Gilera Runner ST

125cc, £2,699

“This is at the heart of cutting-edge-of-the-art engine, modern dashboarch graphics and an anti theft immobiliser. Its sleek rear-view mirrors and streamlined-profile headlamp show it’s no design slouch either.”

Vespa S 125cc, £2,749

“The classic lines of the Vespa are as alluring as ever, and this Seventies-inspired model is perhaps its most desirable yet. It boasts market-leading perfomance, while offering a stable and robust ride. The seat is available in two versions: the more dynamic ‘Sport’ and the ‘ Touring’, with increased comfort for longer journeys.”

Piaggio X7 125cc, £2,599

“This distinctively designed scooter comines lightweight design and agility with a liquid-cooled four-stroke engine with advanced four-valve cliner heads, giving it unprecedented perfomance while comforming to all European emission standards. The fact that it’s also an elegant and smooth ride makes it particulary desirable.”

Peugeot Sum Up

125cc, £1,569

“This is big on comfort and practicality as well as looks, with the broad two-person seat comfortable for both rider and passenger. It balances stability and maneuverability, the 220mm front-disc brake offering reliable stopping power. At only 115kg it’s also one of the lightest scooers in its class, meaning it won’t suck up too much fuel.

Additionally, bikers now have access to dedicated trip statistics that can make any road trip much simpler. The feature allows the biker to view the average and maximum speeds at which he or she traveled per journey, the distance from home, and the total miles traveled.

Even if you’ve previously purchased the RIDER device in one of its earlier incarnations, you can still benefit immensely from the updated software features - and software may be updated for free using TomTom HOME. Completely new maps are available with TomTom HOME as well. If a new map is purchased - along with a 2 GB DB card (which must be bought separately) - users will then also be able to easily take advantage of TomTom Map Share.

TomTom also offers a map guarantee. The guarantee states that if any new map is released within thirty days of the time the GPS user begins using his or her device, then it may be downloaded for free.

The new enhanced RIDER 2nd Edition comes already equipped with the newest Tele Atlas maps of North America as well. Comprehensive maps of both Canada and the United States make up the set.

With the advent of the RIDER software, motorcycle aficionados can now enjoy the same inventive features that users of the automobile products have enjoyed for some time. Best of all, it’s just in time for summer - prime motorcycle season.

I took their registration details and threatened to report them to the police. I’m not 100% sure it wasn’t a prank, they were quite immature young men - but I was angry at the time.

bottom line: don’t leave your helmet unattended, even for a minute.

Now the predictions are no more than 20 years of fossil fuel. The simple fact remains that there is no more oil being made. The cost ratio of producing fuel from corn or other vegetation is not economical. Also consider that the acreage required to produce the fuel would have to be diverted from producing food. The acreage needed to produce a significant amount would devastate the food production.

As of last year, the polar ice caps had diminished by 20 percent from 1990. This has caused an increase in sea levels which has changed the gulf streams producing more turbulent weather patterns.

The only thing that is important is that global warming is reality and it doesn’t matter what has caused it. Our great grandchildren and for those of us who are a bit past 29, grandchildren are going to be hard pressed for fuel, food, and decent water by the time they are in their 50’s, and it won’t all be taxes.

When I was a young man, I paid between 18.9-20.9 cents a gallon. In the 70’s fuel embargo the gas leapt from 25 cents a gallon to $1.50 in less than a year. This was an artificial increase. What we are seeing now is the supply and demand price. That supply will decrease proportionate to the demand.

What one 747 expends just getting wheels up would keep several cars fueled for a year. We are running out of fuel and when other methods are finally the main, we will find that the climate will eventually return to a more livable condition. That will not happen in this century though, so there isn’t much we can do except moan about it.

This thing can easily keep up with my KYMCO P 250, yet it is now 70 lbs lighter that P250 an is super easy to push it around on parking and getting it on main stand.

