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.