Scoot! Editor Quoted in Article on Genuine Scooters

I was interviewed for a story on Genuine Scooters.

Seattle Scooters Spotlighted

The Seattle Times did a piece on local scootering mentioning Westenders Scooter Club, Vespa Club of Seattle and Capitol Hill Scooter Society.

NY Times Revisits Scooters

High five to Mario from South Bay Scooter Club who was mentioned in this New York Times article on the growing popularity of scooting.

More Scooter parking: A Good Thing

If you have been following Scoot! and this blog for some time you know that I am passionate about designated scooter parking. We launched our own successful campaign in San Jose, CA where we are based. I have blogged about other cities that are also challenged with scoooter/motorcycle parking. The campaign for scooter parking continues.

Here is a story about how Philadelphia is adding parking for two-wheeled vehicles to stop parking on sidewalks. I am against parking on sidewalks for the most part. It can be dangerous for the disabled and can foster bad feelings among the people that walk on the sidewalk. But, if there was adequate parking for motos, them people wouldn't park on the sidewalk. Moreover, if motos aren't competing with cars, then automobile drivers won't be annoyed by car spaces with one moto in them. I have seen scooters that were moved to accommodate a car-- much to the surprise of the scooter's owner!

Finally, if you have some success share it with Scoot! by dropping me an email. I'd love to inspire others. And if you don't get some help let me kow, too. Perhaps we can all work together for a common goal.
Other cities such as Portland, Seattle, Sarasota and Sydney have undergone moto parking makeovers. Interested in creating more scooter-friendly parking in your city? Try these suggestions:

• Organize: meet other scooterists and get an action group together. Research the amoutn of two-wheel riders in the area. Survey the area at different times and note how many scooters/motorcyces are parked. You must demonstrate a need if the city ia going to pay attention to your cause. Don't forget about motorcyclists. They want parking, too!
• Petition: create a petition that clearly outlines your request(s) and get people to sign it. Make sure that the names are legible and that there is a way to contact each person if needed.
• Facilitate: Odten cities feel that they cannot take away parking from cars, so do some legwork yourself. Specify exactly where you want parking and also identify spaces that can be converted to moto parking without taking away car spots. Examples can be spaces between driveways, ends of blocks where the space between a car spt and the crosswalk may accommodate a scooter or two. Take photos and provide them to the city.
• Be Polite: Yelling and threatening only aggravates others. You'll get more with sugar than vinegar as the saying goes.
• Give Credit: Make sure to give thanks and credit to those in government who are helpful. A bureaucrat's job can be a thankless one, so give them some credit when they are helpful. They will appreciate it!

Scooter Gang Cannot Sit on Mopeds

I saw this article on the Camden New Journal website. The headline says:

Scooter Asbo kids Caught on Facebook
THREE members of a teenaged scooter gang who posted footage of their exploits on Facebook and Myspace were banned from sitting on a moped for two years by a youth court on Monday.

I don't mean to minimize any of the antics that the gang may have done, but I hope that the judge was more savvy in his ruling than than the article hints. If kids were committing crime on a scooters I'm sure they would be happy to agree to stay off of mopeds.

Cheap Scooters...too good to be true?

The Scoot! staff has reminded readers over and over again to not be fooled by inexpensive scooters that can be found on the Internet, in auto parts stores or sold through retail chains not authorized to sell motor vehicles.

Here is a story about a Oregon woman who bought a $600 scooter from a liquidation service and discovered that the stated 90-day warranty would not be honored.

To be clear, I believe that if a company advertises a warranty, they should stand by it. A retailer should not be selling products that it is not authorized to sell, and it should be aware of how the manufacturer will service those warranty clams.

But it remains to be said that Americans are so blinded by the prospect of a "deal" that they will throw out all logic and common sense. We are so focused on buying things cheaply that we have no regard for quality manufacture, fair wages or fair mark-up that allows business to stay afloat.

