I Guess The Biggest News is That We're STILL Here
 JustGottaScoot.com
was launched in October of 2005 to share the fun of scootering and to offer
cool scooter-related stuff (like apparel, coffee mugs, gifts and such).
Check the ABOUT US page to glimpse inside the
twisted mind of Dave, the founder of this site (WARNING, common side effects
include dementia, confusion and irrational silliness).
The Most Common
Question We Get!
Some information about deciding on which scooter is
right for you as well as some opinions on specific models.
 
Not
enough pointless, rambling talk about scooters in your life? Click on the
left image to jump to the JustGottaScoot Podcast page, or the right image
to go to the podcast archive.
 We
often hear people talk about fuel savings making their scooter "free"
to own. Can it be true? Click on the graphic to open or download a
Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Fill in the light blue boxes and the
spreadsheet does the rest!
Scooter News
First Accessory Review - SHAD Topcase
One of the most frequently added scooter accessories is additional
storage space. The SHAD topcase, made in Europe, is wonderfully practical
and of excellent quality. Click on the image above to read the review.
Review of the Kymco People 150
Something a little different - we review a 2006 scooter with over
5000km on it. It's pretty much the same specifications as the 2008 model,
but how well do these scooters hold up? Click on the image above to read
the review.
SHAD is back in the USA!
SHAD topcases are one of my favourite scooter accessories. They were
getting a little scarce here in the USA market, but now Binetto
Powersports Accessories has them. Click on the image above to visit the
Binetto website. Check with your local dealer - if they don't carry SHAD,
ask them to.
Review of the Vectrix ALL-Electric Scooter
Wow! An ALL-ELECTRIC scooter that will do 65 Miles-Per-Hour and costs
less than a penny a mile to operate. The new Vectrix is really something,
click on the graphic above to read the review
Review of the Genuine Buddy 150
Genuine Scooter Company has another "hit" on their hands with the new
Buddy International series in 150 cc. We spent some time with a St. Tropez
Buddy and compared it to a first generation Buddy 125. Click on the
graphic above to read the review.
Review of the SYM Mio - My New Favourite 4-Stroke
50cc Scooter
I have a new favourite 50cc 4-stroke scooter - the SYM Mio! It's quick
(four a 4-stroke 50) a bunch of fun to ride and just do darn cute.
Click on the image above to read the full review.
First Review of 2008
The snow has finally melted (for the season.... this time) and
that means it's scooter review time here at JustGottaScoot. We begin the
season with the SYM RV-250. Click on the image above to read the review.
Malaguti Manuals Available Online
 Joel
Martin of MRP has (very kindly) made several
Malaguti manuals available through
the MRP website. Visit our MRP page to have a look.
Check Out Our New "Brand" Pages
Oh yes, if I had my way this entire website interface would be one
giant database driven page. You'd just enter in what you were looking for
and the appropriate material would pop up. Man.... I am SUCH
a dorky engineer. Click on the images above to jump to our
Genuine Scooter Company or
SYM pages. I will be adding others in the future
to organize the presentation our content based on brand.
2008 Dealer Expo in
Indianapolis
"The largest business-to-business trade event for the powersports
industry in the world" (according to their
website) was held February 15th - 18th, 2008, in Indianapolis. I
had hoped to attend, but conflicts with my "day job" prevented it. Bob
Hedstrom, the owner of Scooterville, did go, and he was kind enough to
share his thoughts on the show, as well as some pictures. Click on the
image to the upper left to see the slideshow. It's a fairly large Adobe™
file (over 2MB) so it may take a minute to load. Click on the image
to the upper right to listen to the podcast report from the Dealer Expo.
More Responses on Yamaha Morphous Windscreens
Just Gotta Scoot's Podcasts in the News
 Acknowledged
as one of the best regional motorcycle publications in the nation,
Minnesota Motorcycle
Monthly has mentioned the JustGottaScoot podcasts several times in
Stephen Heller's Random Scootering section.
