Autobloggreen reports the New York Police Department will test Vectrix electric scooters in January. The NYPD has been using Piaggio BV200 scooters for several years, most famously in an undercover attack on protesting bicyclists at the 2004 Republican convention. This election, protesters won’t even hear them coming, and the hippies can rest assured that their captors are riding environmentally-friendly vehicles. (Thanks, Lalo!)
Category: Scooter News
Vespa Attack 3
Speaking of the PI, our friend Jordan Cinco has just returned from the Philippines where he helped organize the third annual Vespa Attack rally. Congratulations to 2sb jersey winner Clifford Certeza (above), president of the Euroscoot SC, who is now also the president and sole member of the the Merciless Tigers’ Pacific Rim supporters club. As always, the stories and rally photos are incredible, and 2sb was proud to be a sponsor, but we would have much rather been a participant. Maybe next year.
Check out photos from the 2sb Gallery, Who Rides a Vespa, Jordan’s Flickr, Vexel9’s flickr, kap42no’s flickr, Vespinoy, and the Sexy Times Crew.
Vespa bicycle mounts?
Some ideas how to mount a bicycle to your Vespa compiled by the new president of the Vespa Club of the Philippines. (Congrats, John!) I’d think if you were doing a side-mount, you’d want the bike on the left to offset the weight of the engine, which already makes a Vespa/Stella right-heavy, but I’m not an engineer nor a cyclist.
Motogiro d’California
Motogiro d’Italia is a motorcycle touring rally made famous in the 1950s and revived in 2001. The event, showcasing classic Italian machines, is venturing outside Italy for the first, of what I would imagine will be annual, Motogiro America. The oil leaking event will be held in and around Monterey, CA preceding the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix in July 2008. Webbikeworld.com reports that the routes will include a lap around the racetrack at Laguna Seca as well as scenic rides around the picturesque Monterey Bay area. There is a range of entry classes including a “Vespa Class.” Hopefully other vintage Italian scooters will be allowed as it would seem very fitting to have some of the beautiful Lambretta D race machines participating (I’m talking to you, Alex). It sounds like a dream week for any Italian Iron enthusiast.
Is It Time For An American Scooter Confederation?
The Australian website, mcnews.com.au, reports on an association of scooter importers that will represent manufacturers and dealers in an effort to “assist riders to avoid potential pitfalls”. This seems aimed directly at upstart importers of lower quality scooters brought in by the container load for fly-by-night organizations. The Australian Scooter Federation boasts membership from many top flight manufacturers including the marques of the Piaggio group, Honda, Yamaha and Kymco. The article states that the ASF members will conform to a ‘code of conduct’ to ensure high quality and dealer support. Is it time for such an organization in the U.S.A? I think so. I recall a little sticker on the gas tank of many an Allstate scooter that suggested there once was. Discuss.
Gruesome Vespa photo alert
Oh dear lord make it stop.
MIT’s rent-a-scooter concept
Neat-looking concept from MIT: A well-designed folding scooter for commuters and the rental market. There’s stuff like this out there already, but not as well-designed. Most electric bikes have a restrictively-heavy-and-large battery, not sure how they avoided that. (Thanks, Brooke.)
Peel microcar video and Hammacher Schlemmer
POC Phil posted this must-watch Peel Trident & P50 minicar video as a comment to my microcar book review, but it deserved a more prominent link. In the sixties you could buy a two-seater car made on the Isle of Man for £200 but these days a similarly-sized Chinese electric car costs $25,000. Nitro sent that Hammacher Schlemmer link, along with this $6000 2-person scooter coupe. He says “Imagine if you changed the cheap Chinese subframe for maybe a kitted 125 or so.” I guess, or you could buy an MP3 for the same price.
Frankenbike
From Big Rye: Al Franken courts the Minnesota vintage scooterist vote.
Lamponi Scooter Lamps (new site)
Those scooter-headset lamps that we posted about last year have been turning up on other scooter and gadget sites ever since. Designer Maurizio Lamponi Leopardi has a new well-designed site with more photos. The site is written in English and includes information about ordering the lamps, though they’re surely pretty expensive, and chances are, if you’re a 2SB reader, you a) can’t afford one, and b) have everything you need in your garage to build your own. Also keep in mind that scooter headsets make great wall sconces.
“Junk Scooter”
Artist Nemo Gould’s steampunk-ish Honda-Elite-based “Junk Scooter,” with a body made from an old streetlamp cover and vacuum cleaner parts. Here are some more recent photos. Awesome. (Thanks, Kevan!)
“What the f**k did I do?”
Actor Mickey Rourke was arrested for drunk driving at 4:11 this morning in Miami Beach. He was “erratically” weaving around the road on a green 2007 Vespa.
MP3 HyS: late 2008
French site Scooter Station reports that Piaggio plans to offer the gas/electric hybrid MP3 125 by late 2008. A prototype hybrid MP3 was unveiled in August along with the release of the Ape Calessino and the Vespa S, but no date was set for its public release. The bike features the HyS hybrid engine that’s been on test by Milan municipal vehicles since April, 2006. No word yet on whether the other HyS-equipped Vespa and Piaggio scooters will be available sooner (or at all).
Bajaj and KTM, sitting in a tree
Bajaj now owns 14.5% of Austria’s KTM motorcycles. Bajaj will distribute KTM through their dealer network in southeast Asia, and KTM will design 125 and 250cc 4-stroke engines for joint ventures. And the color orange will be involved.
Bastianelli vs. Pontedera
Ryan’s honeymoon photos from the Vespa factory and museum. The Massimiliano Fuksas’ new museum appears to be dead in the water, a museum employee told Ryan there was a new museum expected to open in late 2008 “near the factory.” Fuksas’ site doesn’t mention the project, either, so it looks like those floating red clouds were just more pre-IPO public relations hype. Bummer.