The Twin Cities rally formerly known as Skooter Du 7, now known as the No Direction Home rally, will take place August 11-13, 2006 in the Twin Cities metro area. For further information, visit the rally site at No Direction Home.

Best rally ever. For us anyway. What an astounding weekend it was -- late nights, bowling, karaoke, punk rock, food, drinks, contests, amazing venues and hosts, sneaky rides, and 125 scooters in attendance! Wow. What a sight that was -- a virtually endless stream of scooters flowing along the Twin Cities' roadways. Thanks to Matt and Trish and everyone else who helped organize, to Elsie's, Square Peg Diner, Betty's Bikes and Buns, Scooterville, Triple Rock, Yarusso's and Grumpy's. A super great time was had by all.

Aprilia in crisis: Guzzi back to Ducati? Scooter models at risk? Moto Guzzi buyout by Texas Pacific Group? Read more at Inside Bikes News.

According to the Seattle Times, scooter sales are up due to the increasing cost of gasoline.
"High gas prices are pushing sales of scooters. The Motorcycle Industry Council, a trade group, said scooter sales in the first quarter rose 21 percent from a year earlier, with sales of Vespa and Piaggio scooters up 72 percent.
Here's why: A scooter gets as much as 60 miles to the gallon, meaning it can travel more than 120 miles on a single fill-up of a typical 2.5-gallon tank. The average SUV will travel about 30 miles on the same amount of fuel."

Soon you'll be able to get an honest-to-goodness Smart vehicle here in the U.S. -- until then you can just drool/desire via their website, where you can find out about the new Crossblade. Yes, "a motorcycle with four wheels." Wha...? Wait, that looks suspiciously like a tiny car with no roof. Powered by a 3-cylinder 599-cc engine. Roof is not an option or accessory, but the car is water resistant.

Got a swanky new camera phone? Got a Vespa or other scooter? Send your phonecam pix to http://vespa.textamerica.com/

Craft your very own paper Yamaha TMax scooter! Fun for those blusterly winter days where you are trapped in your house and can't get to the garage to lust over your scoots.

World's first hydrogen scooter? or just a pipe dream of experimentation? Check it out for yourself.