Shawty Ride That Scooter

A video begging for some scooters? I have a feeling Scooter Smiff is talking about kick scooters, but it's all good. Shouts to freakshowmikey for the scoop via Twitter.

What the hell is up with scooter hit and runs lately?

The scooter season is just starting to spring and it seems I can't go a day without hearing a horrendous tale of a scooterist getting into an accident with another vehicle and the owner of the car / truck / taxi just zooms off.  That junk pisses me off! 

Sorry for the rant, but for more riders to feel comfortable on the roads they need better protection.  Perhaps some stiffer penalties for hit and run incidents or something.  Any suggestions?

Commute-off! Scooter vs. Cahh! FIGHT!

The boys of The Scooter Review (NZ) have a great new show called RIDE. In this edition Ketzal Sterling takes on commuting on a scooter versus commuting in a car. It looks good, is good for a laugh and best of all it's educational.

I loved the conclusion, just what I say to the scooter curious. "Buy a scooter, use it to commute to work. Keep your car and use it for other things."  Brilliant job guys!

Chuck Mead's chock full o'scooters music video is back!

Jeff over at KymcoJones, or KymCojones depending on how you read it,has the scoop and the resurrected Chuck Mead music video for his song "I Wish It Was Friday".  If you're not into country, then you may not recognize the name Chuck Mead, and if you never watched Hee Haw you may not recognize the orgins of his band's name, but BR5-49 has been around for some 16 years with Grammy nominations and Billboard chartings on their resume.

So, why would we post a music video for a country song?  It will become apparent when you watch the video (even ska bands don't have this many scooters in them).  Thanks again JP!  Oh, you can check out Jeff's behind the scenes video here.

Practicing for the first moon gymkhana

(Oh yeah, this ramp is not a problem at all.  Let's do the slowrace!)

Just love this shot from Time magazine of the abandoned lunar scooter project.  Shouts to TheNewCafeRacerSociety again for the treasure trove of sweet, sweet oddities.  Click the title link for more info on what's REALLY going on here.

WTF of the week: Check out the windshield on that P!

If you've studied any UK rally photos, you've likely seen some aftermarket add-on windscreens for the Vespa.  I've seen plenty of gaudy examples, but this thing stops just short of being a 2-wheeled automobile.  The only details I have is the description from the scigacz.pl (title link) website that says:  "the Paris motor scooter delivery yellow 026".  Photo credit goes to D. Borowicz (www.fotosport.pl).  I love that enormous trunk too.  I'm telling you, all she needs is doors and you've got a car.

Off to the Expo

Every year in February the power sports dealers of America converge on Indianapolis to see the latest offerings from around the globe. If you wonder where we'll be for the next 6 days, look no further than the Lucas Oil Stadium or Indiana Convention Center. Our good friend Casey and I will do our best to bring back some neat little nuggets from the show.

If you're going, we'll see ya at the Elbow Room on Friday night. Cheers!

How to make people smile - Customize your helmet

Haha!  Come on now, you can tell me if you saw this helmet going down the street you wouldn't crack a smile.  This Lego minifig helmet is the work of Sebastian Errazuriz.  See title link for the source of this post.

I'd still like to see a scooter helmet made to look like the Rocketeer's. 

WTF of the Week: Smallest roach coach?

That's what I thought when I saw it.  This is actually some sort of homebrew taxi that was seen out and about during the Beijing Olympics.  I don't have any other details, but if it were 2am on a Friday night and this thing passed by bellowing bratwurst smoke I'd chase it down.  Click the title link to find the photo's origens.

Comments temporarily out of order

I was in the middle of getting hit by a spambot at 10:40pm and had to shut them down. Only had to delete 7 messages, so we caught it pretty early. We'll bring them back up shortly. Sorry for the inconvenience.

OG Cookie Monster rolls a Spree

Hrm... Honda Spree + Cookie Monster + Jay Z = some funny $#!+
Warning, not recommended for kids under... um, let's say 12, due to foul language and mild violence.

