On the porch- 62 degrees @ 9:30pm

Argentinian Meat Fest

GTA: Vice City attraction

Scoot! in Miami this weekend...

Josh & I will be in Miami this weekend, guests of Martin Racing Performance and Daelim scooters. We're going to check out Daelim's new scooters and MRP's parts & operations. We're also looking forward to some nice riding weather. While our weekend is short and packed, we might be able to meet up with any local scooterists on Sunday night.

I've never been to Florida, so it will be a nice treat, especially after the super-cold snap we had over the past 2 weeks in California. Not even my silk thermal underclothes were helpful! Now, I'm looking through my closet wondering what does one wear in Floriday in the middle of January?

The magazine should be at the printers right now. We'll look forward to getting it the first few days of February. Josh and our freelance ad sales person Carrie will be at the Indianapolis Motorcycle Show in mid-February and then off to Vegas, where Mike will be, too. I'm skipping Vegas this year (again!) as I need to get my bearings back and push headlong into the Summer issue.
-april

Scooter Girl Calendars

Wondering how to kep that scootring spirit going while you're stuck at your desk indooors? Two scooter clubs have created calendars that may do just that. The SF Scooter Girls out of San Francisco and Midwest USA's The Debutantes SC both have released calendars that feature pinup-style photos of their members. Previous year's editions of the alendars have been such big hits that both clubs have increased their production for 2007. Order yours, now:

The Debutantes SC

The SF Scooter Girls

Calling all artists with scooter themes...

If you are an artist that uses scooters in his/her art or uses scooters as your canvas, let us know. We're working on an upcoming Scooter Art issue which celebrates how the scooters can motivate creativity with their design or through the freedom they symbolize. Painting, sculpture, video, photography, textile art..we want to see it! In past issues we printed examples of the art as well as artists info. Might be a great way to sell some of your artwork to appreciative scooter fans. Contact me for more information.

Honda's new scooter

Edmunds.com is carrying a story about a new Honda scooter being debuted at the Tokyo Auto Salon show this month. The Forza (which means "force" in Italian) 250cc scooter brings luxury features to the forefront with an inter-communication/music system as well as some pimped-out color combos and cushy upholstery. While this bike may not be available in the US soon, or ever, it's interesting to wonder how the US market would receive it.
Check out the article and pics at
Edmunds.com

It appears that larger displacement scooters will be commonplace and for the price they command, buyers are expecting more luxury features. What features would you like to see scoooter manufacturers incorporate into their bikes? Post your comments, below.

Two-stroke scooters do make a racket!

I saw an Associated Press photo on Yahoo! which had the following caption:
"Indian security personnel inspect a scooter damaged due to a bomb blast in Gauhati, India, Monday, Jan. 8, 2007."

Click here to see the photo

At first, I thought they were checking it to see if the scooter was a bomb. I used to have an aftermarket exhaust on my bike which made it sound as if it would explode. I eventually went back to stock. It seemd odd to have a super-loud scooter that only went 40mph.

Scooter Movies

I've beeen playing with the idea of adding a feature to the Scoot! website that lists films that contain scooters. For a few years, I've kept a spreadsheet on my computer that listed films that I've seen. G'head and call me a scooter nerd...

I've also been amassing any VHS and DVDs that have scooters in them for movie nights. These care TV commercials, TV shows, music videos etc.

Does anyone find this an intersting enterprise? I think it would be a cool resource, but I'mnot sure how many people would actually get a kick out of it.

If you think you'd use such a sthing, let me know. Also, if you know of any unusual films or bits of video, lemme know. An up front qualifier: No Quadrophenia! (Isn't everyone sick of that one already?), no Lambretta Twist or Adidas soccer commercials. I've got those! :) Also, no You Tube links unless you know that they are source materials.

You've got your mission... ;)

Blog was messed up...

It appears that many of the blog posts I posted over the past 6 weeks or so didn't make it onto my blog. Sorry! I haven't abandoned the blog, we've just had some technical errors which I think had something to go with migrating it to appear on our site. Most of my old pics disappeared. Ugh! I'll look into ironing it out over the next few weeks.

I am hard at work on the Spring 07 issue which features our Buyer's Guide. It is a TON of work, but I hope that it will all be worth it in the end. Mike will be in layout stages next week.

After all this time in front of the computer and OFF my scooter, I'm looking forward to a weekend away. Josh & I are planning a business trip one weekend in January to Miami to checkout some scooter stuff for the Summer issue. If you live in Miami, let us know maybe we can get together!

I'm also working on some pieces for upcoming issues:
Totally 80s: we're looking for people who were scooterists in the 80s who can send us photos of their old scooters, fashions and the like. With the advent of so many new scooters and scooterists, we'd like to pay hommage to the distinct style of US scootering in the 80s. If you want to contribute or have any ideas, let me know.

Scooter Art: Are you an artist that uses scooters in your art? We want to put together another scooter art issue. Contact me if you are interested or have a tip on a scooter artist. Also great opportunity for those who do custom murals and such on scooters.

Well, back to editing the Spring issue....
-april

Scooter Desktop Wallpaper

I love Pixel Girl Presents, a great place to get icons and desktops for your computer. I have several on my computer which make it more homey, since I spend so many hours a day in front of it. :) This one has lots going on, but you'll see a fenderlight Vespa near the center. Check out the other desktops the site has and visit the corresponding artists for more inspiration.

See it here Link to desktop

Scoot!'s in the mail

Sorry for the big gap in posts. I've been buried in bureaucratic business at the magazine including sending out a postcard to clean up our database and in getting the magazine sent out to subscribers. We dropped it at the post office on Tuesday, so subscribers should expect to see it within 10 days.

We're trying out a new printer. They are located in Southern California and are now running our magazine on a web press instead of the sheet fed process we were using. Let me know if you notice a difference! I can tell the difference in certain aspects, but we're picky that way. :)

I am honored to be this issue's cover girl! I tested the Suzuki Burgman 400 in August and we got some excellent photos from a fancy professional photography team that Suzuki hired. Cool action shots. I had a great time riding the Burgman in the beautiful wine country above San Francisco. If you're curious about riding a big scooter, read the article. You might find the Burgman is for you.

Some other things to check out in this current issue: a guide to group riding, a guide to buying tires, an article on installing air-glide suspension, review of the TGB Laser, lots of rally reports and more.

Just as I've sent off this current issue, I've got to get down to business on the next issue. Deadline for content for the Spring issue is December 12th. If you want to submit a photo of you on your scooter for "Show Us Your Scoots" or make changes to classified ads etc.. do so by Dec. 12th.

Scooterist Favorite: Beachkrieg

A snap of a recent Beachkrieg show. Surf music by scooterists who pose as WWI submarine castaways. It doesn't make sense, but they do a great surf version of "Blue Monday".

Part of the Gymhkhana

Don't ask...

Lori & I went to the store to get some Mike's Hard Lemonade and came back to find the tail end of a gymkhana which utilized oddly assembled balloons. Not sure what hapened, but the ladies did provide beer, so we just popped a can and sat to socialize.

AGSR Ride Stop

On the Saturday ride, we rode all over and saw the cool triangle gas station which has been turned into an art museum or visitors center. We didn't stop there. When I tried to snap a photo, a white truck pulled in front of it. Argh!

AGSR Ride Stop

Snack stop on our ride

We took aride through some Palm Springs neighborhoods with great Palm Springs mid-century architecture. We stopped at a hotel called the Bungalows which has a few rooms that people can rent. Relaxing with a view of the mountains in the background.

Jackknifed truck

Polly Pocket scoot

Pitstop in Coalinga

We're on the road...

Get your scooter ornaments early!

Ornaments @ Cost Plus

I hate that there Christmas items are for sale before Halloween, but I love that I found these 2 inexpensive scooter ornaments. The small one is made of paper and was $1.99. The larger is a Santa on a glitterrific 3-wheel scoot for $6.99. Get them before all your scooterists friends buy them all out.

April going to AGSR

I've missed all the past All-Girl Scooter Rallies, but this year, I'm heading to Palm Springs with my housemate Lori for the event. We're ready to bond with our scootering sisters and get a last bit of summer weather before fall completely takes over. The itinerary looks fun and we're looking forward to riding around a different town. Want more info about the AGSR?
View the website. There is also a Yahoo! Group where all the discussion and info get's passed around.

Sale on Kauffman Scooter Fabric

First, let me say: I love Reprodepot!

Next. let me tell you that they are having a sale on their Mod Scooter Girls stock of fabric. I paid about $9 per yard for my blue version. You can get the grey/black version here for under $7 a yard!
Buy it here!

I made a quillow (quilt that folds into a pillow) with mine. What will you make with yours?

Ben Sherman Cufflinks

Here are some cool cufflinks for the scooter fanatic.

Check it out

Nice to see something in the Ben Sherman line that actually pertains to vintage style in more than just the name. Oh, I'm being catty. Ben Sherman does have a few cool vintage items, especially their men's hats. Very Cool. But most of the time it's something with mid-range manufacture and high price and only a cool name.

These cufflinks retail for $50, which is a little steep, but you know you'll wear them to every scooter event night show, soul all-nighter and scooter wedding for the next few years!

Love our watertower

As I left the Scoot! office tonight at 10pm, I looked up and saw the moon's beams wrapping around the watertower that looms over our building. It's only 1/10th as pretty in the pic as it was in person.

New Scoot! Staffer, pt 2

Post name suggestions on this blog for our newest staff member.

New Member of Scoot! Staff

About 2 months ago, Josh & I started noticing small black pellets in the corners of the office. Turns out they were mouse scat. I bought a humane trap so we could nab them. Lightly salted Kettle chips did the trick and they were banished to a field. We then realized that we had an opening for a Rodent Engineer at the office and hired this little lady. She had yet to be named, but I think our readers may have some apropos suggestions for a scooter-themed name for our newest staff member. If you have a suggestion, leave a comment on this blog.

