Hagane, 3 Wheel Custom Yamaha Majesty     January 19, 2007
 

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Piaggio MP3: Rider Impression     Jan 19, 2007

The MP3 looks more like a moon buggy than a stylish accessory to city commuting. Once astride it, though, everything changes. Even though it is a mere 125cc machine (a 250cc engine is also available), I was taken aback by the feeling of riding a decent-sized bike.

The bike has two natty parking-brakes - one that stops it toppling sideways and one doing the same job as a car handbrake.   I particularly liked locking the leaning mechanism while waiting at the lights and sitting there with my feet up. But you have to be careful because one touch of the throttle and it moves off, which takes some getting used to.

The flip side of such a big bike - its running weight is 199kg - is that there is a lot of it to maneuvre.  The turning circle is lousy.  All that makes getting in and out of the sort of crowded motorcycle bays dotted around London something of a nightmare. The extra weight also means that the MP3 is not as nippy as most 125cc machines.

Link to full article

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Electric Bicycles Gaining Traction - January 16, 2007

When Howell couldn't find one, he purchased an electric bicycle and began commuting 7 miles from his home in Belmont to his job as a Sony engineer in Foster City. Now, he's a convert. "I was always planning on buying a car, but I was addicted to these (electric) bikes," says Howell. "They're easy to operate. They allow you the convenience of a motorcycle. They give you exercise and fresh air. It has radically changed my life."

For many, electric bikes are the gateway.  Most electric bikes weigh between 60 and 90 pounds and come equipped with an electric motor, a battery, a charger and a speed controller (throttle- or pedal-activated). The motors, ranging from 250 to 1,500 watts, are affixed to the front or back wheel. The batteries, predominantly 24 or 36volt lead-acid or nickel-metal-hydride, tend toward the size of a bread basket.  Perhaps the electric bike's biggest impediment is the batteries, whose 20 pound heft and limited 8-10 mile capacity may turn consumers off. However, the spread of lithium batteries, which weigh four times less and extend the life of the battery some 25 percent, promises further evolution and higher sales to come.     Insidebayarea.com

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Are GPS Based Insurance and Taxes in Your Future? - January 12, 2007

UK Travel Tax Study: Visordown.com         Mile-Based Car Insurance: Insure.com

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Sym GTS250 Scooter Is Here Jan. 5, 2007

The 2007 Sym GTS250 is in the USA and available now, according to
a spokesperson for Carter Brothers, US Distributor for Taiwan based
Sym scooters and ATVs.  The water cooled 250cc engined scooter is 85" long, weighs 385 lbs and has 13" wheels with dual disk brakes.   The price is around $4200, before dealer prep charges.  Founded in
1954, Sanyang Industry manufactures Scooters, Motorcycles and
ATVs under the SYM brand as well as Automobiles for Hyundai. The company has produced over 9 million scooters and motorcycles. SYM is distributed internationally throughout six continents in over 35 countries.

            Sym GTS250 Specs

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Honda SH300i Scooter Coming to America?

"Here is the new Honda SH300i that I recently rode in Sicily. It is surprisingly fast (actually, it
is very fast—93 mph indicated!), with great handling and ride qualities for a scooter. It might come stateside, says Honda Italy." —Bruno de Prato: Cycle World Blogs

"The SH is equipped with awesome Dual CBS and ABS stoppers and they match this machine perfectly and you could feel the ABS pulsing at the lever, working hard to save your arse on the wet roads we encountered. Handling is also mega. At low speed you’re thanking the fact that this thing isn’t barge-like, like a SilverWing or Foresight allowing you to drip and slip through traffic like shite through a Victorian sewer. Then, when the mood takes you, whazz the SH up to top speed and revel in the stability that only a 16-inch big-wheel scoot can provide."

Read the Full Report:
Honda SH300i - world launch report - visordown.com

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Sym GTS250 Scooter Is Here Jan. 5, 2007

The 2007 Sym GTS250 is in the USA and available now, according to
a spokesperson for Carter Brothers, US Distributor for Taiwan based
Sym scooters and ATVs.  The water cooled 250cc engined scooter is 85" long, weighs 385 lbs and has 13" wheels with dual disk brakes.   The price is around $4200, before dealer prep charges.  Founded in
1954, Sanyang Industry manufactures Scooters, Motorcycles and
ATVs under the SYM brand as well as Automobiles for Hyundai. The company has produced over 9 million scooters and motorcycles. SYM is distributed internationally throughout six continents in over 35 countries.

            Sym GTS250 Specs

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Honda SH300i Scooter Coming to America?

