The Longest Ride in Town

Back after a long hiatus to support Bikers Against ACC Levies

2009-10-23T11:57:00.003+13:00

Well, it's the spring season here in New Zealand it could be time to get back on the scooters. Neither of us has ridden much over the winter as we are fair-weather riders and Angelle has been occupied with the very important task of growing our baby girl who arrived on 14/10/09. Hopefully that explains the long hiatus.
We've been talking about getting back on the scoots lately and Angelle's ET has been getting a minute makeover which will be unveiled once everything is put back in place. One thing we must do before getting back on our scooters is get them "legal" again.
In NZ, you are required to have your vehicle registered and warranted as safe. Recently, it was announced that the cost of registration for motorcycles and scooters over 50cc was to be increased. The increased announced is overly dramatic and not appreciated by motorcyclists the country over. We were recently passed this link by Clunk S.C. on Facebook. If you are a motorcycle or scooter riding New Zealander and haven't yet become involved in any action against the planned ACC levy hike, please visit Bikers Against ACC Levies and see what you can do - many of the actions require very little effort.

Cold Week Ahead

2009-03-31T08:42:00.006+13:00

With Angelle facing a cold week down in Invercargill, we thought it time to share a few of our photos from our recent trip to Bali. It was wonderfully warm there and there were scooters for Africa! About 80% of the traffic in Bali is made up by scooters - a lot of modern scoots but we managed to find some vintage scoots riding around and restoration workshops.

Waiting for Salvation

Scenes From the WorkshopVespa Garage with Ape's Out FrontShowroomShowroomCustomization ServiceTypical Street Parking

We have plenty more photos of interesting scooters from Bali to come. For now, however, it's back to packing and other errands.

Bring Out Your Dead

2009-03-28T17:39:00.004+13:00

Last Sunday we indeed attended the Bring Out Your Dead scooter show we last posted about. It was a bit of luck that we were indeed able seeing how we'd just returned from holiday the afternoon prior and had a 2 year old in tow.
Also in tow was Simon's dad's Maicoletta. Simon has spent some time on it and it is now running relatively reliably and the electric start is (almost) working. It does need some more work to be reliable enough to ride around on for any length of time and to be road worthy, but that is coming.
At the show, we were treated with the sight of two other running Maico's and a Maico Mobil body. We got to meet the owner of the other roadworthy Maico and another chap who at some point in the past owned the pile of parts which is our second Maico. The owner of the Mobil body is the fella we bought the parts off, and Chris (who we've written about before) is the owner of the roadworthy blue Maicoletta.
The show was excellent with heaps of bikes we'd not seen around before. A lot of cool Lammy's, customized Vespa's, and some rarer bikes as well.

Just outside the show
Simon riding into the show
Ape to greet you at the gate.

Scoots and peeps

Maico Corner
Maico owners

NZetta between a Tigress and the Mobil body
Customized
"Orginal"

Seen better days
Rare bird
Reshaped
Bubble CarAnd we're off...

Even if you're not a member of Facebook (evil as it is), you can see more photos of this event by clicking this link.

Pre 1979 Classic Scooter Show

2009-03-01T16:05:00.004+13:00

This looks like one for us! Sure, we own 2 modern twist and go Vespas, but there are 3 Pre '79 scoots lurking in the garage and just waiting for a chance to be admired. Perhaps we'll bring out the Maicoletta projects and the '61 Vespa 1:1 working scale model we've got...

Ride Photos

2009-02-27T17:35:00.001+13:00

We've been busy and rides have been few and far between, but here are a couple from a ride to Kumeu River Winery shortly after Judas arrived.

Riding 2 Up

2009-02-01T15:37:00.001+13:00

So, Simon's brother Tim found himself a Vespa. None other than JC, Simon's ET8. While trawling Trademe one afternoon, we came upon a bargain we couldn't resist and organized the sale so we could act.
Yesterday was spent zooming around, 2Up on our latest aquisition. Meet "Judas, the Betrayer":

So, Judas, as we are calling it for the moment, is a Vespa GTS 250 with a custom bright orange paint job. Sweet...

