Vespa World Club was announced about a year ago, but not much happened since then. Today Vespa Club of America president J.D. Merryweather received confirmation that on Feburary 28, at the VWC Directive Council meeting, VCOA’s membership was officially approved. This announcement signifies a commitment from Piaggio in Italy that thankfully ends a year of confusion about the future of the VCOA. The affiliation should enhance the VCOA’s already-great credibility, stability, and member benefits.
Category: Manufacturers
Catching up with Bajaj
The last month has been busy for Bajaj:
On February 9, 2007, Bajaj Auto announced a demerger plan that would seperate the company into two different organizations. An automotive group would be headed by Rajiv Bajaj, with a finance and insurance group run by his brother Sanjiv. Rumors began to circulate that there is a disagreement between the brothers, reminiscent of the the ugly fight between their father Rahul and his brother Shishir that resulted in an earlier break-up the business empire started by their grandfather Jamnalal Bajaj. Rahul, while admitting that his sons had strong and differing personalities, played down any animosity.
Around the same time, Bajaj Auto announced they’d scale back their 100cc motorcycle segment and focus on larger bikes at a similar price-point. A week later, a 200cc Pulsar was released, and and some new commercial vehicles were announced. Bajaj announced a “high end” 220cc motorcycle in the works, announced a 2-wheeler plant in Brazil, and hinted they were looking at the consumer automobile market, and Bajaj stock rose substantially.
A few days later (Feburary 16) the Financial Express reported that Bajaj Auto had started a feud with Hero Honda by planning to build a luxury Bajaj “Pro-Biking” boutique right next to Hero Honda’s corporate headquarters. The showroom would be the second of 55 such shops planned for 2007 with “a technology centre for in-depth understanding of the technology and a specially designed dynamometer for inside showroom test ride.” Bajaj plans to invest $17.5 million in the Pro-Biking showrooms. (A later storie used the figure $67.5 million)
The same day, Sri Lanka banned the import of 2-stroke three-wheelers. Sanjiv was unfazed, claiming that a switch to 4-stroke engines would be nearly effortless.
On the 18th, Bajaj offered bikes for sale on its website for the first time.
On the 21st, Bajaj Auto announced they’d make a decision about the demerger in May.
Feburary 24th brought news that Yamaha, in the midst of joint-venture talks with Bajaj Auto, was considering abandoning the Indian market.
On the 26th, amid rising inflation and labor unrest, Rahul represented industrialist India on a television show called “Citizen’s Budget. The same day, Sanjiv announced that Bajaj had exported 3,000 knocked-down Pulsars to Iran, which will go on sale there in April.
On March 3, Bajaj executive S Sridhar cited bloggers as essential to Bajaj’s marketing strategy (you’re welcome!). Sridhar told the Economic Times that Pulsar reviews were online withing three hours of the launch, and that Bajaj marketing executives watched blogs very closely for feedback (hello, Piaggio!).
On March 7, Bajaj slashed prices on its 100-cc Platina motorcycles to clear the way for bigger models as expected. Meanwhile, Bajaj Allianz, the insurance division who had earlier in the month signed a deal with BMW for auto insurance, announced they were targeting the retail bank sector and applied for a banking license. The talk in Pune, however, was more likely the Industrial Sports Association basketball final, where Tata Motors and Bajaj met that evening. Sadly, we can’t find a result, but we hope Bajaj pulled off a victory. Probably not, because yesterday, they announced they were raising prices on most models and that they would not take over Yamaha’s operations. Interestingly, they restated their committment to abandoning the 100cc motorcycle segment while announcing that a new 1-million capacity 100cc Platina factory in Uttarakhand will open in April.
So what did you do last month? Yes, we just posted six thousand words about Bajaj and didn’t even mention a single scooter. But we do have the dancing Rahul photos in our possesion, so keep reading…
LML’s big export plans
I’m a little behind on news, sorry (we’ll catch up tonight), but this certainly caught my eye today:
Remember how LML was preparing for a February comeback? We all knew that wouldn’t happen, and it didn’t. But at today’s LML annual general meeting, LML director Deepak Singhania announced that LML will restart production by next month (whatever that means in India time), for the export market only. Here are some exerpts from the India Business Standard story (their links are unpredictable). Remember this is the LML Star/Genuine Stella/Retroscooter Belladonna, etc., that we’re talking about here.