Thanks to VacantManifesto for sharing and Tim for the silliest scoop of the day.
:D

Imagine if you will... BMW returning to the scooter market

Here's a very detailed rendering from our old friend Oberdan Bezzi .  He's charmed us before with his dreamy designs, he had recently done work for Massimo Tartarini (Italjet) and now it looks like he's got his sights set on BMW with what he is calling the SCT800.

This "what-if" design uses a twin cylinder, 4 valve, 800cc engine to push the 16 inch wheels to breakneck speeds.  BMW had said they were considering scooters again.  It took them more than a decade to lick the wounds of their short lived BMW C1.  Rumors abound that BMW will release a scooter that is simply a rebranded Kymco.  

I would personally like to see one of OBIBOI's designs come to life for BMW.  I guess we'll have to play the waiting game.  Maybe they'll show something for 2010?

You can click the title link to see what the guys and gals over at ADVRIDER have to say about it. They also have a much bigger image where you can get more of the detail.

Thanks to Rick Russell for the scoop!

Air filtered helmet = BADASS!

Usually when I say something is "BADASS!", I don't mean it in a good way.  I mean it in an over-the-top, Rex-Kwan-Do-instructor kinda way.  Well, this time I mean it in a if-I-removed-these-emblems-I-could-totally-scare-people-on-the-road, which-is-wicked-cool AND a this-thing-could-protect-my-poor, sensative-sinuses-from-that-damned-Juniper-pollen kinda way.  Come ON!  Imagine this lid without the "IMPACT!" and lightening bolts!?  

All this badassness isn't built to just scare little kids and impress your Star Wars geek friends, it is also built to protect the rider / driver from dust, smoke and pollen with its self-contained air filtration system.  There are tons of other fancy specs like built in headsock with fire resistant kevlar eyeport gasket, SFI/FIA and SNELL 2005 certified crash protection, and the ability to connect an on-board air bottle system.  It's really made for auto racers, but a scooter rider would surely get a lot of nods and calls of "sweeet!" from onlookers... or at least in my mind they would.

All this can be yours for the low, low price of $700.00 or get it in Carbon Fiber for $1400.  Click the title link to visit the ImpactHelmets.com website.  Thanks to Casey for telling me about this, but I think I'm going to find a solution that's a bit more in-line with the current economic climate.

Find your pubmates -or- Become a tracked slab of meat

Yes, it's true.  I'm a Google whore.  If it's new from Google, then I've got it installed.  So far I've been plesently surprised!  Picasa, Google Maps, Mobile Gmail, Google Video, Blogger, Google Earth, everything except for that crappy "Lively" virtual worlds thing.  Ick.

Well, today is like my birthday!  Google just released a new version of Maps that includes a new feature called Latitude.  You can request your friends to join you and share each other's GPS coordinates on the map.  So, now when you're bummed out at work and it's beer-thirty, you can easily find out who is near by and tell 'em to meet you for a couple pints.

For the more paranoid set, this makes an excellent tool for the illuminati to track down your location where they can capture you and subject you to an updated brainwashing regiment.  

I've sent an invitation to all my Gmail friends.  You're more than welcome to ignore it if you're among the cautious.  I'll understand.  Click the title link to read more!

Oh!  And thanks to Kevin Peroni from Wiretree for the scoop on this kinda off-topic item.  Great for finding your riding mates when you've pulled over to change a fouled plug.  HEY!  Back on topic!

1983 Honda Beat makes my heart skip a beat

(image source)

I was looking at some recent images captured by our man on the Tokyo streets, Kuroneko and saw a shot that blew my mind.  Thinking it was some sort of far out mod I googled it... "Honda Beat" and found this thing!

This cherry example is from the Honda Collection Hall and if I were a traveling bandit, I'd steal it.  But I'm not.  :(

The Honda Beat (FC50), a 2-stroker from 1983, was the FIRST scooter to have a water cooled engine.  You can see the grill right between the headlights where the radiator is.  There are a few more details on the Wiki page.  I'd almost be willing to bet that there are no more than ONE here in the USA if there are any at ALL.

Oh Beat!  I will long for you always!