 Urban
Moto is a West Coast publication and America's number one Guerrilla
Moto magazine. In the December 2007 issue, Karryll Nason's Scooter-Phile
included the following mention of the JustGottaScoot podcasts:
 Even
the national press is noticing the podcasts. The December 2007/January
2008 issue of
ScooterWorld has a feature article about the podcasts and even a photo
(one the cover no less) taken from a live podcast at Scooterville
in Minneapolis Minnesota. I am completely shocked (and thrilled)
that there is this much interest in the show.
 Twin
Cities area scooter group featured on Summit Brewery's "The Social
Element"
In early November of 2007, the Heck's Angeles scooter group held a ride
that was video-taped but Summit Brewery for their "The Social Element"
website. The ride was a blast, with about 20 riders expected, it was a
thrill to have over 30 show up. The All Mod Cons scooter club graciously
offered to block for the ride. As Summit Brewery is a St. Paul company, I
was asked to lead the ride through St. Paul.
Click on the image or go to
www.thesocialelement.com and play video clip
number 43.
 How
a Variator Works
So how does that CVT automatic transmission in a scooter work? This is
a very good explanation of the mechanics of the variator - well worth a
read. OK, the animated *.GIF file is pretty cool as well.
Understanding the principles behind the CVT will help when considering
changes to this part of your scooter. As a general rule, the roller
weights selected by the manufacturer will provide the best balance of
acceleration and top speed for the scooter. Changing the size of the
roller weights can result in performance improvements, but usually this
will happen at the sacrifice of either acceleration or top end (more
off-the-line acceleration means less top speed).
Moped Parking in Downtown Saint Paul
Minnesota
Marc, a local scooterist, invested a fair amount of time and research
in finding LEGAL bike rack parking in St. Paul Minnesota. He contacted the
police and verified that it is LEGAL to park your scooter WITH MOPED
PLATES in bike racks. He even got a map of bike racks in St. Paul.
CLICK HERE or on
the image above to open the Adobe Acrobat™
file with the map. A big "Thank You" to Marc for the leg-work.
Response from a SYM Dealer
Stephan from ScooterStation in Portland Oregon responded to our review
of the SYM HD200 with some good points. Click on the image above to check
it out.
Kymco MyRoad 700i
Just announced.... but not in the USA... the new Kymco MyRoad700i.
Thanks to Enrique for forwarding my the picture. Mmmmmmmm, big
Maxi-Scooter.... fuel injected? Brought to the USA market? Price? We will
keep you posted as we get updated information.
Our First SYM Review
Ryan Scott from Blue Cat Motors was kind enough to facilitate our first
review of a SYM scooter, the outstanding HD-200. You can be sure this
won't be our only SYM review.
Longer Mirror Stems for the Genuine Buddy
SYM Scooter Available in the Twin Cities
Like Kymco and PGO,
SYM is
a Taiwanese company that has an excellent reputation for quality. They
have been around since 1961 and currently have over 2,400 employees.
Blue Cat
Motors is a SYM dealer (they also sell
Daelim scooters).
Blue Cat is located at 550 Vandalia St., Saint Paul, MN 55114 and there
phone number is 651-645-1172
Reviews of the Piaggio MP3 & Yamaha C3
Here are a couple of reviews that we have been "promising" for a while
now. They are finally done. My only excuse is that it has been pretty nice
outside these last several weeks and I just can't resist the temptation to
be out scootin' as opposed to writing about it. Click on the buttons
above to jump to the reviews.
Yamaha Brings Back the Zuma for 2008
Certainly one of the most popular scooters, the Yamaha Zuma is coming
back! I guy that Yamaha didn't want Kymco, TGB, PGO, etc. to get all of
the EPA-legal 2-Stroke scooter sales....
CLICK HERE or on the image above to visit the Yamaha Zuma 2008 page.
Review of the Kymco People 250 'S' & Side-By-Side
Test Against the Standard People AND the Vespa GTS
Something new for us - a scooter review combined with a 3-way
"shoot-out" of comparable scooters. CLICK HERE
or on the image above to read the review.
