After publishing girlbike.com in various forms since 1999, I’ve made the decision to change my blog’s name to scooter fix.

What this blog has really always been about is helping people to get their scooter fix on a regular basis, discussing safety issues, new products, deals, travel and touring, repairs and upgrades, and many topics that don’t have gender lines. It’s only right that the name of the blog have the word “scooter” in it, and it just makes sense to finally make the name more of a reflection of what the site really is about. scooterfix.com has a different design, but has all of girlbike.com’s scooter content. Since some of the porting of information was automatic, and some had to be done manually, there’s sure to be some need for tweaking, so please be patient if you find a broken link or an image out of place (please let me know where you find it, though).

For those who love girlbike for the pink stuff, don’t worry, those famous pink helmets will still pop up here and there, and since the current author lineup consists of woman riders, we’re sure to still talk about woman-specific scooter issues when applicable.

So here we go! Change your bookmarks and join Susan, Cara, Lesley, Wendy and me over on scooterfix.com.

I’ve never heard of the brand name Zamp, but I did find a Zamp helmet review over at WebBikeWorld that explains that “Zamp distributes a limited number of helmet models in the U.S….” and “Kawasaki is one of the U.S. distributors for Zamp helmets,” so they may be found at your local Kawasaki dealer if you want to try one out.

The Zamp FJ-2 is the only full-face model street helmet I’ve been able to find made by the company, and luckily, it comes in pink. It also comes with a very comfortable price tag at $89.99 (Motorcycle Superstore sells it for $80.99).

If you’re reading this blog, chances are that me telling you that scooters are a way to save money on gas isn’t telling you anything new. But it’s that time of year when journalists seem to realize that scooters are a good and growing trend, especially in the wake of insanely high gas prices. There was even a story on the local news here in Vermont yesterday, which prompted me to look up what other stories have been popping up recently. Here’s just a few:

• Gas Prices Spur Motor Scooter Sales - WCAX News, Burlington, VT

• Scooters Help Relieve Pain at the Pump - CBS4 Denver, CO

• High Gas Prices Driving Up Scooter Sales In Texas - CBS11TV, Dallas/Fort Worth, TX

• Fighting high fuel prices on two wheels - Lethbridge Herald, Alberta, Canada

• Gas prices fuel motorcycle resurgence - The Daily Journal, Cumberland County, NJ

• Charlotte scooter sales skyrocket with rising gas prices - WCNC, Charlotte, NC

• Scooter Sale Skyrocketing with Gas Prices - NBC Augusta, GA

• Gas prices drive scooter sales - Citizen-Times, Asheville, NC

• Scooter Sales Up Dramatically - WLBT, Jackson, MS

• Gas Prices Forcing People to Get Rid of SUVs - WCTV, Tallahassee, FL

• Scooter Sales Soar Along with Gas Prices - WGHP Fox, Greensboro, NC

• As gas prices soar, so do scooter sales - News 14, Greensboro, NC

• Fuel prices drive scooter sales, The Charlotte Observer, Charlotte, NC

• Gas prices boost scooter sales, KARE 11, Minneapolis, MN

What better way to get kids to wear a helmet than to make it look really cool?

Here’s a helmet that I wish came in my size. The GMax GM39 Lizard Youth helmet (I’ve also seen it referred to as the ‘monster’ helmet) is an eye-catching bright pink with an array of funny creepy faces and eyes peeking out of its surface.

Like many others, the Lizard also comes in blue, red, silver and yellow. It has an MSRP of $79.99.

I’m wondering if I’ve found the Holy Grail of women’s motorcycle gear.

I stumbled upon a web site that features only women’s motorcycle apparel and gear called Metricbikes for Women, a subdivision of the Metricbikes Superstore. And better yet, the site has a section dedicated to pink gear including jackets, pants, chaps, shoes, gloves, and helmets.

I think I’ll take one of everything!

Hold on to your helmet, the popular HJC CL15 now comes in ‘pink cyclone.’ The 2008 HJC CL-15 Cyclone sports some fancy tribal-influenced graphics, as well as an antifog shield, removable and washable pads, and lots of vents for summer riding.

The Cyclone has an MSRP of $129.99, and the image and link above go to the Motorcycle Superstore where it’s available for $116.99. It’s also available in red, blue, silver, and yellow.

As an added bonus, the Cyclone is available in a pink youth version and in all the other colors, too.

This has to one of the prettiest helmets that has appeared in 2008. Mixing hot pinks with silver sparkles and sharp eye-grabbing graphics, the Vega Altura Shuriken not only looks great, it’ll set you back less than $80.

That low price tag buys you a removeable, washable liner, wicking fabric to help keep your head cool in hot weather, room for intercom speakers, and lots of vents.

The Altura Shuriken also comes in black, blue, green, red, and yellow.

I am among many who have sought a cookie cutter in the shape of a scooter. In a world wide search online, I found a gifted tinsmith in Canada who specializes in making whatever cookie cutter a customer designs.

Working the design with Greg Pietersma was amusing and quick. I downloaded the form on his site, included a drawing of what I was looking for, and faxed him the form. We exchanged some email and photos for the project to progress, and the final product was made to my delight. It is easy to use and made of good quality. It is not plated tin, so I will have to be careful about cleanup and storage, or it could rust.

The best part of this story is that now that Greg has made me a custom cookie cutter in the shape of a scooter, the design is available for everyone. I am glad to report that you can buy it for only $8.75, plus modest shipping costs. Read more about it and order it from The Pietersma Tinworks, Ltd. Instructions for designing any custom cookie cutter are just a click on that same page.

How does it work? My first cookie batches were not entirely successful, probably because I’ve never baked cookies in my life. But everything scooter is fun, so I’ve included a photo of one of the first ones that came out real nice using a roller and cut from a commonly found cookie dough in the chiller section of the supermarket. No doubt, rolled dough made from scratch, not to mention a little more talent, can yield better results. But it still is a recognizable scooter and it tastes like a yummy sugar cookie.

Further experiments yielded the surprise that you can make breakfast toast, French toast, and grilled cheese sandwiches, too, doing all the fun cutting with the same tool. A bologna sandwich was trickier (you need wider slices of bread), but it worked to make a surprise lunch to celebrate a birthday for a favorite friend who introduced me to scootering. After we enjoyed our scooter sandwiches, we each munched on a scooter cookie. The rest of the batch of cookies fit right under the seat of his Vespa for the trip home. Lately, I’ve been luvvin’ my oven.

I can’t believe I’ve been so remiss on putting up pink helmets this season! While last year seemed to be the year for pink helmets, there are still a few new ones, like the GMax GM68 shown here.

The GM68 is modeled after the popular GMax GM46X off-road helmet, and is also available in dark silver, blue and red. A cool featured I haven’t seen on any other helmets is an incorporated LED light on the back of the helmet that has various settings.

The MSRP is $119, and the photo links to the catalog page at Motorcycle Superstore where it sells for $107.99.

I was going through the girlbike archives and realized that I don’t really have a very prominent link to the gallery I’d made a few years ago of my Honda Metropolitan II, so here it is. This brief gallery shows photos almost from the day I first got it and shows most accessories I added to it in its brief life. I thought I’d post it here in case any Metropolitan owners would like to see some of the additions you can spend your hard-earned money on, and also just for fun. I miss the little thing.

And just now, as I started typing, I realized that I totally missed my scooterversary this year. So this is a double flashback to celebrate the scooter that started it all. I hope you enjoy going through it as much as I did.