Honda Adventure Scooter Concept Coming to Production

By Scott Araujo

So a little while back Jalopnik reported that Honda had a concept adventure scooter.  More recently they reported that the bike is going into production for 2017.  Awesome!  Wait, what exactly is an adventure scooter?

In The Flesh: Vespa 946 Scooter

 

By Scott Araujo

I was lucky enough to get some super secret spy photos at the un-crating and setup of the new Vespa 946 down at Portland Vespa. They got a call early in the day that the shipment would arrive late. The 946 gets shipped in a larger than usual crate so it didn't fit on the morning truck.  It seems Vespa is eager to protect their expensive limited edition scooter. The bike retails for $9,946 and there will be only 250 units shipped to the United States. No doubt the price and rarity will make this an instant collectible.



The 946 is stylistically inspired by the 1946 MP6 prototype, their first step through model. The MSRP reflects the last three digits of the year. The styling evokes the spirit of the MP6, but the details make it look thoroughly modern. They are elegant and refined, skewing from the more simple and utilitarian design of the original, a scooter designed as cheap transportation for post war Italy.

A few vintage small cars from the 2012 SEMA Show

At this year's SEMA Show, there were a number of compact and subcompact vintage makes including this stunning 1970 Datsun Bluebird 1800 SSS. Wearing Enkei Apache wheels and possessing and in-the-weeds stance, this SR20DET-owered coupe was a vintage showstopper.

Another vintage Datsun 510, but with a different approach. And by "different," I mean Chevy V8-powered. This is Peter Brock's car—the king of Datsun race cars—and that's an all-aluminum small-block Chevrolet V8. The car is called Datzilla, and I can see why.

We love us some TE27 Corollas here, and this 2TG-powered '73 located in the Enkei booth did nothing but reinforce that. This gorgeous orange Rolla had 15x8, +0 Enkei wheels, the JDM fender mirrors, flares, and the #6 meatball on the door was a great touch. So cool.

If there's one ubiquitous customized small car, it has to be the VW Beetle. This slammed bug had wide wheels out back, a bit of the rat rod treatment, and that green paint—love that hue. It's hard to be a well-customized bug, even after all of these years.

Ah the vintage mini bike: Servicing race pits for years and years, as well as occupying garages across the world since the 1960s. Yes, they still make these things. This one was a cheap Chinese thing. However, it's still kinda cool in a "I don't have to walk through the pits" kind of way.

Possibly the strangest commerical of the 1980s: Grace Jones for Honda Scooters

The 1980s had some very memorable advertising campaigns: Toyota's "Oh what a feeling!" Pepsi's "Choice of a New Generation," and of course, model, actress, singer Grace Jones shilling Honda scooters. Who could forget, right? I mean, that hair! That flip-up headlight! The shear oddity of the whole damn thing!

Why did I think of this? Well, a co-worker and I were just talking about '80s sci-fi and fantasy movies, when Conan The Destroyer came up (everyone's second favorite Conan movie). If you're a geek like me, you remember this movie. Then you remember that it cast Grace Jones as Zula (I did have to IMDB that one). Well, this made me think of the time when Honda decided to use Jones as a spokeswoman. Why I remember this, I have no idea, but I do.

To this day, it seems like an odd pairing. In fact, it's kind of creepy. Bonus points for one of the top five flat-top hairdos, though.

Quick Ride: Genuine Scooter Stella

By Scott Araujo

I'm Scott, a friend of Andy's who he has invited to contribute to the site. If you remember the 200,000 mile Honda Civic that was posted recently, that was mine. I'll be writing about small motorcycles. These have a lot in common with small cars: economical, tons of fun, and we never seem to get the really cool ones they have in Asia and Europe.



The Genuine Scooter Company Stella is made by LML in India and imported to the States by the Genuine Scooted Company, they are sold under different names in other countries. At first look you might think it's just a restored Vespa. It certainly has the look: stamped all steel frame and body, headlight and speedo blended into the handlebars, spare 10" tire tucked under the side cover with the battery. Wait, is that a front disc brake? Starting the engine dissolves the illusion entirely with a notable lack of 2-stroke blue haze. While lots about this bike is traditional it now has a clean burning 147.5cc 4-stroke engine. They are made under license from Piaggio and many parts are a direct swap with the Vespa PX150.

What the hell? Covered three-wheeled scooter is "that guy" on the corner

You've probably seen "that guy" rocking out on the corner with the Little Cesar's Pizza sign shaped like a guitar. You know the guy: Long goatee, sunglasses, backwards-facing baseball cap listening to Slayer on his headphones and putting on a show. He was hired to attract attention. Well this scooter is that guy.

While out and about last Saturday, I found myself at Columbia Scooters in Portland. However, even before getting through the doors I was greeted by this three-wheeled attention getter. Although I'm not 100% sure who makes it, I believe it's a Chinese-made generic "3 Wheel Scooter 150cc with Canopy." Make no mistake, Columbia Scooters sells some really cool scooters from Kymco, Argo, Sachs, Vespa, and others. However, this thing, which was parked out on the street to grab attention, wasn't exactly the coolest kid in class. It did, however, make me grab my camera for a "What the hell"-tagged post on Subcompact Culture.

Of note: The canopy for when it rains; ABS on the front disc; and the aftermarket "cherries" sticker on the fairing. Obviously the guys at Columbia Scooters have a sense of humor. Hey—it got my attention.