Review of the Kymco Xciting 500
Last year, we did a review of the Kymco Xciting 250... now we get a
chance to ride the 500!
CLICK HERE or on
the image above to read the review.
Review of the Kymco Agility 125
My first scooter review of the 2007 riding season!
CLICK HERE or on the
image above to read the review of the Kymco Agility 125.
The Story of Scooterville
Bob Hedstrom, the founder of Scooterville, shares his story. Click on
one of the images above to jump to the Just Gotta Scoot podcast episodes featuring
Bob and his tale of scooter retailing.
Daelim Scooters
Daelim scooters have been made in Korea since 1962. In 1982 they merged
with Kia. Click on the top link to visit there website. Right below that
is a link to a review of the Daelim 250 by Victor Bruhn who put together
his thought on the Daelim to provide some first-hand feedback on a scooter
that doesn't have the "coverage" of the better-known brands. I hate to
admit it, but apparently stuff written by people other than me is worth
reading (heeheeheeheeheehee).
New from Genuine - The Buddy Italia
I like it! Click on the image above to have a look at the
Genuine Scooter
Company ad for the new Buddy Italia.
Vespa 60th Anniversay Limited Scooter Collection
Celebrated 1946 - 2006, Vespa has put out a limited scooter collection
including a fender-light scooter of which only 999 will be made for
world-wide distribution (250 to the USA). Click on the image above
to see a whole bunch of pictures of the Vespa GT60 scooter.
After 3000 Miles... What's the Scoop on the Kymco People 250?
Another Cool Scooter Site
Check out ScooterDive.com, it's a great site. Be sure and play the
video on the home page.
Genuine Scooter Company's New BLUR
Genuine Scooter Company of Chicago has introduced The Blur, a
150cc sport scooter.... and we've put some miles on one!
Click here or on the image above to read the
review.
Piaggio Launches Three-Wheeled Scooter
When I first heard about this, I guess I just assumed that there would
be two wheels in the rear end....
Click Here or on the image above for more
info.
Yamaha Morphous Review
I've been wanting to check out this scooter since I first saw one at
the Motorcycle Show this past winter.
Click Here or on the image above to read
the review.
New Scoot From Yamaha
Boxy main body, headlight low to the front fender, looks pretty cool to
me. Click here or click on the image
above to find out more about the new C3 from Yamaha.
More Models From Genuine? - Yup!
It's a "rumour" no more! Click on the image above or CLICK
HERE to find out about the Buddy from Genuine.
Full Review of the Genuine Buddy
After several days with one of the new Buddy 125s from Genuine Scooter
Company, we have a full review of this scooter. Click on the image above
or CLICK HERE to read the
review.
The NEW Kymco Xciting is Here!
Annnnnnd by "here" I mean Scooterville in Minneapolis Minnesota. All I can
say at this point is "wow" this scoot certainly appears to live up to the buzz
that has been circulating about it. Click on the image above or
HERE to jump to the Xciting page.
Look! Over There! It's a TNG Milano, no it's a Schwinn, no it's???
From the 2StrokeBuzz. Having trouble playing "nice" in the sandbox are we? It
appears that Pacific Cycle (that's the "Schwinn" company) approached CMSI
(that's the TNG company) about the potential for cooperation between the
two. Hmmm, that's looks like more than just cooperation to me. The rumor
suggests that Pacific Cycle promised to sign a non-disclosure agreement, but
never did, and after meeting with CMSI, took their specs and manufacturing
connections in China and started making a "copy" of the Milano. That's the runor
anyway. Click on the image above or the following link to see the story in
2StrokeBuzz.
http://2strokebuzz.com/index.php/?p=2772#more-2772
I'm not sure.... but I think I have to have one.
Black Cat Fireworks and Genuine Scooter Company (Home of The Stella -
probably the finest classic-style scooter available today) announced on
February 16th, 2006, that they have formed an alliance to bring us the Black Cat
Scooter. Take a look here.
We Don't Usually Do This...