"Here is the new Honda SH300i that I recently rode in Sicily. It is surprisingly fast (actually, it is very fast—93 mph indicated!), with great handling and ride qualities for a scooter. It might come stateside, says Honda Italy." —Bruno de Prato: Cycle World Blogs

"The SH is equipped with awesome Dual CBS and ABS stoppers and they match this machine perfectly and you could feel the ABS pulsing at the lever, working hard to save your arse on the wet roads we encountered. Handling is also mega. At low speed you’re thanking the fact that this thing isn’t barge-like, like a SilverWing or Foresight allowing you to drip and slip through traffic like shite through a Victorian sewer. Then, when the mood takes you, whazz the SH up to top speed and revel in the stability that only a 16-inch big-wheel scoot can provide."

Read the Full Report:
Honda SH300i - world launch report - visordown.com
 

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LML to resume scooter production by the end of the 1st quarter, 2007!  Could this mean a future for the Stella and the Chetak?  If so, it will take some time; Read on:


Dec 27, 2006 - New Delhi, India: Scooter builder LML is gearing up to get back into production. The company, which stopped production of scooters and motorcycles in March, 2006 and registered itself with the Board of Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR)in India, says it will restart production at its Kanpur manufacturing unit in about three months.  The company been in the red for more than four years. They were looking for a financial partner and held talks with Piaggio and other potential partners with no results.
RK Srivastav, an officer of LML, said: “We will begin production of the 150 NV scooter as well as of the APE 3-wheeler that was earlier being manufactured under a collaboration with Piaggio. Initially, 10,000 units of the NV will be made every month and sold in overseas markets. We have no plans to service the domestic market initially”.  The engine of the old NV would be upgraded; the company already has “sufficient” export orders for this model and would not manufacture motorcycles at present.  Srivastav said LML had abandoned its earlier plan of finding a strategic partner and has begun discussions with various creditors to finance the revival.
At its peak capacity, LML’s Kanpur plant used to produce 40,000 vehicles a month, but labour unrest and the precarious financial position had brought it down to 10,000 vehicles per month before the shutdown in March. There are about 3,000 workers at the site.  LML is planning to start production within two months and will manufacture scooters and autorickshaws.  Srivastava, vice-president of the company, said, `` We decided to start the factory on our own. We have large export orders for two-wheelers. We propose to make two-wheelers, 150-cc, NV model, an old model of ours, for export only. Once we start production, we will be the only producer of this model in the world. The initial plan is to make about 10,000 scooters a month, for which we have export orders. We do not plan to make motorcycles now.  Another product is autorickshaws, the three-wheeler, which Bajaj Auto makes.  Work has started on the autorickshaw project and will take some time. A mock-up is being prepared. We made autorickshaws in 1994-95 when the Vespa Car company plant at Rae Bareilly was under production``.

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Vectrix Electric Maxi Scooter Will be in
 Regular Production for 2007 - Production Model Review



PHOTO CAPTION: Dave Cutter beams from ear-to-ear after first test drive of the new Vectrix electric maxi-motorscooter. The lady in the yellow Mustang followed him to ask for more information and a ride. The scooter is expected to sell for about $9,000US.
Dec 26, 2006
Dave Cutter reports on the new Vectrix maxi motor scooter

Dave Cutter is Editor-in-chief for New Energy News at Village Energy

Palm Springs was the ideal location to take my first ride on 'the world's first high-performance maxi-scooter'. (That's me on the 'V'). Powerful torque off the line was exhilarating; fine engineering guaranteed a smooth and flawless performance at all speeds, and the ‘almost like flying feel’ was positively superb. Already hugely popular in Europe, Vectrix plan to have their first production models available in the USA by summer 2006.

In early November, I was very pleased to hear from Jim Plagenhoef, Director of Sales for Vectrix North America. Jim and his colleagues from Vectrix were to be attending the Fuel Cell Seminar in Palm Springs (November 14th-16th, 2005), and Jim was writing to invite potential dealers to meet him there to sample the delights of the Vectrix, and also to discuss with him the possibilities of becoming an authorized dealer.

My traveling partner, Joe Welsh and I were each looking forward to trying out the Vectrix for the first time, and we were able to do just that on what turned out to be a beautiful warm sunny day in the famous palm desert resort far from the maddening crowd.

Following a quick bite at the Bikers Café on Palm Canyon Drive, we later met Jim at the Palm Springs Courtyard Hotel parking lot, where we found him unloading two Vectrix prototype maxi-scooters and a third concept vehicle which had 3 wheels, (two in front and one in the rear). Jim explained that one of the Vectrixes (or is that Vectri?) we were looking at had been the company’s demo for the past two years. The second newer Vectrix featured the latest refinements and improvements most likely to be included on the first run of 50 production models scheduled for sometime in 2006 (July?).

It is a natural thing to want to make some early comparisons with other similar looking and equally large gas-powered scooters, i.e., Piaggio’s X9. Jim pointed out although they might look very similar in appearance, there the comparison must end; for the Vectrix can outperform its fossil fueled competition on most points, and that, without dispute.