Largest storage to bike size ratio

Eurotrip 298
Originally uploaded by dizarillo

Dizarillo shares this image of a Soup en zo delivery moped. If you find yourself in Amsterdam with a craving for soup, these would probably be the guys to get it from.

Wicked green scooter

Candy Apple Green
Originally uploaded by mhicks3623

Wow! Check out this GREAT shot of a lime green Bajaj! Go visit mhicks3623's flickr account to see a slightly larger shot. I'd personally like to get it in a 14" poster size.

Riding a scooter with a comfy seat can help the disfunctional

(To keep it "safe for work" I substituted a photo of some mushrooms here.)

From the "You can't make this stuff up" department, VisorDown.com (title link) has whipped out a study that contradicts prior findings.  Now instead of contributing to impotence, it has been found that riding with a comfortable seat (like you might find on a scooter) can actually massage areas to improve your ability to... carry wood.

Stay tuned for more info as it pops up.

Pimp my Beluga

The Yamaha Beluga or as we call it in the USA, the Riva, is a modest beast... quite flashy during its 80's heyday, but considered by some to be just flat out ugly today.  It's not often that you see someone take the time to gussy up their Riva to make it a real eye catcher.  Discovered on eBay back in July of 2008 by a Canadian scooter fan, this flashy glass of lemonade is guaranteed to turn some heads.

Click on the title link to read the battlescooter forum posting where this was found.

Happy birthday SCTRCST!

Speaking of PodCasts, a big HAPPY B-DAY goes out to David Mangano's SCTRCST.  She's two years old now and WHAT A HANDFUL SHE IS!  You know two year olds are into EVERYTHING and SCTRCST (Scooter Cast) is no exception..  Music, mods, restorations, scooter sites and more.  Click on the title link to visit the SCTRCST website. Wish them a happy birthday and set up a subscription while you're at it.

JGS #86 - Nate Dahl talks about his Tour in Taiwan

In another great episode of David Harrington's "Just Gotta Scoot" podcast NJSuperCub blogger Nate Dahl (often confused with Nate Dogg), tells the tale of how he fell in love with the cub.  Tune in to Just Gotta Scoot's Episode 86.

WTF of the week: Bernardet C50

(any guesses before I tell you what it is?  I didn't have one)

On the UK Blog, BuyVintage, I found this wild looking classic.  What you see here is a 1950 French classic, the Bernardet C50.  I'm no expert in French scooters so I've never seen photos of this chain driven 125cc oddity, but if you click on the title link you'll see plenty of shots. 

The owner had this to say about his auction block item:

I bought this scoot from a guy who’s well-known in the vintage scene in France. His name is Jean-Do and he’s one of the country’s top vehicle artists. This is not the original Rene Ricard Bordeaux rally Bernardet; but it has been painted (superbly, in my opinion) to look like the original, unrestored race machine. 

Don't bother looking for the ebay listing; it's been over a year since it was posted.  Click on the title link to see the other shots.

Scooter reviews in... Consumer Reports?

(Note the actual cover of the March 2009 edition, but you probably already knew that.)

For the first time in 27 years, Consumer Reports has put scooters (and small motorcycles) in the line up.  It's exciting to see that last year's scooter fever seems to have inspired others in the mainstream media to take them more seriously.  

In their report, CR tested eight small-displacement scooter models.  There were three 50cc scooters, three mid sized (125cc - 150cc) scooters and two entry-level motorcycles.  Why they insist on calling them "entry-level", I have no idea.  Is it that people start out with 250's and as they "grow up" they move on to 1800cc bikes?  Not me, anyway, among the scooters tested were the Vespa LX 50, the LX 150, the Kymco People 150, the Motorino Allegra (who?), the Yamaha Vino 125 and one more 50cc scooter, which one?  I'm not sure.

Hopefully this will inspire some of their 7 million print and online subscribers to go do some test rides.  I would have liked to see more than four brands represented, but I suppose I should be happy they looked at ANY scooters.

Look for the report to hit news stands or ConsumerReports.org in late Februrary, early March.