Motoblog.it reports that Garelli, thought to be lost forever in the never-ending shuffle of Italian motorcycle brand names, has three new scooters on the market, but as one reader comments, “Oltre al marchio cosa ha di Garelli questo pezzo di plastica?”. It’s another case of a once-great manufacturer that exists now only as a trademark, slapping their esteemed name on Chinese scooters.
Amerivespa opens pre-registration
Pre-registration is open for Amerivespa 2006, July 27-30 in Denver. 2sb will be there, will you? (UPDATE 4pm: We just booked our room, they only have single (king) smoking rooms left, even if you don’t register now, book your room ASAP)
And… wheeeeee!
I was almost killed today by a billboard truck advertising a gentlemen’s club. Is this a kindler, gentler solution?
Tuk to the Road
Jo Huxster and Antonia “Ants” Bolingbroke-Kent wil start their 10,000-mile tuk-tuk adventure Saturday, starting a three-month drive from Bangkok to Brighton to raise awareness and money for mental health charity Mind (I’m sure we’re not the first to question their own sanity). Their Tuk-Tuk, named “Ting Tong,” was custom-built in Thailand by Anuwat Yuteeraprapa at Expertise. You can follow their adventures in their blog. (thanks Becky for the info)
Giro d’Italia visits Pontedera
Workers at the Vespa factory will be sticking their heads out the window to watch the Vespa’s human-powered cousin as the eleventh stage of the Giro d’Italia bicycle race starts and ends in Pontedera. Thanks Lu$ (In other Pontedera news, local chocolatier Amedi was featured in this month’s Food and Wine magazine.)
Audio Forza
From the Melbourne Autosalon, via Gizmag: A custom Honda Forza “2-wheeled sound system” by Fusion Audio. Hmmm, I’m DJ’ing a wedding next month…
“Scooterists seem to make horrible business people”
This is the most perfect BBS thread of all time, featuring rants, groundless accusations, real-world experience, hilarious jokes, Stafford-baiting, personal attacks, and best of all, good insight from various perspectives– you can live the entire ScooterBBS experience in one thread.
Scooter “Scrubs” on YouTube
Here’s the “scooter rally” bit from “Scrubs”, posted last night on YouTube by “bazookamsb,” I assume there’s more, I’ll keep an eye out for it. (forgot to watch/Tivo last night). (Becky points out in comments that that was all of it. Short and sweet.)
My Burgman
Juventus and Italy football star Alessandro del Piero stars as “Mr. Burgman” in Suzuki’s rather nifty “My Burgman” site for the Italian market. We marvel at the lengths Suzuki will take (del Piero is arguably Italy’s biggest sports star) to make a dent in the Italian scooter market, compared to the complete lack of a US marketing campaign for the Burgman. (From Motoblog)
Saved by a dead battery
Last Saturday night in Kansas City, two teenagers on a Vespa snatched the key from another teenager’s black Vespa at a stoplight, but were then unable to start the scooter because the battery was dead. Too bad the kid’s still gotta pay a few hundred bucks to get his electronic locks and keys replaced.
Scooter Rally “Scrubs” airs tonight
According to girlbike.com, the episode of “Scrubs” airing tonight (5/16/06) will feature the “Scooter Rally” footage cut from an earlier episode.
Vespa Chicago closing?
2strokebuzz sources report that local Piaggio/Vespa dealer Vespa Chicago will soon close their Vespa Boutique on Diversey and their showroom in Maywood (within the Volkswagen dealership of parent company West Suburban Auto Group). The new Vespa dealer for Chicagoland is rumored to be Motoplex USA, a motorcycle/powersports dealership with showrooms in Worth and Joliet, IL, and an upscale Chicago showroom on Wells Street called “Old Town Motocycle Shoppe.”
As Motoplex did not immediately reply to our confirmation request, this information is still hearsay, but such a move seems absolutely consistent with recent changes in Piaggio’s strategy. West Suburban seemed unlikely to add Piaggio brands Moto Guzzi and Aprilia, while Motoplex is already an Aprilia dealer. Old Town Motocycle Shoppe has a prime upscale retail location and employees with motorcycle experience, and Motoplex’ other two dealers may be more accesible to suburban and even rural customers. According to one of our sources, Vespa Chicago’s general manager Dan Kay will move to Motoplex along with Vespa/Piaggio. It is unclear whether Piaggio or West Suburban Auto Group terminated the relationship, why it was terminated, or exactly when the transition will take place. Vespa Chicago opened in 2000, they’ve been Chicago’s sole dealer since Vespa’s return to the United States in 1999.
A bold prediction regarding the Indian scooter market
The Hindu Business Line waxes nostalgic about the discontinued Bajaj Chetak. This can only mean one thing: a “new” Bajaj Chetak is on the way. Mark our words.
Tip for scooterists:
How to guarantee a public beatdown
A suspectedly-drunk man on a scooter was detained by onlookers and arrested in Herzogenrath, Germany on Friday, after crashing three times within a two-hour span:
[…] The 22-year-old man first crashed the scooter as he took a
corner […], losing his helmet in the process, police in nearby Aachen said. Unfazed, the man remounted and plowed straight into the back of a parked car. He flew head over heels through the back
window, landing inside […] “Then he crawled out of the vehicle again, and sped off,” an Aachen police spokesman said. […] Onlookers tried to stop the man, but he fled. Two hours later, bystanders were shocked as the scooter crashed leaving a gas station, this time with the man as passenger.
Please don’t ride drunk.
Kymco giving away Amerivespa trips
Amerivespa 2006 is, happily, shaping up to be quite the pan-scooter event. Starting life as the national Vespa rally combined with Denver’s legendary Mile High Mayhem rally, it also now encompasses this year’s Lambretta Jamboree and Stellabration. Main sponsor Kymco is giving away vacation packages to the Rally to ten lucky winners.