Welcome to 2009

2009-01-10T16:51:00.003+13:00

After a nice beginning to the New Year and getting back to work for the past week, we are finally back. Today we went for a scoot up toward South Head to MacNut Farms for breakfast. There is a small cafe there and the food is decent. The service is only so-so as the people working there aren't really friendly and somehow make you feel as if you're inconveniencing them by patronizing their restaurant. The real reason to go here is for the view. We sat out on the deck which overlooks a large pond to the left, another smaller Lily pond to the right and a manicured garden leading off to a walk through the macadamia orchard. Sorry, no photos...D'OH!

In other news, Simon's brother Tim is looking for a scooter after being inspired by ours. He's very interested in getting a Vespa and came out for a jaunt on ours. At the moment, the market for them here in NZ is pretty competative and the prices have risen since we snapped up ours. Hopefully one of these days, we'll be able to post about a ride that we've taken with him and share his buying experience with you all.

Holiday Interlude

2008-12-30T13:39:00.006+13:00

It's that time of year. That little week between Christmas and the new year where you tidy things up, eat leftovers, relish your favorite gifts, and go out to the sales to snag those things Santa forgot.

And sometimes, it's the week when wayward postal items find their way to you. Like today when we received a gift sent from a friend in Australia. A travel journal with this cover:
Now for that trip to Europe so we can properly use it!

PS - not sure where you can find this journal at the moment as on the online shops seem to be out of stock.

Santa Rides a Vespa

2008-12-23T12:07:00.003+13:00

Merry Christmas from Simon and Angelle!

From the archives

2008-12-14T15:48:00.004+13:00

Recently, we told you Simon had a visit from an aquaintance called Chris who has a Maico. Chris was kind enough to send us some old photos so we thought we'd share!

This Maico raced on Murawai beach in a 1/4 mile sprint. It took the 250cc trophy against motorbikes! Probably mid-60s when this photo was taken. The rider is wearing a very classy combination of socks with sandals and what looks to be a horse riding helmet or perhaps hardhat.

Chris' brother in law going down One Tree Hill in Auckland. The front end of that bike is in Chris' current Maico.

This guy used to race in Wellington in the early 60's. That thing strapped to his back is a petrol tank! YIKES!!

The Caged Bird Still Sings

2008-12-11T08:34:00.006+13:00

And why not when the cage looks like this:

So, Simon's mother has a late 90's model SLK that currently resides in our driveway. It's a nice alternative to the scooters when the weather's not quite right or you're picking something up that's just a bit too big for the underseat compartment!

Oh What A Tangled Web We Weave

2008-12-01T19:16:00.002+13:00

On the last Saturday of the month, we went for a nice ride. Down to Waimauku Food Station to eat pancakes, up the back way to Simon's parent's Orewa Beach house, then over to Albany Mega Centre via the Motorway for some shopping, then back towards home. Around...120kms. Whew! All in a day's ride :)

View Larger Map

Now there's something you don't see everyday...

2008-11-28T10:01:00.005+13:00

Last Saturday, Simon had the pleasure of having an aquaintace named Chris, from Rotorua, up and going for a quick ride. The real pleasure in this visit was seeing Chris' restored Maicoletta and knowing there's hope for the 2 we store in our garage after all!
Unfortunately, no photos of Chris' Maico with our Vespas, or of the ride, but here are several of our Maicos next to his. Hopefully next time he comes to visit, ours will be looking a little more respectable.

For those of you who are wondering what the heck a Maicoletta is, here is a quote from "The A-Z of Classic Scooters" which we blogged about here.

In 1955, the firm [Maico] brought out a real scooter, the Maicoletta, just as heavy and cumbersome, with a two-stroke, 175cc or 250cc engine with four speeds, a tubular frame, 14-inch wheels, telescopic front and swingarm rear suspension, a flat footwell, moving front mudguard and lift-up rear body. The very full equipment included an electric starter, double seat, break light, dashboard with a speedometer, clock, steering damper, and bag hook. Below the dash was a glove compartment with an anti-theft lock. [It was also] produced in a 277cc version more appropriate for use with a sidecar. ... The Maicoletta, according to it's publicity, 'feared no hill' and, better still, 'when it is fitted with a sidecar, the whole family can go on holiday'.

