Ride slated for September 13

This will be a ride for small scooters (50-200cc). We will tour the small towns of Northeast Lancaster County.

Meet Saturday, September 13 between 10:30 and 11am at the Sunoco Station in Lancaster City at the intersection of Orange and Water Streets

It is recommended that you arrive early and enjoy the many local restaurants or markets for a big breakfast. And top off your scooter's gas tank also.

The ride will terminate at the same location, by which time the Wheels Weekend event should be in full swing.

If you have a larger scooter, and are looking for a ride that day, check out the 6th Annual New Holland Fall Scooter Rally

Vespas Coming In

WRS has begun recieving inventory. I saw this pretty blue 150 there last night. They also have an MP3 in the showroom. I hear that the York scooter club will be meeting there, starting next month.

Long's Park Art & Craft Festival This Weekend

Don't forget the Long's Park Art & Craft Festival this weekend. Beautiful setting, art, music, and (for the second year) beer! What's not to like? This is the 30th Annual festival.

Parking at Park City?

As I’ve mentioned before, there is no specific parking area for scooters or motorcycles at Park City Center. But sometimes you just have to go there; it’s the heart of shopping destinations in Lancaster County. Friday was one of those days for me. So off I went on my 50cc scooter, up Harrisburg Avenue. As I was approaching the mall, some yellow bollards caught my eye outside of BonTon.

I wanted to lock my scooter, as it can easily be lifted by 2 men, thrown in the back of a pick-up and be gone in 11 seconds. I wanted it to be in a high visibility area, giving would-be crooks less time to work without being spotted. One of these bollards seemed like the best choice in sight. But as I was chaining up, a finger-wagging security guard stopped me. No parking allowed there. Not wanting to be too argumentative, I didn’t ask why. I did ask, “Can you recommend where I should park?” Well, no he couldn’t. He claimed he was new there. So I asked where the Security Office was so that I could get some answers.

I parked in a standard space near the Security Office. I can’t help but wonder how many drivers I frustrated, taking up a whole space for a tiny scooter. Especially such a prime one. But; visibility.

I spoke to the staff at the Security Office, and they were very nice. It took some explaining of the predicament, but eventually the answer was to use the bicycle racks around the East entrance or the food court. “That’s what they’re for.” Well, one can be excused for thinking that they were for bicycles, not plated and registered motor vehicles. But, I was assured that a 50cc scooter would not be ticketed there. One guard even said that he has a scooter and has used those racks himself. That was reassuring.

I asked if I could let other scooter riders know it was proper to park there. They were a little uneasy. “How many? 2 or 3 is OK, but fifty is going to be a problem…” So be forewarned: next time you go to the mall, don’t take forty-nine of your friends.

At this point in our story it seems appropriate to point out that one the criteria for good motorbike parking (or even bicycle) is signage. I didn’t go to a bike rack initially because I didn’t know that I should. Nor did I see any, or know where they were. They aren’t at every entrance. If I’m going to BonTon, and I don’t know that there are racks on the opposite side of the mall, why would I spend the time and energy to circle the whole establishment? But I digress…

So, where should a small scooter park? Well, the bike rack at the East entrance is one-sided due to a landscape island. The worst of the lot. The rack at the food court entrance was pretty good. There is a curb-cut right there, so you can get to it without lifting your scoot. This rack does have a tree on one side, which reduces the number of cycles that can use it, and subjects your scooter to sap and bird droppings (not so nice for the seat). The food court entrance does have a lot of teenagers hanging out there. If you happen to be a teenager, this could be a plus I guess.

The best parking I found was not mentioned by the Security personnel. That was the area outside of T.G.I.Friday’s. It is near a curb cut, out in the open, and accessible from all sides. The bus stop increases visibility. This will be my preferred spot from now on, even when I don’t need a flat-iron steak.

