Goodbye, Philip

Philip McCaleb, right, with Tom Hanks at the premiere of “Larry Crowne,” from a 2011 Genuine Scooter Co. press release

Word’s spreading quickly today that Genuine Scooters founder Philip McCaleb passed away this morning after a heart attack.

I’ve already seen a few reverent posts from scooterists and industry professionals, most mention (as politely as possible) how difficult he was to work with. I was lucky enough to talk to him regularly but we managed to keep enough distance between us that we had a really good relationship. He was always kind to me; he’d take me out for dinner once a year or so, where he’d spill a bunch of industry gossip and tell his stories. I was always trusted to snoop around the office and warehouse. Even after he got out of the business, he’d occasionally send a postcard from some far-off outpost.

I somehow always got his good side. But even those who faced off with him over the years will tell you the same thing: McCaleb was probably the most important force in American scootering in the last 50 years.

After Piaggio left the market and Honda’s eighties scooter heyday had passed, McCaleb turned the ashes of Vespa of Chicago into Scooterworks U.S.A., soon becoming the U.S.’s biggest importer of parts for vintage Vespas. He had a handshake deal with the Agnelli Family: when Piaggio was ready to return, they’d do it with Scooterworks. When Roberto Colaninno took over Piaggio, that deal was broken, and Philip retaliated by going to an old Piaggio licensee, LML in India, and striking a deal to supply America with its P150-derived “Star;” arguably more of a Vespa than Vespa’s new Vespas. A deal with PGO in Taiwan followed, bringing in the “Bubu” and other models.

But an Indian copy of a 30-year-old design and a few nondescript Taiwanese scooters were not the reason for Genuine’s success. McCaleb, unlike any other American scooter importer since (arguably including Piaggio) really knew his market. He struck a careful balance between “retro” and “modern,” avoiding both the niche “Mods and Rockers” cliches and Piaggio’s hyper-pretentious marketing. He carefully and professionally rebranded his bikes as the Genuine “Stella” and “Buddy,” had them sprayed in compelling colors, tweaked specs for our market, and targeted everyday people looking for affordable recreation and transportation, with simple, professionally-designed advertisements and catalogs.

In a sea of lowest-common-denominator Chinese Yamaha clones and European and Japanese luxury scooters, Genuine stood out for their practicality, reliability, durability, and affordability. The last piece of the puzzle was the dealer network, and again, no one, even Piaggio, compared to McCaleb-era Genuine’s relationship with dealers. Dealers came to love the brand as easy-to-sell, with reliable quality control, good marketing, and equally good support from the manufacturer. Customers loved them, and joined vintage scooterists in rebuilding the U.S. scooter community. McCaleb knew that scooters on the street — especially in packs! — bring curious customers into the dealership. While scooters were an afterthought to every other manufacturer, importer, and dealer, Genuine exclusively sold scooters, and the passion was clear.

Another thing I haven’t seen mentioned elsewhere: McCaleb (at least as he described it to me at one of our dinners) started the Vespa Club of America in the early nineties with Randolph Garner. To avoid the appearance that Scooterworks was behind the club, McCaleb convinced Garner to become the first president of the club. McCaleb was VCOA member #6. Scooterworks and Genuine have remained very supportive of VCOA and Amerivespa, often moreso than Piaggio.

McCaleb was (in his words, for what they’re worth) “forced out” of Genuine and Scooterworks in 2013 by venture capitalists that he and his silent partner brought in to help grow the company. Even in their best years, Genuine was surely never as mega-profitable as anyone had hoped, but in the volatile, cyclical American scooter market, they’ve done as well as anyone. Dozens of other scooter companies have come and gone, but Genuine remains a major force in the American market. Even so, it seems to me that McCaleb’s vision is missed. I don’t doubt for a second that he was difficult to work with and maybe it simply wasn’t worth the drama, but I suspect it was his pressure on suppliers and dealers — and especially his knowledge of the market — that gave Genuine its edge.

2018 Yacht Club

Remember back when our friend Matthew’s 2002 Bajaj Chetak was somehow titled as a “Yacht Club” by the Illinois DMV? Well guess what, itshappeningronpaul.gif because Vespa just commandeered (commodoredeered?) that very same name for a limited edition Primavera and GTS. Glad to see Vespa has backed off their elitist suburban leisure marketing and got back to making efficient, affordable scooters for the proletariat.

Ch-Ch-Changes

Two big changes in the U.S. scooter world this week:

Arguably the most influential player in the growth of scootering in America in the past two decades, Philip McCaleb, has stepped down from day-to-day operations at Genuine Scooter Company , to be replaced by Dorothy Hanley.

After five years as president of the Vespa Club of America, Mike Bobadilla has stepped down and passed the reins on to John ‘Jac’ Carolan of New Orleans, and Amerivespa will return to the Crescent City for 2014.

The Vespa 946 Is A Step Closer To Reality

As promised earlier, the radically re-designed Vespa will be brought to market. The latest news from EICMA, as reported by Motoblog.it, shows a promotional photo where the new Quarantasei is decked out in commercialized trim. The controls, center stand, mirrors and turn signals are all aspects missing from the prototype that now appear on this pre-launch offering.

