Welcome back and first question of the class

Welcome back class. I hope everyone had a great Holiday, I know I did. I rolled on a few people did some burnout's, you know nothing out of the ordinary. I decided I would start off each week with a question. I am going to encourage everyone's participation. The poll is located on the right side of the blog. Please participate! Also, if you have comments you would like to add please do so below in the comments area. So, now for the question.

I have been asked this question a lot lately and feel it should be addressed before we move forward with class.


Is two dudes on a scoot cool or gay?

My answer to this question is...It's totally AWESOME! It doesn't matter how you Scoot, it's that you're Scooting. Scooting with a dude on the back or a babe it doesn't matter, you're Scooting! Scooting is a way of life and part of that is getting more people to Scoot. Most people start their scooting experience with hopping on the back of someone else's Scoot. I want people to remember scooting is the way of the future the more people we have scooting the better. Make sure you take in account the need to provide your buddy with proper safety equipment, a helmet and of course a spare rag. I have found it important to always have a spare rag in your storage compartment, that however will be discussed in more detail in Rag 500. Please stay tuned for Scooter 201 which should start tomorrow and make sure you take the poll on this topic.

Scooter 103

So, you have made the decision to get your hands on the most intelligent form of transportation on the road. This decision is HUGE!! Picking the right scoot can make or break how steezy or sleezy you really will be. In this class I will break down the major categories of scoots and all the major points you will need to invest in your future. There are certain aspects of each category that make the scooting experience unique. I hope that you find the information to be both educational and informative. I would also like to preface this information by informing you that I do have a bias opinion in the selection process due to aspirations of being endorsed by Yamaha Motors. However, I will do my best to control this and provide you with the unbiased information you need to find the scoot that will best suit your needs.

Scooters range from 2 wheel and 3 wheel vehicles.

The breakdown will be as follows:

Scooters (50-200cc engines)
Maxi Scooters (250cc-upwards)

Maxi Scooters
I will not spend any time on Maxi Scooters. I personally feel that they do not represent the scooter lifestyle and if this styling of scooter interests you, you might as well just go buy a motorcycle. They tend to look like spaceships, or are basically the same size or even bigger than most motorcycles. Posture on Maxi scooters does not follow standard protocol for proper scooting techniques. So, let’s move on from these waste of time, sorry excuse for a scooter contraption.

Scooters
Scooters come in tons of different shapes, sizes, and engine displacements. I will concentrate mostly on the major brands and in the 100cc plus range of engines. The reason why is smaller scooters, such as those in the 50cc range, which are really fun and totally acceptable, don’t really accommodate the daily scooterist in a commuting/ruling atmosphere.

Brands
Vespa (piaggio)
Lambretta
Bajaj
Yamaha
Honda
Kymco
Genuine (buddy)

These are the most widely accepted brands of scooters. There are many other brands out there, mainly Chinese clones, and I really wouldn’t recommend them due to quality issues. However, I have no experience with them so I couldn’t bring forth an educated reason for why they suck. In the end a scooter is a scooter and as long as you are rolling on 2 that’s all the matters.

Vintage vs. Modern
There is something to be said about vintage scooters. They are timeless machines that only get better looking with age. However, they might not be the most efficient and environmentally friendly vehicles on the road. Personally I don’t have a vintage scoot, mainly due to the cost of keeping them running as well as the negative environmental impact they have. I have chosen to go with the Yamaha Vino 125, which in my opinion, has stayed more with the classic styling of the scoot rather than most other brands out there. Modern scoots range from about 2,000-6,000 dollars. Insurance costs are significantly cheaper than that of automobiles and usually get anywhere from 70-100 mpg’s. Remember, you need to get a scoot that you are going to feel comfortable on.

Please submit comments, questions, or concerns in the comment section below and I will address them as we go along. Also, if there are any particular courses you would like me to expand on, or new class topics you would like to see, please let me know.

Cheers,

SL

Scooter 101

Welcome to the first day of class everyone. This is the beginning of the future for most of you. This is probably going to be the shortest of the classes in the curriculum. Before the Serpents there really isn't much to speak about regarding scooting. However, I promised to bring forth the best knowledge possible so I guess I will. The following is a collection of information that I found from several different websites. So here it is. I really want to get the nuts and bolts of the course out of the way so we can focus more on the 3 S's...Steez, Stuntz, and Speedz. Feel free to comment.

Scooters trace their ancestry back to France with the Auto-Fauteuil mark in 1902. The Vespa, originally manufactured by Piaggio in post-WWII Italy, quickly popularized motor scooters. Despite Vespa's dominance of the scooter market, they were not without competition. Lambretta offered models that rivaled those in the Vespa product line. In the 1980s new versions of scooters began to be released and become popular, especially in Japan and Far-East Asia. The classic styling of the Vespa remains the most popular and most imitated scooter design. Almost all manufacturers now carry both a classic/retro model and a spacy/modern model.

Course syllabus

I have been giving it some thought, with this whole enlightenment process. I have decided that course break down will be as followed.

General Education classes:

Scooter 101 (a brief overview of scootering)
Scooter 103 (picking the right vehicle for you)
Scooter 201 (learning how to roll on 2)
Scooter 232 (understanding scoot culture)

Core Classes:

Modding 321 (the importance of modding)
Modding 323 (how to mod your scoot)
Modding 325 (what mods are right for you and your scoot)
Maintenance 427 (how to care for your scoot)
Awesome 461 (totally awesome but unnecessary stuff to do with your scoot)


Mastering techniques

Rag 500 (the importance and power of your rag)
Rag 501 (how to protect your face with your rag)
Rag 502 (turning your rag into a dangler)
Steez 600 (what is steez, understanding steez and it's power)
Steez 620 (tying all your knowledge of steez together to create your own steez)
Rolling 647 (rolling on someone;how it feels like to be rolled on)
Rolling 659 (how to successfully roll on someone)
Tunes 665 (tunes and scooting is it right for you?)
Tunes 666 (selecting the right tunes for your scoot)
Stuntz 701 (definitions of stuntz and history of stuntz)
Stuntz 705 (how to do totally awesome stuntz and not die)
Stuntz 711 (how to create your own signature stunt)

Capstone course (overall review)

Congratulation's at this point in time you may be ready to become a Soldier The Soldiers of the Slab Scooter Gang.

The next step you take is to present yourself and the skills you have learned to the high counsel of The Serpents Scoot Gang.

See you in class

KEEP IT STREET AND ROLL ON 2!

Scoot Lord
Commander of the Soldiers of the Slab Scooter Gang