Scooter
October 24, 2005 Honda’s media information for the Tokyo Motor Show exhibits was sparse this year and kept everyone guessing as to exactly what was behind the exterior of the motorcycle stand’s central focus – a concept motorcycle with a stylish superscooter exterior dubbed the E4-01. Accompanying the image of the bike was the simple sentence, “Honda's vision of the future begins with the E4-01 concept vehicle which offers customers a new take on motorcycling lifestyles.” The E4-01 has some strong visual similarities to the centrepiece of the 2003 Tokyo Show motorcycle exhibition which was dubbed the Griffon, and the Griffon was an evolution of the 2001 centrepiece, the full-roofed Elysium, both powered by 750cc horizontally opposed motors. Our initial suspicion that it was an electric motorcycle was also wrong. It's a 900cc motorcycle with "sports automatic" transmission, and claims of supersport performance and handling, all wrapped up in scooter styling. Read More
August 18, 2005 Primary producer Donald Dunklee has been watching the power grid slowly but surely failing, while the world demand for fossil fuel is slowly overpowering the world supply, driving prices skyward. It made him determined to "get off the drip" and build street-legal, affordable, dependable, sun-charged transport for his daily 5 mile commute. His solar powered motorcycle has not been plugged into the factory charger since April 15, 2005 and it’s now travelled over 700 miles since then. We guess he made it - this is Donald's story, as told by Donald. Read More
June 6, 2005 This new concept in near zero emission transportation could be just what you’re looking for, though we suspect that parking might be a problem. Seriously though folks, if you have a big dog that often takes you for a walk, here’s a great way to harness all that energy and travel the bike paths of your city at the same time. The manufacturer and inventor Mark Schuette of Oregon claims the human is in total control of the speed and direction of the dog powered scooter because the dog is harnessed inside of the frame and subject to its steering (with 90 degree turns easy) and braking force. Read More
April 19, 2005 Italian scooter magazine Cyberscooter has published pictures of is believed to be the prototype of a Gilera Nexus 850 scooter undergoing pre-release testing on Italian roads. That’s 850 as in 850cc – the largest megascooter seen to date. The convergence paradigm appears to be inspiring all manner of marketplace morphing with the scooter and motorcycle industries clearly now beginning to overlap. In less than a decade the maxi scooter has grown from the once humble Italian invention, the scooter into a powerful pseudo sports motorcycle. The Nexus 850 scooter is believed to have been under development since early 2003, with a radical new electronic gearbox that was showcased in the Gilera 850 V-twin Ferro concept machine at the 2003 Milan Motorcycle Show. The new gearbox can change gears some ten times faster than mere mortals, offering a significant performance improvement, if that’s needed on an 850 scooter. Read More
Wednesday July 23, 2003: The F18 swing-arm scooter adds twin-suspension to motorised scooter design with 50mm of travel on the front and a mono spring providing 90mm travel on the rear. A 24-volt electric motor reaches a maximum speed of approximately 20kmh and the F18 can cover 15km on a single battery charge. Read More
The scooter was invented in 1947 as a low cost alternative to the automobile in war-ravaged Europe – it was designed as transport for the masses and it caught on so quickly that it became one of the great transport phenomena to sweep the world in the 20th century. The Vespa (which means “wasp” in Italian) was the result of Enrico Piaggio’s determination to create a viable alternative to the automobile for the masses. As the war drew to a close, Enrico studied every possible solution to get production in his plants going again. Read More
The Naked Motorcycle craze seems to be reaching epidemic proportions with the announcement by Honda America that its 2005 range will include a "naked" scooter. The Big Ruckus "blends the open feel of a motorcycle with the comfort and convenience of a scooter", according to Honda, though we have to wonder whether the new rugged good looks of the Big Ruckus will overcome the loss of the scooter's most appealing feature - weather protection. Read More
Honda Motor Company has announced its intentions to hotly contest the sustainable future of two wheel transport by showing several new prototype model developments surrounding fuel cell, electric and hybrid (petrol/electric) scooters. Building on its success with fuel cell automobile technology, the most significant announcement was a scooter powered by its light, compact fuel cell system, the Honda FC Stack. Read More
Putting a helmet on your head was once a spiritual experience - you were entering the dome of silence and no-one and nothing was going to contact you until you turned the engine off at the destination. No more. The Piaggio X9 500 Maxi scooter comes with a sophisticated communications system that enables you to integrate your mobile phone, use the FM radio, and even transfer calls to your pillion passenger via the intercom. Read More
It acts like a 50cc two-stroke scooter in every respect but that of emissions - instead of producing mass hydrocarbons, it produces water. One of the most interesting new transportion initiatives in years, the German Aqwon is not what you'd expect - instead of being powered by electricity derived from a hydrogen fuel cell, the Aqwon burns hydrogen as its fuel. Read More