I didn’t ask if there was a size limit on this arrangement. The line between scooter and maxi-scooter can get blurry, and I didn’t think that discussion would go anywhere with the staff on hand. If I had a scooter that was as big as a motorcycle, I would be fine parking in a standard spot. I would feel reasonably comfortable that some frustrated SUV driver wasn’t going to run it over or drag it out of the spot he or she wanted. But a 250cc scooter? I bet a Vespa is going to be fine at the bike rack, while a Morphous might draw the hairy eyeball. Until Park City Center and General Growth Properties, Inc. recognizes the growing trend in motorbike use and gives us some true motorbike parking, we’ll have to use our best judgment along with what advice we can get from their Security Office.

Scooters as City Vehicles?

The City of Fort Collins, Colorado has purchased some Yamaha C3's as official city vehicles. City employees can volunteer to use these scooters instead of motor-pool cars. They are being given training, and must wear helmets, long pants, and closed-toe shoes. To read more, click here.

The comments on the article show the ignorance of the general populace about scooters. The same old arguments come up: they're bad for the environment, they're toys, they're not safe. All bunk! Modern 4-stroke scooters aren't the polluters that the old 2-strokers of the 60's and 70's were. The C3 is probably the most environmentally-friendly scooter made. It's as clean as any standard car, probably more so, since it gets over 115 MPG. As for safety, I always find it ironic when car drivers call scooters dangerous because most of that danger comes from car drivers. To read more about whether scooters are safe (and interesting facts about scooter thefts) see this NPR story.

Anyway, kudos to Fort Collins for putting their money where their mouth is. Lancaster may have written into its Strategic Plan that they want to encourage scooter use, but Fort Collins is actually being the change they promote.

Elizabethtown Fair

Bradfield Motors has a booth at the Elizabethtown Fair where they are advertising $200 off all scooters.

The Elizabethtown Fair runs the remainder of the week. If you are heading out there on your scooter or motorcycle, before you settle for parking at a remote lot, cruise up and down High Street. You'll likely be able to slide in next to some other bikes as these 2 Mets did.

Sighted

I don't often get downtown during the week. But I had the day off yesterday and was happy to see the scooter parking in the Prince Street garage being used.

I also saw a red C3 around town that I had never seen before.

Electric Bikes

CNN.com recently ran an article about electric bicycles. They are like mopeds in that they are bicycles with a motor assist. But there are different types; those that have scooter-like controls for the motor, and those whose motor kicks in automatically.

There are some very different designs. Some look almost like normal bikes, and some have a radical design like the Ultra Motor A2B pictured above. Electric bikes, of course, suffer from the same issues as electric scooters and cars. Range is limited. Old batteries are heavy, modern batteries are expensive. Their cost is often comparable to the next step up in transportation; in this case, a scooter or even a used car. The same arguments as mentioned in the entry about ZAP cars.

Speaking of ZAP, PPL donated an electric ZAP bike to the Lancaster Police way back in 1999. Growth in the electric bike market and advances in electric vehicle technology practically guarantee that we'll be seeing more electric bikes on the streets of Lancaster soon.

Lancaster, Right Under Your Nose.

This past Friday I went to Music Friday downtown with a friend. She has recently moved to Lancaster from Harrisburg. Like most people forced relocate not 100% of their own choosing, she was depressed about her new circumstances. She thought Lancaster was a quiet little town and longed to move back to Harrisburg. But after visiting only 3 shops, The White Elephant, Zap and Co. and The Art and Glassworks, she was excited about Lancaster.

“I thought I had to go to Hoboken, Manayunk, or Frederick to find shops like this! Harrisburg should have something like this. I love it. Here I had been hating Lancaster, and these places were right under my nose!’

Told ya. Wait until she sees Pop Deluxe and Gallery Row.

6th Annual New Holland Fall Rally

BurgmanUSA.com has posted details about the Fall Rally In New Holland. Please note that this is a Maxi scooter rally, and they limit participation in their rides to scooters 200cc or higher. Suzuki Burgmans come in 400cc or 650cc. Riders buy them for their power. Having to watch out for 150cc scooters on one of their rides is like when you were 16 and your mom told you that you could go to the mall with your friends only if you took your 10-year-old brother.

