Category: The Biz

“How to Fix a Flat”

New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman feels about as sorry for American automakers as most scooterists do. If they want to blame trade unions and the recession for their situation, instead of thier stubborn refusal to innovate and plan for the future, someone else will be happy to manufacture cars for us. Throwing more money at the idiots in Detroit might save some jobs, but not for long. I’m not sure Friedman’s ideas are better (even as a closet socialist, I don’t want the government running the auto industry), but it’s better than giving them free reign with giant wads of taxpayer money.

Just for fun, here’s Bob Lutz on 60 Minutes, pretending to believe that he’s excited about the Chevy Volt.

Pennsylvania DOT delays Chinese scooter registrations

The Scooter Scoop (welcome back, Steve, where have you been?) reports Pennsylvania’s DOT is holding all registrations of Chinese-made scooters for review. If this initiative covers any scooter with a VIN starting with “L,” it would not only target the fly-by nighters, but many legitimate NHTSA/DOT/EPA-approved importers and even top brands (like Piaggio and Kymco) that make some models in China.

We’re happy to see a state taking a stand against unsafe scooters and fly-by-night importers, but it seems Pennsylvania has cast their net a bit too wide, and is targeting dealers and consumers rather than importers. Hopefully the new system allows speedy processing of legitimate scooter titles, and penalizes the importers rather than the buyers of questionable Chinese scooters. The dealers deserve a big slap on the wrist, but the importers are the real criminals here.

Find more information about scooter VINs at our scooter VIN database and from Dr. Buzz.

Vespa at EICMA: a video tour

A video tour of Vespa’s booth at EICMA.

Here’s another general video with peeks of a few scooters and an overall idea of the number of skeezy European models at the event, which pretty much explains why Bradford paid $7000 (and that was just the fuel surcharges) to fly to Milan:

$315

The Scooter Scoop on a $315 motorscooter. He’s not clear if it’s wholesale or retail price, but I bet a lot of sub-$1000 scooters cost less than that wholesale, and in any case, keep in mind that’s AFTER manufacturer markup. Snobbishness aside, can you trust a scooter that costs less than a decent* bicycle?

*A similar drop in quality/price has been happening in the bicycle world over the past decade. My local bicycle shop, who easily supplied reasonably-priced parts for a 1960s Sears three-speed Vina found at a garage sale, won’t work on chain-store bikes, even the name brands. You get what you pay for when you spend the extra money at a reliable dealer.

Bradford checks in from EICMA

Got home last night to find an answering machine message from VCOA president, Corazzo proprietor, and part-time 2strokebuzz correspondent Bradford Duval, who was very possibly drunk. He didn’t clear up any mysteries about his GTS sidecar photo, but he did paint a colorful image that I’m still trying to erase from my head…

Hi Bryan, it’s Bradford. I’m calling from Italy. I hope you got the photo. Nothing particularly interesting at the Piaggio booth other than the GTS SIDECAAAAAAR which was FUCKING GOOORGeous… GORGeous! I would make that sidecar my matromonial BED if I got married again, and, uhhh, hope you’re doing well, lots of really great stories, and anyone who thinks that Piaggio/Vespa is all about the 2-stroke, you can tell them to FUCK OFF because I saw the prototype engine for the ’46 and IT WAS A 4-STROKE! And I got pictures. (unintelligible)…and VCOA is very strong and doing well over here…(unintelligble)…Eurovespa…(unintelligble)…Later, man, hope you’re doing well.

This is EICMA coverage you’re not going to find anywhere else. Gonzo! Stay tuned.

Nipponia unveiled

Scooter Station sure is excited about Nipponia. (Google translation) The designs are actually pretty novel and interesting (the “Renzo” especially). The Japanese company, now based in Greece, plans to produce these Italian-designed scooters in Greece using Chinese-made parts, and start selling them in Europe in late 2009. Type nerd trivia: Nipponia’s logo features the same godawful Revue typeface as PGO’s logo.

UPDATE: more from Motoblog.it.

Vespa GTV Pearl Sidecar?

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Our first dispatch from Bradford in Milan is this photo. Bradford didn’t tell us what is is, so we’re going to make it up: This is the 2009 Vespa GTV in pearl iridescent color-move paint with a matching Vespa sidecar. It will be available in the U.S. in one hour, for $379.99. Or, more likely, it’s just a one-off done up for the show, which is more likely because there’s nothing about new colors in the Vespa GTV press release I’m reading right now, nor is there anything about sidecars. The bikes shown in the GTV/LXV press release are all classic Vespa green or 100 Sport beige. A Piaggio-designed matching Vespa sidecar would be big news, maybe Bradford will sober up and send a caption later, or a photo of the hot new Simoncelli Gilera Runner.

UPDATE: This site is calling it a “concept.” They say Piaggio produced sidecars until 1965, I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen a Vespa-branded sidecar… Anyway, OmniMoto have some more cool EICMA photos here. (Thanks Eric!)

The “new Silverwing” is… a Silverwing

EICMA opens today, and the big story was how Honda was going to unveil a new scooter, a replacement for the Silverwing that would put the Yamaha T-Max to shame. The suspense is over, it’s a new 400cc Silverwing. It’s sportier and has some cool features, but I can’t deal with French right now because something more interesting just came up on the 2sb news desk… (and 2sb correspondent Bradford Duval is live in Milan, hopefully we’ll hear from him soon…)

Daelim shuts down U.S. ops

Word on the BBS is that DaelimUSA has closed their operations. Call us gloomy, but we predict a long winter for many dealers and importers in the oversaturated U.S. scooter market.

Sadly, middle-market Asian manufacturers trying to build a legitimate foothold in the U.S., like Daelim, will likely collapse sooner than the bargain-basement fly-by-night containerload badge-engineers. We were going to call them “Rebadgers,” but that sounds like woodland zombie mustelid. (Thanks for the tip, Matty)