Stephen meets Jello

I want my friend Stephen to do reviews of punk music for the magazine. He sent me this pic of him & Jello Biafra in San Francisco. I think he may be qualified.

Old Cold Phone Pic

I found this picture on my phone. Josh & I went to Indianapolis for the Cycle World motorcycle show in February. Our window froze on the inside and I scratched "Scoot!" in the ice. Josh left the hotel room with wet hair and it froze on the way to the car. Our shoes left ice tracks on the carpet of the car which were still intact when we came out of the convention 8 hrs later. Does it surprise you that it was 2-degrees F that day?

Great Indian Road Trip

Ever since my college Indian Art class, I've wanted to go to India. In my imagination I had envisioned exploring temples and stupas, trying local foods and exploring new towns. What I had never considered was a scootering trip across the huge country. That is exactly what a handful of men from India are doing right now. It's called the Great Indian Road Trip and you can find out about it at the official website.

Their route will take them over 12,000 miles. You can check out the map on their site as well as read their various blog entries. A Kinetic Blaze 165cc scooter is on the trip and made it to the "Highest Motorable Road in the World" Leh-Khardungla Road which is said to be 18,430 Ft. There are motorcycles on the trip, but you know us at Scoot! are pulling for the scooters. :)

I am still waiting for news from Kinetic about when they plan to have their bikes in the states. They are remaking the Italjet Dragster and the Velocifero, so I know that many people in the US & UK are interested in hearing more.

NSR: But still cool

Art Car fest

There is an annual Art Car Fest that takes place in Berkeley and San Jose. This was one of the entries. Kinda cool- kinda scary.

The crew awaiting melted cheese & bread,,,

Pizza!

John of Moto Amore goes to this authentic Italian pizza place & invited us along. A good reason for a night ride.

Thursday night scoot to pizza...

Jason's scoot @ night ride

We stopped for gas & I took a pic of his baddazz ruckus.

Cannonball Run in Full Swing

if you didn't already know it, the Cannonball Run is on with 30 riders attempting the cross-country ride from Oregon to New Jersey. As I mentioned in a previous post, the Silicon Valley has 4 participants on the ride. Go South Bay! Scoot! is sponsoring all the riders (we couldn't play favorites!) by giving them each a gas card. Anyone who attempts that ride deserves some assistance!

While it's hard to get info on all the riders, there are a few places where you can get updates:

site for our 4 local Cannonballers.

Heather Knight's Blog. Heather is from the Portland area and she & I have corresponded about scooter parking. She's a cool gal and I wish her luck.

Modern Vespa Forum. Homeboy Rich is on a People 250 that he charmed KYMCO into letting him ride. He's using the Modern Vespa Forum to post his updates.

Thanks to Dennis for turning me onto Owen Medd's Cannonball Blog. Owen is from the Rover SC and is doing a good job of keeping us apprised of the ride.

The Good Ol' Scooter BBS has some info being posted. While Robert isn't on the ride, he's posting updates that he gets. Look around the site for other updates from Robert Volz who is on the ride.

Of course, you can always check the actual Cannonball site for updates although the info is basic at this point.

If you hear of any other sites, please let me know so I can post it. Those of us who wish they could have gone are eager to hear what's happening.

On an unrelated note, tomorrow is the deadline for content submissions for the Winter issue of Scoot!. Contact me if you have anything you'd like to contribute.

Pics from a BBQ for Cannonballers

Cannonball Sendoff

San Jose's Vespa Club Los Gatos has 4 scooterists participating in the Cannonball Run which begins next week in Oregon. Scoot! is sponsoring the event by providing each of the 30 riders with a gas card. They're going to need it as they ride scooters across country for over 3,000 miles to New Jersey. This is the second year of this event and we're proud to have 4 locals involved. Tom "Bagel" Donohue will be writing a report for the magazine.

You can follow the progress of the riders on the

Cannonball Run Website which has some public forums.

Mike Bobadilla's Tricked-Out ET4

Cannonball Run Sendoff

Mike is one of the 4 local Cannonballeers. he has some cool modifications to his bike to make it more comfortable and useful during his 3,000 mile trek. Read about it in the Winter issue of Scoot! Magazine which comes out in November.

Shindig Happens This Weekend

The Scoot! crew will be in San Jose enjoying Josh Rogers' "September Shindig" rally. It is year 9 and Josh is only a week away from his wedding. Madcap fun will ensue! Josh is also one of us three publishers of Scoot!, but long before we took the helm, he single-handedly put on this rally. It is lots of fun and is unique to the big "stand around and chat about scooters" rallies. It is smaller and more intimate with irreverent games, a bit of off-color humor and some long rides. If you are in the Bay Area this weekend, make an effort to catch it.

