the fuel efficiency of a 4 stroke 50cc Vespa
2) They aren’t abandoning gasoline all together to go 100% Hindenberg
3) All the dorks pictured are paying no attention to the girl on the scooter. WTF boys?!

All this points to a need to request the University of Wisconsin to stick to stem cells and shortening the lines for beer at hockey games. (I haven’t been in a decade or more, so they may have banned beer sales all together).