I frequently receive calls from neophytes looking to get into scootering merely because of the cost savings (real or imagined). They are so easy to suspend disbelief in hopes of saving money that they are willing to make really dumb choices. One man called me looking for a restored vintage scooter and said he wanted my opinion on ordering from Asia. I asked why he didn't look closer to home since he lived near a major city on the East Coast. He said they were too expensive. YET he was willing to send thousands of dollars to a company in Asia that he had never heard of, and had no way of verifying. I asked him what he was going to do if it arrived damaged, or was a piece of crap. He had no idea, as he hadn't considered that option. He was probably too busy imagining himself riding down the street (with no helmet and in shorts, a t-shirt and flip-flops, no less) basking with pride over his savvy shopping skills.

I then asked him if he would buy a 50 year old car from an unknown restoration company in a foreign country, and have it arrive at his doorstep in a box that he would have to unpack himself. His answer, "Well, I guess not."

Obviously, the woman in Oregon was only thinking about her savings. What do you think the actual cost of manufacture is for a scooter that sells for $600. Does the manufacturer put $300 into making it? How much is a worker paid to assemble a $600 scooter? If you buy the scooter from a liquidator, where will you get tires or a replacement turn signal lens? If I went to Costco and saw some new no-name brand SUVs or minivans in the parking lot selling for $5,000 I would assume that they were crap. And I would wonder what government agency allows a mass market retailer to sell automobiles. The situation should have set-off buzzers and whistles well before she made the purchase.

Am I the only person who feels that America has shot itself in the foot (and the neck) by being a country of self-centered cheapskates?

This past week I saw a news story about a local Chrysler dealership that was auctioning off their remaining inventory before closing at the end of the month. None of the cars sold because those who showed up thought that the reductions weren't good enough. The news reported that one man offered $4,000 for a brand new SUV. Now, anyone with a brain can see the faulty logic and predatory nature in that man's offer. First, Chrysler would not allow the dealer to sell that cheaply. It would make it doubly hard for the remaining dealers to sell cars at regular price if word got out that someone bought the SUV for such a pittance. In addition, the dealer probably paid much more that $4,000 for the SUV.

Do you think the man who made that offer cared anything about the dealership, the people it employed, the plant that made the car and those who worked there? No, he was just a selfish person who wanted to take advantage of the misfortunes of the car dealership,and the local folks that worked there.

People wonder how our country has lost its way, and why manufacturing jobs are disappearing. Maybe the answer is right in our hearts and pocketbooks.

Blog entry soundtrack: "The Gates of Istanbul" Loreena McKennitt

Left Turns at Intersections: A Scooterist's Nightmare

In the most recent issue of Scoot!, I wrote an article about scooter safety. In it I noted that the most dangerous place for a scooter is an intersection. A car driver turning left in front of a scooterist/motorcyclist is the most common accident. For proof you need not look further than the news:
2/23/09: Man on motorscooter struck by car in Florida
2/27/09: Oakland Woman Arrested in San Francisco Scooter Crash
3/3/09: Woman Dies Following Friday Crash in Tennessee
3/11/09: Scooter Struck by Vehicle

Now, I don't bring this up to scare anyone. I know many riders who haven't had this type of accident. But, of those who have had accidents, this sort ranks at the top. It can also be a deadly accident.

What can you do to protect yourself at an intersection?

1) make yourself more visible: most motorists that turn left in front of a rider claim to have not seen the rider. Wear a bright helmet and clothing (especially with highly reflective trim) and keep your hand ready to hit your bright headlights and honk your horn. In congested cities like Los Angeles, I have flashed my lights & honked at intersections to make sure I am noticed.

2) mind your position in the road: if you are too far over or tailgating the car in front of you, you hinder your chances of being seen. Give a reasonable berth for other cars and for you to be seen, and escape if needed.

3) use your eyes: scan for cars in all lanes, and when entering an intersection look at the oncoming cars to gauge if they are looking for you or are otherwise distracted.

