Dealer Expo 2009, Part 2.5: Sorry, Chuck D.

“Public Enemy” “welcome to the terrordome” rap song lyrics

Lots more to cover, but here’s a little ditty while you’re waiting:

I got so much scooter on my mind
Newcastle Sign
“Michelle Rodriguez” on my ticket
Hear Phil Waters get wicked
My crew is few, we hype the Black Jack
Attack then we drank
and yacked, Then slapped the iMac
Now Im ready to post it
(you know I made up most of it)
Hear my favoritism roll, oh
OMG, is that Mattheu Solo?
TGB Lasers, scooters like Razors
Hallways to blaze, with brain and foot pain
The way Im livin, forgiven
What Im givin up
Ron on the Nikon, shoot this now
Where’s the party at later?
As for now I’m grillin at the Chinese pavillion
Man Ive had it up to here
CF Moto logos appear
Kymco’s a no-show,
saw P-town just a bit ago
never-ending show,
Adjust the white balance.
Work to keep from gettin jerked
Changin’ some ways
To way back in the 2-stroke days
Chinese hockey mask molds,
never mind the highway codes
Still thousands sold.
Never question what I am, Who knows?
Cause I’m comin from the bar
What I got better get some
(soft pretzels) master of scooter culture
hard-ridden
Been splashed in the face
But the helmet keeps fittin’
Eating nothing healthy, ranting with Chelsea
Seth and Dave and everyone elsee
Check the spec sheets
ripped a hole in my jeans knees
rolling on the ground, looking for a VIN please
Walked the halls, took the falls
Broke the laws
my Sambas are fallin
more or less square
Getting up there in years
Still. I growl at the plastic cowls
Thanking Christ Indiana’s not my home
So welcome to the Hooiserdome.

2008-09 Cold Weather Challenge Winners

The Cold Weather Challenge has ended for another year, even though it’s 18°F and snowing here in Chicago right now and Spring is nowhere in sight. Congratulations to the winners: First prize goes to Bob “Scootervillan” Hedstrom who rode over 10 miles on a 2007 Vectrix at -16°F in Minneapolis, MN on January 15. Bob’s our first winner on an electric scooter, and he’ll keep the title in Minnesota for yet another year. Runner-ups are Tom S. in Omaha (-11°, Yamaha Zuma 50 ) and Colin Doyle in Collegeville, MN (-10°F, Honda Ruckus 50).
Continue reading “2008-09 Cold Weather Challenge Winners”

CWC extension: ends midnight SUNDAY

Today’s the last day of the Cold Weather Challenge, and it’s getting pretty damn cold in some parts. Tell you what, you’ve got an extension, until midnight Sunday, to beat Scootervillan and his Vectrix. Also, ALL state-by-state leaders get a consolation prize, so if you’re in a state with no entries, a 10-mile ride this weekend nets you a sticker. Do it!

Chuck Mead’s scooterrific new video (is back!)

This might be the most scooterific video ever, and would you believe it’s a country song? Check out the new video from BR-549 frontman Chuck Mead: “I Wish It Was Friday,” featuring a Honda Cub, Vespas new and old, Genuine Buddys*, and more, plus lots of footage from East Side Scooters in Nashville.

As far as country songs about weekends, It’s hard to beat Robbie Fulks,’ but Robbie, sadly, doesn’t have a video full of scooters. I wandered into a BR-549 show at Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge several years ago, and that alone made Nashville my favorite city south of the Ohio and east of the Mississipi. (Thanks to Louie from Modern Vespa for the link!)

UPDATE: It’s back on YouTube!, thanks to KymCoJones for his behind the scenes videos and keeping us up to date on the progress).

* “Buddies” just never looks right in print.

Originally posted 2/15/09, updated on 2/25/09 when video was re-posted on YouTube

Corazzo Coffee Jacket

Bradford has unveiled Corazzo’s “Explosion of Pleasure” exclusively to 2strokebuzz readers, aka “Corazzo’s demographic.” We’ll give him the honors:

Every morning when I ride my scooter to work, I look over at the fellow trapped in his car and am admittedly jealous that they can have their coffee at the stoplight, all the while I cannot. Like most problems we come up against here at Corazzo we had to find a better solution than coffee-envy and patience.

