Aprilia Mojito Custom

A loud booming voice can be heard for miles and miles…window pains shatter, plates fall from shelves and older buildings crack and disintegrate. The booming voice comes from the Aprilia factory, and the words are clear as day ‘MORE PLASTIC…workers scurry in fear as a huge foreman thunders his way around the design office. He grabs a helpless designer and throws him though a plate glass window. The man sits up for a brief second unsure of what just happened then slumps unconscious to the ground. The only thing that will abate his anger is plastic…lots of plastic. ‘Give me plastic’ he yells as he lifts a small designer from the floor and prepares to rip him in two. Just as the foreman begins to strain and his powerful muscles bulge a designer jumps in front of him and yells for him to stop. The designer slowly lifts a sketch of his new scooter then proclaims in a loud voice…I give you the Mojito Custom…‘plastic like the world has never seen’. The foreman lowers the frightened designer and eyes the scooter design before him; tears begin to roll down his cheek…the foreman weeps. He has his plastic…more than enough for any man.

You’re also going to suffer a wee bit in the ease of use department, the under seat storage area won’t fit a full face helmet and there’s no remote seat release. The lockable front glove box is also a bit of an illusion, see it looks large…then you open it. The only storage area is to the right and will hold well…not much. Why on earth they have a full size door I can only guess, I imagine Aprilia just went to the parts bin and grabbed what was already there. Finally you’ll also have a bit of a hard time putting the bike on the center stand as it’s an older design and somewhat hard for smaller people. You certainly notice it as there’s no side stand.

The bikes real strong point is its looks. Only the crazy three wheeled Piaggio MP3 gets more attention than this bike. Virtually everybody who saw me riding this bike had to tell me how cool it looked. After a while I got so used to it I actually began to think I WAS COOL…turns out I was wrong, as I stepped away from the bike I quickly morphed back into my usual average self and some passer by spat on me. Life at the top.

Summing up the Aprilia. If you were buying a bike off a table of specifications or even the results of a review like this you simply wouldn’t pick the Mojito Custom. However if you're looking for the most shiny chrome pimp mobile…well the Mojito is your ticket. So the question is simple…are you cool or do you need a helping hand? The Mojito Custom could be that helping hand you’ve always needed…you nerd.

2010 Honda SH150i

2010 Honda SH150i Review
Wanna put a smile on your face? Step into one of Honda’s latest imports. Direct from Honda Italy, the 2010 SH150i is just one of a few new tricks up Honda’s sleeve for the coming model year.
Receiving a dose of updates in 2008, the SH sold in the European market for a few years before coming to America. The previously carbureted SH150 picked up an injector as well as roomier rider ergos. Now that Honda North America has cleared the floor of 2009s, they’re fulfilling the demand for economic and stylish rides with the liquid-cooled fuel-injected 153cc four-stroke Single SH150i. The ‘i” refers to the fuel injection of course, not “Italian-designed craftsmanship” like I had first thought.
The programmed fuel-injection (PGM-FI) provides snappy throttle response and aids in stretching your dollars per mile. No claims were made for miles per gallon, but look for future comparison testing on MO for details such as this.

Sporting large-diameter 16-inch wheels head-to-toe and wrapped with Dunlop tires, you could call the SH's handling “Breezy.” The front and rear rubbers differ only in width: 100/80 in front, 120/80 in the rear. Smooth power delivery and nimble free-wheeling, the SH makes quick work of navigating any city’s pot holes, curbs, nicks and scrapes. The 16-inch wheels offer high-speed stability lacking in competitors’ 10 and 12-inch wheels.

Braking is done by Honda’s scooter-version of linked brakes, the combined brake system or CBS. As is with traditional motorcycles, the right hand lever applies the front brake. The left-hand lever applies pressure to both the two-piston caliper and 220mm single front disc as well as the rear wheel’s drum. Simultaneous application of both the drum brake arm and disc brake’s hydraulic piston is done via a mechanical crossover wire connected to the left hand lever for more balanced stopping power.
Between your hands, you’ll find a modern dash with a big, clean speedometer surrounded by coolant temp and fuel gauges as well as an LCD clock, odometer and one trip-meter.

Going away, you’ll be happy to see there’s an HECS3 oxygen-sensing catalytic converter stuffed into the system for the benefit of greener pastures.

A taller accessory windscreen will also be available in the fall for $299.95. Based only on the photo above, it appears to be tall enough to block a torso-sized hole in the atmosphere in front of you – maybe at chin height. But don’t ask me, I’m guessing now! Details to come.

The 2010 Honda SH150i retails for $4,499 and is available in a CBR-cool dark red and an all black model, both with a little metal-flake for some sparkle.