4) be scooter psychic: my way of saying that you need to develop a sense of human behavior based on body language of the drivers around you. For example, someone looking down at their cell phone most likely won't see you. A car in the oncoming lane that slows down at an intersection with a green light may still be turning even if they forgot to put on their turn signal.

For more tips on how to be a safer, smarter rider, check out my article in issue #49 with Carlos Alazraqui on the cover.

Scooters on Day to Day

I heard that Mike, owner of Noho Scooters was interviewed for a news piece on Day to Day, on NPR radio show. It is supposed to air today at the end of the show. If you can't get it you can also listen online, as they post content after 1PM ET.

File under: "Ewwww!"

Saw this article online about two scooterists who used their scooter to dispose of a body. Either they are super ballsy or people just don't pay that close attention to the sacks on the backs of scooters:

HYDERABAD: Two scooterists carrying the body of a murdered man managed to give the police a slip, and later, dumped the body in an isolated place in Borabanda locality on Saturday afternoon.

A horrified motorist riding alongside the scooter near Meter Factory in Sanathnagar, noticed legs sticking out of the sack on the scooter and alerted policemen manning a roadside check post. Even as the policemen jumped on their motorbike to chase, the scooterists drove into a maze of lanes and bylanes of Borabanda–Erragadda area.

Read the full, odd article at The Hindu.

Blog entry soundtrack: "The Volcano" by The Aggrolites.

Rise Against Scoots on Tour

Rolling Stone published an update on the band Rise Against and mentioned that they took scooters on their tour.

After midnight, the band boards the bus for a late-night trip to Philadelphia to play two nights at Electric Factory. "It's such a cool club," [Tim]McIlrath says. "The best shows happen in seedy neighborhoods built out of old warehouses." For this tour, they brought a fleet of scooters, which they use to track down some pre-show vegan cheese steaks. "Now, instead of being cooped up in a venue all day, we can just cruise around town," says McIlrath. "It keeps us sane."

You may recall that we have published articles on musician scooterists in the past. Poison's Rikki Rockett would tuck his Vespa smallframe in his tour bus' understorage and ride all over town during his stops. Audio Adrenaline did a co-tour with Mercy Me and both bands took Honda Ruckuses (plural?) on tour and had a blast tearing it up.

Rise Against is on tour and will do some last US dates, onto Canada and them to Austria and Germany. Assuming they are on 4-strokes (my money is on the Ruckus...) they should hook up with some of the German tuners or SIP. That will blow their minds!

Rickki Rockett cover

Buy a Condo, Get a Scooter

Scooters are known for being a part of the urban lifestyle. Now in Cleveland, you can have that urban lifestyle in one step. From the Cleveland Plain Dealer's website:

Another urban developer has jumped on the low-mileage-vehicle-giveaway bandwagon.

Vintage Development Group announced this week that it will be giving a free Vespa scooter to those who buy a home at one of two Cleveland developments: Battery Park in Detroit Shoreway or Chester 82 near University Circle.

If a customer doesn't want the scooter, they can opt for $5000 worth of upgrades to their new home, Vintage said.
Plain Dealer file photoThose who buy a loft at Bluestone in Cleveland Heights are eligible for a free Smart Car -- or cash knocked off the purchase price.

At Battery Park, prices range from $169,900 and $314,900 for condos and single-family homes.

When in Birstall, get your hair cut

Saw this story on line about a scooter-loving mod who has opened up a mod/scooter themed hair salon. According to the salon owner, "My inspiration came from being one of the founding members of the Spen Valley Saints, which has given me the reputation of being a mod hair specialist."

So if you find yourself in Birstall, in the Leicestershire area of England, pop in for a mod do.

Did you know.....?

From this week's "Did You Know" corner....mo-pedding is against the rules for NBA players. Well, I think that also extends to scooters as evidenced by the recent hullabaloo with Monta Ellis, who recently became the highest paid player on the Golden States Warriors NBA team.

