1st Annual Berks County Motorcycle Mania & Motorsport Expo

Tomorrow begins the 1st Annual Berks County Motorcycle Mania & Motorsport Expo. It runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Greater Reading Expo Center. Their ad boasts "All Brands, New and Used, Stock and Custom". Prices are $13 for adults and $5 for children (yes, this production claims to be family-friendly).

Michele Smith from Speed TV's American Thunder will be there on Saturday, the 26th.

Lancaster's Convention Center isn't finished yet, but maybe in 2 years we'll be able to host a similar event in our own downtown.

Mythbusters

My favorite TV show right now is Mythbusters. If you have the Discovery Channel, I'm sure you've heard of it. But could the Mythbusters be scooter guys? Check out this interview from 2005 where Adam Savage says, "When I go out into the world, I mean, like at this scooter rally I was at, there wasn't a person there who didn't watch the show."

2008 Hondas

Honda appears to be the most popular, in Lancaster, of what I consider the major brands of scooters. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that we have 2 Honda dealers in town: Ephrata Cycle and Sports and Lancaster Honda. Honda makes few changes for America in 2008.

Their base model, and the scooter I see most around town remains the Metropolitan. A 50cc model with some storage and styling reminiscent of a Vespa (but in plastic intead of metal), this is the perfect scooter for getting around town. High mileage and low cost are its strengths. For 2008, Honda offers some new colors, including a Gothic (black and gray) and Monza (red on red).

If you like the low displacement, but plan to get out into the country or just want something more masculine, check out the Ruckus. It almost looks like a mini-bike. There is no lockable storage, but there are some interesting hop-up accessories available.

It appears as if Honda has dropped the Elite 80 (80cc) and the Helix (244cc) for 2008. These scooters sport a look like what designers in the 1980’s thought the year 2000 would look like. Also gone: the Reflex. Maybe you can find a good deal on an older model of one of these bikes.

That leaves a huge gap in engine sizes until you get all the way up to the Silver Wing at 582cc. This is a maxi-scooter. At over $8,000, it’s competition is the Suzuki Burgman and motorcycles. Power and luxury are what you are paying for. This is not a grocery-getter. This thing’s big enough for touring.

The reasons to buy a Honda are their reliability, value, and the convenience of 2 local dealers. For value and “green-ness” the Metropolitan is the stand-out model.

Cruzin Cooler

Some people have compared my Yamaha C3 to a Coleman cooler. Well, here's what a real cooler scooter looks like:

The thing is a Cruzin Cooler. And considering the overlap between scooter enthusiasts and beer enthusiasts, this seems like a natural!

Cemetery At Dawn

Remember when I talked about carrying a camera on rides? Well, this morning was the reason why I wanted to do that. As I was riding the scooter to work, I was passing the cemetery, and I looked over… and there was a fog hugging the ground. Tombstones were jutting up out of it and the sun was coming up… It was astonishing to look over during my commute and see, right there, what that looked like something out of a movie. Occurring quietly, right in the middle of the world I live in every day, was this amazing scene. I pulled over and pulled out the camera.

I don’t think I would have done it if I had been in a car, or even on the motorcycle. There is something about a scooter that makes it so easy to take advantage of a situation like this. I didn’t even have to check for a parking space. I just pulled over immediately, knowing there would be some place to put the scooter for a couple minutes, even if I had to pull it up on the sidewalk. If I had been in a car, I might have glimpsed the scene and thought, “Oh, I wish I could have seen that.” But with the radio going, in that bubble of conditioned air, it would have seemed like too much to evaluate traffic, pull over, park, and get out.

And I think you are more apt to notice a scene like this on a scooter. You are out in the environment, a part of it. You smell things you don’t in a car; leaves, wood fires and food cooking. You feel the temperature change from small hills and valleys. The details of the world are finer and you move through them. The ride to work is a series of places instead of an eventless part of your daily routine. Everywhere you go is like that. You experience the world instead of just moving from one artificial environment to another via another.

This morning, instead of a commute, I had an experience.

4-Stroke vs. 2-Stroke

If you are looking at a smaller scooter, you may need to choose between a 2-stroke and a 4-stroke engine. But what’s the difference, and which one should you get?

