Wednesday December 2, 2009
Two years ago, I
resolved to test ride a KYMCO scooter at a Cycle World Motorcycle Show, and later got slapped with a
hailstorm of comments regarding what some perceived to be a pre-judgmental tone in reference to the Taiwanese-built bikes.
Fast forward to late 2009, and my butt still hadn't made it onto a KYMCO machine... but lo and behold, while perusing a scooter rental shack in Capri, Italy, I found myself faced with a fleet of KYMCO People S scooters.
How did a pre-abused scooter specimen fare in my critical hands? Read my impressions in this KYMCO People S Scooter Review, and see pics in this Photo Gallery.
Related:
Screen grab © A. Wyckoff; Click for review
Tuesday December 1, 2009
Are you sick of seeing photo galleries of pristinely detailed, spit-polished bikes? Have you been anesthetized by slick looking studio shots that are photoshopped to death? Have we got a treat for you!
Check out these shots of a banged up, highlighter yellow KYMCO People S two-stroke rental scooter, complete with an oil-stained engine and filthy wheels... hey, would you expect anything more for 40 Euros a half-day?
Related:
Screen grab © A. Wyckoff; Click for Gallery
Monday November 30, 2009
When I find myself in an unknown city but don't have the opportunity to ride, I do the next best thing: I live vicariously by snapping as many photos of scooters and motorcycles as possible.
Case in point: last summer, when my wife and I took the bullet train from Yokohama to Kyoto, eventually landing in Tokyo... piercing the rhythm of tidy taxis and microcars were otherworldly motorcycles and cartoonish scooters, a few of which I managed to capture on camera. For a few of my favorites, take a look at my photo gallery, Bike Gawking in Japan.
Related:
Photos © Basem Wasef
Click for Gallery, Bike Gawking in Japan
Friday November 27, 2009
It's a sure sign of the times when speed guru Keith Code announces a switch from Kawasakis to BMWs at his California Superbike School.
"We are proud to offer our students training on this spectacular motorcycle," his website proclaims (highlighting the last two words in red), and he's not the only one to praise the Beemer; hyperbolic raves have been flowing from bike journos since the German bike's recent introduction at the Portimao circuit in Portugal. Roadracing World says Keith has "no hard feelings" towards Kawasaki, which reportedly discontinued their sponsorship as a cost cutting measure.
As previously reported, the BMW S1000RR's $13,800 price triggered the opposite type of sticker shock we've come to expect from Bavarian Motor Works; despite a best-in-class horsepower figure of 193 and available goodies like traction control and ABS, the S1000RR is priced right in line with literbike flagships from Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha.
Sportbike sales may be in the toilet, but BMW is making it an exceptionally interesting time to duke it out in the literbike market.
Source: Roadracing World
Related:
Photo © BMW
Click for photo gallery
