August 13, 2008
Scooters' popularity concern for some
With gas prices on the rise and no real hope of them coming down, consumers are looking for alternative modes of transportation to conserve fuel and money.
According to the Consumer Reports blog, the sale of scooters was up about 24 percent for the first few months of 2008. Yamaha scooter sales to date are up 65 percent over last year and Vespa set an all-time sales record in May, selling 2,758 scooters compared to 1,675 in June 2007.
Mike Lemmons, owner of Gas Buster Scooters on Poplar Street, said he has sold 130 scooters in the last six weeks. He has an inventory of 70 and 500 on order right now.
"(Gas) has put a crunch on all the families," he said. Buyers now pay for one gallon of gasoline, which reportedly, lasts between 100 and 125 miles depending on the size of the scooter, he said.
The scooters are categorized by the size of their engines. Scooters with an engine size of 50 cubic centimeters or less are designed for in-town use considering their speed limit is not to exceed 30 MPH.
Posted by Frank at 10:03 AM | Email to a friend | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Police educate scooterists
A recent increase in gas prices has spurred a rise in the number of alternative vehicles on Minnesota's roadways.
International Falls Police Sgt. Willi Kostiuk said that officers are attempting to educate people about the laws regarding motorized bikes, also known as scooters, before they begin writing citations to violators of those laws.
Kostiuk said the laws are intended to help keep people safe.
"We want to work with everybody and education is the best way," he said.
The driving of scooters, which are less than 50 cubic centimeters or less, on roadways is governed by a number of state rules. Without compliance, operators can be issued citations, explained Kostiuk.
Posted by Frank at 10:02 AM | Email to a friend | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Scooters Easy To Steal, Lock Them Up
DENVER ― One woman is warning other scooter owners to lock up their vehicles because she learned it doesn't take much for thieves to steal the small bikes that have become more popular as gas prices rise. The theft was caught on video cameras set up by her husband after previous thefts.
Janet Colfelt said her husband discovered the scooter was gone Saturday morning.
The security video showed two men walking up to the scooter, picking it up as a truck pulls up. The men throw the scooter in the back and drive off.
Colfelt thought the cameras and lights out front of their home were enough of a deterrent. Now she knows to buy a lock.
Posted by Frank at 10:01 AM | Email to a friend | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Scooter Polluters
As gas prices rise, so has the sale of scooters. Seattle sales of the trendy two-wheelers have risen almost 40 percent since last year. Scooters get great gas mileage and help reduce greenhouse gasses. But they may not be so good for the environment. KUOW's Joshua McNichols has more.
IF YOU WANT TO BUY A SCOOTER, YOU MIGHT GO SEE ALEX SARGEANT. HE OWNS THE SCOOTER GALLERY IN SEATTLE.
SARGEANT: "It's somewhat of a retro style, it comes with a nice color-matched trunk. It's a two-toned retro-design with lots of chrome, a chrome headlight surround."
McNICHOLS: "And it's pink. You gotta love a pink scooter."
SARGEANT: "It's actually raspberry in color. Raspberry and cream."
Posted by Frank at 8:02 AM | Email to a friend | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
August 12, 2008
Ultra Motor Introduces New Electric Bike to U.S. Market
SAN FRANCISCO -- Ultra Motor today announced the availability of its new A2BTM electric bike.
Developed and manufactured by an international team of expert designers and engineers, the A2B is a state-of-the-art electric bike built specifically for urban transport across the American city landscape.
Increasing challenges are making urban transportation more costly and time-consuming: the Texas Transportation Institute reports that gridlock costs the average peak period traveler almost 40 hours a year in travel delay and wastes an annual 2.9 billion gallons of gasoline, which has climbed to more than $4.00 a gallon.
Continue reading "Ultra Motor Introduces New Electric Bike to U.S. Market"
Posted by Frank at 12:39 PM | Email to a friend | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Vespa scooter given added zest
Getting out of the driver's seat and on to a scooter is becoming more popular as drivers try to beat the jams and cut costs.
Vespa is at the forefront of classic looking scooters, and its new limited-edition Zafferano brings impossibly cool Italian urban chic to British streets.
It comes in exclusive hot orange paint, has plenty of retro detailing and the graphics are unique to this model.
The bike also features the signature rectangular headlight synonymous with the rest of the recently revised range. Two engine sizes are available - 50cc and 125cc. The former model comes with a sports seat, while the latter uses a more comfortable touring option.
Posted by Frank at 11:53 AM | Email to a friend | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Revved up on scooters
PITTSTON TWP. -- Despite the stormy forecast Sunday, a group of members from the newly formed Scooter Club of NEPA took to the road for the club's fourth bi-monthly leisure run.
Scooter owner Robert Martin of Falls decided to form the club about three months ago when he started noticing how many scooters he shared the road with. "I see them everywhere," he said. "I thought it would be great if we could organize these people."
Martin said the club, which has about 25 members, mostly from Luzerne and Lackawanna counties, doesn't charge dues. Weather permitting, they usually meet every other Sunday at 1 p.m in the parking lot of the Pittston Plaza. "It's amazing to pull up in the parking lot and see all these people on scooters," he said.
Posted by Frank at 10:57 AM | Email to a friend | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Solving Beijing's smog woes, one scooter at a time
Australian powersports company VMoto has recently announced that it will build hybrid and electric scoots in its Nanjing factory, and market them to the Chinese market later this year.
In the face of near-apocalyptic reports of smog and congestion in Beijing in the run-up to the Olympics, the world focus has shifted to the problem of transport in China. And with VMoto's success in Spain and the Middle East, the company is poised to make strides in an economy in dire need of a transport revolution.
Posted by Frank at 10:54 AM | Email to a friend | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
August 11, 2008
Scooter riders zoom into savings
Each weekday morning, Steve Conley leaves his home north of Wilmington, fires up his gas-powered scooter and takes off -- well, sort of takes off. His scooter only goes about 35 miles per hour.
Conley heads down Veale Road to Shipley Road, then onto Weldin. From there, he scoots to Talley Road, down Miller and turns onto Baynard Boulevard. Baynard turns into Washington Street, where he parks his scooter at a bike rack and heads into work at DuPont.
His commute is six miles each way.
His weekly gas bill? Less than $4.
Posted by Frank at 11:21 AM | Email to a friend | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Scooter crazy
Tom Mort is one person who is not busy checking his gas mileage this summer.
The reason? This longtime motorcycle rider doesn't have to with his Suzuki Burgman 650 scooter he owns.
"We take the scooter out when it's nice because of the mileage," he said. "It's very good if you ride (55 mph or less), you do very well. I just don't use that much to have to check it. It's not like a car."
Mort is one of many people riding a motorcycle or scooter and saving gas at a time when the rest of Michiana's motorists are thrilled to see gas prices finally drop below $3.80 after being more than $4 much of the summer.
Posted by Frank at 11:19 AM | Email to a friend | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
