Month: February 2006

2006 Indianapolis Dealer Expo: Phil’s notes.

65.jpgPhil Waters of Pride of Cleveland Scooters was kind enough to share his notes from the Motorcycle Dealer Expo in Indianapolis, from a scooter-dealer’s perspective. They’re presented here in their entirety, unedited for sake of expediency. Phil’s views do not reflect the views of 2strokebuzz, but they come pretty close usually. Photos courtesy of POC Michelle. — illnoise.

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Genuine Black Cat

At the Dealer Expo in Indianapolis last weekend, Genuine Scooter Co. (of Stella fame) unveiled their Black Cat scooter, and some other surprises. Not much technical info there, but it’s eyecatching, i’m guessing PJ had something to do with that and hopefully he’ll chime in with some backstory. We’re also hoping to repost Phil Waters’ (of POC Scooters) recap of the DealerExpo later today, if he gives us permission.

Vespa ad reaction on NPR

On today’s episode of NPR’s The World, Lisa Mullins talked to UCLA’s Brian Taylor about Piaggio’s full-page New York Times ad. Pretty unenlightening, the gist is “yes they save you gas money but you can’t pick up your dry cleaning.” Thanks for the insight. Sure, Piaggio’s motives aren’t entirely altruistic, but it’s a bummer to hear a liberal outpost like NPR laugh off the idea that more scooters might be good for America. (Thanks for the tip, Lu$.)

How to fight motorcycles

htfmc.jpgAnother link I’ve been saving for months and can’t remember who originally sent it:

This little book assumes that the United States has been invaded by enemy soldiers on motorcycles and that we have to fight and harass them by guerrilla tactics.

Might come in handy if the Mods-and-Rockers war ever flares up again, but beware! These tips could also be used against us.

Bajaj family feuds as production grows

The Indian Express reported Saturday that Bajaj Auto chairman Rahul Bajaj has not reached an agreement with his younger brother Shishir and Shishir’s son Kushagra, who filed an internal grievance “alleging oppression and mismanagement” by Rahul and his sons Rajiv and Sanjiv. The story is a bit unclear, but it appears that Shishir and Kushagra are looking for a cash settlement for giving up their stake in Bajaj Auto in order to pursue independent ownership of some smaller Bajaj subsidaries. The settlement is held up as the debate continues over the worth of their stake in the company as the company continues to expand production. Recent reports project production capacity to grow from the current 3 million units annually to over 4 million within the next three years.

Kymco to add cross-brand comparison technology to site

WantFacts.com allows you to select and compare new scooters online based on manufacturer’s stats. They don’t have all brands, but they have most of the major manufacturers. Consumer Research Solutions, who run WantFacts, recently announced plans to supply KymcoUSA‘s site with this same comparison technology. Kymco is also in the process of switching over to ARI’s PartSmart system to help dealers manage parts supply.

New Lambretta setbacks

Washington-based partners CMSI and Khurana issued a press release this month outlining the problems facing the “New Lambretta” and their internal rivalry:

CMSI, Inc. and its partners KG of Seattle, WA reached an impasse late in 2005 in their discussions concerning how to proceed on the Lambretta project. CMSI and KG are currently working to resolve this impasse and if needed, will submit to binding arbitration to resolve it as outlined in their agreement.
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