James Cornell Comes Home

You may have seen my previous posts about local scooterist/motorcyclist James Cornell who was seriously injured in the Isle of Man race. This week he came back to the states and is continuing his recuperation in San Francisco. Two local news organizations have covered his return:

NBC11 TV

SF Chronicle Newspaper.

If you are interested in finding out more information or donating towards the mountain of medical bills that James will face
Visit the James Cornell Fund website.

Suzuki Burgman Test cont.

Stop on our ride.

Almost to the end of our test ride. We stopped at a wine tasting place to buy but not taste wine. I'm not really a wine drinker so I chatted outside while some bought wine inside. Incidentally, that night at dinner I did have a glass of red wine which the waiter secretly kept filling up while I was looking the other way.I must have had 3 glasses that night inadvertantly! On the bus ride home I was starting to doze, so I was glad to crash into bed. After a 7-hour scooter tour of the beautiful area north of San Francisco I was pleasantly exhausted. A full review of the Burgman will run in our Winter issue.

Suzuki Burgmann Test snap

Suzuki Burgman launch

Our tour started at Fisherman's Wharf and we stopped for some pics at the famous area under the Golden Gate Bridge. I've always been reticent to ride over the Golden Gate because it is so windy and I think some drivers are looking at the views instead of paying attention to the road. Not sure my 61 Vespa 150 would be up for it. :) But the Burgman was a great ride. Lots of power- it didn't even notice the wind. I wish I had some pics of us riding over it- nearly 2 dozen Suzuki Burgmans. Some people asked, "Are you some scooter gang or something?"

Indoors at SF Classic Day Show

Live from SF Classic!

I mostly manned the Scoot! booth, so I snapped a pic of my view of the show. I didn't win the fancy scooter. Matter of fact I haven't won anything at a rally for over 2 years. I guess I used up all my luck the time I won a scooter at Vespa Club Los Gatos' rally.

Wha'appen?

I got to meet & hang out with Dave Wakeling's reformed English Beat when they played in San Jose last week. Bosco and I chatted with Dave and Lynval Golding of the Specials who has joined them for the tour. The band played English Beat and Specials tunes and had the crowd bouncing. Read more about our interview in the Winter issue.

For now the Fall issue just arrived from the printers. You can get an advance copy at this weekend's San Francisco Classic rally. Subscriber issues will be shipped early next week. Shops should also begin to see them next week.

Bratz know what is cool...

Bratz Kidz scoot $3O

Found it at at Target. Installed the battteries and got it to chase the cats around the house a bit.

Scoot! to Review Suzuki Burgman 400

Suzuki is making the Burgman 400 available to a pool of journalists in August. I'll be traveling to San Francisco and riding to Napa with a group to give the Burgman a spin. I'm looking forward to the long ride. As you may recall, Scoot! did an ambitious review of maxi-scooters in our Winter 2004 issue.

In that issue we rode from The Los Angeles area to our homes in San Jose/San Francsico and back and then back again and then back again! We rode over 8,000 miles on 11 different bikes. At that time, only the Burgman 650 was available. Now, I'll get a chance to review the 400. It's a big bike, but I think I can handle it! :) The review should run in the Winter isssue which comes out in November. As for the Fall issue, it is at the printers and should be ready to ship next week.

Join us on MySpace!

I know I posted this earlier, but just wanted to remind everyone that they can find Scoot! Magazine at
Scoot!'s MySpace Profile.

We'll be using the bulletin area to make announcements, and we hope to keep in touch with those we meet on the road. So, add us as your friend!

New Merch Sneak Peek...

We received our new shirts from Modified Printing in Portland, OR. The artwork is from Mark Atmos Pilon who created a cute little couple scootin' along. The back has the Scoot! logo so you can represent! It's not yet available, since Josh & Miike are selling them at Amerivespa this weekend in Denver. When they get back, we'll post the shirts to the Scoot! webstore and you can order them. We have both men & women's sizes. As with all new-fangled women's T's the girlie shirts are form-fittting.

MTV Italy Pimps Some Rides

I wish that MTV USA would "Pimp" some scooters! The Italians have and you can download small video snippets from iTunes. Like all "Pimp.." vehicles, they are over the top, but who doesn't want one scooter which blows everyone away?

Download free videos from iTunes.

"Das Freakout"

WWI German Surf Band, Beach Kreig performs at Scoot to the Moon rally in Half Moon Bay, CA. July 22. And no, the picture isn't fuzzy because of my drinking, it's just my little picture phone.

Ride to Work on Wednesday

Don't forget, this Wednesday is Ride to Work Day. Drop me a line and let me know if you are a first-time participant and how it went. I'll be putting through the streets of San Jose that day spreading the word with my cool Scoot! License Plate Frame:

Cick the picture to see how you can get one for yourself and friends.

Delia's Get's MOD-ernized

The new Delia's catalog features a vintage Lambretta in keeping with their mod theme. See their splash photo of teens & the scooter. The catalog has a few photos of the scooter,but this one is best. They also use a Mini Cooper. Some of the clothes may fit in with the mod lifestyle. I'm just hoping that the bad 80's clothing will soon go away. And what about all these flared & bell-bottom style pants. Ugh! "Where have all the straight-legs gone? Long time pa-assing..."

