Letter from the Editor

A warm welcome to the May issue of Scootering.

Okay, firstly… thank you for all the positive messages we have received regarding the new Scootering Extra subs club. The response has been, and continues to be, overwhelming. We are delighted to be able to offer all the extra content, digital back issue archives, exclusive prizes, discounted scooter products and insurance to you… and we are even more delighted at the manner in which it’s been received. That speaks volumes to us, so we will continue to develop Scootering Extra on an ongoing basis, to make sure it remains the success it is now, for as far into the future as possible.

Next item of business is the test rides we’ve been doing this month; the SSR 265 from JB was a real eye opener for Stan, and now aptly named the ‘Scud missile’. Thankfully the SSR 265 test ride was done well in advance of press day, so made it into this issue. The same couldn’t be said of the Scomadi test rides our team undertook, with TT, 250 geared, 300 and 400cc variants being offered to us by Frank Sanderson, which were completed later than expected, so we’ve had to push those back until next month.

The last thing for me to mention, before you dive into the rest of the mag, is a simple ‘nod’ to the fabulous work coming out of Butcher Garage in Russia. Last month we gave you a flavour of their premises and the team who work there, and alluded to some of the projects we had to share with you. So in this edition we have the Gallardo Vespa feature starting on page 44, the scooter itself having been built in… well, what can only be described as unusual circumstances! The other scooter we have this month is the Scrambler collaboration between SIP and Butchers. We held that feature to a single page, and reserved the rest for Scootering Extra, so as not to limit the number of images used, and they are spectacular indeed. Anyway enough of my ramblings, it’s another belter this month… enjoy the issue.