If you plan on going out to participate or just to gawk at the big scooters, note their schedule. They are serious about punctuality.

There is going to be a lot of bikes out on the roads the weekend of September 13-14. That is also the weekend of the Wheels...Wheels...Wheels event and the Barnstorm Weekend motorcycle rally. For those who like to "Live Fast, Scoot Slow", keep checking in here... there is a 50cc-friendly ride being planned for that weekend too.

Site Features

Upgrade week continues with a new section of links at the top right. The Site Features links are for your convenience. If you are looking at a specific article, you can refresh the site by clicking the "Home" link. It will take you to the most recent entry. This feature always existed in the title banner of the site (as with many websites). But the Home link makes it more obvious.

The "Calendar" link is a shortcut to the bottom of the page. No scrolling required. After looking at the calendar, just hit your browser's Back button to get back to the top.

2nd Annual Italian Festival

It is with mixed emotions that I remind you of the upcoming Italian Festival on August 24. I'm sad because it reminds me of the loss of Giovanni DiSomma, who was hit by a car while riding his scooter last year. Mr. DiSomma was the primary organizer of the Italian Festival last year. He was struck before the festival occurred, and his family scrambled to put it on, even though Giovanni was the only one that knew some of the details. Still, it was pretty good.

This year it should be even better, and I'm excited about that. With more time for organization, I have high hopes for it. Read more about the event here.

New Calendar Feature

This week's upgrade trend continues with the addition of a calendar at the bottom of the page. Yes, it's easy to forget down there, but it works better large than it does when I tried it small and on the side. So, scroll down occasionally and see what's coming up.
My intent is to note scooter/motorcycle related events around the area and reminders about events downtown. I spent most of my free time last night getting to look right, so I haven't actually populated it much yet... but I'll get to it.

BMW Scooters?

I saw a rumor reported on two seperate websites today that BMW is developing some maxi scooters. No word on when they might come to market, but they would be 500cc-800cc.

3rd Friday Coming Up

Reminder: this Friday is Music Friday downtown. The Chromatics will be playing at The Glassworks. See you on the 300 block of Queen Street.

Zap Cars Coming to Lancaster

The Lititz Car Company will soon be selling Zap Xebra electric "cars". Why am I writing about cars on a scooter blog? Why the quote marks? Because these 3-wheeled vehicles are classified as motorcycles. And if they have automatic transmissions, that makes them scooters in my mind.

A lot of people are anxious for a practical electric car... and I'm not sure this is it. The 3-wheel motorcycle designation exempts it from many of the safety features required of a car. There are no creature comforts like air-conditioning. But as a scooter rider, I'm O.K. with all that, as long as you buy it with that knowledge. They claim a 40 mile range, but that is with an extended battery (an upgrade option). Owners report only 12-17 miles without it. The batteries are lead acid; not quite state-of-the-art. And they are still pricey. About $12,000.

But I bet there will be a market for them. Under some very specific conditions, they could be the the perfect vehicle. That pick-up can haul a lot more bulk than a scooter. They are street legal, which is step up from a golf cart. How about something to link campus properties? As a delivery vehicle or an in-city all-weather commuter, they could be the ticket. A plug-in car sure is intriguing.

They have their detracters, that's for sure. Wired wrote a long, scathing article about Zap. The Xebra itself has gotten some bad reviews. But every car has its enthusiasts. For that perspective, see Xebra World. I look forward to seeing them on the road here in Lancaster. I think they're cute.

Raising The Bar

Scoot Lancaster is now ScootLancaster.com. That's right, we're stepping it up! That old address was such a mouthful. You can now change your links and bookmarks to www.scootlancaster.com. Feeling lazy? Don't worry, no need to change anything. The old address will still work.