Racing fun

Fuzzy phone pic of mini-motorcycle races at DeAnza college. While these races aren't for scooters exclusively, it's a great place for those who own vehicles that aren't street-legal to get out an tear it up. Jason from Battlescooter.com was able to race a 50cc scooter in some of the races. There were also go-peds, go-carts, mini-bikes and such.

Jason of Battlescooter.com and friend at the mini-motorcycle races. They raced against mopeds on stock 50cc scooters that were totally stripped. They didn't even have seats! The day also had gokart, go-ped and other bikes racing.

New Polly Pocket scoots

Found at Target for less than $10. The scooters are similar to the previous Polly Pocket ice cream scooter but I think they are a slightly different design.

"Are we in trouble...?"

Outside Rev. Horton Heat show

Lori & I parked in a red zone between 2 cars which is a dead space of sorts. When we came out we thought we'd have some explaining to do, but it turned out that the police merely pulled over to arrest a lady who was drunk in public. You might be able to make out some frisking going on in the back of the pic. We rode away with no hassles. Hooray! As an aside, The Reverend was great and Jimbo (his stand-up bass player) was on fire that night. J-I-M-B-O!

Say Kanichewah to a Japanese scooter shirt

OK, so my phonetic spelling is likely wrong, but I took four years of French instead of Japanese. I found this cool shirt on the Internet and haven't actually ordered one, so I can't say anything about the actual product or the website, but it was too cool to pass up. It is supposed to have the Japanese word for "Scooter" on it. A good way to combine the vintage scooter with a Japanese sensibility. I've emailed the site to get more info before I put it in my printed column, but you get the scoop first. Find any cool items that are worthy of a mention in the blog or column? Email me below.

Aggrolites

L.A.'s "dirty reggae" band the Aggrolites perform in San Jose. A good show. Rolling Stone gave their new album a great review. Catch them if they come to your area. Visit their website.

A 700cc scooter? What's next?

I saw a news item about KYMCO beginning work on a 700cc scooter. Read it here
While it is only 50cc bigger than the Suzuki Burgman, it brings to mind the questions, "How big can a scooter get?" and "When does a scooter become a motorcycle?" The first question is hard to answer. The Scoot! team has long been wondering when a 1,000cc bike will be available and which manufacturer will make it. It remains to be seen.

The answer to the second question seems a bit easier, but actually isn't. In our next issue we'll review a CPI "scooter" which is more like an automatic motorcycle. I can see that line between scooter and motorcycle blurring. Especially so when many of the bikes we review are loosing their flat center mats to big humps that make it more difficult to carry a 12-pack between your feet on the way home from the store. :)

In other news, we're expecting to get some new Scoot! merchandise this week from Modified Printing. Some more track jackets and some cool white/blue ringer shirts with a cute scooting illustration by artist Mark Atmos Pilon. Mike has begun the layout process and we are doing our best to get the issue available for Amerivespa In Denver next month, which willl be 2 weeks early! Wish us luck!

Piaggio Makes Parking a Priority

Readers of my blog will find that the need for scooter parking is nothing new, but Piaggio is putting some muscle behind the call with their announcement of their Vespetition. Read it here.

In the US there are several "obstacles" to getting people to purchase scooters. While some can be addressed easily ( riding in poor weather, carrying capacity) some can't (long-distance commute for many Americans). One issue that is somewhere in the middle is parking. While most cities are car-centric, with a persistence and hard work scooterists can get the safe parking they need in order to make scootering more practical. Cities such as New York, San Francisco, Portland and even our own campaign in my home town of San Jose are making the effort to make scooter parking readily available.

The Piaggio petition has some interesting points that are not addressed in our campaign such as requesting that there be sidewalk parking along with bicycles and creating a scalable fee structure for scooters. I'm not sure how well cities will go for the sidewalk aspect, but the reduced fees are a real possibility.

Scoot! will be publishing an article on the campaign for more scooter parking. If you are mounting a campaign in your area, let me know about it so we can follow it!

James Cornell Fund

Last month Bay Area motorcyclist/scooterist James Cornell was gravely injured during his practice run at the Isle of Man. He has been in a medically induced coma and his family and friends are all waiting for him to regain consciousness.

Although you may not know James, you may have seen him in the Men's' Riding Gear feature we did in the Summer '06 issue. James works at Helimot European Accessories, a company that manufactures leather riding suits and gear. He is a vocal supporter of all riders wearing protective gear and he gave his time and expertise to help us put together our important gear article.

The Isle of Man race is notoriously dangerous. This year, several racers were critically injured. Two were killed. James and his racing partner were very aware of the dangers of the sport but love it and were proud to represent their club and the US in the race.

If you are interested in finding out more information or donating towards the mountain of medical bills that James will face
Visit the James Cornell Fund website.