Magnetos Annual Ride - Sat 15/11

2008-11-18T20:15:00.008+13:00

On Saturday, 15 Nov, we set off from home at 1230 and returned around 9pm and 160 or so kms later. The reason? The Annual Magnetos Scooter Club ride! What a blast. We joined 60+ other scooters for a ride through central Auckland and then along the harbour to a BBQ. We went first to Ponsonby for lunch and a bit of a shop then met the club at Scooter eMotion on Ruru St at 4pm. The ride commenced about 430pm once everyone had gathered and had been given instruction. We arrived to the final destination at Kohimarama beach around 530pm. Here are some of our favorite photos from the day.

Simon's bike with the Magnetos Annual Ride Sticker

Leader Bike

The DMW - a classic British scoot from the '60s

The NSU Prima - German bike from the mid '50s with really cool white seats that are blocked by the helmet in this pic :(

The ride leader explaining the route

Scoots lined up under the Harbour Bridge at the other Shelley Beach

The rest of the line up at Shelley Beach

Upper Queen St.

The corner of Queen St and Mayoral Dr.

Right in downtown Auckland on Queen St near Whitcoul's bookstore

At Britomart Place

The Deemster at a light on Quay St

Scoots stopping midway through the ride at Mechanics Bay - about 65 scoots on the ride!

Tamaki Drive

Yes, he is riding without any hands taking photos!

The trickster again taking a photo of Angelle taking a photo of him; this time over his shoulder with no hand on the throttle

Mission Bay

BBQ post ride at Kohimarama

Parked on the grass verge at Kohimarama

"Vesparate Housewives"

Just the two of us before taking off to get sushi and make the long ride home

Our favorite bike of the day was this rat bike with the mud flaps reading "Manic Mutha"

Playing Catch Up

2008-11-15T09:01:00.008+13:00

Last Saturday we had a wonderful day. We went for a flight to Whangerei and had a pie and then came home and went out scooting. The weather was great and we had all the time in the world. It's not often there is no training on at the airfield on a Saturday morning or that we have absolutely no other commitments or plans and can spend an entire day pottering around enjoying the countryside.

Simon is a pilot of microlight aircraft and working on his instructor rating, so he needs to fly as much as possible. Although we had no specific goal in mind for our arrival at Whangerei and could have gotten a much better pie elsewhere, we went for it.

Simon re-fueling the plane in our "back yard"

Pie in Whangerei

Funny signs in the cafe at the Whangerei Airport.

Graffiti "SL <3 4 AL"

As you can see, we certainly weren't the first to leave our mark.

Ready for take-off towards home.

Pre-flight run-ups

Instrument panel

Scenery on take-off

So, after the flight, we got the scooters out of the garage and went for a burn. Again, no specific agenda which is usually the best way. We took the back road from Helensville down past Waimauku and on to the Riverhead area where we stopped at Hallertau Brewery for a pint. We were responsible and had only one and some chips alongside as well. In the past, Hallertau has been a dinner destination for us, so it was nice to sit out on their patio and see it in another light.

Out in front of Hallertau

After our brew, we went to Coatsville and stopped at this store.

We saw another scooter out with a larger motorbike and snapped a photo.

And we shared a thickshake.

The Longest Drink in Town cup our thickshake came in :)

Scooter Brands

2008-11-14T15:00:00.003+13:00

Well, I'm sure this is starting to look like a disused blog...no entry for almost 2 weeks. Or was there?

Angelle here. When I was away in Tauranga, I wrote a blog entry about the abundance of Chinese 50cc scooters I saw there. Looks like it didn't post for some reason. I'm not going to try to recreate my thoughts from then, but I will give you the general idea of what I had to say instead.