Jim told us that 80 per cent of all scooter sales are in Rome, Italy, and that Vectrix will focus their primary sales objectives in that part of the world where scooters are traditionally sold in large numbers. Italians discovered long ago that urban travel on busy crowded city streets is best done on a scooter. Ain’t that the truth, I ask you?

Vectrix is Not for Kids, Silly Rabbit

I was the first to get to check it out, riding ‘passenger’ so that the controls could be explained to me by Jim without any noise from an engine to distract. Whoa! Swift acceleration on this baby is breathtaking! As we took off from a standstill, I braced myself by holding onto the rails located at the back of the bike, but soon found I needed to hang on to something a bit more solid; like the driver. Going 0-50 in 6.8 seconds is pretty impressive anytime, but on the back of a bike with nothing but open sky above and blurred pavement below, it felt more like flying! Scooters are different to motorbikes and motorcycles in how they move and feel, and that’s why I compare riding the Vectrix to flying. Whoo-woo!

As we made our first right hand turn, we were able to jet away from pursuing traffic and I had to marvel at so much power coming from the ‘Flying V’s’ 125 Volt electric drive system. At the same time, I reminded myself that the Vectrix is equipped with front and rear Brembo disc brakes in case we needed to stop as quickly as we’d started. I hoped we wouldn’t need to find out about that any time soon. (I think anyone planning to drive a Vectrix (or any fast moving 2 wheeled scooter) would be well advised to think about taking some professional lessons to improve their personal driving skills before attempting to ride for the first time).

My white knuckle ride around the block at an end, it was my turn to operate the scooter on my own in the parking area, where I would not need so many defensive driving skills because there wasn’t any traffic to look out for. Once I’d switched on and taken off, it was instantly clear to me that it would be quite easy to get attached to this machine. It felt good, it felt solid, and it felt peppy, with a capital ‘P’ for powerful. Twist the throttle forward and it will take your breath away. Exhilarating is another word that comes to mind. It was quiet too, and you’ve got to try it to find out how special that is.

The instrumentation and controls on the Vectrix are nicely arranged, revealing an array of useful and *colorful displays, all nicely laid out and designed to keep drivers informed about the vehicles performance and capabilities while they move silently along at speed.

*LCD’s display speed, odometer, battery charge, estimated range, and system status

The Bluetooth wireless systems diagnostics and communication system is a welcome addition to an already awesome electric vehicle, and this I understand will come standard with Vectrix.

In particular, I really liked the DAaRT™ regenerative braking feature on this bike. Cleverly, the design engineers have implemented a patented multi-function throttle* with regen for braking, (that operates by simply twisting the throttle in a forward rotating motion), and additionally allows you to reverse the bike at a slow-speed. There are no gears to worry about, and all the controls worked flawlessly.

Agile, easy to handle and capable of a top speed of 62 mph, the Vectrix 2000 Electric Maxi-Scooter offers a level of superior technology, total comfort and is richly endowed with special features and accessories. Once out of town, it's able to shift character and open up to wide open spaces with remarkable ease.

With an anticipated price tag of $8K, it may be beyond many peoples price range. However, I don’t think you can put a price on excitement or classy good looks. For me, the Vectrix is the ultimate in ‘Scooter Commuters’ . I had a blast trying it out. Jim didn’t mislead anyone by referring to riding this bike as the ‘Vectrix Experience’. I’m experienced (and got the T-shirt to prove it).
 Source - evworld.com

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World's Fastest Scooter

The Piaggio Gilera GP 800 made its debut in Milan and is the world's fastest scooter yet. It is powered by a twin cylinder 850cc engine that comes out of the new Aprilia Mana, delivering 75 hp power output at 7250 RPM. The engine comes to life with a simple touch of a button on the handlebar. Three separate mappings for the totally automatic transmission with engine braking effect and sequential shifter with 7 gears make it easy to find the best-adapted configuration for the riding conditions. Stopping power is provided by two 300 mm steel disks in front, gripped by two Brembo dual-piston floating calipers, and a 280 mm rear disk. The Gilera GP 800 has a strong steel frame, weighs around 518 lbs and has 16" wheels in the front and 15" at the rear ensure road grip and steering precision worthy of a motorcycle. Keeping in touch with the Italian tradition the GP 800 sports aluminium handle bars, wheel rims, light alloy fork and exclusive upholstery. Fuel tank capacity of about 4.25 gallons.  Seat height of 31 inches.
The Piaggio Gilera GP 800 is reportedly still a year away from entering into production.
Dec 21, 2006 source - gizmag.com




The Italjet Dragster 250 is coming to USA shores in 2007, and will be distributed by LSMotorSports (Diamo USA).  It is expected to be here in the second quarter of the year, and will be powered by a Piaggio 250cc 4T engine, instead of the 180cc 4T engine used for the equivalent model in Europe.

Nov 29, 2006