Check it out, Bob Hedstrom's scooter winterization clinic (in
two parts)
Bob Hedstrom goes over basic Stella
maintenance (in four parts)
On Sunday, October 3rd 2010, There were scooter
races at the
Stockholm Motorsports Park in Cokato Minnesota (about an hour
west of the Twin Cities). Local shop owners Marty (Go
Moto) and Bob (Scooterville)
participated. There was also a contingent of racers from
Minneapolis
Mopeds, and Jim from that group took the checkered flag! Yes, Matt
from Crafty
Planet, an experienced scooter racer, was beat by a 'ped. A good
group of spectators made the drive out to cheer the racers on and it a
truly great time.
How
Fast?
On Saturday, October 17th, 2009, Bob Hedstrom of SCOOTERVILLE
must have been feeling a little antsy. He mooched a small GPS unit with a
wrist strap from his Service Manager (Stephen Heller) and
gathered together a bunch of 50cc scooters. They were 2-stroke scooters
that had been de-restricted, but otherwise unmodified. In Minnesota, a
scooter can get a "moped" license plate if it is 50cc, 2 horsepower, and
restricted to 30MPH on a level surface. If the scooter is de-restricted,
it must be licensed as a motorcycle. So how much faster than 30 MPH will a
de-restricted 50cc 20stroke go? As a base point, Bob tested his wife's
Kymco People 50. This is an older model that has a fair number of miles on
it and it's one of Bob's favourite 50cc scooters. He also tested a new
Kymco People 50 which has a slightly different engine configuration from
the older model. Of course a Genuine Buddy 50 was included in the mix as
this is Scooterville's best-selling 50cc scooter. The new for 2010 Kymco
Like 50 was tested and an older Vespa ET2 (the newer Vespa LX 50 is a
4-stroke) was checked out. Just for comparison (and because one was
just sitting there) a Honda Ruckus 4-stroke was also tested.
These
are the GPS numbers and in most every case the speedometer on the scooter
indicated a faster speed than the scooter was actually going. Typically
about 10% faster (the Buddy indicated 45 MPH with actual speed of 40MPH).
The Honda Ruckus speedometer was very close to accurate as compared with
the GPS.
Hear the Scooterville
story right from the horse's mouth. Bob Hedstrom, the founder of
Scooterville, was kind enough to join us for a couple of podcasts and
share the story of Scooterville. Click on the images below to listen.
On October 26th, 2007, the Just Gotta Scoot show was LIVE
at the NEW Scooterville
location. Click on the image below to listen.
Bob Hedstrom made it to the Hecks Angles ride on Sunday, November 11th.
That's right... NOVEMBER 11th.... in Minnesota. It was over 60 degrees and
sunny. The ride was video taped by Summit Brewery for their "The Element
of Life" site. Check back, we'll post a link as soon as the video is
online.
Apparently.... Even Philip McCaleb of
Genuine Scooter Company Gets to "Just Ride" Sometimes
Yes.....I ride Stella #1 prototype when I need
to feel the gears and hear the noise...and I have ridden a series Italia
buddy most of the summer putting a few hundred miles on it!
I attend Amerivespa, and normally make it to the Denver and Minneapolis
yearly rallies-'cause I am still a passionate scooterist and rider and
because I have to see my best "buddy" in the business-BOB HEDSTROM.
There isn't a nicer guy in the business---anywhere!
*Little known fact: I ALWAYS wear a helmet because I almost died in 1994
after suffering a near-fatal head injury flying off a.....yep.a.SCOOTER!
That head injury gets blamed for my warped idea about starting a scooter
company.
From Philip via e-mail
We Don't Usually Do This...
I am not in the habit of giving out endorsements and certainly not
"unrestricted" ones. That being said, I can, without any hesitation,
recommend doing business with Bob Hedstrom of Scooterville, here in Minnesota. I
work with a LOT of businesses (see me at my "day" job: www.HarringtonBusinessGroup.com
) and not only does Scooterville have an excellent selection of products, Bob is
a joy to work with.
Scooterville, 904 - 19th Ave So, Minneapolis, MN 55404, 612-331-7266
These
are the GPS numbers and in most every case the speedometer on the scooter
indicated a faster speed than the scooter was actually going. Typically
about 10% faster (the Buddy indicated 45 MPH with actual speed of 40MPH).
The Honda Ruckus speedometer was very close to accurate as compared with
the GPS.
