TheScooterScoop

(Cyberscooter.it (title link) caught some things that few others noticed)

Whew… It’s been quite a long break, eh? Sorry about that, I’ve been working out a few things here at the home front… can’t say what right now, but there’s definitely some good stuff in development for myself. I’ll keep you posted.

Now then, back to the topic… ADIVA. Don’t search too hard… You’re not going to find them in the USA. The closest thing you’ll find here is the Diamo Velux and you’re not going to find a huge variety in Europe. Looks like they have one model that comes in 2 sizes… the 125 and 250. From what I can tell, Adiva has split off from Benelli (who has a spacey concept of their own) and speaking of “concepts”, what you see in the photo here is some photo scoopage from Cyberscooter.it.

Take the roofed Adiva, stick a 400cc motor in it and graft a front wheel configuration from the MP3 on her and BLAM! What could possibly be the perfect commuter scooter. Retractable protection from the elements… get up and go… crazy stability… CHECK!

This could be a big seller in Europe and Japan, where it may actually be available in 2009. Keep an eye out at EICMA 2008 for developments.

Click on the title link to see a couple more photos of the TO 400.

“Far out” cannot sufficiently describe this baby. What we have here is one of five in existence. It’s a Pi X Plug-in Hybrid 500cc 50cc (I don’t know how that extra “0″ got in there) moped. What’s so special about it, is that it was built for and tested for Bonneville speed trials… that and the fact that it’s as expensive as a used Lexus hybrid. Chances are you WON’T see one of these on the street, but at least you did see it here. Click on the title link for more info.

CNNmoney calls it a gadget to die for.

(This is the “after” shot. Isn’t she PURDY? Let’s see how she got that way.)

Tis the season. Time to winterize the scooter. Empty the fuel, pop off the cowels or body panels (unless you ride a Ruckus), clean off the mud and gunk from another season of two-wheelin’ (unless you’re going for the rusty look). Luckily for ME Terry, a dealer for Lloyd’s Cleaner, took it upon himself to send some samples my way. What better way to prove your product works than putting your money where your mouth is.

What we got was 3 different products, each with it’s own specialty… Lloyd’s Wolfshead Polish, Lloyd’s Degreaser, and Lloyd’s Bug Remover. Let’s look at them one at a time. This story will be about Lloyd’s Wolfshead Polish.

It is advertised as “The Words Finest Polish!”.
To be that it would have to satisfy a few requirements. It would have to actually polish my scooter to a mirrory finish. It would have to be easy to use. It would have to be gentle on the skin, lungs and scooter and, most importantly, it would have to be gentle on the environment.

Could a polish with such a medieval name accomplish such modern goals?

I gave it a shot. First off, I wanted to use a waterless product… to save water and to prevent flooding my delicate scooter electronics. When you’ve got a 21 year old scoot, chances are you have a leaky seal somewhere. What I got was a 27 oz. spray bottle and a microfiber cloth with a very simple set of instructions. Spray on, polish off. Ohhhh kay. Let’s see what it can do for Leia (my 1985 Vespa T5)… the play by play is here:

Well then… how did the Wolfshead Polish stand up to the “Worlds Finest Polish!” test? Did it polish my scooter to a mirrory finish? It did a great job at removing the gunk. It worked on every part of the scooter from the plastic to the metal, to the glass to the (p)leather and I didn’t have to squirt it with a hose. But was the result really mirrory (I know I keep using this made up word)? To some degree, but it didn’t really REALLY shine until I hit it with some McGuires Wax (or your favorite wax). According to Lloyd himself, it’s to be expected from older paints. You will notice an improvement but it’s the newer plastics or paints with a clear coat that don’t need a wax once you hit it with the Wolfshead. It’s supposed to offer UV Protection and help prevent oxidation as well. I’ll give it a shot on a modern scooter soon, to be sure.

Was it easy to use? Yes. Spray… wipe… admire. It was all very quick and easy and the less crevices your scooter has the quicker and easier it is to clean. No serious elbow grease required.

Was it gentle? Absolutely. It took out the gunk and poop and smudgy stuff with no problem and left my skin, nose and lungs completely intact. When I was done I just washed my hands with soap and water. Didn’t experience any residual smell or effects (dryness, etc). It didn’t hurt my 21 year old paint, plastics, chrome or glass at all… and you should take a close look at how well it shined up my glass and plastic. Breathtaking.

Is it gentle on the environment? To see I grabbed a copy of the Wolfshead Polish material sefety data sheet. Here’s what it said:

“No Hazardous Components as defined by OSHA”. Sounds pretty safe to me.

So, would I recommend Lloyd’s Polish? Absolutely! I mean, spray? wipe? admire?! How easy is that? You can even get a smaller, more portable bottle to take along with you on the rally. There’s nothing wrong with this product. It cleaned and polished in a very short amount of time. If you wanna see more then click on the title link to go to the Lloyd’s website. I’ll get back to you on how it worked out on a more modern paint job or plastic fairings when I get a chance.

(Wolfshead Polish get’s the “thumbs up” in the “worlds finest polish” category.. a little wax doesn’t hurt when it’s all said and done.)

***UPDATE 12/17/07***
We’ve gotten a number of emails and comments asking where to score a bottle.
You can get it directly from the manufacturer HERE.

Yes… and probably win. I love the way he finishes it off.

A proper scooter shop should have these five properties:
-Wide selection of quality scoots
-Friendly, helpful and knowledgeable staff
-Scooter miscellany (parts, accessories, clothing, rider gear, toys)
-On site service and repair
-Socially active with the scooter community

New owner of the San Antonio AND Austin Vespa shops, Fred McGinnis, has written these five elements to their relaunch plans beginning with Alamo Heights Vespa in San Antonio and then the new Vespa of Austin opening around January 2008.

I took a trip to San Antonio to get a glimpse of what to expect for Austin in the coming year and from the looks of it I’d say “good things!”. I spoke with owner Fred McGinnis for about an hour, discussing the new shop. Everything is in place, they will have Vespa and Piaggio scooters, lots of miscellany, service and repair AND plan on sponsoring weekly rides that launch from the shop on Sundays. This is all very exciting. All we need now is to make sure they come up with the “friendly, helpful and knowledgeable staff.” I have faith that they’ll be able to pull that off.

We plan on covering the grand opening right here on TheScooterScoop… so stay tuned for the announcement and we’ll see you at the party!

If you want to find out MORE about their plans, check out the great little article at MySA.com.

An excerpt from his website:

Friday, November 30 marked the end of what will forever be remembered as the longest and most courageous battle between one man, a man we all know as the world’s greatest daredevil, and death. Robert Craig “Evel” Knievel died in Clearwater, Florida, finally succumbing after nearly a three-year bout with the terminal lung disease, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. He was 69.

His death was preceded by more than 40 years of constant battle against the persistent pain of broken bones and severe trauma after jumping and crashing motorcycles like no man had ever done before. In addition, he fought to overcome the tremendous obstacles of diabetes, hepatitis C, a liver transplant, numerous surgeries and two strokes.

Knievel’s legacy as America’s Legendary Daredevil, Last of the Gladiators, and King of the Stuntmen will undeniably live on among millions of fans, past, present and future.

As a kid I was a huge fan. I had Evel bed sheets and curtains, dragsters (with parachute) and motorcycles. He will be remembered… before fancy computers and high tech composites were developed to take all the uncertainty out of a stunt, Evel Knievel was making jumps like this: