Gizmodo Australia » scooters

Xbox 360 On Two Wheels

Jesus Diaz — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:41:04 +0000

This is what the Xbox 360 would be be if it was made out of aircraft-grade aluminium, had two wheels, an electric motor and was just a little quieter: The Yamaha EC-f scooter. Veehee purrty indeed.

The Yamaha EC-f was presented at the Tokyo Motor Show. It uses a lithium-ion battery, which can be plugged into a regular socket for recharging. They are not making these soon enough. [Dvice]

Office Cubicle for the Road Saves Precious Commuting Time

Danny Allen — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:40:00 +0000

You’re looking at the Slow Car concept from Jurgen Bey, one of the Netherlands’ most respected high-end home furniture designers. He’s taken the humble office cubicle, and slapped it on a 40km/h scooter. Talk about being chained to your desk.

He imagines environments like campuses and airports offering the vehicle, because it lets folks stay productive at a desk, in privacy, without walking. He says by limiting the speed, users should feel a sense of calm at being able to max out the throttle, something we don’t always get to do in cars.

Personally, being boxed makes me feel pretty far from calm. Fail. Check out the vid and decide for yourself. [Jurgen Bey via Mocoloco]

H-ergo Wheelchair: Fuel Cells Aren’t Just For Young Whippersnappers

Wilson Rothman — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 02:30:00 +0000

Even the Scooter Store demographic is getting greener these days. The four-wheeled H-ergo was designed by a coalition of companies in Italy with a hydrogen fuel cell for up to 2 hours of clean running.

It’s not fast: 20km/h is what, like 13mph? So, slower than most sprinters and many joggers. And its two 800-watt electrical motor wheels can’t yet run all day. But the thing, developed in part by a group of Italian automotive parts makers called From Concept To Car, and in part from various Italian government agencies and universities, is technically more environmentally correct than the standard plug-in scooter.

Not only is it cute, Italian and super green, but that name sells itself. I already came up with the first advertising slogan: “I hate to see her leave but I love to see H-ergo.” [Autoblog Green]

Defenseless Elderly Woman Held Hostage by Maniacal Scooter

Dan Nosowitz — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 22:45:00 +0000

As predicted by Battlestar Galactica, machines are beginning their takeover. An elderly woman in Cornwall, England was seated peacefully on her supposedly-helpful scooter when the iron-hearted machine forcefully drove her onto a highway without permission.

The scooter planned its move carefully. It knew the woman’s husband, recovering from a triple-bypass surgery, would be unable to chase after it. It waited until its innocent owner had dozed off, leaving her incapacitated and vulnerable. And it even showed signs of weakness prior to the kidnapping attempt, appearing unreliable, so when it did make its move, it would be all the more shocking.

It did not, however, account for the superior force of the Cornwall police department, which found it “swerving” on the highway five miles from home. The Cornish police captured the scooter and returned it to its now-wary owner. According to the BBC, “It took [officer] Michael Ginnelly an hour to drive the scooter back to Perranporth.”

Said owner Eileen Bishop, “I just lost him. I was half asleep to tell you the truth.”

Chilling. [BBC, image also BBC]

Di Blasi R7 Folding Motorbike Is Awesome And Practical

Nick Broughall — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 02:00:32 +0000

I don’t know what part of this story I find more appealing: The Di Blasi R7 folding motorcycle, which weighs just 29.8kg, travels at 50kph and has a 50cc engine; or the fact that the distributor’s have created a company called Scoot2You, which rides one of these bikes out to you and your car after a few too many drinks and then drives you home.
The bike itself looks like its extremely easy to fold up and unpack, as you can see in the above clip. The 50cc engine means that in some states of Australia, all you need is a regular driver’s license to drive around. Sure, it has only got a single cylinder, two-stroke engine, so it’s never going to be suitable as a vehicle for long trips, but for driving around the inner city – or for added mobility if you happen to own a boat or light aeroplane – it will do the job admirably. What’s better, the bike starts at $2,990 + GST + on road costs, so it’s actually really affordable.