…Deepak Singhania, chairman and managing director of the company, said the company had received substantial orders for the export of scooters and intended to recommence operations by next month. Further, he said the company was also in discussion with certain organisations for financial/strategic partnership…
…Singhania told Business Standard: “We are the only one manufacturing two-stroke scooters in the world. Neither Bajaj nor Piaggio is making that anymore. There is worldwide demand for these scooters. Besides we will make three-wheelers, again only for export. We will move out of domestic marketing.�
…a perusal of the annual report shows a daunting task is ahead of the LML management. It has shown a loss of Rs 168.89 crore for the 18-month period from March 2005 to September 30. In the earlier period, the company sold 190,561 two-wheelers and in the period March 2005 to September 2006 it sold 111,083 two-wheelers. However, its exports were at 34,879 units as against 19,969 units in the previous financial year. Vehicles were exported to 36 countries, including the US and EU countries…
LML knows what we’ve known all along, the international 2-stroke geared Vespa-style scooter market will never go away, and it’s all theirs if they can get their act together. It’s a good strategy, but a very big “if.” The Financial Times story (editorializing just a little) insists that the strike/lockout was a symptom of LML’s problems rather than a cause. Even if the workers are paid, a contract is agreed upon, and production starts as planned, LML appears to have serious management issues and financial needs that won’t solve themselves.
Yamaha to supply offical scooters for MotoGP in 2007 campaign
Yamaha has been supplying the FIM Grand Prix paddock with BW scooters (a.k.a. old-style zumas to us in the USA) for several years now. This year they’ll be the official paddock scooter for MotoGP. The scooter model has changed to the Yamaha Jog RR (a.k.a. a cool scooter that will never grace our shores to us in the USA). Yamaha will also offer an exclusive special edition replica model at dealers across Europe with MotoGP logos and track maps of each of the Grand Prix stops in the 2007 season. The Season kicks off in one week at Losail for the Grand Prix of Qatar.
Vanslam’s floormat upgrade
Sure, you could install your Vespa LX floormats the easy way…
2007 Dealer Expo: POCphil’s review
Since a week has passed and I still haven’t been able to collect my thoughts on the ginormous mindblowing extravaganza in Indianapolis, here’s POCphil‘s writeup. I’ll add my comments in italics where appropriate. -2SB
We were so excited to get to the Indianapolis Dealer Expo this year, we were running about 2 hours early. We took that time to go visit Speed City Cycles in Indianapolis, only a few minutes from the Show. Mike and Marybeth Tockey have created a fantastic shop with an ingenious use of space and rural/industrial feel that leaves room for a snack bar, lounge and a ton of scooters and accessories. Mike also builds award winning metric cruisers. Just hanging around his IWL Berliner is a treat. After a great tour and some bench racing we were back on our mission to deliver two scooters to the Scoot! Magazine/ Corazzo booth and still arrive early enough at the hotel for some hottubbing before showing up in time for the open bar at 4PM, whew!
Continue reading “2007 Dealer Expo: POCphil’s review”
Colaninno: “We will make a new Vespa for India”
Dave McCabe sent me the following article on New Year’s Eve and, sadly, I’m just getting around to posting it, even though it’s probably the most interesting Piaggio news since EICMA. The story, written by Adil Jal Darukhanawala, appeared in the December, 2006 issue of Bike India. I generally don’t swipe entire magazine stories, but it’s not on the web and most of us don’t have a subscription to Bike India, so here goes: (emphasis is ours, click the thumbnail to enlarge it)
Piaggio Plans new age Indian Vespa along with a slew of other two-wheelers as it prepares to re-enter the Indian bike sphere.
The Vespa, replete with classic style but new age mechanicals could be back in India as parent Piaggio gets ready to increase its presence in India’s booming automotive sphere, according to no less an authority than Roberto Colaninno himself. Speaking exclusively to BIKE INDIA at EICMA in Milan, Colaninno told us that India was too large to ignore and also too vibrant to be tackled with existing models. Having been absent in two-wheelers since its deal with Kanpur-based LML Limited expired a few years ago, Piaggio has concentrated on a range of utility three-wheelers and has done pretty well in that area to date.
At the Milan Show BIKE INDIA caugt up with both Roberto Colaninno and also Ravi Chopra, CEO of Piaggio Vehicles in India and they both confirmed that it was only a matter of time before the company went on to add both two as well as four wheeled vehicles in its portfolio. “We will make a new Vespa for India, classic shape yes but totally new engine and technology to compete with others,� were the actual works of the Piaggio bossman.
Continue reading “Colaninno: “We will make a new Vespa for India””
Piaggio targets 1 million units, more foreign production
Allow me to dissect some quotes from this Forbes story:
Piaggio SpA plans to open production sites in Brazil and Vietnam to reach its production target of 1 mln vehicles by 2010, chairman and CEO Roberto Colaninno said…
That means every Farm and Fleet will get a weekly shipment of 48 Piaggio Flys, an LX50, and one top-end Moto Guzzi.
The producer of motorcycles and light commercial vehicles manufactured 650,000 vehicles in 2006,…an additional 200,000 units were produced by Piaggio’s joint venture in China but are not consolidated in the group’s sales…
They’ll be counting Chinese production as part of that one million, I bet.
Colaninno said that Piaggio has superceded its restructuring phase and will now focus on growth.
Scooterists don’t need Forbes to tell us Piaggio is focused on growth, to the detriment of any other attribute.
Colaninno added that the group will have three business areas — Europe, the Americas and Asia/Africa — which will have their own production sites and distribution networks.
HOLD THE PHONE– are they saying that Piaggio products for the Americas will be produced IN THE AMERICAS? (i.e. Brazil?) Very interesting.
The group’s brands — Piaggio, Vespa, Gilera, Guzzi and Aprilia — will be maintained but have similar distribution channels, he said.
How has Derbi stayed out of this mess? And will high-end motorcycle buyers stand for Brazillian product?
The story also reports that production in India is up, with a new diesel engine plant in the works. It’s hard to say these days what’s built where, and where the components come from, but if the Pontedera factory is not already an anachronism for tourists, it looks like it may be within the next decade. We look forward to more corporate chest-banging at Piaggio’s Berlin Conference tomorrow.
2007 Dealer Expo: Photo Gallery
Here are our photos from the 2007 Dealer Expo. If you’re a 2sb member, you can log in with your user ID/password to leave comments and rate photos (it finally works). Enjoy, and look for our story soon!
MP3 faces a growing scooter-car market
The Kneeslider (and the motorcycling press in general) are paying a lot of attention to commuter-friendly three- and four-wheeled motorcycles and microcars such as the VentureOne Tilting 3 Wheeler, KTM’s X-Bow, and the Bombardier Can-Am Spyder (more on the Spyder). As more car-like motorcycles appear, smaller cars (Mini, Smart, etc.) are also growing in popularity, and the line between cars and motorcycles was further blurred at Dealer Expo with a surprising number of trikes, oversized ATVs, dunebuggies, motorcycle training wheels, enclosed scooters, utility cars, and the like. Piaggio must ensure that their MP3 will remain the focus of, rather than becoming consumed by, this trend.
Word at the Expo was that the MP3’s greatest competition may come from within. PiaggioUSA recently spread the word that the 400cc model will come to America later this year. Dealers, who are still waiting for the 250cc version, found the 400cc announcement poorly-timed (and the shipping date optimistic). Piaggio, obviously, would be happy to sell customers either model, but if 250cc sales are disappointing, the 400cc might arrive too late to keep the public’s interest. The Vespa LXS faces a similar situation: again, dealers say U.S. shipping estimates are too optimistic, and the announcement will hurt sales of the “regular” LX in the meantime.
GTS exhaust gasket: A dealer’s view
We got a great email the other day from Victor Voris regarding the GTS exhaust gasket and some of the other issues we’ve been talking about. Victor’s been running Big People Scooters in Seattle since 1989, and was one of America’s most respected Vespa experts during Piaggio’s absence. When Piaggio returned to the U.S., Victor’s Vespa of Seattle was among the first dealerships to open, and one of very few to be run by someone with extensive scooter experience. Since then, both shops have flourished. I respect his opinion greatly, and like others, he feels modern scooter repair is best-left to a factory-trained technician:
There has been a lot of miscommunication and misinformation about the GT/GTS exhaust gasket and packing problems. The first thing to know about the problem is that you are NEVER to take the pipe apart. in all Piaggio shop manuals, as well as at any factory school, you are clearly told this. The reason that the pipe has this graphite one-time-use packing is that the header pipe is made of a different metal than the rest of the exhaust (I believe the header pipe is titanium). Because there is a joint there, and a clamp that can come loose, the torque on the bolt is to be checked as part of the routine service, as it can loosen over time.
In our shop we have seen exhaust systems come in that the customer has beaten apart, which will never go back together and seal, even with a new packing installed. It is by no means a design problem, any problems are coming from incorrect maintenance or repair. PiaggioUSA requires that their dealers have factory trained staff and offers training to their dealers free of charge. It is unfortunate that not every Vespa shop in the country has only factory trained technicians working on their scooters, but that is the case. There are countless other things that home-repair people and non-certified shops are doing that can cause huge damage to a modern Vespa motor. A common mistake we see all the time in the shop is the re-use of the one-time nut on the variator. If this nut fails, one of the many things that can happen is damage to the crankshaft, and installing a new crank is not fun for anyone. All of the factory shop manuals and workshop manuals are posted on Modern Vespa , and anyone working on their scooter at home should download these and read them. I am planning to offer tech classes at Amerivespa this year, and am trying to get Piaggio to send a technical representative as well.
It’s common in scootering (especially on the internet) for a scooterist (often me) to insist he knows more about scooters than the people who make and sell them. Sometimes they (I) do, but there are certain people I’d never dare argue with, and Victor is one of those people. I do, however, look forward to rebuttals.
More Calendars (the old kind)
C3 on ScooterScoop
Steve got a better look at the Yamaha C3 than we did. Apparently it’s not a Vino engine, Yamaha has engineered it to be even slower and more fuel efficient than a Vino. I also forgot to mention that the legshield turns with the wheel, which is weird. Steve points out that it has a bit in common with the Honda Ruckus. I’m not sure where Steve got his 117mpg figure, but if that’s true, I dub thee, C3, “the Yamaha Ruckelshaus” in honor of the first head of the EPA.
The MP3: A revelation
Seeing the Piaggio MP3 in person, and a short demonstration from a Piaggio representative, answered a lot of questions about the scooter, and warranted a separate post.
Since the first leaked footage of the MP3, I’ve been pointing out that the machine does not, in fact, balance on three wheels like a tricycle, eliminating the need to put your feet down at lights. If the dual front wheels tilt, I assumed, then (unless the parking brake was activated), the machine could easily fall over on its side. Technically, I was right, and the Piaggio representative pointed out a few marks where it had been dropped a couple times at the Minneapolis show.
But what I did not know, nor had I ever seen explained, is that the MP3 is actually designed to lock the wheel-tilting mechanism at low speeds and stops. You actually, in most cases, can leave your feet on the floorboards! As you accelerate, the tilt mechanism unlocks, so that once you hit about 15-20mph, the wheels are free to tilt. As you come to a stop, they once again lock into place. A manual override button (photo above) will lock or unlock the wheels when necessary, for instance when parking on a hill, the wheels can be tilted for stability. The centerstand, the representative said, is nearly unnecessary other than for long-term storage.
This was a real revelation, many times I’ve questioned the hype that the MP3 would be a good choice for beginners, because I had no idea the wheel tilt was tied to the speed. I was wrong, it probably would make a beginner feel quite at ease.
That said, under the right conditions, it can still be dropped, at speed or at rest, and it is one giant, heavy machine. The thought of even more electric sensors and gizmos in what already seemed like a ridiculously complicated suspension make me shudder when I think of the expensive repairs for a very minor front-end collision. Electrical failure or a dead battery would seemingly pose some interesting new problems. Looking at the MP3 really drove it home that modern scooters have very little in common with the simple two-stroke Vespas I’m used to, and home maintenance is a thing of the past. The MP3 is just as complicated as a modern car, though–unlike a car–there will be a very small pool of qualified technicians capable of maintaining and repairing it.
On the other hand, it is attractive, well-designed and -built, and it felt amazingly comfortable, so even with its high price tag, it might be a big seller. I am still entirely unqualified to comment on its handling and agility, having never ridden it, but I suspect that will be another revelation. Hopefully, that revelation will come soon.
Chicago International Motorcycle Show 2007
You’ll hopefully forgive 2strokebuzz if coverage of the 2007 Cycle World International Motorcycle show is a little scaled back this year. The truth is, very little has changed from year to year. Each year there are fewer surprises, less swag, and fewer perks (the bus service to the CTA parking lot was cancelled this year, brrr.), while parking, concessions, and admission (at least seem to) get more expensive. Probably that’s why Triumph didn’t appear for the second year in a row, and why Kymco, CMSI, and Genuine rarely bother with these shows.
On top of that, we had a head start on new 2007 models, thanks to the Milan EIMCA show, and next weekend I’m attending the Indianapolis Dealer Expo (my first trip), which promises to be a bit more exciting. But out of a sense of duty, and because Ryan was driving, I decided to once again trek through the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL, to see what there was to see. Which wasn’t much, really.
Continue reading “Chicago International Motorcycle Show 2007”