Corazzo Design is pleased to introduce the revolutionary Corazzo Coffee Jacket, the perfect solution for the Scooter Commuter that wants to have their coffee on the way to work.
Using an original design (patent pending) born from necessity, the self leveling, automatically gimbaled Corazzo Coffee Jacket is constructed of the highest quality insulated softshell, keeping your coffee even warmer than it would be otherwise.

In the days before the Corazzo Coffee Jacket, a scooter commuter might put their coffee in their glovebox, a viable solution sure, but will it cause a mess, absolutely. Our solution gets around many problems with one well thought out solution. Our insulated softshell stretches, making it perfect to fit a variety of coffee cup shapes and sizes. As well, the fabric is teflon coated, so it should stay stain free for a long time. The strap will fit on the bag hook of nearly every single scooter out there, and allows you to drink your coffee without removing the jacket.

Another real bonus comes when you have a full armload of stuff, that once unstrapped from your rear rack, will prevent you from carrying anything else…BUT WAIT…STOP THE PRESSES…with the Corazzo Coffee jacket, all you need is a pinky, and you can carry your coffee too. This is one handy accessory!

The Corazzo Coffee Jacket will be available around March 1st 2009 priced at a very reasonable $14.99, call or email Corazzo to pre-order

(More photos here, YouTube demo video to come later today!) Thanks for the scoop, Bradford. We’re not coffee drinkers here at 2SB but Bradford assures us it will also competently hold a 20oz RC Cola, so we’re on the waiting list.

How to destroy a scooter?

Oh, the fun we’ll have: A Discovery Science game show is looking for suggestions to destroy a scooter for a gameshow. Flyscooter clearly subscribes to the theory that there’s no such thing as bad publicity, ha.

(If you’re not a Modern Buddy member, post your suggestions here, I’ll repost them over there and credit you with the idea.)

Dealer Expo 2009, Part II: The Bikes

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In Part I of our Dealer Expo coverage, we mentioned there really wasn’t much new to see at DealerExpo, and fewer importers and distributors than usual. In Part II (you are here), we’ll look at a few of the more popular distributors, and a few newer importers looking to make a a bigger impact.
Continue reading “Dealer Expo 2009, Part II: The Bikes”

Berryoke benefit tonight

Chicago’s best Karaoke, Berryoke, is doing a benefit tonight at Frank and Mary’s for Patrick O’Dea’s nephew who was seriously injured in a auto/bicycle incident. If you’ve always loved karaoke but hated the music selection, check it out, the Berrys have everything good. Sorry for the late notice, I always put off posting local events until they get closer, then forget about it until the last minute.

Big Corazzo news?

Bradford Duval tells us Corazzo has something big coming in a few days. In his words:

  • It is revolutionary
  • It will change the way people will look at their scooter.
  • It will turn commuting in to an explosion of pleasure.
  • It is not limited to scooterdom, but had applications across most human conditions.

We’re guessing it’s “drugs.”

UPDATE: Lots of funny conjecture in the comments, and on Modern Buddy. We’ll find out tonight! It’s bound to be anticlimactic!

Dealer Expo 2009, Part I: Overview

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Every February, powersports dealers from around the nation descend on grey, shivery, boring Indianapolis to see what’s new in the industry. It’s a chance for manufacturers, importers, and distributors to wine and dine their dealers and hopefully round up some orders for the upcoming riding season. This was our third year at DealerExpo, though it was our first with actual 2strokebuzz press passes. Continue reading “Dealer Expo 2009, Part I: Overview”

Chuck Mead: behind the scenes

We posted Chuck Mead’s great new video a few days ago, but it’s since been pulled from YouTube, The same YouTube link appears on Chuck’s MySpace page, so that’s strange, but being a big-shot music video director myself, I’m aware things don’t always happen the way you’d like, ha.

So we’ll get that re-linked ASAP, BUT! There’s good news! There are two other videos on YouTube with outtakes and behind-the-scenes footage from the video shoot, both of which are nearly as entertaining as the real video, especially because Chuck gets hassled by the Man in one of ’em. Check it: