Category: Scooter News

Consumer Reports’ scooter tips

Consumer Reports goes against the overwhelming tide of “scooters are great” stories to publish a concise list of things people should think about before being swept up in the hype. The only thing missing is a general caution to research your vehicle in depth before buying, it’s likley Consumer Reports readers know better than to buy a $999 Chinese scooter, but getting the word out about the vast differences in quality and the questionable ethics of most Chinese importers sure wouldn’t hurt.

Unspeakable Xingyue love

“Local man loves his Chinese-made scooter.” Despite the headline, the video was totally disappointing. Just wipe up your mess when you, uh, “finish,” Mumford.

For the record, that’s a Xingyue Euro 150, and I really doubt he’s getting that mileage. Their logo creeps me out for some reason, but I think that’s the only currently-available covered three-wheel scooter (Bajaj’s autorickshaws don’t really count) available in the U.S., if you’re into only getting your arms wet in the rain.

More MPG math:

The New York Times’ always-great “Wheels” blog points out that “miles per gallon” perhaps isn’t the best metric, or at least shouldn’t be the only metric, of fuel savings. A higher MPG figure gives the false impression that the savings are proportional to the mileage. Obviously, a higher MPG rating is always better, but as the fuel efficiency increases, the savings start to level off. Their example is that replacing a low-mileage SUV with an average-mileage car makes a much bigger fuel cost difference than trading an average-mileage car for a hybrid car. Let’s do some math and see what that means for scooters.
Continue reading “More MPG math:”

I’ME: the next Genuine scooter?

PGO’s new fuel-injected I’ME 125 won a 2008 Taiwan Excellence Award and got some press coverage (videos below) in Taiwan, but there’s a strange lack of information about it on the internet. The Republic of China’s new emissions laws require fuel-injection, so it’s likely all of Genuine’s PGO-built 2009 models will feature EFI, (UPDATE: maybe not,) but PGO claims the I’ME is the first to pass the new “fifth stage” emissions regulations. Aesthetically, it looks like an updated Kymco Agility, sort of the Vespa LX to the Agility’s ET, if that makes any sense, which it doesn’t.

With the current drought of scooters in U.S. showrooms, it’s a safe bet Genuine would love to get their hands on the I’ME, but PGO’s likely focused on development and production of domestic-market fifth-stage-certified bikes. That should give Genuine just enough time to re-brand it, and apply for DOT homologation. In any case, we’re adding the I’ME 125 to our Genuine ’09 wish list, along with the hybrid Buddy and the return of the Blur (hopefully the 4-valve 150 version and the 200 with this cool LCD dashboard).

Aussies: goodbye PX, hello $10K MP3

The Courier-Mail in Australia reports Piaggio has shipped their last containerload of Vespa PX scooters to Australia. We reported that Vespa PX production effectively ended in December, 2006, though the U.S. received 2007 models (likely manufactured in 2006) and a 30th-anniversary limited edition of 1000 white PXes was released last October in Europe. It’s unclear whether the anniversary and Aussie-market PXes were leftover stock from the 2006 batch, or a later production run.

Also from that story: after a recent AU$1000 price drop, the price of an MP3 250 in Australia is close to US$10,000. I’ll never complain about U.S. scooter prices again.

Pics from LML Factory Tour

Two pages worth of photos from the LML factory in Kanpur show the most detailed aspects of PX-clone production we’ve seen to date. Credit to the boys at Eddybullet.com and Xytar of the BBS for posting the link.

sidenote : I really wish that PK copy would have made it to American shores. I wonder if those were part of the Genuine / LML smallframe rumors i heard several years back that never materialized.

Lambretta Pato commercial

A TV commercial for the European-market “Lambretta” Pato (aka the Lance Milan, ZNen ZN151T-F, Flyscooter LaVie, etc.), not to be confused with the Lambretta International Uno and Due sold in the U.S., or an actual Lambretta. The only thing sadder than a Chinese Lambretta is putting end credits on a commercial on YouTube. (Via motoblog.it.)