The line between Chinese and European scooters is further blurred as 120-year-old Sachs signs a deal with a Chinese manufacturer. Perhaps it’s the same manufacturer that’s already knocking off their Madass for Xkeleton. Even as SachsUK brags about the arrangement, they continue to warn buyers about “other” Chinese scooters. Why are all these companies feeding the hand that bites them? China is an attractive manufacturing center and an attractive market, but scooter makers seem too excited to invest there considering the ethics and quality issues involved. Thanks to Scootersnoop for the story.
Category: Scooter News
Malaysian airbrush tips
From Ghetto Scoot Clan Malaysia: Learn to airbrush your scooter, Malaysian-style. Here’s some inspiration.
Crazy Jake and the Gator
It was a slow day at my job.
X2 to be unveiled May 11
Once again, we’ve been looked over when the invites were sent out. Motoblog.it has confirmed that the Piaggio X2 scooter will be unveiled to the press on May 11. The X2 is Piaggio’s much-hyped two-front-wheeled scooter that has been seen only in video clips for the past few months. Broooke will rant about its similarity to the Italjet Scooop but the X2 is a great deal more scooter-like, and, more importantly, not a styrofoam model.
SCooTS gives wheels to rural british students
Herts24 reports that an organization called “Scooter and Cycle Transport Solutions” (SCooTS), with the help of the North Hertfordshire District Council and Hertfordshire County Council, is loaning 50cc scooters to rural 16 to 25-year-olds where there are no other transportation options, allowing them to travel to school or work. Training and safety checks are also included in the program.
Vespa “Smooth Getaway” winner.
All I know is if I happened to find myself on Grand Cayman with a free Vespa and six cases of Baileys Irish Creme, the very next story posted on CaymanNetNews would be a police report.
Another, less interesting, Sopranos post.
Sopranos star James Gandolfini was hit by a cab Wednesday morning while riding his Vespa on Hudson Street in New York City. He was uninjured, and, fortunately, no one got a photo of his underpants.
LML seeks investors as Bajaj sales soar.
As LML seeks partners to help get back on its feet, (wasn’t Piaggio’s Roberto Colaninno just talking about investing in the Indian market?) Bajaj Auto reported a 37% increase in motorcycle sales this April (“Big deal,” you might say, “it’s spring, of course they sold well,” but that’s 37% over April 2005’s sales). Apparently the 137,858 bikes they sold last month are justification that it was time to ditch the Chetak.
Scooter lamps
Google News is giving us nothing but a hundred more “Vespa 6oth anniversary” and “Scooters get 60mph” wire stories, so how about some home decor tips? Check out these nifty Lambretta and Vespa lamps by Italian designer Maurizio Lamponi Leopardi. It does not appear they’re for sale, but now you have the idea, you can make one and clear one more milk crate full of spare parts out of your garage.
2-stroke, 4-stroke, 6-stroke, go
San Diego inventor Bruce Crower is developing a super-efficient six-stroke engine that uses steam to create more power while cooling the engine. It sounds reasonable enough, and maybe useful for scooters or motorcycles, though the space and weight saved by removing the cooling system would be replaced with distilled water tank. I don’t know why, but this story brings to mind this Achewood strip or this Onion article.
Vespa New Orleans sponsors raffle to benefit NOPD
Vespaway reports today that Vespa New Orleans is raffling off a Piaggio Fly 150 to support the New Orleans Police Department. Tickets are $5 for one chance and 3 for $10 and will be available later this week at Vespa New Orleans or by contacting Nelson at 504-628-5252. Vespa New Orleans also supplies the NOPD’s Vespa and Piaggio scooters.
Buddy 125 Assembly Line
PJ Chmiel at Genuine Scooters has posted some new photos of the first Buddy 125 scooters being assembled at the PGO Factory in Taiwan. These bikes are on the way to the US now, and should arrive here in about a month. The 50cc Buddy and Black Cat models are expected in early July. Genuine also plans to introduce two more PGO models to the US this summer (“but not the 3-wheeler,” says PJ). We’re betting the quite-cool PGO EVO G-Max is one of them, that’s the scooter PJ rode from Chicago to Cincinnati and back last month.
Deus Ex Machina
As the popularity of motorcycles and scooters spreads to well-to-do city-dwellers, there’s been an increase in urban “motorcycle boutiques” (Vespa and Harley each sport a flashy upscale retail location in Chicago) where the machines are a distant afterthought to a line of expensive clothing and accessories. Deus Ex Machina in Camperdown, Australia has taken this trend a step farther by selling a variety of late-model “retro” bikes and dirtbikes in a similar environment. They’ve even produced several custom “Deus” motorcycles and host a gallery with rotating motorcycle exhibits. While Vespa and Harley’s “shoppes” seem like a cheap cash-in, Deus comes off as a more personal, heartfelt venture, though that might just be the utterly amazing graphic design talking. Unlike Vespa’s ho-hum (or plagarized-and-settled-out-of-court) t-shirt designs, Deus’ shirts almost seem worth $50.
Meadow Soprano Vespa Porn
WARNING: NOT SAFE FOR WORK OR KIDS: 2strokebuzz hearts porn, but we rarely post it here. We’ll make an exception to share this photo of Meadow Soprano’s panties riding up her crotch as she climbs onto a Vespa in a mod microdress. No idea where it came from, but I bet the comments will be interesting on this one.
The death of Chetak
With a dearth of Bajaj Chetak news for the foreseeable future, here’s the story of The Battle of Haldighati, featuring Chetak, the horse after which the Bajaj scooters (and the HAL helicopters) were named.
