What SF Weather Does to Chrome

My friend's Genuine Buddy is a riding scooter that waits at the curb for its master.



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

Stella 4T Update

From Genuine Scooters:

Dear Genuine Customers,

US regulatory agencies have expressed concerns over minor variances between production specifications and our first production run of the new Stella 4 stroke scooter.

We are returning the scooters to the factory to address the concerns.

These concerns are non-mechanical and have no effect on the emissions standards, the safety, or the operation of the Stella 4 stroke scooter.

We will provide more information regarding availability as we complete these tasks.

We know the delays encountered due to this issue have been a disappointment for the many dealers and consumers that were anxiously awaiting the arrival of the new Stella.  It has been disappointing for Genuine as well.  However, Genuine Scooters is always committed to following all laws, rules, and regulations to deliver the best scooters in the business.  Thank you for your patience.

Sincerely,

Your friends at Genuine Scooters

Title IX catalog: equal opportunity scootin' for the ladies

The Title IX catalog features a photo of a woman on a pink Genuine Buddy, packed up for a scootin' adventure. Thanks to Cindy for letting me know.

Title IX sells sporty clothing for women, and is named after the legislation that gave women equal access to sports. 

Stella 4T Update from Genuine

This news was posted by Genuine:

Our first production shipment of 2010 Stella 4-Stroke arrived in Chicago on 6-9-2010, and was staged for review by United States Customs (Homeland Security) for clearance. Normally, this process can take a few days or up to a week. However, we have been advised that the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has requested an "extensive" examination of the vehicles. Simply stated, EPA is evaluating the Stella 4T to validate all aspects of compliance outlined in our original certification documents issued for this model. At this point we have been advised to wait for a response from the government without any indication of how long it may take. We intend to cooperate fully with any of their requests.
We have the finest EPA certified test lab and certification agents in the business. We are doing everything in our power to expedite this review, but at this point the government has not given us a completion date. This is extremely difficult for us, for the dealer, and for you our customer, all of whom have been waiting for Stella 4T.
Be assured that we will keep you informed as this governmental process and review continues and we thank you for your support.
We appreciate your confidence and patience, and we look forward to delivering your new Stella as soon as possible.
Your friends at Genuine Scooters.

Sunday Scooter Testing

The Scoot! team will be out testing some 125cc scooter head-to-head today for our next issue. On deck will be he KYMO Agility, Genuine Buddy,  Lance Cali Classic, Yamaha C3, and a Yamaha Vino. We might have another late entry. These head-to-head comparisons are a little time consuming, but fun to do and give the readers and apples-to-apples look at the stats.

I'll post some photos after we're done.
Doh! Mistake, I blew it when I was listing the scooters that were for the specific test for sunday. The 125cc test did not include the C3. I wish they had a 125cc version! We do have a loaner C3 from Yamaha, but it is for another article. I can't keep our test bikes straight.  

Blog entry soundtrack: "Love Cats" by The Cure

Scoot! Magazine issue # 56 shipping now!

The colors on this image are a little off, it is a bit more muted, but you get the idea. The next issue of Scoot! just arrived at the warehouse and is shipping, now. Shops should get their copies by June 4th, bookstores should have theirs by June 11th and subscribers should have theirs by the end of the month, depending upon how remote they are.

What's in this issue:

Scooter Art: including a cover by Parker Jacobs (of Yo! Gabba Gabba, Paul Frank Industries) a super-cool pull-out centerfold, and contributions of artists from all over the world.
New Scoot Reviews: Genuine Stella 4T, Sachs MadAss 125, La Vita 150EFi
Reader's Rides: Hank NoRush's Green Dragon and Josh Ellman's Orange Bike
Product Reviews: clothing, safety gear, helmets, books
Tips: for tying down your scooter
Regular features: Scooter Collector, rally calendar, classified, Show Us Your Scoots, and the Unlovables comic strip.

Scoot! Editor Quoted in Article on Genuine Scooters

I was interviewed for a story on Genuine Scooters.

Cash for Clunkers lives on!

Albeit in a different way...


Genuine Scooters made their own video of their Cash for Clunkers program:

...participating GENUINE SCOOTER DEALERS, will offer a $300 CASH CREDIT towards any GENUINE SCOOTER PRODUCT in exchange for any "titled" 2 wheeler that can be rolled or driven in to it's dealership.