I reccomend it highly, it is a high tech bike and very well built. The importer - Carter Brothers are also very friendly people and they mailed to me the Service Manual and Parts Manual absolutely free, no shipping charges.

Whoever looks for 200 to 250 cc scooter, this should be it. Don’t even look at Kymco 200.

For my money it’s the best as it is the biggest available with the soft backrest attached by wife finds it much more comfortable to ride with me than without a backrest.

I bought the black one that comes with the lights installed because you get the lights with it already installed for less than the coloured boxes without lights.

However, I discovered that you can’t depend on the lights. Apparently they are incandescent mini bulbs instead of the LEDs I was expecting and don’t last. One of them was burned out or broken within weeks of me getting the box. The connection to the wiring system - so you can easily remove the box from the bike - isn’t the best either as people would often tell me my brake lights on the box weren’t working, so when I transferred the box to my Exec I didn’t bother with connecting the lights.

They closed the door and I pulled ahead and to the side as my leg was screaming. I was wearing jeans and was pretty sure I did not have any serious injury. The driver came over (kid must have be 17 or what ever age they let you drive in the UK) and was very concerned, I told him I was ok and that it was my own fault.

I knew that

a) I was in a hurry

b) I was lane splitting

c) was not paying attentionto what the drivers were doing, only the cars. I was not riding safe.

It was a wake up call as I had let my guard drop now that I had over 5000 miles on my 650 Burgman and was getting a bit cocky, it could have been much much worse if I had been going faster. This set me back by quite a bit in my riding in terms of taking chances. I have not been able to get on the highway since and spend much more time watching the drivers to see where they are looking and what they are doing while driving.

My leg is better, bruise gone, but it remembers and so do I

So go out there and get scared (just a little) but, don’t get put in the hospital, get a bruise on your leg or on your ego. If you find your self getting home and don’t remember the trip, ask yourself if you are letting your guard down, the bike may be an automatic, but you can’t afford to be.

Ride safe everybody

Givi Monolock series top boxes use a less expensive mounting bracket that is not model specific. It is a universal adapter plate that attaches to an existing rack on the bike.

I think with the P150, you’d need to buy a Monolock series case. Givi does make a Monokey bracket for the Kymco Xciting series, but not for the People series (as near as I can figure out from their website - which isn’t all that easy to navigate).

I have an Italia Soft brand 28L top box on my People 250. When you shut the lid, it automatically locks. This is convenient, but I am very careful to NEVER set my keys down inside the top case (for obvious reasons). The Givi products require that the key be in the lock in order to lock the top box. More steps required (but you can’t accidentally
lock your keys inside the case).

Q: I have a question regarding cold weather gloves. I have owned scooters before, but I have never owned any gear. I am driving a People 50 in Chicagoland, and intending to drive as many days as I can through the winter. My daily commute is only 2 miles, and I commute to class about 9 miles each way once a week. My top speed is 35mph. Are ski gloves adequate for me? They are reinforced with leather, and they’ve got a pretty fabulous little wiper edge that I can use to keep my face shield clear. Is there a reason that I ought to have motorcycle gloves instead?

A: Motorcycle gloves are designed to protect your hands in the event of a fall, not just the cold. Ski gloves are designed to protect you from cold, but will tear apart if you go skidding across the pavement. Some ski gloves put a little leather in the palm to give you some grip on your pole, but that is sometimes just a simulated leather.

During the winter, a lot of people want to opt out for snowmobile suits to keep warm and inexpensive ski gloves. And yes, they will keep you warm. But winter riding is a time of more opportunity to fall, and need the protection of real motorcycle gear.

If you’re looking for good prices on motorcycle gear, like gloves, jackets, pants, etc., I highly recommend NewEnough Leathers at http://www.newenough.com <http://www.newenough.com> . I’ve purchased gear from them for over a year, and even had pants go back through them for a repair covered under warranty. Not only are their prices great, but so is their customer service.