I was in Tauranga for a week of work. Long days, starting at 7am and finishing between 5-5:30 each evening. On my drives to and from the work site from the suburb of Mt Mauganui during those hours, I saw quite a few scooters. One day on my way home and in a time frame of about 20 minutes, I counted 14. The majority of these scooters were unknown to me - someone who calls themselves a scooter enthusiast. I was only able to recognize one Yamaha BWS, one Honda Today, and one Suzuki maxi scoot over the whole week. Not a single Vespa, Lambretta, Belladonna, etc. I don't consider myself elitist when it comes to scooters - I'm happy to see every one of them out and about, but I do wonder where are all these new Chinese scooters coming from and who is the market? In the area where I stayed (which seemed middle to upmarket), there were 2 scooters that I had a look at and still couldn't tell you the manufacturer. I discussed this with Simon one night and he surmised that these scooters were likely first vehicles for youth with their learner licenses and not enough money to run a car. That sounded reasonable so I kept an eye out. One morning, I saw someone getting on to one of the scooters parked next door - it was a portly, middle aged man who seemed to be dressed in business attire. I kept a look out at all the other scooters to see if I could see Learner plates or young riders. I saw neither. Well...one learner plate but the rider was a woman, not what I would call a youth. Perhaps the Tauranga riders are not youth, but practical minded 30-50 year olds with a bit of spend-thrift attitude.
Personally, I don't like the styling of many of the Chinese bikes and those I do like, I wonder about the quality. Back in Canada, I rode a Honda Jazz/Metropolitan/Scoopy for 3 years and a Yamaha Vino 125 for about 6 months and found both of them to be very stylish and reliable bikes...stylish and reliable, 2 words I often associate with the Japanese. Lately, I've obviously been on a Vespa and of course, I enjoy the styling and haven't had any mechanical issues as yet. Maybe I AM a bit elitist when it comes to scooter brands and never even realized it. I'm going to put up a new poll to find out what type of scooters all of you ride, and if anyone has any feedback or experience with Chinese scooters, I'd love to hear it - leave a comment!

Scenic Saturday

2008-11-02T15:12:00.004+13:00

Off we went again for brunch at the Waimauku Food Station. The thought of the blueberry pancakes with cream and Texan omlette breakfast was enough to get us out of bed early-ish this Saturday morning.

Blueberry pancakes with cream.

Texan omlette with vegetable mash and bacon rashers.

We decided this time to take the back road from behind Helensville through what is known as the Kumeu Valley. Such a lovely ride in comparison to the highway we took last time. Some of the scenery is so amazing, you have to make an effort to ignore it and focus on the road. In order that we didn't miss anything, we made several stops along the way. The Kumeu Valley is a known wine-producing region and we made a stop near some of the vines to take the following photos.

The road also boasts a sweeping view of the Kaipara Harbour and Helensville. Here are two photos of the scene with the two of us acting like fools...

Sorry, no map this time as google maps is very slow today!

Faux pod mod

2008-10-30T10:29:00.004+13:00

We love the look of the side pods on our classic Vespas and decided to create this look on our ET8s. Angelle had done a similar mod to this on her Yamaha Vino 125 in Canada a couple years ago using chrome autobody trim. We weren't able to find any of the same product she used back then, but decided pinstriping would work to create the desired effect.

The big decision was what colour and width of pin striping to choose? We wanted something that would suit both our scoots and wouldn't be overly ostentatious.
Angelle pondered over 3 different choices for the pinstriping as Simon spent time browsing the other auto accessories.

We decided fuzzy dice wouldn't really work on the scooters even if they are super cool.

In the end, we chose 6mm chrome finish pinstriping to create the faux pods on our scoots.

Before applying the pinstriping, it was inspected for flaws.

Simon was really keen to get going on modding JC out, so he washed and dried the scooter thoroughly.

The pinstriping needs to be carefully applied along the contour of the bike where you'd like the pod to stand out.

Extreme concentration is required at this stage to make sure the pinstriping is smooth and straight.

