Roadkill: October 2000

Just posted an auction for a lovely Sprint available right now in the USA.

Isn't it true that the more scooters there are in your country, the better it is for both the scooterists and the shops there?

Curiouser and curiouser. A strange disjunction is occurring between a couple US shops and increasing numbers of scooterists...

Some people are desperate to make a buck, aren't they? We get scooterists emailing us after going in to one US shop, reporting all manner of nonsense said about us ("OK, maybe it'll be rebuilt, but with all Vietnamese parts." -Excuse me? You're welcome to read our site as our customers do.) The desperation is clear, we guess, as scooterists continue to order from us. But frankly it's annoying to be lumped in with scammers we have been warning about on our site longer than anyone else in the world!

[edited]

The situation has already improved since we first posted this, but we hope that sort of silliness comes to a complete end because it unfortunately makes those shops look "suspect" as it doesn't at all match up with recent emails from scooterists we've been getting:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One other thing [shopowner] said was to not take his word alone and to do some home work. Well, i did. I checked all posts relating to scootRS in the BBS archives and almost all were favorable. I even sent emails to all those that posted saying that they had purchased scoots from you. I asked if they were still happy with the quality and, so far, all responses have been favorable....I would expect someone on the BBS to make a knee jerk reaction to the mention of a Vietnamese scooter but I would expect more from [shopowner]. I think his comments and accusations were unfair and his motives questionable....I apologize for your having to deal with this as I'm sure it can be quite tiring to defend your company every time someone goes off on one about Vietnamese scooters. It is blatantly obvious the steps you have taken to elevate your business head and shoulders above the rest in your country (as well as other countries it would seem)....I thank you again and look forward to picking up the [scooter]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
First off, this bike (TV175) won a 'Motorcycle of Distinction' award at the Auburn (Massachusetts) Sportsman's Club Motorcycle Meet a few weeks back. I think this is testament to the nice appearance and completeness of the bike. Good job. Also interesting is that I rode 2+ hours each way to get to this meet. And no engine problems.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wanted to let you know that the TV is running great and I almost have it broken in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm pleased to say that it ran very well over the weekend when I took it over to the Vancouver Rally. I did about 200 miles and it didn't really miss a beat.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've been to a few rallies and everyone is impressed with the bike. The word seems to be getting around about your products and everyone I've come across agrees with the quality of your products.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
While at the rally there was lots of interest in the scooter and the fact that it came from Vietnam. Everyone I spoke to was very impressed with the appearance and the value and also with the line of chrome accessories. The only person who didn't seem too enthusiastic was [shop owner] when a [local] scooterist was going on about the good value. Anyway, I hope the interest turns into some sales for you."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ahh, who can untangle this nest of thorns? -An economist, perhaps?…

After the purge below, we were still annoyed by nn4 bugs and waded in with a big flyswatter. Looks and works a bit nicer now for nn4.

Just saw this on alt.scooter:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Re: scootrs in vietnam:
I have done a lot of restorations in my time and this is one of the best restore jobs that I have seen in a long time, I looked at every nut and bolt for signs of rust or wear and tear or old parts or broken things and I could find none! it was one of the best jobs I have seen in a long time I would have no reservations about putting this bike into a show right after getting it shipped to me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Glad you liked it.

°°

In utero: a pinstriped sx200 that's shaping up very nicely; and a silvery-green and black tv175 waiting for a part.

°°

Have about 5 new parts we will try to add over the next few days.

God, we hate Netscape 4! Did you know it has - amongst other problems - over 500 layout bugs? We just hacked in workarounds for a bunch of them, but now that nn4 has plummetted to about 10% of the market that task is almost last on the list. (The sooner nn4 dies the better. -But give Netscape 6 a spin, even though most sites, including ours, haven't rewritten all their javascript for it yet.) If you're using nn4 try re-visiting us using ie5 or nn6 and see what you're missing - and elsewhere on the net.

Drove off to the boonies to see the new SX200 flash mold we have had made. Soon no more finishing them by hand. -Then drove back home on a river that claimed to be a road. If you've heard about the floods here, which we've luckily missed, you'll know what we mean when we say we thought our time had come. The new scoot didn't miss a beat, though.

New month, new scooter. Put the orange LD aside after 4 years and started driving the new SX200 full-time: tuned exhaust, electronic ignition, new gears, etc. Hmmm...seems to be a slight difference in power.