He soon after injured his ankle in a "mo-ped" accident and tried to cover it up since riding is a strictly prohibited activity in NBA contracts. Who wouldda thunk that riding was so dangerous as to be strictly prohibited.

Us scooter & moped riders are f*ing insane....livin' on the edge!

Maybe we should send Ellis one of our cool Scoot buttons?

Yeah, us scooterists live life dangerously!

Checkout this article from the UK's Mirror newspaper.

Apparently, the Vespa PX is so dangerous that the BBC banned one of its reporters from riding it. It was a laugh as she has been to war zones to report with no problems. Perhaps this is a comment on UK drivers? But likely just an odd fear of lawsuits.

Missourian article on scooters

I was quoted in an article on scooters for the Missourian newspaper. Check it out here.

I always sound so dumb in interviews. Where is the creative brilliance, witty repartee or flashes of sincere wisdom? Apparently from someone else. None of that here. :)

Scooter Thefts!

It was bound to happen, with scooters being in high demand and easy to pilfer, it's no wonder that they are getting stolen.
According to this news report from the News-Leader in Springfield, MO 20 scooters have been stolen in the lat 2 months! I would guess that several of them were not securely locked, but even with a chain it is possible. And if people have modern, plastic scooters and use those plastic body parts for securing the bike, it's not to hard to break it and go.

In Scoot!#31 from Spring '05 we ran an article on ways to properly lock your bike. This situation makes me thing that we need to run another article on it.

I say use a big lock, or two; make it hard to roll such as by locking the wheel or disc brake. In especially dodgy places, I have locked my helmet to by front wheel and removed my spark plug. Easier on a vintage bike. On newer bikes, an alarm isn't that hard to install.

Anyone out there had their scooter stolen recently? What were the circumstances?

MSN Article Shows Complexity of Scooter Choice

I love scooters. I'm glad to see more people getting into the scooter frame of mind, but I often meet folks that just haven't thought it through all the way. I'm not one to dissuade a person form becoming a scooterist, but I think that if someone does he research and invests some time into the purchase s/he will end up with a better fitting scooter that will be with him/her for quite some time.

So I was pleased to see this story on MSN where new scooterist Tracy Harger put in some investigative work before buying a scooter. I'd suggest that those wanting to buy a scooter read and use it as inspiration for their scooter hunt. Scooters are a great way to get around town using minimal gas, but if you buy a new scooter it can take a while to see the savings if you are paying off a new scooter. So I say look at it from several points of view. Back in June, I ran a post which had some of my top reasons to ride a scooter. Fuel-efficiency was only one of them. I also posted some tips on buying a new scooter. If you are a new viewer of this blog, sgo back a few months and you'll find various postings that may help you with your new hobby/lifestyle. Also, feel free to send me an email if you would like.
Happy Scooting!

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.

James McEvoy trades in motorcycle for scooter

Well, his reasoning may be kinda lame, but I like James McEvoy, so I'll accept him on our team:

FILM star James McAvoy has traded in his motorbike for a scooter after an encounter with a road bully.

The 29-year-old Scot fell off his red Hyosung bike after a car driver revving his engine made him nervous.

The Last King of Scotland star said: "I was lost and stopped at traffic lights.

"There was this guy looking at my shiny, red bike and he kept thinking, 'I'm going to make him race.'

"I just got terrified and very meek and thought, 'I need to get out of this guy's way.'

"I was basically intimidated into coming off my bike.

"It was someone else's fault entirely, as these things always are."

James added: "It was kind of scary, so I've gone back to just having a little scooter now. That's so much safer for me."

Source: Fiona Young, The Sunday Mail

I'm interviewed in San Jose Mercury News

Several years ago, before I was Scoot!'s editor, I was interviewed about scooters by Matt Nauman of the San Jose Mercury News. I've kept in touch with him since then and have been bugging him (gently) to do another scooter story. So the Merc decided that scooters were a big story and Matt contacted me for an interview. You can read it here. Photo by David M. Barreda from the article.