Kymco Super 8

KYMCO have gained quite a stronghold on the UK scooter market in recent years thanks to their competitively priced and well-built scooters. The latest offering to land on our shores is this Super 8, an attractive 125cc with a price tag of just £1699 on the road.

One of the reasons behind KYMCO's UK success is the experience of their importer, Shrewsbury-based MASCO. The well established firm operates from a unit located close to Ironbridge Gorge, the birthplace of Britain's industrial revolution. From their HQ a dedicated team oversee the spares and technical backup for the UK dealers and new machines are put through their paces around the leafy lanes and open countryside of rural Shropshire.

Custom Scooter

Normally the guys from BYS choose to customise scooters that aren't so popular here in the UK and are more widely seen in European countries such as Holland and Germany. They have previously customised a Suzuki Street Magic, Yamaha Slider and Yamaha Aerox. But this one is a well-known UK scooter model -the Piaggio NRG mc3.
If you haven't heard of Boost Ya Scoot, then where have you been for the last COUple Of years. Just Mick through previous T&G issues and you'll see other creations that they have built. This NRG belongs to Sam Eaton, son of the owner of BYS, who along with his brother Adam and dad Kevin created this little beauty.

Black Nightmare

A typical home-grown custom scooter will be nothing more than a fancy paint job and a few engine mods and maybe a bit of polishing. In the rest of Europe paintwork is secondary to a host of well thought out and carefully executed modifications. Time trouble and money are spent creating eye-catching details rather than simply relying on the talents of a sprayer to provide the eye candy.
Twenty-one-year-old Barrie Bone may only be a youngster, but the Belgian lad has built this show-stopping MBK Nitro - a scooter with more details to feast your eyes over than most British custom autos put together. Barrie's English is about as good as my Dutch, so bear with me because things might get lost in the translation...

Symply 125

Sometimes testing scoots can be tough. You'll put a day or two aside to go out and get a few miles on a new machine, then the weather scuppers your plans and messes up your photos. If you happen to be reading this copy of Twist & Go overseas you'll probably be basking in some February sunshine, while we'll still be wearing our wellies and winter coats!

Peugeot Geopolis 250

Although not very popular with British riders, big wheeled scooters represent a commuter proposition. Peter Henshaw argues the case for Peugeot's Geopclis
What is it about the British and big-wheeled scooters? A nation that seems quite happy to ape our Transatlantic cousins when it comes to bigger being supposedly better, prefers its scooters with tiddly 12 or 13m wheels. Which is a shame, because big-wheeled scooters handle far better than the small-wheeled ones, and one's first ride on a big-wheeler can be a revelation of stability by comparison. Just three inches on the wheel size makes that much difference. A lot of motorcyclists say the reason they don't like scooters is that they don't handle very well on their little wheels. And yet they don't buy big-wheeled scoots either, and nor do many of the commuter types, who you'd think would welcome the extra stability.

Scooter Buyer's Guide

Never go alone; always take a mate, preferably a knowledgeable one, and take off the rose-tinted specs.
Do your homework on the particular model before you go - little pointers here and there can make all the difference when you see it in the flesh. Don't make rash decisions and be prepared to walk away from anything that simply doesn't sound right.
If it sounds too good to be true then the chances are that it will be. There are plenty of bikes out there, so don't be frightened to miss this one. Make sure the name on the logbook ties in with the guy who is selling and the venue you are viewing it at. After all, who really does let a mate sell a bike on their behalf? And yet the amount of times that story is used is beyond belief.

Vespa SS 180 Rebuild

ONE of the most iconic scooters of the 60s was the son of the legendary GS 160 - the SS 180. Ignore it you can't, with its brave new world styling of angular facets and the minor upset it caused with the Mod set of those days - they still wanted the GS! The arrival of the SS 180 is just about summed up with a quote from a Vespa enthusiast: "I think the SS180 is to scooter fans what Mick Jagger is to women - a bit ugly but somehow irresistible!"

Terminator 3 - Rise of The Machines

THERE are many reasons for producing a custom scooter. For many people, it's the desire to create an eye-catching machine to enter shows, or simply ride to rallies. For Russ Keating the idea was to create a custom scooter that would showcase his newly set up business, Custom Scooter Art. For anyone who hasn't seen Russ with his stall at a rally or event then Custom Scooter Art offer an alternative to both graphics or expensive spray jobs for your scooter. Instead, they wrap your scooter with vinyl that has been printed with the graphics/design of your choice. Hence the building of Terminator 3.

Vectrix The Electric

DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC BIKES ?
Electric bikes seem like they could be the answer to air pollution and disappearing oil reserves. But will we ever see an electric superbike to match the performance of current bikes? we will investigates the possibilities.