DWJ Highlights 2022

It’s the end of another year – time to look back at some DWJ Highlights of 2022.

If anything, 2022 was a year of growth for the Dual Wheel Journey. In 2021, this site got 1,100 views.

In 2022, it got over 30,000 views.

I think that a lot of it boils down to the fact that I decided to niche down into the field of motorcycle mechanics more and more, rather than trying to cover all aspects of them – no matter how tenuous they were.

But I digress. Since this was such a year of massive growth, choosing just 7 highlights was very difficult, but in the end,

Highlight #1. What are Garelli Gary Uno Mopeds? (blog post)

Let’s start with the first blog post for 2022 (unless you count the DWJ Highlights for 2021 post) – my post about the Garelli Gary Uno moped.

The idea for this blog was entirely spontaneous – I just happened to find a sales brochure for sale online one day, and I knew from looking at it that I had the next blog fixed.

I even featured the exact same sales brochure that inspired me to write the article in the first place.

Later on, this evolved into the Specs & Stats series, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Highlight #2: Underbone vs. Backbone Motorcycles – What’s the Difference (blog post)

This blog post (and the podcast episode) attracted a surprisingly large audience in the Philipines. For a large part of 2022, my largest source of traffic to this blog were from the Philipines.

Highlight #3: Puchjournalen 1-year special (5-part blog posts)

On April 30th, 2022, The Dual Wheel Journey had its 1-year anniversary (commemorating the first blog post going live).

Because this event was something of a milestone, I decided to write a series of special blog posts about a Swedish moped magazine from the 1970s called “Puchjournalen.”

At first, I was reluctant to do this, since I had no memories or personal experience with this magazine.

But I decided to do it anyway since there were a few things about it that I felt were worth mentioning. Some noteworthy moments included:

• A comic strip that featured the 1970s equivalent of a Karen
• Someone giving what was easily the worst excuse for not wearing a helmet
• That time the editor of the magazine threw a childish temper tantrum against his own readers – simply because a contest didn’t turn out as they expected

 So even though I had no personal memories to share, I still managed to 

If you’re interested in discovering more about this magazine, check out the links below.

Part 5: Issues 18-20

Highlight #4: Essential Scooter Maintenance for the Absolute Beginner (ebook)

It wasn’t all blog posts and podcast episodes this year however – I also wrote an ebook about essential scooter maintenance.

I had thought about writing a book about scooter maintenance, but at first, I couldn’t find a way to stand out from other books that cover this topic.

But then I realized that many of these books (even many good ones) take for granted that the reader knows how to use the tools they need to change the oil filter, for example.

But that’s not always the case – for example, when I was learning about mechanics, I seriously thought that a torque wrench was the same as a socket wrench.

Since I believe you can’t become a good scooter or motorcycle mechanic without knowing how to use tools properly, I thought this was worth covering in the book.

And there I had my unique angle – it wasn’t just a book about how to maintain a scooter, it also teaches you tool usage.

If you’re interested in checking out this ebook, head to the DWJ Ebooks and Freebies page for more information.

Highlight #5: Genuine Scooters – A Brand Introduction (blog post)

For every Honda or Harley Davidson, you get obscure brands not many people know about.

Brands like Viarelli, Derbi, and of course, Genuine Scooters – the latter of which became the subject of a new series called “A Brand Introduction” (originally known as “A Quick Introduction”).

It was a lot like Specs & Stats, except that it went into more detail about the brand, its history, and some of its more well-known models.

Since then, I’ve done more entries in this series, but the first one will always be special to me.

Highlight #6: The 1970s Moped Craze in America (blog post)

The topic of mopeds in 1970s America was a topic that I wanted to cover ever since I started the Dual Wheel Journey – and for the 150th post, I did. 

Originally, this was supposed to be the 2-year anniversary special for 2023, but I decided to finish it earlier.

Besides, the practicality of mopeds during times of high fuel prices is as relevant in 2022 as it was back in the 1970s.

Doing research for this post was on par with writing a scientific research paper.

I didn’t just rely on Google to find I even went so far as to buy two obscure books off Amazon (that I had to pay import tax on).

It was worth it in the end though, because I couldn’t have

Highlight #7: Is That a Lambretta Scooter with TWO Handlebars?! (blog post)

If there’s one thing I’ve noticed this year, it’s that inspiration can come from almost anywhere. The Gary Uno post mentioned earlier is a great example, but it wasn’t the only one.

In August 2022, I got a copy of the magazine “Scootering in the 1960s” by Stuart Owens – a magazine containing pictures of scooter life from 1960s Britain.

While I was flicking through the pages, I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw the picture displayed above and asked myself:

“Is that a Lambretta Scooter with TWO Handlebars?!”

And like that, I had the title (and an idea) for a new blog post.

I was just in awe that something like this existed.

What’s Coming Up in 2023?

So with such a phenomenal growth year, what’s 2023 going to be like for DWJ?

In January, there’s a post coming up about some Puchs and Piaggios that were imported and rebadged by the Sears department store in the 1960s and 1970s, followed by one that explained 9 electrical terms in plain English.

After that, the site will take a hiatus until March.

Happy New Year!