Meanwhile, the Scoot2You service, which is currently available in both the Gold Coast and Brisbane, means the days of drink driving are essentially over. After a few drinks, you can call them up, and they’ll ride their Di Blasi bike out to you, pack it up and pop it in the boot of your car. Then they drive you home in your own car, unpack the bike and drive to the next person. So long as there’s a stringent screening process for the drivers, this is a fantastic idea. They’re also planning on franchising the service, so hopefully we’ll see it available in other capital cities as well soon.

You can grab more info on both the bikes and the Scoot2you service by clicking through below:
[Scoot2You and DiBlasi]

Wooden Vespa Is Dining Room Furniture You Can Die On

Mark Wilson — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 23:40:00 +0000

We’re torn in our appreciation of the classic Vespa—after all, Vespas are scooters and scooters equal wedgies. But when they’re handcrafted like fine furniture, we can overlook the inevitable flag on the back.

Craftsman Carlos Alberto came across a Vespa that was in complete disrepair, so he gutted it and carved a body from wood—which he then coated in a multitude of beautiful steam-moulded veneers. Stunning stuff. But am I the only one who takes a look at those wheels and imagines little roulette tables? [Carpintaria Carlos Alberto via Jalopnik]

Dog-Powered Vehicles Force Man’s Best Friend Into Manual Labour

Adam Frucci — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 15:30:00 +0000

Your dog is lazy and shiftless, not paying his way through life at all. It’s time to make your dog work for his food by attaching him to a scooter, bike or skateboard.

Yes, now you can get your lazy arse carted around by your poor dog, attaching him and up to three other dogs to one of these crazy contraptions. The big selling point, apparently, is that by placing the dog behind the steering apparatus, you’re able to have much more control over where you’re headed. Because if the dog was placed in front of the steering apparatus, you’d always just head right to the butcher shop or milk bone factory.

But really, you need to see the website to get the full effect of this product. I mean, with quotes like this, how can you go wrong?

YOU WILL LOVE THE TOTAL STABILITY OF THE TRIKE AND THE SPORTS CAR TYPE HANDLING WITH POWERFUL STEERING AND BRAKING.

I SURE WILL! [Dog Powered Scooter via Neatorama]

Build Your Own Wi-Fi Hotspot Scooter For Great Safety

Jason Chen — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:34:34 +0000

Not that there’s anything inherently wrong with riding a scooter, but only one of us at Gizmodo proudly admits to owning one. Maybe if Jenny Silverwoman had one of these roving Wi-Fi hotspots capable of “long distance war driving, GPS navigation, Skype calls…and the ability to record TV programs,” that’d really be something for her to brag about. Or, you know, cry when it would get stolen really quickly. [Thougtlab via MAKE]

Cargo Scooter Concept is Moped With a Hole

Gizmodo US Edition — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:24:00 +0000

“Oh!” you may say, thinking the Cargo scooter/moped concept by designer Elliot Ortiz is craziness exemplified. But listen: mopeds are a good solution in many places across the world, taking up less road space than cars and being cheap to run. One thing they lack is load-bearing abilities, and that’s what Elliot’s design is supposed to fix. Taking a few design cues from the classic Vespa, it’s got that huge hole in the chassis which allows you to sling narrow loads inside. There’s even a DHL scooter concept in the gallery. I can’t help but wonder about stability of the thing, but it’s a neat bit of lateral thinking. Should it remain a concept? What do you think, guys? [Tuvie via Techeblog]

The T3 Makes a Guy Wearing a Bike Helmet on a Scooter Scary as Hell

Sean Fallon — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:20:00 +0000

For the most part, I wouldn’t consider a police officer or military personnel riding down the road on a scooter as intimidating. However, if that scooter happens to be Lamperd Less Lethal’s new T3 Mobile Defender, there is definitely something to be worried about. The vehicle comes equipped with a powerful air gun that is considered non-lethal in a body shot, but could potentially kill someone if they were to take a synthetic bullet to the head. That is why the gun utilises a holographic sight system to ensure accuracy.

“An eyepiece shows a red target dot, and then transmits an image of the target to a monitor, which relays the information to the gun.” According to creator Barry Lamperd, if the holographic sight is on target, you can’t miss. Let’s hope so–because the company plans to sell the scooter to the US Army to use in crowd control situations (presumably in Iraq), and it will probably make its way down to local law enforcement somewhere down the line. [Lamperd Less Lethal via Sarnia Observer via Danger Room]