Seen at Target...

Print to hang on your wall...on sale $11.98




-- Post from my iPhone, out-n-about...

Upcoming Rally: Rides of March; 3/26-28, SLO

Upcoming  rally for those in California. Rides of March is in San Luis Obispo, which is about halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, on the coast.

ITINERARY:

Friday Night: March 26th, 2010 

6:30pm: Meet at Madonna Inn .

7:30pm: 1 Hour ride leaves for McCarthy's Irish Pub. (NOTE: Has moved next to Foster's Freeze)

Saturday: March 27th, 2010 

9:30am: Meet at Sunshine Donuts on South Street and South Higuera

11:00am: Ride leaves for long ride of South San Luis Obispo County.

2:00pm: Arrive at Ramona Garden Park

Famous Strange Brew Scooter Crew Tri-tip BBQ

Raffle of restored Vespa Smallframe, etc.

Saturday Night:

 7:30pm: Meet at Foster's Freeze on Nipomo and Marsh

8:30pm: Ride leaves for ride around SLO

9:00pm: Arrive at Frog & Peach English Pub for Live show.

Scooterists overrun Downtown SLO till????

 Sunday Morning: March 28th, 2010 

10:30am: Meet at McCarthy's Irish Pub. (NOTE: Has moved next to Foster's Freeze).

11:30am: Ride leaves for South County

1:00pm: Arrive at Bulletproof Scooters in Grover Beach for BBQ by PushStart MSC and Goodbyes

Contest Reminder; Deadline Feb. 1st

Cute 2010 calendar from the famous "Bad Girls" line has a scooter on the cover. Might be hard to locate now that January is almost over, but, I have one to give away. To win a copy, just follow me on Twitter and send me a direct message to let me know. I'll randomly select a winner & send him/her the calendar. Pretty easy, eh? Deadline is February 1st.

Posteritati Winter Film Poster Sale

The super-cool folks at Posteritati in NYC take film posters seriously. Luckily for us, they offer a huge array of cool movie posters. Two Christmases ago, I bought my bf an Argentine version of the Ferry Cross the Mersey poster. I just heard they are having a winter poster sale where you can get 25% off if you order & use the code winter at checkout. I did a quick search and found this unusual French Quadrophenia poster for a whopping $600 (it is unusual, after all-- it says "Les Who" and it has boobs...) but you can get it at 25% off now until February 28th. Order now before they are gone!

They also have film stills for $175:

And this German poster for Soldier of Orange:

 

which my feeble eyes can't tell if it is a scooter or moto. I think scooter!

If you are a fan of film posters, you should pick up the book that features over 1,000 movie posters from the Posteritati collection: The Art of the Modern Movie Poster which has a few scooter images in it. You can get it for over 50% off at Amazon.

I want one of these....

 

Found online at PowerAnime.

Upcoming Rally: Scootouring 24- Sacramento, CA

I know I already posted about this rally, but I just found out about their video trailer for the event. If you have been following the "Hitler reacts..." meme, this will be especially funny.

Scooter culture story in Orange Coast magazine

Hey, they mention Roman Holiday!

Read it here.

Photograph by Don Whitlow

NEW Scoot! Track Jackets Are Here!

The new Scoot! Track Jackets have arrived. Josh just picked them up and is putting them into our order system. They are pretty nifty: black with contrasting white zipper, piping and tri-stripes down the sleeves. These are totally custom, not an existing jacket with a logo slapped on it.  We have unisex sizes S-2XL.  Expect to see these at scooter shops and rallies this Spring.  A super-steal for just $40.  Place our order, now!

CONTEST 2010 Bad Girls Calendar

Cute 2010 calendar from the famous "Bad Girls" line has a scooter on the cover. Might be hard to locate now that January is almost over, but, I have one to give away. To win a copy, just follow me on Twitter and send me a direct message to let me know. I'll randomly select a winner & send him/her the calendar. Pretty easy, eh? Deadline is February 1st.

Paul Frank Card

Target.



-- Post from my iPhone, out-n-about...

North Face Mod Bag

While at REI, bf Jon spied this cool messenger bag by The Noth Face. It's all pinstripe business on the outside, but becomes a mod, mod, mod world inside.

I tried to find it on the company's site, but no luck. It was also not on the REI site. So, try a retail store if you want one.
Fun!

UPDATE: Bag has been found on the North  Face site for $139 (thanks, Jack!) and at eBags for $99 (Thanks, Nikki!). 

Tod Fancy Helmets

If you feel that you got too good a deal on your scooter, perhaps you will consider diverting the extra savings on a fancy-pants helmet from Tod. These helmets, originally posted on JustLuxe.com, cost $1,000. Hand-made with high-end ingredients, the helmet could possibly cost more than a year's worth of gas.