I am not in the habit of giving out endorsements and certainly not
"unrestricted" ones. That being said, I can, without any hesitation,
recommend doing business with Bob Hedstrom of Scooterville, here in Minnesota. I
work with a LOT of businesses (see me at my "day" job: www.HarringtonBusinessGroup.com
) and not only does Scooterville have an excellent selection of products, Bob is
a joy to work with.
Scooterville, 650 25th Ave SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414, 612-331-7266
New Products
The Evil Scooter Kitty Goes Mod!
What Do You Get When You Combine Desperate Housewives With Scooters?
Yeah, I know, it's so lame that it actually hurts. I just couldn't help
myself.
The Yamaha Majesty Inspired Designs are Done!
Scooter Club/Group Designs
The Yamaha C3 Inspired Designs are Completed!
 We
are bringing back the dark-coloured apparel in JustGottaScoot designs.
Some of you may remember that we tried this quite a while ago and the
quality just wasn't there. Recently, a new process was put in place
that promised much better quality. We tested some designs and ordered
shirts (my nephew got a great dark blue one.... free I might add,
sometimes it pays to have a weird Uncle) and they look very nice.
We have modified our designs to work on dark colours and have updated
the
JustGottaScoot shop.
"My Other Car is a Scooter" Bumper-Stickers Now Available
NEW in the JustGottaScoot online
store, bumper-stickers for your cage featuring many different scooter
designs and colours. Click on the image
above to visit the store and see all the bumper-stickers.
I suppose it was the release of the Vespa GT60
that got me up off my lazy backside and working on some new Vespa-inspired
designs. I started with a Just Gotta Scoot design inspired by the Vespa LX50,
LX150, ET2 & ET4 scooters and will work on some GT & GT60 stuff very soon.
The Genuine Buddy is a wonderful scooter. My
wife liked it so much that she sold her (darn near) new Vino and
bought a Buddy. We have added two new Buddy-influenced designs: Just Gotta
Scoot and Evil Scooter Kitty.
At long last! I was going to say something "smart" like I was waiting
for the 500 to actually be in dealers before I finished this design....
but the truth is that I'm just lazy. Whether you have an Xciting 250 or an
Xciting 500, or just WANT one, we have "stuff" for you.
I just couldn't leave my Stella alone and had to add checkerboard decals on
the cowls and front end. This is taxi-cab decal material that is normally only
available in whopping big rolls. I used what I needed and am now selling the
material by-the-foot. Check our STUFF page
or click on the image above to jump directly to the "Checkboard" page.
OK, I suppose I can "see" dogs and monkeys on scooters, maybe
even evil kitties, but frogs? Check our STUFF
page or click on the image above to jump directly to the Scooter-Frog section of
our eShop.
Ooooooo, the Evil Scooter Kitty won't be happy about this. A happy-go-lucky
puppy frolicking on scooters, NOT the sort of thing that the ESK approves of. As
if we care! That's right, show the ESK what you think of his aloof attitude and
naughty behavior - buy a whole bunch of Scooter-Puppy stuff today! Check our
STUFF page or click on the image above to jump
directly to the Scooter-Puppy section of our eShop.
We just added a whole bunch of new stuff for fans of the Honda Metropolitan,
TNG Venice, Honda Elite, and the Yamaha Zuma. Yes, we are working on stuff for
all of fans of the Honda Silverwing, Yamaha Majesty, the new Yamaha Morphus, the
as-yet-to-be-seen-in-dealers Kymco Xciting, and the fine offerings from TGB.
If there are other scooter designs you want to see represented in our
STUFF section,
let us know.
Curious, clever and mischievous - the Monkey-Boy is "hanging around" on
some fun new products. Check our STUFF page,
or click on the image to jump directly to the Monkey-Boy section of our
store.
Just Gotta Scoot classic designs now available in
PINK. Check our STUFF page, or
click on the images to jump directly to the Classic Pink, or Evil Scooter Kitty
Pink section of our store.
Evil Scooter Kitty products are now available. Check our
STUFF page, or click on the image to jump
directly to the Evil Scooter Kitty Store.
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