Please take a look at a slide show from yesterday’s ride to Markville, La. by clicking on the photo below:

Fantastic weather, a great group of riders, culture, history, learning and sharing–what more could you ask for?

SCGT appreciates [SIC] and its members for organizing this ride to Marksville.  Thank you!

(*More to come…)–Lorenzo

For the latest on Hurricane Ida, hurricane facts and predictions, please check it out here.  To our friends in Louisiana, especially in the New Orleans area, please take care of yourselves, your family and loved ones, including your scooters.–Lorenzo

Projection courtesy of: www.wunderground.com

Posted in SCGT Tagged: Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane, Hurricane Ida, louisiana, Mississippi ]]> http://scgt.wordpress.com/2009/11/08/hurricane-ida-threatens-the-gulf-coast/feed/ 1 scgt http://scgt.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/classic-vespa-commercial/ http://scgt.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/classic-vespa-commercial/#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:39:01 +0000 scgt http://scgt.wordpress.com/?p=3517 ]]>

(From Ira H. Gallen of tvdays)

Riding a scooter has many advantages.–Lorenzo

(From Carnifty TV)

Apparently, walking is so for commoners.  When His Imperial Highness Prince Tomohito and (daughter) Princess Yōko of Mikasa arrived at their private opening for the 41st Tokyo Motor Show, they swooped in whisper-quietly and without ever touching the ground in a never-seen-before custom-made Honda EV, an electric vehicle resembling  the “Pope-mobile” .  Walking would’ve been greener, imo.  But, I guess that just ain’t cool enough for the royalties of Japan, especially with such a commanding view aboard this float, you just can’t help look down on all the commoners below.  Don’t look for it at your local Honda dealership anytime soon though, at least not this version anyway.–Lorenzo

Killerfocus on Modern Vespa discovered this promo video for a San Francisco-based digital agency called BARS+TONE featuring none other than the Piaggio MP3 500 in action.  Check it out!–Lorenzo

Photo: cadillaczac on MB

Scoot Happy Halloween!!  Now you ghosts, goblins and zombies (yeah, I mean you), let’s ride!

_Lorenzo

Paul from [SIC] recounted our delicious little adventure down the less-traveled roads to Abbeville, La. in his recent article entitled “Gulf Coast to Abbeville”.  Read all about it here.–Lorenzo

When you hug a tree, does it hug you back? (Photo by: Paul Hauser)

* For more photos from the ride to Abbeville, start right here.–Lorenzo

Poster: Piston Broke SC

(No, I don’t mean you, just what they call it; but as I read the caption on the bottom) I guess I am out. Who needs it anyway?!  Elitist rally!  Pre-register by 10.30.09 to guarantee a T-shirt. _Lorenzo

Who turned six-year-old yesterday and members of SCGT as well as [SIC] traveled to Hauser Farm in DeRidder, Louisiana to help her and her brothers and sisters celebrate this annual charitable event.  Animal food, cash and other gifts received by Who for her birthday were donated in her name to the Humane Society of West Louisiana.  Angela & Paul Hauser (of [SIC]), great hosts and adopted parents of Who, welcomed all guests to their beautiful ranch house where a lavish outdoor buffet and exotic beverages were served under a Japanese persimmon tree.  Click on the picture of Who for just a glimpse of the birthday festivities that took place in honor of Who.–Lorenzo

Hello, my name is Who, and I am six today!

*DISCLAIMER: USERS ASSUME ALL RISKS WITH THIS O-RING CRUISE CONTROL DEVICE*

Larry from Sulphur gave me this little yellow silicon O-ring (Caterpillar #8M4991) last Saturday to use as cruise control (WTH?!). First, I was a little apprehensive; but after 100-plus-miles with it, I can definitely say that it not only works, but works GREAT!!

Cruizin' Cajun™ scooter cruise control

I have used Crampbuster before and liked it; except when you get off the highway and on to the city streets, it tends to get in the way of throttling and front-braking. Unless you remove it, you could inadvertently hurt your right wrist with prolonged use (brought on by the awkward hand position), not to mention possibly unsafe in emergency situations.

With this O-ring, which I will now call the “Cruizin’ Cajun ™”, you don’t have the same problems as with the Crampbuster. The O-ring offers infinite speed setting and fine-tuning capabilities, and its stickiness or gripping strength is just right which makes (manual) accel and decel both smooth and effortless. Furthermore, over relatively flat roads, the speed-holding characteristic is almost constant.

ATTENTION:  IMPORTANT SAFETY MESSAGE! When you want to stop the scooter, you must throttle all-the-way down to a stop (manually) in addition to applying brakes; otherwise your scooter (and you) would just keep going at the preset speed, even if you release the throttle, OK?!  When you use this O-ring, you lose the ability to coast to a stop–please remember this!  That’s right, USERS ASSUME ALL RISKS with this device.

Also, some have mentioned that when it becomes difficult or impossible to use the O-ring, for example when the stop-and-go city traffic approaches, as a safety precaution, one should just simply roll it over onto the grip, and that would stop the cruise-control function instantly.  As you get ready for the highway again, you could very easily yet carefully roll it over and into the groove between the bar-end and the grip and resume cruising.  Personally, I would recommend against using the O-ring at speeds below 45-mph.

Give it a try (as many satisfied customers have already discovered)! To order, try here.  Ride safely.

_Lorenzo

*If it works on the Piaggio MP3 500 and Suzuki Burgman 400, I imagine it would work on many other similar scooters.

**Update (10/24/09)

A few techniques on using the O-ring:

O-ring cruise control rests in "OFF" position on the handgrip

Key point: Move the O-ring into the groove between handgrip and bar-end weight to engage cruise control function

Key point: Make sure to center your palm against the bar-end as you pull the O-ring toward the groove with fingers...

So that the O-ring does not accidentally slip off the bar-end and land on the road somewhere (and even if it does slip off, just let it go for safety reasons; come around to find it later, plus they're cheap so you can afford to buy a bunch of replacements)

This is "ON" position

Key point: keep your palm tightly pushed against the bar-end as you push the O-ring back to the "OFF" position

O-ring back safely to the "OFF" position on the handgrip