We found a heat gun and heat resistant spatula were very good in helping to smooth around the sharp curves at the front of the pod.

The look from the front of the pod.

And this is how we finished off the back.

Of course, this procedure was repeated on the other side of the bike and other bits and bobs were added for an overall classy effect.

Best intentions

2008-10-26T14:33:00.003+13:00

The weeks have been rushing quickly past. Our best intentions of getting out on the scooters and blogging about it thwarted by weather and work. It is spring in New Zealand and it has been rainy and windy here lately. The rain is great for the gardens, but not so much for fair-weather scooterists. While some people may think traveling for their job is a perk, Angelle tends to disagree as it takes her away from her favorite things. Simon's not having to travel at all for work (by this we mean living on the same property you work from) can also have it's disadvantages in that people expect him to be available any time they need him.
Yesterday we did manage a jaunt to Helensville between rain showers to return a library book. On the way back, zipped around some of the residential streets of Helensville and stopped by "Not An Ordinary Junk Shop" (it truly isn't an ordinary junk shop in that they don't seem to actually want to sell anything...). The guy at the shop came out and had a yarn about the Vespas he used to ride in the 60's and 70's and then he went off on a tangent about a guy in Rotorua who had a huge garage filled with Bajaj parts. Our last stop on the way home was at the local park where a small Hot Rod show was taking place. We hadn't known about the show beforehand so it was a nice surprise even if we were just seeing the tail end of everything. Simon's favorite car was a grey 1949 Coupe Cadillac and Angelle reckoned she'd still rather drive around in a new or vintage Bambina!

Vespa is Italian for wasp

2008-10-18T13:24:00.004+13:00

Photo by Angelle 18/10/2008

Not much to blog about this past week. Neither of us have had much time to scoot. Simon made a short journey to Helensville on JC to run some errands during the week but that was the only ride.
Angelle has been in New Zealand's "Art Deco City" Napier since Sunday - just arrived back last night, Friday, around 8:30pm. There weren't many scooters to take note of in Napier; Angelle only saw one Chinese 50cc retro styled scoot at one of the sites where she was working. With the gorgeous weather and scenery in Napier you would expect to see some scoots zooming around, so this was surprising. Hopefully the two of us can get to Napier with our scooters sometime this summer to rip around and get some stories and photos for you all.

Did you come all the way from Parakai on those?

2008-10-11T11:35:00.004+13:00

That was the question from the cook at our favorite "diner" this morning when he passed us getting back on our bikes after breakfast (he had just run over to the market to pick up some fresh pumpkin). The Waimauku Food Station is what we would call a hidden gem. We started going there for the way above average pies and kept on when we realized that although they are not the fanciest place around, they do the best breakfasts (this morning breakfast was Texan Omelet with Mash and Bacon for Simon and Smoked Fish Cakes with Poached Eggs and Organic Greens for Angelle). The cook is a really friendly guy and has spoken with us on many occasions about the changes happening all around us in our rural area. Today he asked us about the bikes a bit and reminisced about "playing on one of those things" when he was about 15.
The young girl behind the counter who took our order this morning was also intrigued by the bikes...And Angelle's hot pink jacket (she seemed disappointed when told the jacket was a several year old find from Canada). She wondered how fast the scooters could go and if you could ride them with your Learner's License. What sorts of things do people ask you about your scooter? Back in Canada, Angelle often had people asking her "how much" for her 50cc Honda Jazz...
So, back to that question, "did you come all the way from Parakai on those?" The answer, of course! The ride from Parakai to Waimauku was about 20 mins tops. The road is fairly well maintained as it gets moderately heavy use. Today would have been the busiest traffic we have faced so far but we seemed to get respect from almost all the other road users and were passed courteously by the "cagers". Other motorcyclists on the road were friendly as well, giving us enough space if they needed to pass and many a nod/wave/smile.

View Larger Map

Mental Health Awareness Week

2008-10-07T20:41:00.005+13:00

This week is Mental Health Awareness week. We have some ideas that may help you improve your own mental health this week!