Ride to Work- July 19

If you didn't know it, we're one month away from Ride to Work Day- a great time to take advantage of what two-wheel commuting can mean. I am lucky enough to work about 5 miles from my house, so my 10-15 minute commute is easy on city streets. While some may have a bit farther to go, I encourage all of you riders to do it. Even if you think it might be a stretch, give it a try. It may involve planning out an alternate route to avoid freeways. Maybe it means leaving a little earlier.Think of the gas you'lll save. Remember how fun riding can be, especially when you're leaving all the cars in the dust! To get more info on Ride to Work Day, Check out the Site.

San Jose Parking Update

Last week, Josh and I met with Bill (who put the SJ downtown parking petition online) and went to the City Council. Bill had already primed the Dept. of Transportation that we'd be there and the Director of the department was on hand to meet with us. Each of us addressed the council during the open forum section. Open forum speakers go in order of when their cards are received. We were sandwiched between 2 lunatics who ranted, which made us either look good in comparison, or else lumped us in with the weirdoes. Regardless, I think that the council was receptive.
Afterwards we meet with the director and he assured us that the ban on motorcycles in the city-managed parking garages was on its way to being reversed. In fact you can now park in the Coty Hall underground garage. He said they were fine-tuning the garage gate sensors and that all the garages would be within compliance shortly. Also, he said the new garage across from City Hall would have specific motorcycle parking spaces in it.

While I was pleased about that, I did tell him how important designated on-street parking for motorcycles is, especially for scooters who are smaller and more apt to be moved by motorists looking for parking, or backed into by oblivious drivers. I told him that I would like to present him with suggestions on places where we think motorcycle parking could be places without removing car spots.

So, I'm asking our fellow scooter/motorcycle riders to keep an eye out and send me an email with locations that you think could be turned into motorcycle parking. The red spot on Devine across from Germania by Trials is a given, but let's see what else we can come up with. How about So. 1st street? How about near the blank club? I want to go out & take photos and annotate a map to present to the DOT.

Thanks & happy scooting,

Scooter Charm Bracelet

Saw this online while shopping for a birthday present for my boyfriend. Not exactly his type of thing, but maybe you want to spend $89 on a special scooterist? Check it out at: eLuxury.com.

Piaggio IPO

Looks like the relaxed Italians are making for a less timely IPO by Piaggio. This article in the UK's "The Business Online" has a story on it.

See It Here.

Watertower @ Scoot! Office

The Scoot! office is located in an old cannery from the 30s. It still has its large watertower and a tall smoke stack from its past life. Now it hosts small industrial businesses downstairs and a bunch of kooky artists upstairs. Guess which floor we're on???

I took this photo with my phone as I left the office after our editorial meeting.

We even have our own building "drunk," a semi-homeless guy named Phil who used to be a punk rock star but now stops by to chat and watches over my scooter when it's parked outside.

It's an entertaining place to be!

Italjet Coming Back to the US?

A news report on Indian website Rediff.com statse that ihe Italjet Velocifero is poised for a comback with Kinetic of India at the helm.

Read the news article here

I have heard of several people who bought Italjets and have been unable to get parts because the original Italian company went under. UK scooterists still write into "Scootering" magazine about it.

While the Kinetic scooters aren't much on beauty, what is interesting is that if they make parts for the Italjet bikes that can work on the older bikes, it would really help out all of those Dragster and Velocifero owners out there. Additionally, the Dragster was a popular scooter,so it's rebirth may be welcome to those who love to tune and race.

What I did find funny was the suggestion that they could sell 10,000 Blaze scooters per month. However, the Chairman was quoted as saying that the bikes cost between $500-600, so maybe he is hoping to low-ball the competition. I hope that is for manufacturing, because I'm not too sure I would trust a bike that only cost that little at retail. I'll believe it when I see it.

ISO: Baron 150-VLA & Cushman Trailster owners

We're reviewing the Baron 150 VLA and I'd like to hear the opinions of fellow owners to see what they think of their scooter. If you've got one and want to forward along some honest comments that will help our readers, please send them to me.

We're also looking for Cushman Trailster owners. We'd like to do a historical article on the scooter & need bikes to photograph as well as original promo materials.

If you can help with either of these queries email me from my profile which you can access at the right of the blog.

Buffalo News Checks Out Scooters

I was quoted in an article about scooters in the Buffalo, NY area. Like many other news agencies, The Buffalo News is seeing a growing trend in scooter sales.

Read the article.

Know a scooter graduate?

Papyrus stores are now selling a card for graduates. The front has a graduate in gown riding a vintage Vespa with his/her cap blowing off. No head is visible, so you can give it to whomever you choose. The inner greeting says, "You're headed for a bright and happy future!" I picked this up at Papyrus for $2.95. Get yours now before they're gone.

You can find a Papyrus store at the company's website

Low and Fast

Moike's sidecar moto

Our friend Moike from the Santa Cruz Vampires SMC brought his cool sidecar rig. He actually rides it on the street. It was a big attraction at the Moto Amore/Scoot! BBQ.

