Čezeta 506

The iconic Czechoslovak scooter Čezeta (known as “the pig” by the locals) is coming back as an electric scooter! The trio behind the revival has already applied for EU authorization and they are done with the prototype. They even have 20 or so preorders in line. We are eagerly waiting for more news about this interesting scooter!

Read this great story from Radio Praha for more information.

Also visit the main webpage for the brand new electric Čezeta.

The post The pig is back! first appeared on scootcats.

Scootcats would like to remind you that Mad Bastard Scooter Rally will be held this year between June 21st and 23rd. For those who don’t know what it is: The Mad Bastard Scooter Rally is an 800 km (or so) scooter ride through some great Canadian scenery, while collecting as many “mad” points that you can along the way, with the winner getting a brand new scooter to go home with!

This year’s rally will take place in Belleville, Ontario, Canada and it will be 600 kms (~ 373 miles) with bonus loops close to 800 kms. Different classes of scooters can participate in this race:

Straitjacket (24 hours) – All scooters (& motorcycles) up to 50 cc in capacity.
Heavily Medicated (20 hours) – All scooters (& motorcycles) greater than 50 cc but no greater than 110 cc.
Therapy Required (18 hours) – Scooters greater than 110 cc but no greater than 200 cc.
Day Release (16 hours) – Scooters greater than 200cc.

For more information please visit MBSR site.

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Whether you are chased by a dog, or you encounter a deer while scooting the mountains, if you don’t know what to do, these encounters can result in serious collisions.  Many experts say that the best approach to survive such a collision is to safely avoid hitting the animal. The California Motorcycle Handbook adds: “If you are in traffic, however, remain in your lane. Hitting something small is less dangerous to you than hitting something big—like a car.”

Here are some basic tips you might find useful.

Tips to avoid hitting a deer

• If you encounter a deer on the road, be extremely cautious passing it. Slow down and be prepared to stop.
• Watch for deer crossing signs. If it is a deer inhabited area, slow down, cover your brakes and watch the sides of the road. Slowing down will decrease your braking distance and will give you more time to react.
• Deer are most active at dusk and dawn, so be extra cautious at those times.

• Deer travel in groups, so if you see one, probably there are more, slow down and be prepared.

• If a deer freezes seeing your headlight, flashing your headlight may break the spell.
• Note that, if you swerve to avoid the deer, you might hit something else instead, such as an incoming vehicle or a tree.

What to do if you are chased by a  dog

If you are chased by a dog, start by slowing down and approach the animal slowly. As you approach it, accelerate away and leave the animal behind.

The post Tips on animal encounters first appeared on scootcats.

Love is my message!

Did you know that in the early 1980’s Michael Jackson did a bunch of scooter commercials for the Japanese Suzuki Love scooters?

See for yourself…

The post Michael Jackson’s Japanese scooter commercials first appeared on scootcats.

Meet Haruko Haruhara; this pink haired girl from outer space, is one of the main characters of the anime FLCL, named Fooly Cooly in English. Haruko Haruhara is not your ordinary anime character, she is a Vespa rider! She is also called the Wasp Girl after the translation of the word Vespa from Italian. That being said, if you are an anime fan, check out this link for information on how to watch the show.

Haruko Haruhara on her Vespa

The post Meet FLCL’s Haruko Haruhara – the Vespa Girl! first appeared on scootcats.

The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, CA will be hosting a scooter exhibition displaying over 90 vehicles. “Scooters: Size Doesn’t Always Matter” is going to take visitors through a journey in the history of scooters. The exhibition starting on June 18, 2011 and running through May 2012, will feature scooters from the simple Autoped of the 1910s to today’s alternative vehicles.

Petersen Automotive Museum describes the exhibition in their recent press release as follows: “Scooters will show how this genre of motor bike has evolved from simple tube frames with motors to the sophisticated, comfortable, aerodynamic vehicles of today. The exhibit will also illustrate how scooters have been adapted to business and industrial uses, how they have been utilized by the movie and television industry, and how Southern California was once a major scooter manufacturing hub.

Wild or tame, foreign or domestic, old or new, scooters continue to offer a viable and economical alternative to other more traditional vehicles in our motoring landscape and provide a desirable means for free spirited motorists to boldly express themselves without saying a word.”

For more info, visit Peterson Automotive Museum on the web.

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Who said scooters are just for scootin’? See for yourselves…

The post Multi-purpose use of a scooter first appeared on scootcats.

Vespa scooter

So, you have decided to own a scooter, congratulations!

Scooters are fun, they are stylish, they come in different shapes and colors, some have retro looks, some look modern and futuristic, each of them has its own character. No matter which one you pick, at the end of the day, they are all environmentally friendly and a cheap alternative to a car, especially with today’s rising gas prices.

Do you know how to ride? If not, don’t worry, operating a motor scooter is easy, operating it safely is NOT.

Compared to a car, a scooter operation requires more skill and coordination. You have to keep an eye out for cars all the time. You need to make sure you remain visible to the drivers and anticipate what might happen at all times. For example, you need to anticipate that drivers making left turns may not see you and be prepared to make defensive maneuvers. Many crashes occur from other motorists not seeing the scooter and turning into its path. You need to be cautious when riding in bad weather conditions, on slippery surfaces and when encountering obstacles. Ejection from the scooter is the most common injury path. There are no airbags and seat belts to protect you, when you are ejected, be ready to hit the ground. So, it is very important to wear protective gear, such as a helmet and protective clothing at all times. For more information, please read about the anatomy of a motorcycle crash at the NHTSA website.

