This is a repost of a story on 2strokebuzz, but I just enjoyed this so much I wanted to share it here.
Jeremy Clarkson being the motorcycle curmudgeon that he is, even he’s won over by the end of it. Honestly I struggle to come up with many places that’d be more appropriate or adventurous to see by scooter. I may have to add Vietnam to my own list of 2-wheel destinations. My list for now includes:
- All the national parks (Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, Grand Canyon, etc)
- Napa Valley in CA
- Rome, Florence, Venice, Pompeii, Sicily
- Greece
- Thailand
- Sturgis
- The Tour de France route
I realize that many of these places would be better explored on a proper motorbike rather than a scooter. I’m fine with that. I want a garage full of bikes and a yard full of dogs. Nothing like travel as a great excuse to buy a Triumph or a BMW motorcycle. Watching Long Way Down these past few days really has me itching for some adventure riding.
Top Gear Vietnam Special – Part 1
Found this over at “WIRED”
Wow, Wired really missed what Mr. Andreani was actually saying. He isn’t describing a trend within scooters at all. He’s basically describing a trend toward motorcycle riders wanting automatic transmissions and ending up with a couple more scooter-like machines from the big manufacturers. The only people who would ever really refer to the Burgman or the TMax as scooters are motorcycle riders. Scooterists at their most generous would call them “maxi-scooters.” What’s more, that segment of big scooters is hardly exploding, at least here in the US. The TMax is the first new offering in a long while and it’s a net of nothing since Yamaha no longer offers the Majesty.
He spends just a moment talking about how smaller scooters have trended toward larger wheels, but that’s hardly breaking news. I also take issue with his description of scooters basically being classified only has “cheap” and “big.” Of course he’s only actually talking about the European market, which is vastly different than the US scooter market — and a distinction seems lost on the fine folks at Wired. Not only are bigger wheeled scooters much more popular in Europe, but the overall style here in the US is still geared more toward something with classic Vespa cuteness. That’s what sells here in vast numbers. That’s still the trend. Genuine Scooter Company sells Buddy 125s faster than PGO can make them. Europe and Asia tend toward more modern, sport-styled scooters like PGO’s GMax or most of Kymco and Piaggio-branded offerings, but the States are still all about cute.
I may write this up separately as his comments don’t actually relate to directly to any actual trends within scooters and Mr. Borroz actually misses Mr. Andreani’s assessment of the TMax completely (the TMax is not a city scooter, I’m sorry). He’s talking almost not at all about actual trends within scootering, and more about the scooter-ization of a certain segment of the motorcycle market, which is a completely separate subject all together. Bad form, Wired.
Yup, this is about to be come a blog post, now that I’ve re-read it.
God that’s funny stuff! Watched the whole thing.
Interested in your long term review of your ’06.
CAUTION YOUNG WILL ROBINSON…. Napa on a scooter, that might be suicide if you plan on doing some tastings. I’ve been going there since 1978, after 3 wineries, depending on the “pour Size” you get, your tolerance to alcohol, that could be very dangerous. Plus the Pooolice are very aware, shall I say, of drinkers.
For food, if a foodie, go to Mustards in Saint Helena area, Terra, Bouchon, and so on. There are a lot of really great roadside cafes also but it’s been a few years since I’ve been up there so I’ve forgotten the names. If in SF go to Zuni, Fog City Diner, if in Berkeley, Chez Panise is a must.
My first encounter with the “Motorini” in Rome was something.
Ha ha! Isn’t it just a riot?
I wouldn’t scoot Napa for the wine really, which I know sounds ridiculous. I actually have some good friends out there and I’d want to see them and then ride for the scenery. It’s America’s Italy from what I hear and that sounds like good times, wine or no.
How can one go to Napa area and not sample what makes it famous? America’s Italy??? It’s compared more with France’s wine regions. See it soon it’s changing fast.
My wife and I looked into moving there but hovel is expensive. I was on a short list for design jobs at a non boutique winery and at Restoration Hardware in Petaluma back in the ’90s. Fortunately or unfortunately I didn’t get the jobs.