Start a journal:

Have a drink with friends:

Wear something pretty:

And our favorite way to improve our own mental health? Doing something that makes us smile like RIDING OUR SCOOTERS :)

The A-Z of Classic Scooters

2008-10-05T12:49:00.003+13:00

We got our hands on a copy of this book several months ago. It really is a comprehensive guide to "all" makes and models of classic scooter. There are over 300 scooters listed with many one-offs that you are not likely to have heard of before. The journey through the book is alphabetical and the photographs are wonderful. We noticed some irregularities in the grammar and a tendency towards bitterness for American, English and German bikes but put that down to the fact that the author is French. We enjoyed this book as much for the eye candy photos as for the writing and would recommend it to anyone interested in the inception of scooters and classic scooters. You are sure to find a copy on http://www.amazon.com :)

New Addition and Back to the Beach

2008-10-04T12:38:00.005+13:00

Both of us love scooters. That much is obvious. We started collecting them soon after we got together starting with Simon's dad's old Maicoletta that we rescued from the garden shed. Shortly after we snapped up a vintage Triumph Tigress but decided it wasn't for us and sold it very quickly. The Tigress ended up being replaced by a bin of parts to produce another Maicoletta. We then bought a pair of vintage Vespa Supers that had been imported from Bali (we think...), one in a creamy white that was dubbed "The Colonel" and the other in robin's egg blue. All these vintage and classic scooters are amazing and we loved them all. But alas, none of them were road legal. We decided we needed some scooters that we could ride. The Colonel was listed on trademe and we started looking. We bought the blue ET8 you all met in our last post and fixed it up and found out how great it is to ride without any pomp, circumstance, or hassle. We decided we definately needed another.
The second ET8 showed up just this week. We bought it from a lovely die hard Christian lady named Karen who had taken wonderful care of it. Despite the relatively high milage, the scooter is in great mechanical and body condition and totally warranted and registered.

There was a bit of what Karen called "sign writing" on the bike as you can see. One side pod directing you to read Galatians 2:20 and the other displaying the phrase "Jesus Wept". The top box was also covered in various religious bumper stickers. Since we will probably go with a different theme for any stickers or "sign writing" on the bike, Simon carefully removed the wording from the body and took off the top box which is to be replaced with a chrome rack matching the other bike. To honour where the bike has come from, we are for the moment calling it "JC".
Once we had some spare time, we decided to go out for a ride with both bikes. We went back to Shelley Beach since it was such a lovely ride last time and because we wanted to get some of the really awesome avacados that come from an orchard out that way.

Ready to Ride

View of Shelley Beach from a Vespa

Simon on his new scooter

Scenic shot of Simon and JC

Angelle with the bikes at Shelley Beach Store

First "real" ride

2008-09-29T17:50:00.005+13:00

Recently we purchased a Vespa 150cc ET8 (in other markets ET4) scooter. We got it as a bit of bargain as it had been in an accident when it was nearly new and hadn't been repaired to make it road legal since. The damage was fairly minor and we were able, with Simon's garage handiness, to repair it to the standards required to pass the Warrant of Fitness and Registration checks here in NZ. The ET8 is a welcome (RIDABLE) addition to our collection of vintage scooters, none of which are able to be legally ridden at present.
So, after having the scooter for a little while in order to work on it and having taken it only down the road on very short jaunts, we were able to take it on it's first "real" ride. We live in the country and the first road you come to has a speed limit of 100km/h which is why we needed the 150cc engine at the least. For our ride, we turned right from our private road and continued about 20km to Shelly Beach. As there is only one scooter at the moment and two of us, we were riding 2up with Simon as the pilot (not an uncommon role for him since he also flies planes...). The road to Shelly Beach is winding and there was a fair amount of traffic while we were out. We easily made 80-90kms and got up to 100kms at times. There were several approving looks and hoots from children as we passed which is always fun. All in all, it was an enjoyable first ride to the beach and back. We plan to do it often this summer!

View Larger Map