The program was pioneered by the innovative Mike @ NOHO scooters. Go Mike! Go Genuine!

To find out more about the program, contact your local Genuine dealer, or Mike if you are in the L.A. area!

Progressive Getting Serious About Scooter Biz

Progressive Insurance is making a play for the scooter insurance business by working directly with Genuine Scooters and KYMCO. Progressive has created in-store marketing materials that dealers can share with customers including an FAQ, sample quotes and a dedicated website where consumers can get a quote. Buyers will also be able to call for quotes directly from the dealer showroom.

It's a smart move. Aligning themselves with two of the most popular scooter distributors in the US and making contact where scooterists buy their bikes gives Progressive an edge. Many new scooterists have no idea that they can/should insure their scooters, nor do they know which companies provide scooter insurance.

The Genuine site features "Flo" (Progressive's kooky spokesperson) on a Buddy. While KYMCO keeps it motorcycle-centric with their portal.

Correction to Stella Performance Article

In our current issue (#48) there is an excellent article on how different performance upgrades can affect a Genuine Stella. Unfortunately, a graph was left out (it was too low to reproduce in the magazine), one chart was truncated and some of the markers on another graph were misidentified. So, I'm posting corrections here.

Not sure if you can read the chart that was missing, even in the web, so we'll see about re-creating i from scratch in the nest issue. It was referred to on page 46 in the final paragraph.


The chart at the bottom of page 50 & 51 had a mixed-up column & data and one of the pipes has since received a name & pricing. All are updated here:



Finally, we have a correction to the graph legend on graph bottom left of page 48, "4 cylinder kits using Polini exhaust" The legend should read, BLUE-stock, MAGENTA-Malossi, RED-Polini, GREEN-Malossi Ported.

Sorry for any confusion. It was a very technical article with graphs & charts that usually aren't high enough resolution to just drop into the magazine. We'll take better care in the future.

Genuine Scooter Co. on TheStreet

The Street.Com profiled Genuine Scooter Co. and head honcho Phil McCaleb, today.
Read the article here.

Rattle My Bones rally makes the news

Rattle My Bones in Minneapolis made the local news. Looks like great weather and turnout.

LA Times Review of Buddy

Susan Carpenter is the motorcycling columnist for the LA Times. She is a fair reviewer, so when she gives a favorable review of the Genuine Buddy, folks will take notice. For us "old-timey"scooterists the beginning of the review may solicit some chuckles, since she seems to have a "Vespa is it" bias that many people have when they approach scooters: "The Buddy may be the best Vespa knockoff on the market." she says. But this attention can only do great things for Genuine which already can't keep their great product in stock.

Alix's PeaceScooter Update

IN our last issue, we ran out of space and moved Alix's Peace Scooter Update to our web as an online article. If you haven't had a chance to read it, check it out.

Alix is a courageous person on many fronts and I wish her the best on her future endeavors to wake up the country to the possibility of peace. She's about to go back on the road, so if you can meet up with her, offer her some floor space or buy her a meal. I had a great time visiting with her.

PEACE Scooter rolls into town

On Thursday, I met up with Alix of the P.E.A.C.E.Scooter Ride. She has been on the road since July, bringing her examination of peace to the US. Alix has a great attitude (and would have to, in order to do this ride)as she has her own ideas, but is very respectful of others. Sure she is idealistic and very ambitious with her project, but she is trying to wake up and make up for those of us who are lulled into complacency by the government, the media and our own mundane lives.

We chatted over dinner for about 2-3 hours and she talked of how she was motivated to take on this trip. She actually took out a loan for it, so if you've got some spare dollars to send her, you can do so at her site through PayPal. Her Buddy scooter was generously donated by Genuine Scooters, and she has received great service and assistance from shops all along the way. Wherever she goes, people open up to her and talk about what peace means to them. I admire her ability to give up her home comforts for a road trip with a mission. Check out The PEACE Scooter site for her upcoming itinerary and read her adventures. Perhaps you can ride-out with her if she comes through your town. She's ending up at Crawford, Texas. We'll see what happens....


Alix in Santa Cruz.