So it’s real, it’s arriving within the next year, and the question remains: Is it as interesting to throw a leg over as it is to look at? And will YOU be buying?

The (LML) Stars Aligns: EICMA Teases With Auto-Stella

Jeb, of Fido, passed along this teaser image from EICMA with Italian description. The photo depicts an LML star with an automatic engine. Last year we saw an even more compact PK with the same powerplant wedged inside. Now the Retro Vespa kits to convert a P-series into a VBB-appearing ride may have a new appeal. The holy grail of vintage modern is nearly at hand. It will certainly outdo the La Vita disaster, but will it still look a bit Tranny?

Check It Out: Mopeds Gone Social

1977 Mopeds is a shop at the epicenter of the modern American mopedlar world. They have a new feature on their site that is as much eye-candy as social aggregation for the 50cc bikes with vestigial pedals. It’s called Garage. The concept is a bit like facebook where you register, make a profile put up pictures of your ride and ‘like’ other people’s creations. But it takes it a step further and indexes all the trick bits people compile into their showcased moped builds. So if the member documents their build well enough, you can glean enough info to re-create the machine yourself. The parts are cross-referenced to other bikes which have the part and to the product page where you can buy the part in question. It’s not too pushy on the product placement as it’s the second choice when you click on a part and keeps the feel of a user focused site. Users can add multiple bikes and you can tell some of the better builders have a signature style. It’s not just for the tuners and 30 mph boy racer. Stock and restored builds are also welcome.

Plans for the future include awards for top bikes, manual libraries and tuning indexes to help users along. In the vintage scooter world some efforts like this have popped up in the past but with less homogenization and standard input formats. The great Scoot.net and Scooterhelp.com have been individually priceless assets to the scooter community. 1977 is trying to tie it all together in line with their own site and it looks pretty nicely done. It probably takes an entity with a material interest to pool it all as such.

Take it for a spin and feel free comment below and say how much it’s too much like pinterest and tumblr.

Scooter Examiner at Dealer Expo

Despite Dealer Expo’s best efforts to actually invite 2strokebuzz (after years of sneaking in as “POC employee” “Michelle Rodriguez”) we couldn’t make it this year. If they’re courting us, you know attendance is down, but there are still things to see, and Ron “Detroit Scooter Examiner” Arnold is at the show posting daily roundups. He’s a little disappointed that the indoor electric motorcycle demo area was cancelled, but he did get to see the Genuine Psycho and the new 2-tone Stellas.

MP3, Piaggio Lineup, and Vespa Colors Slashed

Desaturate 100%
A Piaggio/Vespa dealer has told 2strokebuzz that a new 2Q 2012 dealer order form from PiaggioUSA has eliminated a large share of the Piaggio product line from the U.S. market, most notably the full range of MP3s.

According to our source, The Piaggio MP3 250, 400, and 500cc three-wheelers are no longer available to dealers, and the promised MP3 Yourban 300 will not replace them, let alone the endlessly-hyped hybrid that Jay Leno promised dealers in 2008. It appears Piaggio is totally abandoning the MP3 in the United States.

(UPDATE: Other evidence suggests the MP3 Yourban will be available in the U.S. later this year, probably with 350cc displacement. see comments.)

The BV lineup, previously available in 250, 300, and 500cc displacements, is now limited to the new 350 model in black or silver only.

The Vespa line is being desaturated in a more literal way, with a far smaller color palette. The Vespa GTS/Super 300i is no longer available in red, and the Vespa 150 LX S loses its red, orange, and two-tone versions, it will now be available only in Black or Titanium.
Continue reading “MP3, Piaggio Lineup, and Vespa Colors Slashed”

Not So Innocenti…

Jeb (of FIDO fame) spotted an interesting badge on the electric car shown at 4:28 in this video collage of electric vehicle photos from EICMA…

Our first Britney Spears-inspired headline heralds the (maybe? sorta?) return of famed Lambretta maker Innocenti in a story that hasn’t garnered any media coverage, but once we blow it out of proportion here, it may send a few Austrian IP attorneys into a tizzy.
Jeb (of FIDO fame) spotted an interesting badge on the electric car shown at 4:28 in this video collage of electric vehicle photos from EICMA:
Continue reading “Not So Innocenti…”

Kaitong Busted at EICMA

Italian police confiscated Kaitong’s knockoff of the Piaggio MP3 at the EICMA show in Milan.

If that’s a thing… that… can be done, it’s surprising it doesn’t happen more at motorcycle trade shows. Surely it wasn’t a good idea to show up on Italian soil during the financial crisis on the week the Prime Minister resigns (incidentally, Berlusconi was slated to speak at EICMA but cancelled), and display a knockoff of one of Italy’s proudest exports. But one would hope authorities would afford the same attention to other imitators, too.

In other MP3-ish news, Vectrix is promising their 3-wheeler for 2012.

Via Scooterism.

Modern PK Automatic at EICMA

This is just a short post to beat Bryan and the new cub report, Matt, to the punch.

It appears that rumors are true (but are secrets really lies?). LML has shoehorned an automatic into a PK body. They are showing it off at the big bike show EICMA, in Italy. I noticed the photo posted in Scooter Mercato‘s facebook feed. Thanks, Dave.

Discuss. (Likely more analysis to follow.)