And while we're at it, how about some new features? First of all the "Scooter Links" have been renamed the more accurate "Scooter Forums". Want to subscribe to ScootLancaster.com's new RSS feed? Look to your right, under the forums and before our other new feature: "Scooter Blogs". Blogs have been separated from the links and made their own category. They will automatically sort themselves by those most recently updated. Blogs on this list are either Pennsylvania-based or share similar goals and philosophies.

Carburetors vs. Fuel Injection

There are a lot of little differences between scooter models. They may not matter to you if you are buying based on price and style. But if you are considering doing you own maintenance, planning to supe it up, or you are interested in being as green as possible, the details about the engine matter. One of those details is Carburetors vs. Fuel Injection, the two common methods for mixing fuel and air as it enters an engine’s cylinder.

The most basic difference between the two methods is that carburetors are mechanical and fuel injection is electronically controlled. Carburetors use the Bernoulli Principal to draw fuel through a “jet” as air is sucked in. Their mechanical nature makes them easy to work on and modify.

Fuel injection systems blow fuel into the cylinder, atomizing the fuel. The amount and timing is controlled by a computer. This means that programming or chips need to be changed to make performance changes. However, the computer control allows for more adjustability. The computer, with its sensors, is better at achieving the perfect air/fuel mixture than a mechanical system. Therefore the mixture burns more efficiently. A fuel injected system is less likely to leave unburned fuel in the exhaust, making fuel-injection the greener choice. The computer can adjust the mixture on the fly with changing conditions, most notably while the engine is warming up. Some carbureted bikes require a manual choke to lean the mixture until the engine warms up, though most modern scooters have at least an automatic choke.

Carbureted engines are simpler and cheaper. Electronic fuel injection improves ease of starting in a variety of conditions, increases dependability, and requires less maintenance. Most manufactures’ websites have specifications online that will list the carburetion/induction method of their models.

Vespa Super

After much buzz, the Vespa Super is starting to hit American stores. But, disappointingly, we are getting the 250 version. Although Piaggio said that there were no plans to send the 300 here, some were still hopeful. Oh, well. The 300 is really only 278 anyway.

Scooter-Relief.org

Scooter-Relief.org is an organization that provides financial aid to scooterists in need. It was started with Hurricane Katrina, but has evolved into a place where people can offer support to fellow scooterists hurt in accidents. This is a grass-roots level organization that deals mostly in small amounts. So if you are looking for a place to throw a few bucks where they will be most appreciated, send them to Scooter-Relief.org. A banner linking to their site has been permanently added to the bottom of this one.

Meltdown 2008 Coming!

Three Mile Island Scooter Club's annual rally, Meltdown, is coming up the weekend of August 22-24. Click here for more information. The rally is in Camp Hill, Cumberland County.

Buying a Scooter: Safe Brands

With the explosion in scooter sales, new brands are flooding the market. Most of them are Chinese. How's a person new to scooters supposed to know what's trust-worthy? Kevin Ash of Telegraph.co.uk has put together a list of safe brands. It is part 1 of 3 about buying a scooter. Part 2 is a little more specific to the United Kingdom.

I found this article through a link on the Denver Scooter Examiner. It is written by Cassandra Schoon, who works in a scooter store and is a better writer than I am. She's had some journalism training.

Bethlehem

Yesterday I took a day off to ride the motorcycle up to Bethlehem, PA. The occasion was Musikfest, a 10-day street festival that meanders through their downtown. My reason for picking that particular day was the appearance of a couple Jimmy Buffett tribute bands: Jimmy and The Parrots and the John Frinzi Band. I also enjoyed Dawn Iulg.

Bethlehem has a lot to teach us about puting on a festival. It is really well run, full of vender booths, with lots of food and beer tents. It runs on a ticket system, so venders don't have to deal with cash. If you've never been to it, I recommend checking it out.

Bethlehem can teach some lessons about a vibrant downtown in a historical setting also (are you listening Lancaster?). Look here how they combine traffic calming measures and outdoor dining space. I was surprised that the tables are not fenced off from the street. I liked it.