Got a Scoot to Brag About? -CONTEST-

then...Show Us Your Scoots!
Scoot! Magazine and ScooterCraft.com are partnering to see what incredible scooters are in Scoot! readers' garages. We have featured some great rides in the past, but we know that we haven't shown them all. Now, you can submit your scooter for a chance to win great prizes!

Prizes:
Prizes for top 5 scooters in each class.

• 1st place - $120 gift certificate redeemable in the scootercraft webshop; free subscription to Scoot! Magazine
• 2nd place  - $90 gift certificate redeemable in the scootercraft webshop free subscription to Scoot! Magazine
• 3rd place  - $60 gift certificate redeemable in the scootercraft webshop; free issue of Scoot! Magazine and Scoot! collectible buttons.
• 4th place - Stage6 T-Shirt and keychain; free issue of Scoot! Magazine and Scoot! collectible buttons.
• 5th place - Stage6 T-Shirt and keychain; free issue of Scoot! Magazine and Scoot! collectible buttons.
  

Categories:

• 2-stroke modern (any cc)
• 4-stroke modern (any cc)
• Classic/VintageHow to enter:
  

Go to http://www.scootmagazine.com/contribute.php and download our Reader's Ride Profile questionnaire.  Fill it out and submit it along with 5 high-quality photos of your bike and one headshot of you (the owner). Entries should be mailed to: Show Us Your Scoots Contest; c/o Scoot! Magazine, P.O. Box 9605, San Jose, CA 95157.

Rules & stuff:
The contest is open to all residents in the USA, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. Photos must be received by Scoot! Magazine by April 30, 2010. Winners will be chosen by the Scoot! Magazine editorial team. Photos of winning scooters to be printed in the June issue of Scoot! Magazine.

Tips:
Be specific and detail what modifications and steps you took to get it to where it is today. We are interested in how it looks and how it runs! Also only send clear, clutter-free, sharp photos, we cannot publish low-quality images, photocopies (yes, we get those all the time) or images taken from the Internet. If the images aren't print quality, you won't make it into the magazine.

Upcoming Rally: Scootouring 24- Sacramento, CA

Scootouring is a camping rally put on by The Burgundy Topz of Sacramento, CA. They are a great bunch of guys and I recommend the rally if you live within driving distance. 

Piaggo Cuts Management Positions

Dealer News ran a news item about Piaggio cutting management positions:

Reduced unit sales of scooters in 2009 forced Piaggio USA to cut several top level managers in its sales operation and flatten out its sales staff, says Paolo Timoni, president and CEO of Piaggio’s US operations.
Noting that industry-wide U.S. scooter sales were down about 65 percent last year, Timoni says that steps had to be taken to balance revenue and costs. “We don’t expect 2010 sales to go back to 2008 numbers,” he says. So, it was cut either sales or dealer services.
“Given our priorities for 2010 and 2011,” Timoni says, “ we concluded it was a priority for us to maintain our service capabilities (to dealers) as much as possible, because we think this is what dealers need. Probably, we could get with a smaller sales organization, since there wouldn’t be that much sales, right? Therefore, we basically reduced the size of our sales organization.”

The position of vice president of sales and marketing has been eliminated and the former head of sales and marketing, Gary Pietruszewski, has been let go. The marketing management functions now will be handled by three managers, who report to Timoni. “It’s a much flatter management structure,” he says.

Melissa MacCall is responsible for marketing, Internet activities, promotions and co-marketing activities. Karen Andrews is brand manager for Piaggio and Vespa, and Rick Panettieri is brand manager for Aprilia and Moto Guzzi.
At the same, the number of regional sales directors was cut from three to two, and three regional sales directors were dropped, reducing the number of sales directors from 10 to seven.

“We have great opportunity here,” says Timoni. “You notice we didn’t touch our service organization. We thought that would be the best investment we could make now, and we hope dealers appreciate that basically all the infrastructure and organization to support and service them has been untouched. That’s our strategy.”
No other changes are planned for the time being. “That’s all there is,” says Timoni.

The motorsports industry is hurting like so many other industries, and Piaggio products are higher on the price spectrum. It seems unlikely that the slump will turn around soon.

Red Lambretta Shirt

Like Lambrettas? Like Red Lambrettas? Like red Lambrettas on a green shirt? SCORE!

You can get this one for $24 at GeekMorris.

Scooter Gift Cards

Over the holiday's I picked up a Macy's gift card that had a couple on a scooter. It says "Happy Holidays" on it. So, I thought that they would all be gone. Turns out that they are still available via the website. If you were int he store, you could just pick one up, but to get one online you'll need to load it with at least $10.

Order yours, here.

If yo have seen the recent issue of Scoot! and read my Scooter Collector column, you may have wanted to get he Target scooter wedding card. If you don't live by a Target, you can get the card online, too. Same fund parameters of $10-$1K. Order yours here.

Old pics...

Was going through my computer, deleting old pics & found this taken by Dan Bergeron. Me & Carlos Alazraqui.

Tom Hanks/ Julia Roberts film with scooters?

In a story on Julia Roberts' career, the Los Angeles Times included this tidbit of info:

...Now comes word that Roberts is taking on another lead role, with 'Charlie Wilson’s War' buddy Tom Hanks writing and directing a movie for the two of them about a man re-inventing his life at middle age. The man endures a midlife crisis and joins a kids' Vespa gang; Roberts plays an instructor at a school that Hanks' character enrolls in...

This must be one of the reasons that Tom Hanks bought a new Genuine Buddy from Route 66 Modern Classics last year.  My guess is that like most mainstream media, the scooters are not actually Vespa(r) scooters but the generic "vespa" scooter which is much like Kleenex and Xerox. But we'll have to see.

Internet Movie Database has 8 films listed in development for Roberts. Wanna guess which one you think it is?

1. Happiness Sold Separately
   
2. Youngblood 
3. Hothouse Flowers 
4. In the Neighborhood
   
5. Monte Carlo 
6. A Flowering Evil 
7. The Friday Night Knitting Club 
8. Birds in Fall 

My money (which is Monopoly money by the way ) is on #1.

Vespa ET4 for Hipsters

Paste Magazine featured a spread in the November issue which traced the evolution of the hipster, and an ET4 was included. Nice to know that we were once hip (in 2005, no less!).

Taiwan Video: 1 & Half Minute Light Cycle

While in Taipei, I was doing some shopping at the Guang Hua Electronics Mall and came upon this crazy-busy intersection that had many different lanes feeding into it with an elevated highway above it. As I began crossing the street, I realized that the lanes coming towards me looked like the biggest scooter rally that I had ever seen...and this is just regular Friday night traffic! I think the actual video is abut 1:36 but I started filming in the crosswalk, so the light had probably been green for at least 3-4 more second.

Taipei scootering is a wild surprise for American scooterists for sure!
See it for yourself on Google Maps...




This video was shot here.

View Larger Map

Scoot# 54 is en route

The first issue of 2010 (February) is available for order and en route to subscribers and retailers.We had a larger than expected order from our distributor, so this issue may sell out.

If you are a subscriber who has not received your issue by February 1st, let us know by using the CONTACT link above and selecting "Subscription/Order Inquiry."

Highlights of this issue include:

• Reviews: The SYM Citycom 300i & Yamaha Zuma 125
• Taiwan scootering
• Project Vespa Pt. 2
• Scooter racing in the Northwest
• Meet the folks behind S.I.P.
• Italian Scooter rallies
• Comic: The Unlovables
• Get ready for the Cannonball Run 2010!

Next issue, #55, will be available in April. Content deadline for that issue is January 19th, 2010.

Taiwan Video: Go parking, baby...go parking on the sidewalk

In Taiwan there are so many scooters that it would be impossible to have them park in the streets, so sidewalk parking is totally acceptable. Matter of fact, many sidewalks have designated areas pained on the sidewalk where scooters should park. Because of this, scooters often drive up on the sidewalks in the dips where we would expect wheelchairs and strollers to com up. Consequently, when in Taiwan, do not stand in the center of that dip. You might get run over as I almost did in one of my videos. :)

A few years back, the scooterists of New York City had some issues with paring on the sidewalk, so I dedicate this video to them.

San Francisco Rocks Elite 250

Nice to see one of these old scoots around.



-- Post from my iPhone, out-n-about...

Scooter Relief Fund: Tim Paxton

Scoot! has always supported the Scooter Relief cause. And when Josh had his serious accident, many, many scooterists came to his aid through Scooter Relief. Here is another instance of a scooterist being hit by a car, and the cowardly driver just taking off. Please contribute if you can. Any amount helps.
From Scooter-Relief:

Tim Paxton, SLC scooterist, was hit and run over by a motorist in late October. He sustained serious injuries including many broken bones (pelvis, knees, legs, etc...). He has a long road of recovery ahead of him, and could use all of the help that the community can provide

.

Welcome, 2010!

Happy New Year! Any resolutions?

I can't say that I am much of a resolution kind of person. I always feel pressured to make one, but they often fall flat. But this year, I proclaim 2010 the "do everything better" year. I figure if I can commit to putting more effort into everything, even if it is a little bit more, then things can only improve. Not that things are bad, but we could all use an improved life, now couldn't we? I'd also like to "ride more' but I say that every year, and end up behind my computer far too much.Maybe a fancy new scooter would help....?

Do you have any scooter-related resolutions?