The names refer to how many strokes of a piston it takes to accomplish the 4 processes of a combustion engine: intake, compression, combustion, and exhaust. Up and down counts as 2 strokes. The primary difference is that a 4-stroke mixes oil into the engine from a reservoir separate from the gasoline (like your car); while a 2-stroke wants its oil mixed in with the gas (like an old lawn mower). A 4-stroke has to go around again, without firing the spark plug, to draw in the oil and lubricate the cylinder. The 2-stroke, its oil mixed with the fuel, burns that oil. You can smell it and see it in the blue smoke. If you have heard people talk about scooters being bad for the environment… or even the myth that they are worse than SUV’s… those people are talking about 2-strokes. If going green is your thing, get a 4-stroke.

So why a 2-stroke? Well, in a way, it is a more efficient engine. There isn’t that part of the piston’s stroke that is lubricating the cylinder. Therefore, more energy is put directly to drive. A 2-stroke is going to be faster than a 4-stroke of the same size. 2-strokes are simpler and easier to hop-up. If performance is your thing, and you plan to work on it yourself, you are going to get more out of a 2-stroke. But you may need to buy used, as environmental laws have most makers switching to 4-strokes. An exception is the 2008 Zuma by Yamaha.

2008 Vespa

Vespa. The quintessential scooter. But where to get one? There are no Vespa dealers in Lancaster County. The closest one is in Wertzville, near Mechanicsburg. Motor-vation is easy to find, just off Exit 57 of I-81 (check the map on their website).

For 2008, Vespa has made very little change to their 2007 line-up. All models are similar in style, so it's the details you'll want to look at. Those details include: color, seat, storage, instruments, wheel size, brakes and engine.

The LX comes in 50cc and 150cc versions. 50cc is great for around town and if you don't want to get a motorcycle license. The 150 is going to give you the greater range that comes with being able to confidently travel roads posted at higher speeds. Both are going to get over 70mpg and have a four-stroke engine with automatic transmission.

The Granturismo 200 will reach highway speeds, while still getting 64mpg.

The GTS 250 adds fuel injection for slightly better gas mileage.

There are other models available that combine the above models with retro styling.

Overall, a Vespa is going to be among the most expensive to purchase and difficult to service due to the distance to the dealer. But there are some that are going to want a Vespa anyway, because nothing says "scooter" like a Vespa.

2008

It's 2008. Oil prices topped $100 a barrel, and gas jumped up to $3.19/gallon. News stories speculate about $5 gas. Parking cost increases took effect downtown. Traffic is bad, and promising to get worse with new "traffic calming" measures. Maybe you made a resolution to live a more "green" lifestyle. But what can you do?

Get a scooter!

If this is the year you want to add the fun and benefits of a scooter to your life, then you'll want to do the research to find the one that is right for you. Scooter Lancaster wants to help with a 2008 buyers guide. Just click the 2008 in the list of tags on the right side of the screen to see all related articles. I'll be adding them over the next couple months so you'll be ready to make a decision when the weather breaks. You'll also want to check the FAQ.

In the meantime, I recommend looking into getting a motorcycle license. It's cheap and easy, but time-consuming, so it's the perfect winter prep work. It's not required to get a 50cc scooter, but having it will allow you to test other sizes as well. And how will you know if you don't try?

Got any questions? Add a comment or Email Gerry.

New Looks

Some new looks to announce...

I've made a slight adjustment to the template of this site: I finally got the slightly darker post footer that I always wanted. Had to edit the CSS in the raw HTML. If you're picky, it helps to know how to read the code.

The walk/don't walk signs around town are switching to those kind that count down to the signal change. I like that. They are visible in the picture below...

...which was taken with my new camera. Yes, I bought a new camera like I mentioned previously. That should improve the look around here also. It's a Canon PowerShot SD1000 Digital ELPH. Perfect for slipping in your pocket for rides, I recommend one. Coe Camera downtown carries them. It even takes videos, so don't be surprised if they start popping up here.


The Lancaster Science Factory is a science museum for children. It is opening this month at the corner of New Holland Avenue and Plum Street, right across the street from Quips. As you can see, they're still working on its look.

Looking for a grocery-getter?

Lancaster's New Era today featured an article about Jim Slagel, owner of Jim's Towing in Willow Street. He built this motorized shopping cart that will do 35mph. Read the full story here.

Average Temperatures

We are in a cold wave right now. Unseasonably warm weather is expected in a few days though, which is great because gas prices are rising again. Can't wait to get back on the scooter. But it had me wondering... when can we expect warmer weather? We're past the solstice, days are getting longer... nice days can't be far behind, right?

Wrong.

I don't like to ride unless it's above freezing and headed into the mid 40's. On average, we won't see that until March. So until then, enjoy the freak weather.