#scooters

We’ve traveled down this path before when we asked what types of bikes our readers have owned. What we learned there, frankly, didn’t surprise us too much. You’ve owned a bunch of different motorcycles. That makes you a lot like us. We like motorcycles – all motorcycles. As an industry friend once said about our profession, “All motorcycles good; we investigate.”

Last week’s Church feature of the 2001 Yamaha Vino was just a tease for this week’s Church edition. Because the MO staff is quite good at taking a perfectly good motorcycle and defiling it, leave it to us to find some hidden speed out of the 2001 Yamaha Vino. Check it out below. Oh, and isn’t that basket cute?  

This week’s video features Revol Gerungan and his golden retriever, Sydney. Or rather, Sydney and his pillion passenger, Revol. Sydney appears to be taking Gerungan out for a spin through the streets of Manado, Indonesia, much to the delight of onlookers.

This week MO has published a comparison test between two $17K superbikes, Honda’s middleweight sportbike, and a retro-cool Triumph cafe racer. So for this week’s Church feature, let’s slow things down a bit and reflect on the 2001 Yamaha Vino scooter. A far cry from the four machines mentioned earlier, in cities like San Francisco you’re bound to see as many Vinos floating around as you are anything else. Why? Because it’s a perfect little errand runner. See what the 2001 MO staff had to say about it below.

Maybe somebody beat you with a kickstand when you were a child, and you carry an irrational fear of them? Let it go, with the MP3 you can relax, you don’t need one. With a little practice, you can flip the right-thumb button inward just as you’re coming to a stop, which clamps the caliper to the ¼-of a brake-type disc which holds the MP upright. The people in the cars look at you with even greater suspicion. As soon as you twist the throttle to blast off, the lock releases and in town, most of the time, you’d never really know you had two wheels up front. (If you’re rolling backwards, though, the upright lock won’t release until you thumb the lever!) The lock-up mechanism even has its own ECU.

Five years ago this month MO reported that Bombardier Recreational Products had filed a patent as far back as 2009 for a control system that’d allow the Can-Am Spyder to lean. Later that same year it came to light that Harley-Davidson had been developing a similar tilting three-wheeler ( the Penster) for years before scrapping the project and moving in a more traditional-trike direction with the Tri-Glide and recently introduced Freewheeler. Well, guess what? The leaning reverse trike charge isn’t being led or financed by BRP or H-D and their incredibly deep pockets. At the vanguard of the full-size tilting trike revolution is a lone engineer in a garage somewhere in Snohomish, WA.

Located in the heart of Los Angeles, arguably the car capital of the world (sorry Detroit), the iconic Petersen Automotive Museum has undergone a massive and comprehensive renovation. First opened on June 9, 1994, the museum’s mission, as set by founders Margie and Robert E. Petersen, was to showcase automotive culture from around the world while celebrating Southern California’s rich history within it. The museum has done a respectable job of accomplishing this mission, but as the automotive landscaped changed over the last 20 years, the museum has stayed largely the same. Obviously that had to change.

Considered a sport-scooter in many regards, the 530cc Yamaha TMax scooter has been a popular mode of transport, especially in the European market. During its 15-year history the TMax has received almost a cult following, and for 2016 Yamaha is introducing a special version of the TMax: The TMax Lux Max.

More news from the Piaggio camp at EICMA 2015 is the Medley scooter. However, it is not slated to come to the U.S. Powered by Piaggio’s new iGet 125cc and 150cc electronically fuel injected, liquid-cooled, four-valve engines, the Medley comes standard with the “Start & Stop” feature, which shuts the engine off at stops to help improve fuel economy.

Like the NC750S, the Integra scooter is another Euro-only model from Honda not coming stateside for 2016. Displacing 745cc from its liquid-cooled DOHC parallel-Twin, the Integra is the largest displacement scooter in Honda’s line-up. Comparatively, the Silver Wing, last imported to the U.S. in 2013 was a 582cc Twin. If it were our choice, however, we’d preferably see Honda’s City Adventure concept scooter be imported here, as it looks to be a pretty badass scoot.

After 18 years and 900,000 units sold, the Piaggio Liberty ABS has been refreshed with new engines, new ergonomics, new active safety systems, and new lines to go with the larger diameter wheels.

To celebrate 70 years of Vespa, for 2016 the company is offering the Primavera, GTS and PX in an exclusive color scheme: the Azzurro 70. This unique paintwork  include a dark brown saddle, finished with contrasting beige piping and a Vespa Settantesimo logo placed on the passenger seat. The three Settantesimo models are also characterized by a dedicated graphic on the side fairings and an identification plate on the door of the front glove compartment. Lastly, the wheels are painted are painted in a non-standard color.

Borrowing the looks and design of its bigger brother, the J300 (which itself is a re-branded Kymco Downtown 300i), Kawasaki’s smaller-displacement version, the J125, basically keeps all the amenities of the 300, but replaces the engine with one less than half its displacement to better meet the needs of the European market. The engine is still mated to a CVT, for true twist-and-go rideability.

Honda unveiled a concept model in Milan today, the City Adventure possibly foreshadows a new development direction for Honda scooters. Besides the image above, no other information was provided regarding the City Adventure. Styling wise, it appears to be a scooter of adventurous nature with long-travel suspension, semi-knobby tires, and upswept exhaust. The windscreen is adjustable, and it appears to have ample under-seat storage.

Some states, California for one, require that a scooter be 150cc or more in order to be ridden legally on highways. While some smaller-displacement scooters can reach the minimum speeds required to run with the traffic, these two are equipped to meet the requirements of the law in addition to speed. On the occasion of the release of the Yamaha SMAX and an incremental update of the Honda PCX150, we decided we should test the newest members of the 150cc highway hoppers.