When scooter news breaks, we put it under a tarp in the garage.
If you speak Russian and dig guys wearing Speedos, you’ll love this
Honda PCX video. It’s sort of the “Vespa Gringo” of Russian-Thai-scooter videos, so you know it was Rye that found it for us.
Admit it, you watched *way* longer than you should have, didn’t you. I wanna hang out with those guys.
The first batch of 4-stroke Genuine Stellas is being held up by the EPA to validate the production model’s compliance with earlier testing (which, obviously, was done on prototypes). In typical transparent and honest fashion, Genuine explains it all clearly, and apologizes for the delay, here. I know the delay must be frustrating for would-be four-stroke Stella riders, but whining about it on the internet isn’t going to get you a bike any faster, and just think, further government confirmation about how green your bike is will just give you hippy 2-stroke killers more to be smug about, amirite?
I’ve just heard that John Gerber has passed away. As an active participant in the U.S. scooter scene since “the old days,” John was the preeminent historian of American scootering history, collecting his own memories, first-person accounts, and laboriously-researched stories for American Scooterist. He was frankly the heart and soul of the Vespa Club of America. Aside from that, I have no details at all, but I’ll share the information when I get it, and a proper tribute when I’m less speechless.
Patrick confirms (with the photo above) that the two-tone Vespa S ie models (called “College” in Europe) are now available in the U.S. (Specifically at Motoworks Chicago. Or at least they were a week ago when he emailed us. The new colors (red/white and blue/white) are listed on VespaUSA’s site in in both “S” displacements. Also, a new LXV is available in a color Patrick called “Tobacco,” but Vespa lists it as “Espresso” (The seat leather may be called “Tobacco?”) Anyway, good to see some sharp new colors from Vespa, actually available in the U.S. roughly the same time as Europe.
Yes, that’s dozens of low-speed collisions from Chinese security cameras. Car-on-car. Car-on-scooter. Scooter-on-scooter. Scooter-on bicycyle. All of the above-on-pedestrian, and my favorite, Tuk-tuk-in-reverse-on-multiple-pedestrians.
It’s very tragic, yet a little bit funny (just like Gome) At least everyone seems to be moving pretty slowly and no one is hurt, at least not visibly gored. Try not to picture any of those collisions on American streets with SUVs going twice as fast.
OMG we can’t keep up. Apparently ModChicago is back THIS WEEKEND with Our Way of Thinking: A Simple Headphone Mind and a regular night The Merge at Late Bar (Fridays) starting June 18. I’ll never figure out Mod politics so I probably just pissed off someone there, maybe they’re not related. Facebook is confusing, so I’m not even going to link to it. Karrie will straighten us out. Karrie, please straighten us out.
Jordan reminds us Ton Up Chicago’s Mods and Rockers Street Clash is next weekend (Friday June 18-Saturday June 19 2010). This year it looks like they’re moving it from Delilahs to the new(ish) Bottom Lounge on Lake Street. As great as Delilah’s is, it’s been way too crowded in years past I’ve gone (was it at Bottom Lounge last year?) so the new venue (and the less busy street/area) should be a big improvement. Not that an improvement was needed, the event, venue, and artwork have always been top-notch. This year promises an even fuller two days of events, including Quadrophenia at the Music Box, bands (Irving Parkas!), rides, and the centerpiece bike show. Sadly, I’ll miss it again this year, but Jordan will surely give us a report.
Update: We hear the Discovery Channel is shooting the whole thing, so you’ll definitely want to shine up and show off!
If you’re interested in scooter racing at all, read on! Simply put, there’s a big schload of scooter racing going on this summer, and that is awesome.
Our 2SB Rally Calendar should now be up to date with all events for the following organizations/leagues:
Are we missing anyone? (Probably!) See any errors? (blame Google Calendar!) In either case, please let us know!
You’ll see we’ve added a new series of events, following the success of Twist and Gone in May, the North American Scooter Racing Association is hosting a full season of drag races in Nashville, IN, sponsored by Scooterworks.
