Orange Stella, Blue Fish

Sighted downtown today:This is a Genuine Stella, which is not to say it is a real, honest-to-goodness Stella, even though it is. Genuine is the brand. Stella is the model. The thin leg shield and the 2-stroke motor make this, perhaps, the most true (genuine?) classic scooter that you can still buy new.

Due to poor grammar...

FAIL!

Vespa Super: Update

I had mentioned before that the Vespa Super coming to America was only a 250; it turns out that the initial shipment was mis-badged. They are indeed the 278cc 300's.

The Super only makes 1 horsepower over the GTS250. So why get the 300? Grunt. The bigger cylinder makes more torque. The difference between horsepower and torque is complicated (horsepower includes work done over time, torque is a rotational force without the time element). The practical difference is that torque gets you up the hill or off the line faster. Horsepower comes into play at speed. I see that the 300 Super is also liquid-cooled, which is rare in a Vespa.

See thescooterreview.com for a good review of the Vespa GTS 300 Super.

Gratuitous Photos

Just because the last two entries didn't have any pictures. And I believe that no pictures makes for a boring blog. You can say some very mundane, things if you surround it with interesting photos.

These are from last night during First Friday.It's springtime downtown.

I ran into Tom, a reader of this blog. We had crossed paths before; I was on my scooter at a stop sign and, as he walked by, he said, "Nice C3!" like a big dork. He confessed that he kicked himself afterwards because he rides a Ruckus and hates the way people talk to you on a scooter. It's true. Something about being on a scooter invites comment in a way that being in a car, even a convertible, doesn't. But, I find a full-face helmet solves that problem.

Tom thanked me "for all you do". Though I haven't done much here lately, it meant a lot. If nothing else, it inspired some entries.See? Mundane.

Which is greener: Car vs. Scooter

Which is better for the environment: driving a car or riding a scooter? The argument still rages. O.K., not so much rages, but irritates… like a piece of fiberglass in your skin. Cars have better emission controls, scooters use less resources. This article tries to explain the difference. I note that he is comparing a 2-stroke scooter. Replace that with a 4-stroke and the scooter comes out further ahead.

Bicycles Banned on Downtown Sidewalks

Lancaster City Police are reminding citizens that a new ordinance bans bicycles from sidewalks downtown. A map of the area of the ban can be seen here. Originally skateboards, too, were going to be included, but they were spared because they are easier to hear approaching. In this case, I guess, loud wheels save rights. Skateboards are still banned within 1 block of Penn Square (the intersection of King and Queen Streets).

City bike cops and the Downtown Investment District bike patrol (the DID red shirts) were specificly exempted from the law.

Consider yourself warned.