Save the Date - Fall Ride

October 18 there will be a scooter ride featuring the natural beauty and fall foliage of the County's Southwest. Hopefully we'll catch the scene here in glorious fall colors. Meet at the corner of Orange and Water Streets in the City of Lancaster at 10:30am, depart at 11:00am. Watch here for details.

Xebra Zaptruck

Xebra cars and trucks from Zap are now for sale in Lancaster County. Mike Cronin of the Lititz Car Co. had all kinds of trouble with PennDOT red tape getting these things approved for sale, but he finally prevailed.

These all-electric, 3-wheeled vehicles are plated as motorcycles, mostly to get around that the safety requirements of normal automobiles. So think of them as plug-in scooters with hauling volume.

Peugeot HYmotion3

The ultimate green commuter vehicle. Since I have nothing to add to this article, just click through and read it. Why? Look at it. It's part MP3, part Prius. And it is 3-wheel drive.

First Friday, October '08

It was another great First Friday in downtown Lancaster for October. I started out parking next to another C3. That red is a fun color for these little scoots.

From there, I walked down Prince Street to Here To Timbuktu. I've always like that store. I knew they carried Hamilton watches, and I wanted to take a look at them. Hamilton used to be a major industry in Lancaster... I even live on Hamilton Street. What I didn't expect to find was some Vespa clocks!

It turns out that scooter paraphenalia will show up in unexpected places. And look at the other fun clocks... if you are looking for some kooky kitch to decorate your place, check out Here To Timbuktu, 46 N. Prince St..

After you have your Vespa clock, add a little more MOD cred by heading over to Britian's Best on Market Street and picking up this MOD lisence plate. Who knew there was so much scootery goodness to pick up downtown?

Honda News

No new scooters from Honda for '09. There. That's out of the way.

But there is this. The Honda DN-01. It's a motorcycle with an automatic transmission. It's a scooter without storage. It's a sporty cruiser. It's all things to all people, and I'm afraid that it will appeal to very few. It's exciting on paper, but a bit weird in reality. It's like what the people of the past thought the motorcycle of the future would be like... and I think it's still ahead of its time. But the transmission is interesting.

Ridley Gets Into The Moped Business

Wow, these are sweet. Ridley, the American automatic motorcycle company, is selling a line of retro-styled mopeds. They are 2-stroke motorbikes. They come in either 50cc or 70cc versions. Ok, so they aren't particularly cheap, fast or "green", but they look cool. And riding a moped gives you some distinct advantages in Pennsylvania: like no inspection and the right to park on the sidewalk.

Suzuki News

It turns out that the rumors may be true: Suzuki is planning to bring a 125cc scooter to America... next summer. It's called the VZ125, it's a 4-stroke, and fuel injected, and.. and... well, that's all we know. According to www.motorcycle.com.

Meanwhile, take a look at this. It's a brand new UJM! UJM stands for Universal Japanese Motorcycle... or at least they used to be universal. Lately, if you wanted something like this, you had to buy the British Triumph Bonneville. But Suzuki is bringing it back in the TU250X. And it's fuel-injected with a catalytic converter monitored by an oxygen sensor. That means this classic-looking 250cc is good for the environment and fuel-efficient too. The perfect commuter, or a great starter bike. Well done, Suzuki!