Mobile Snap

Friday night scooterists BBQ at Moto Amore scooter shop in San Jose. An ongoing event that Scoot! will co-sponsor.

30% of Americans would consider scooting...

Yesterday, Piaggio USA issued a press release on a survey that they comissioned. The results were that "30% of U.S. consumers would be extremely or somewhat likely to consider using a motor scooter for their everyday transportation needs."

While I am a huge scooter fanatic, even I am surprised by the results. Maybe it's because after 10 years of hearing "Get a real motorcycle" called from cars and pedestrians I have a biased view of what Americans are inclined to think. Maybe there can be a survey to explain the poularity of Hummers and Escalades. I'm still lost on that one. :)

According to the press release,"The survey found other strong factors motivating consumer's willingness to consider utilizing a scooter, including environmental concerns and overall cost savings. The survey found that 33% of Americans would be likely to use a scooter to reduce emission harmful to the environment, 35% would be likely to use a scooter to save $25.00 a week on gasoline." This is also welcome news. I did an interview with the Buffalo New York News about scooters and I told the reporter to look at the many other factors besides gas; cheap insurance, easy parking, lesser impact on the environment etc. If you want to lessen the impact on your wallet, try a scooter!

Wearing a helmet?

I know that helmets are not required in all states, but I am saddened by a Las Vegas TV news piece and accompanying video that went with it. A man & his 4-year old grandchild were in a scooter accident. The grandfather was killed while the child was hospitalized. Both were not wearing helmets. Furthermore, the grandchild was sitting in front of the grandfather when the scooter went out of control and hit a fire hydrant.

Read & view the TV news report here.

These reports are real bummers for those of us who love scootering. While I encourage people to take up scootering as a fun hobby and mode of transportation, I am amazed by how careless some can be. Especiallly those who put so much thought into saving money on their scooters through bargain shopping but give helmets no consideration at all. I would wear a full-face helmet whether or not my state required it, just as I wear a seatbelt in the car.

As a child, I split my lip when a softball hit my face during a game. I can only imagine what would happen to my head if I fell over at 30mph. In 1991, when I did have a crash at about 25-30mph I had no head injury thanks to my helmet. Photos of it were published in the Fall '05 issue of Scoot! A scrape started about where my right cheek would be and continued up to the top of the helmet. The visor was so scratched you would not be able to see through it. That's hard plastic, so imagine what would have happened to the soft flesh of my face...Bleaagth! I landed with most of my weight on my shoulder which had layers of skin scraped off. I now have a pale scar on that shoulder. My freckles were scraped off and they are slowly but surely coming back 4 years later.

I've heard all of the excuses before. How helmets compromise some riders' sense of freedom, how they miss the wind in thier hair, how they won't let the government cramp their style. But I wonder, if you could survey all the helmetless people that died of head trauma in motorcycle crashes last year and ask them one question, "If you could go back and do that ride again, would you wear a helmet?" What do you think their answer would be?

For statistics on motorcycle crashes & head injury, take a look at the National Highway Traffics Safety Administration's site

Want your scooter in Scoot!?

I'm working on gathering scooters for our next issue's "Reader's Rides" which spotlights a well-done custom scooter. If you've got a scooter that draws "ooohs" and "aahs" from the crowd, we'd love to see it. Scoot! wants new and old scooters, vintage and modern twist-n-gos, the only requirement being that it reflects its owner and is done well. Stock scoots usually won't do (although it's not out of the question, especially with unusual vintage bikes). We want to see the owner's personality reflected in his/her scooter.

If you've got a bike you think should be seen in North America and the world, let us know. Here are some tips to help you get your bike in:

1) Submit lots of good photos: include details and keep in mind what's in the background. Look through your viewer for dead plants, garbage, stray body parts ans such tat detract from the bike. Do not submit night photos. Take your time to do a good job or get someone who is a good photographer to help you.

2) We accept prints or digital images. Digital images should be a minimum of 300dpi/ppi at actual size. The larger the file size the better. If we receive great photos, we're 3/4 of the way there!

3) Complete our questionnaire: you can download it from our site [www.scootquarterly.com]. Without the questionnaire we won't run a Reader's Ride.

4) Make sure to include a photo of you: Headshot or one of you on the bike. We want to know who you are so we can congratulate you whe we see you next!

If you have any questions, feel free to email me!

Rachel Ray & Peter Moore

Saw this in the store, today. Rachel Ray knows that scooting, especially on a vintage Vespa GS typifies the free-n-easy feeling of summer. Oddly enough, it is raining in San Jose, today. I hope my BBQ and ride tomorrow isn't ruined by the weather. I've got a rack of ribs & some drumsticks for the BBQ. Better cleanout the oven just in case...

On another note, you may recall the interview or Peter Moore & the review we ran of his book, "Vroom with a View" last year. Peter is in the US making appearances to promote the US printing. He's making a stop at THE book publishing event, the American Booksellers Association convention (I've been to it before and it is FUN) as well as smaller talks throughout the country. Here are his stops (which include some cool scooter shops, too):

Sunday May 21, 2 pm
Vespa DC, Washington DC
Ride/Talk and BBQ!

