Jonathan Pait’s blog, Vespatude, started about a year ago when he bought a Vespa on eBay. Surely he planned to write about his travels and adventures, but unfortunately he’s spent the year learning why you should never buy an Asian restoration on eBay. Currently, he’s trying to raise some money for a new engine (“Million Dollar Homepage”-style), if you’re in the market for a vintage scooter, throw a few bucks his way to thank him for saving you the trouble of finding out the hard way.
Category: Scooter News
Gadabout town on a Swallow
Barry Hartnell of Wangaratta, Victoria, Australia shows off his motorcycle collection to the ABC, including his pride and joy, a Swa… sorry, Swall… snort! er, Swallow Gadabout, made by:
“…the people who went on to make Jaguar motor cars. (The Vespa) arrived in England and they didn’t have anything to counter it, so they quickly sat down and made this horrible little bike out of steam pipe and tin…”
A 1950 scooter book in Hartnell’s possession:
“…shows all the bikes from A to Z, and when it comes to the Swallow Gadabout, there are seven and a half pages of it’s virtues and how wonderful the bike is and further on in the book you get to “V” for Vespa and it simply says ‘small scooter made in Italy’.”
Great story, great quotes.
Blaze in Japan, Blasé in U.S.
After the initial (positive) response to the Kinetic Blaze in the Indian press, and reports in May that Kinetic’s version of the Italjet Velocifero would (“soon”) be coming (exclusively) to America, Kinetic has been pretty quiet. Now they’ve announced the Blaze is going to be exported to Japan, but still no official word on Velociferos or America, not to mention the one word we all want to hear: “Dragster.”
Taming of the Shrewd
The Boston Phoenix’s review of the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s “Taming of the Shrew” succumbed to a Vespa marketing gimmick even as they acknowledged it:
Paul Farwell’s Baptista is a smooth old-country operator, and there is a spry, athletic turn by Antonio Edwards Suarez as Petruchio’s hyperactive manservant, Grumio, who arrives with his master on a leopard-skin-seated Vespa. (Nice product placement for corporate sponsor Herb Chambers Vespa.)
Oops, we fell for it too. Damn you, Herb Chambers and your wily marketing department!
POCphil on the CF Moto V5
Our good friend Phil Waters of Pride of Cleveland Scooters (POC) sent us his impressions of a CF Moto/Baron V5, a 250cc automatic motorcycle, that came into his shop for service:
“First it’s a candy, then it’s a gum!”
This doesn’t seem to work as well with automatic motorcycles. What Honda did so well with the Hondamatic 30 years ago is being re-introduced by the Chinese, in a typically Chinese fashion.
The CF Moto V5 is currently being distributed by Big Jim’s Wholesale, who has recently taken on the more scooter-friendly name of TwinCityScooters.com.
We’ve been considering bringing them in as a line here at POC and talked to their reps at Indy. Their bikes had intrigued me, but I was skeptical about the quality.
Continue reading “POCphil on the CF Moto V5”
China limits exports, tries to repair image
Also via The Scooterscoop, via the Kneeslider: Autoweek reports on China’s drive to limit exports and improve quality. Here’s consultant Paul Gao preaching to the choir:
“The motorcycle industry provides the clearest example of the danger of taking a laissez-faire approach to auto exports. Uncontrolled exports of low-quality, low-price motorcycles led to anti-dumping charges in many markets and damaged the reputation of China-made products,”.
Maybe this is an important step in China’s eventual domination of the motor vehicle industry. They have a long way to go (see Phil’s story above), but it’ll happen.
Off-road in Bissendorf
Dirt-track scooter trials in Bissendorf Germany at the Scooter Scoop. Maybe POC Phil was onto something that time he broke his leg?
Back from Denver
I’m back from Amerivespa with a head full of stories and a camera full of photos. Here are the front-page story and feature story from the Sunday Denver Post, which was somehow printed and on our hotel room doorstep at least five hours before we went to bed “Saturday” night.
“Fhybrid” hydrogen concept scooter
Dutch student Crijn Bouman has designed a new hydrogen-powered scooter called the Fhybrid. The prototype doesn’t actually run on hydrogen, so we can all get excited about that when it happens, but the physical design of the scooter is better than most current electric scooters.
Be a pocket mod
It looks like even the Razor scooter has been given a retro styled makeover.
Named the “Pocket Mod Bistro”, quite how much it is “Reminiscent of the classic Vespa” and how it “radiates Euro-spy chic” we’re not sure…
Piaggio X9 tour for pet charity
Steve Basford of Tenerife, Canary Islands, is touring 6,500 kms through Europe on a Piaggio X9 125, for a charity promoting veterinary care. How do all these people get so much time off work to ride scooters for weeks on end for charity? Best of luck, Steve.
ATL Scooterist Down
Atlanta scooterist and Stellaspeed owner Zac Johnson was involved in a crash on Sunday with an SUV that made an illegal turn in front of him.
He is currently in a coma in hospital.
A fund has been set up for him, his wife and his 2 week old child.
The Paypal address is zacsfund@yahoo.com
Please read more about his accident
2Strokebuzz staff wish him a fast recovery. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.
Update: A blog has been set up to follow Zac’s progress
Two Stella/LML rumors:
An unregistered user “Dr. Sparks” claimed yesterday on the ScooterBBS that he’d heard that a british concern was trying to buy the Star/Stella tooling from LML, not with the intention of producing the bikes, but simply to prevent its destruction. Today a rumor is circulating that LML distributors have been contacted by LML and notified that the Star would no longer be produced. Both these rumors are thirdhand and unsubstantiated, and it’s unclear whether LML’s recent financial shuffling signals a plan to reorganize or a final cash-in to pay creditors. 2SB rarely posts rumors, but it sounds like we can expect big news about LML soon.
LML does something involving money
Two-wheeler manufacturer LML Ltd said on Thursday that it has allotted about 27 lakh equity shares to Merrill Lynch Capital Markets Espana upon conversion of Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCBs). At the meeting held today the Financial Restructuring Committee of Directors allotted shares of Rs 10 each at a premium of Rs 21.10 per share upon FCCB conversion, the company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange.The shares were allotted upon conversion of 2000 FCCBs Series B of 1,000 dollars each aggregating to $2 million, LML added.
So make of that what you will.
Italy repeals 50cc 2-up ban
Friday, Italy will overturn a recent law prohibiting passengers on 50cc scooters. The new law allows passengers over 18 (sorry Brooke!) to ride on 50cc scooters if the vehicle is authorized to carry a passenger and a new €50 license plate is obtained. 50cc owners can keep their old plates if they are not able to, or do not wish to, carry a guest, but if they do meet a nice girl down at the Piazza and give her a lift home, they may be fined up to €275. (via Urbannerd