One last bad news/good news bit: MWSR’s organizer Seth tells us that the race this weekend at G&J Kartway in Camden, OH has been postponed, but the good news is the track will be open to scooters for only $10.
Kymco racer photo above is courtesy of Alan Spears, MSILSF
Update: ESPN’s entry deadline is a bit unclear, but it could be sometime today (Thursday), so ENTER NOW!
We sort of dropped the (Official Adidas Jabulani) World Cup ball this year, since we’ve been so hyped up on the Blackhawks, (see below).
But World Cup season is always a big deal here on 2strokebuzz. If you want to get mixed up in our Quadrennial gentleman’s wager, just sign up for ESPN Soccernet’s World Cup Bracket Predictor then make your picks and join the 2strokebuzz.com group Whoever has the most points at the end of the tournament wins… something. Something good.
Continue reading “2SB World Cup Contest”
We now resume our regularly scheduled programming. Until the World Cup starts.
Dibber on Modern Buddy reports that The U.S. Secret Service uses a Genuine Buddy to get around the White House grounds. Awesome!
The Euro has now dropped to it”s lowest point in trade to the USD in over four years. French Prime Minister Francois Fillon calls it, “good news”. Besides currency parity being a stabilizing factor for either currency, it means ordering scooter parts from outside the US is now as affordable as it was in 2006 (though not quite the bargain it was back when the Euro first launched). Steve from The Scooter Scoop is asking for input on North American made scooter items. But if you were waiting to order those trick bits from SIP, Scooter-Center or Scooter-Attack, now may be as good of a time as any. Sure, your local shop and domestic mail order places like Motorsport, Scooters Originali, Jet200 or Scooterworks will offer you the best support for your purchase. But there’s just some stuff they don’t stock. It’s probably good news for them as well. Ordering parts from the Euro zone for less should improve their bottom lines. So, is anyone planning a big order to stock up on the newest Doppler internal rotor ignitions for Piaggio 50cc two stroke motors? Any shops now digging deep in the reserve accounts to stock up on items from European suppliers? Shops and private individuals, tell us how world economic flux affects your scooter part buying plans. Or do you think the Euro will plateau at real 1:1 parity in the near future?
A couple 2SB fans noticed a GS150 Airbox auction on eBay from seller in Sacramento, CA named “2strokebuzz”. I’ve got nothing against this guy, and he has good feedback and he’s been using the name on eBay since 2001. He doesn’t seem to be pretending to be related to the site or anything, but I emailed him anyway, asking politely if he’d consider changing his name, or adding a disclaimer that he’s not related to us.
He claims he’s “spent the last 20 years riding and restoring scooters,” and is “active in the vintage club scene.” So it’s possible it’s just a coincidence, though it seems weird we’d never heard of each other until now, in the smallish world of vintage scootering. Anyway, I’m not gonna hassle the guy, it’s not that big a deal, neither of us uses eBay much anyway, but I just figured since he didn’t seem interested in clearing things up, it was up to me to make it publicly clear that he’s not me, and vice versa.
If you’re looking for an Amerivespa wrapup, you’re in the wrong place, buddy. I’m still sobering up from Niagara two weeks ago. So it’s about time for a review and some photos, eh?
Continue reading “Niagara 2010:
2SB Actually Goes to a Rally”
Just a couple months ago, I complained that there didn’t seem to be much racing going on, and people keep making me eat my words (happily, for once). The latest league of fast gentlemen, Mid-West Scooter Racing, has recently cropped up in 2SB’s ancestral homelands, Southwest Ohio, and is organized by one of our favorite guys, Seth Hershey, from one of our favorite shops, who we won’t name because they’d prefer Seth not highside and miss work. Seth tells us:
The one time I raced I sucked, but I still had such a fulfilling time I just have to do some more.
That’s our Seth. He’s certainly not the aggro intense speed-demon type, but we love incongruity here at 2strokebuzz. Classes and race prep look suitably laid-back and inclusive, so we’re betting he’ll put on some great events.