One of the venders with a display booth at Musikfest was Martin Eurosports showing off their scooters. I was particularly taken with the orange Vespa 150S. Derek convinced me to stop by the showroom on the way home.

As you can see from their sign, Martin carries Vespa, Aprilla, Ducati and Triumph. Of course it was the Vespas that drew me there, but the real surprise was their stock of Ducatis. After all, there are closer Vespa dealers, but I'm not sure where else to go for a Ducati.

According to Derek, they sold out their scooter stock twice this year, but you couldn't tell yesterday. The 150S I mentioned was sporting stickers that said, "80MPG" and "65MPH". They are the ones with the square headlight, and they had multiple colors from which to choose.

They are right on Rt. 309, in Coopersburg. There isn't a very direct route to get there from here, but if you're a fan of any of these brands, it is worth the trip. They had gear and accessories I haven't seen anywhere else.

Conserve Oil? Don't be funny...

It irritates me that Republicans are making fun of Obama for his suggestion that we use tire guages to reduce our dependance on foreign oil. If properly inflating tires can save 3% of a car's fuel, why not do it? And that's peanuts compared to what scooter riders are saving. If we didn't have to drill off the coast and in Alaska, wouldn't that be a good thing?

There are all kinds of ads and propaganda that make fun of people who believe that using less oil is a good thing. There was an ad for WalMart, CostCo, or one of those megastores that featured a guy complaining about high prices. He said, his voice dripping with disdain, "What am I supposed to do? Ride a moped to work?" Yeah, jackass, give it try. You look like you could use some fun in your life.

And the current BMW ad makes me crazy. In particular, I don't buy the guy getting on a Vespa. Envy a cager on a beautiful day? Getting 30mpg? I don't think so. I get three times that. Maybe I'd be jealous that the driver has money to burn, but I'd rather ride a Vespa to a nice restaurant to burn it.

Anybody who suggests that you shouldn't even try to conserve energy probably stands to lose some money if you do. They're trying to sell you something. Don't buy it.

Editted to add: Paris solves the energy crisis:

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Sighted: Yamaha, used. Very used.

Seen in the back of Then and Again Antiques on the 300 block of North Queen Street, on First Friday:

Ephrata Ride-In August

The ride was great fun. The weather was fantastic and the scenery was beautiful. Unfortunately, Drew and guest didn't make it. I hope I wasn't too vague about the meeting point. Sorry if we missed you! But Chelsielou, Brian and I had a great time.

Chelsie and Brian had never been to the Ride-In before, and Brian is relatively new to the area, so it was fun to introduce them to the experience. For a first time being there, this weekend was an impressive one. I heard many people remark that they had never seen so many bikes there.

The hit of the day seemed to be this Harley with the controls moved to the sidecar. The owner is wheelchair-bound, but couldn't give up riding. It must look insane to see this coming down the street with nobody riding the motorcycle.

This gold Aero 125 seemed in mint condition. I knew I would have to post it because some loyal collectors drool over this example of 80's design, especially in this color.

They funniest thing was when we circled back to our scoots and found a circle of admirers aound them! Amongst all those big bikes! After a lot of questions, one woman squealed, "I want to get a scooter!" Perhaps it was Chelsielou's pink ensemble, down to the matching water bottle, that clinched it.

Spontaneous Scooter Meet!

Let's meet this Sunday at 9am, at the base of the Prince Street Garage helix. We'll ride up to the Ephrata First Sunday Ride-In. Hang out, look at all the bikes and scooters until 11, home by noon.

I've made this trip before on my 50cc scooter. I'll bring maps to hand out at the start. We'll pass 2 covered bridges and travel winding country lanes. It's a beautiful ride. Here's the route:

View Larger Map

If you are going to meet us at the garage, do me a favor, leave a comment using the link below. It will generate excitement and give me an idea how many maps to bring. But pre-registration is not required. Just show up at the helix, or meet us up there!