Monday May 22, 7 pm
McNally Robinson, New York
Talk

Saturday May 27, 1 pm
Vespa New Orleans
Talk

Tuesday May 30, 6.30 pm
Scooter Originali, Orange New Jersey

Wednesday May 31, 7.00 pm
Scomo, Richmond VA

Thursday June 1, 6.30 pm
Erico Motorsports, Denver Colorado

San Jose Motorcycle Petition ONLINE

Just an FYI for anyone in the San Jose, CA area:

Motorcycle rider, Bill B. has created an online petition to get more motorcycle parking in downtown San Jose. At this time there are over 550 people signed on. If that doesn't work, then we'll take to the streets and have a park-in! I'm actually relishing the thought! If you are interested,

View and/or sign the petition here.

Bravo to Bill for getting it going online! I hope we can accomplish this big, yet totally reasonable goal! :)

Are you working on a similar cause in your town? We'll be covering it in an upcoming issue of Scoot! and we'd love to share as many different stories as possible.

Dealernews article

If you're a scooter dealer and have the May 2006 Dealernews magazine, you probably have seen their scooter insert. I was interviewed by Senior Editor, Dennis Johnson. I told him that while I was at the Indianapolis Motorcycle Show I spoke to dealers about how a shop's longevity relies on creating a community of scooterists. I spoke about this briefly in my 2/10 blog entry, but went into it more in depth with Dennis. He used some of my quotes in the article that appears in Dealernews.

While some shops grow out of a thriving community, I am seeing many new shops open that are not owned or helmed by scooterists. While there isn't anything wrong with that, it just means that these shops will need to create a community so that it keeps revolving business going. This is especially true when you get "newbie" scooterists who are buying scooters purely for economic or practical reasons. These scooter owners are usually alone, putting around the town on their own. But, if a shop intoduces them to other sccooterists and hosts scooter-centric events, it can invigorate their appreciation for scooting!

The Dealernews article also talks about catering to the unique needs of scooterists by stocking items that they actually want to carry. I mentioned that most scooter riders don't want to get off their scooters looking like they were going to race. Unortunately, the article makes it sound as if I said that scooterists wouldn't wear Joe Rocket or Alpinestars gear. However,I didn't mention those companies as such and I think that both companies have some clothing that is totally right-on for scooter riders. I wish scoooter riders bought clothing that was made for riding instead of repurposing street clothing for riding. BTW- in our current issue, you can find a nice example of those clothes as we have a men's riding gear spread.

At any rate, I'm glad to get some press for Scoot! to dealers who may not be aware of us. Additionally, if you are a dealer who wants to chat about what I'm talking about feel free to give me a jingle at our San Jose office: 408.294.4292.

Oh, I also forgot to mention: HOW ABOUT THIS WEATHER? AWESOME!

NoHo Scooters on NPR

Congratulations to our friends at NoHo Scoooters for the NPR piece on scooters which exclusively used their shop. NPR is a great catch and says a lot about how scooters are making inroads to the nation's psyche.

Hear it here.

The piece talks abot the affordability and fuel-effficiency but mentions that you can only haul a few bags off groceries. I've been able to haul 2 people and 4 bags of groceries on my P200 with rear rack. It got me to thinking, why not ask readers to send in photos of their scooters packed with a safe bounty of items on it. In Asia, they haul a kid a wife, a bundle of bananas and a pig, why can't we do something similar? If you've got a good photo of your scooter loaded up with stuff, send it to me.

Mag is in the mail

We dropped off the magazine at the post office today. If you are a subscriber, I'd love to know how long it takes for you to received the issue. We've really tried to improve the way we ship the magazine over the past few issues and I think we have the speediest service, yet. Some areas take longer than others depending upon the Area Distribution Center (ADC) that is nearest you, but all magazines should be received before Memorial Day.

Mag & Rally on same weekend

We just received the Summer issue from the printer. We should have subscriber's issues in the mail on Tuesday and shops should be getting their copies by the end of the week. Book stores should receive them the week after. When the magazine comes in, it is a flurry of activity. The mailing process for subscribers is complicated and takes all my concentration and brain power. I'll be spending a little time at the Vespa Club Los Gatos "Classico Moto Italia" rally this weekend, but much of the rest of the weekend means stuffing, labeling, fillng out forms and carrying lots of boxes and sacks. I'll post photos of the rally but spare you the photos of the mailing process! :)

If you aren't out on a ride now, go do it. The weather is great and the hills are alive with the smell of two-stroke!

Dynotesting

Photo of Josh dyno testing his Vespa GT200 to see what all the additional whatzits we've had installed have done for it. To be seen in a future issue of Scoot!. Thanks to local motorcycle/scooter shop Moto Italiano in San Jose for letting us use their dyno and staff for our testing!