In many states, you are not required to obtain a motorcycle license in order to operate scooters up to 50cc. You can easily find out about the requirements of your state through your regional DMV’s website.

If you are not required to get a motorcycle license, the best way to learn is to attend MSF’s half day Introduction to Scooters (IS) class, the alternate way is to have someone teach you. If you don’t know anyone who can teach you, you can attend a training course offered by another provider.

This is a repost of the article “…where to start” posted on 02/22/2011 under our Technicalities section.

The post Scooters 101 – Where to Start… first appeared on scootcats.

Click here to read the first part of this article: Changing your scooter’s brake fluid – Part 1.

Now to the actual brake fluid change. All this work is done and pictures are taken on an Aprilia SR50 scooter. Your scooter might be different, the concept is always the same. Find the reservoir, find the bleeder valve, pump, suck out the old fluid and add in the new fluid. But how?

Here is how…

First of all you need to familiarize yourself with where your brake fluid reservoir is. If it is somewhere visible and accessible, that’s good! Less work. If it’s like in this Aprilia SR50, get ready to dismantle some fairings. The tools you will need for this depends on the screws. Usually philips screwdrivers, allen keys, wrenches need to be laying around.

I’m not going into details on how to remove all the fairings, here are some pictures showing the removal process.

Remove Fairing 1	Remove Fairing 2
Remove Fairing 3	Remove Fairing 4

After removing all the fairings you will see the brake reservoir. It’s the black squarish, thing. For this SR50 all we had to do was to shift and tilt the fairing. A complete removal was not needed.

Brake Reservoir at last

More Brake Reservoir

While you’re looking at your brake reservoir, before opening the screws, go ahead and locate the brake fluid bleeder valve. It’s a round screw in the shape of a valve, usually protected by a soft plastic cover. We didn’t have a chance to take a picture of it, but it’s easy to spot. Go to your front or rear brake, and look for it on the brake piston. Here is a picture of our bleeder kit tied to this scooter’s bleeder valve.

Bleeder Valve

Once you secured your bleeder kit to your bleeding valve, go ahead and remove the brake reservoir cap. It’s as easy as removing the screws holding the brake reservoir cap. Usually under the cap, there are one or two plastic parts (check the pictures below). Especially be careful with the one that is closer to the fluid, try to keep it clean all the time.

Brake reservoir	Brake reservoir
Brake reservoir

Now that you opened the brake reservoir, if the brake fluid is sitting there for quite a while (like more than 1-2 years), you’ll see that its color is now pretty dark. This will actually help you

Very slowly start squeezing the brake lever, do not look directly into the reservoir, because squeezing the lever might shoot brake fluid drops in your eyes ( happened to me! ). You will see the brake fluid slowly filling up your bleeding kit container. This is where a friend helping you will be very handy. You should never see the reservoir empty! This is very important (See pictures below for an empty reservoir). The instant the reservoir gets empty you’ll start inserting air bubble into the brake line. Having air in your brake line is the least thing you want.

While squeezing and releasing your brake lever, slowly start adding new brake fluid to the reservoir. Squeezing while topping will push the old brake fluid out through the bleeding valve and fill the brake line and the reservoir with the new fluid. Remember not to overfill your reservoir.

Topping Brake Fluid

Empty Brake Reservoir (Don't do this!)

After a while (depending how fast/good you squeeze, the length of your brake line and the size of your brake reservoir), you will start seeing clear brake fluid coming off your valve (in your bleeder tube). This means you’re done!

Tighten your bleed valve, fill up your brake reservoir, close and seal it. Now test your brake lever. It should not feel squeeshy, spongy, soggy. It should feel firm. If it’s not, that means you have air in your brake system.

What to do if my brake is not firm?

You should go back to the first step of opening your brake reservoir and valve and start pumping your lever while adding brake fluid. At some point you’ll start seeing bubbles in your bleeder kit’s tube. Do this until you see them no more. Put everything back together and test your brake again. It should feel firm now.

Well, I guess at this point, hopefully, you have a brake system full of new brake fluid. Go ahead and enjoy the ultimate brake power of your shiny scooter. Remember to brake for stray cats!

The post Changing your scooter’s brake fluid-Part 2 first appeared on scootcats.

Lately, we have been writing a lot about upcoming electric scooters, there is one more model we have not covered yet. This one is a bit different though, beyond its unique style, this zero emission electric scoot is a transformer. Uno III from BPG Motors is able to transform while riding for better handling of higher speeds and on idle mode for compact storage and parking. It can get small enough to fit into an elevator and inside an apartment.

The Uno has three wheels and operates in two modes. In dicycle mode, it balances on a single pair of parallel wheels, providing the rider with a compact and highly maneuverable ride. At high speeds, the Uno transforms into a scooter; a middle wheel deploys forward and the outer wheels shift backwards completing the transformation. The transformation into motorcycle mode is easily completed with a push of a button. The current prototype has a top speed of 30 MPH in motorcycle mode and a top speed of 15 MPH in dicycle mode. Charging takes 3 to 4 hours, which enables traveling up to 30-35 miles.

u3 motorcycle mode

u3 dicycle mode

Many of us are not familiar with riding in dicycle mode, but according to BPG Motors, this is easier than riding in motorcycle mode.

The U3, which will be licensed as a scooter class vehicle, is expected to be available early 2012. The price range is expected to be between 5000 USD and 7000 USD. You can reserve yours online at the BPG  website.

The post Stylish, unique and transformable: U3 first appeared on scootcats.