Honda is promising to unveil a mind-blowing Silverwing replacement at EICMA that will knock the socks off potential T-Max buyers. Scooter Station thinks it’s based on this concept from a couple years back. I can guarantee it won’t be that crazy-looking, but they’ve piqued my interest. Also: aren’t high-powered touring scooters supposed to have comfy seats and passenger/storage space? I can see a market for big-displacement sports scooters, but it’s not replacing the Silverwing market.
Category: The Biz
PGO confirms RCV engine program
CENS Taiwan Economic news reports (in great depth) that PGO has been working with british rotary-valve experts RCV Engine Ltd. for two years. Suddenly the rotary-powered Genuine rumors don’t sound so crazy. (Thanks to Rikko on Modern Buddy for the link.)
Piaggio GT 850?
Speaking of EICMA, Piaggio is expected to show the Piaggio GT 850. Crazy. Apparently it’s based on Piaggio’s 839.3 cc V-twin automatic engine, though we’re still not clear why Gilera calls it an “800” (GP800) and Piaggio (GT 850) and Aprilia (Mana 850) call it “850.”
Kymco Downtown 300i
With EICMA 2008 three weeks away, the new scooter announcements are trickling in. Kymco has unveiled their new Downtown 300i, a welcome competitor in the underrated 300cc category. It features a somewhat sportier design than the XCiting (which is actually also available as a 300i in some markets), with fuel injection, front-and-rear discs, and a 4-valve liquid-cooled engine. Optional ABS brakes will be available, and we bet they’re not this kind.
Genuine 2009 rumors
The Genuine dealer meeting/rodeo in Wisconsin has come and gone, and our usual spies didn’t come through with much info, luckily a few people on Modern Buddy have been doing detective work. Sadly, unless Genuine is keeping some big secrets, there’s no 4-valve Blur 200 (or mayonnaise-cooled Stella 250 2-stroke 5-speed) to report, but there are a few interesting new twists.
Continue reading “Genuine 2009 rumors”
Scooters predict the election
Here are two spreads from the PowerSports Business 2008 Market Data Book — a mere two pages apart — that speak volumes about the current American state of mind:
Sales are through the roof for the well-travelled, egalitarian, humble, urbane scooter. The hillbilly-slut’s showoff JetSki? Not doing so well. Draw your own conclusions.
“Art of the Ride” at Motoworks
Hey, sorry about the last-minuteness, but our local Vespa/MC dealer Motoworks Chicago is having an art show with a reception thingy after work today (Friday). The show will be around for a couple months, if you can’t make the opening:
Friday 10/10 5pm-10:30pm Motoworks presents: “Art of the Ride” Show runs October 10, 2008- December 10, 2008
Art and motorcycles, is that possible? Well, thanks to local artist Mark Nelson, it is! Motoworks Chicago is proud to host this event.
The purpose of this show, according to Nelson, “is to expose the public to more art in neighborhood establishments – and since this business is motorcycles, it was the perfect opportunity to create a site-specific art show about motorcycles. From an artist’s angle, I wanted to communicate to the general public the feeling behind the exhilaration of the ride. To fellow riders, I wanted to communicate the universal understanding and appreciation of the ride.”
The project started out with drawings in pastel chalk. Mark then came here to Motoworks and photographed the mechanics at work. He, wanted to follow in the footsteps of Diego Rivera – a world-renown, historical Mexican muralist, focusing on the actual laborer working his trade.
So please join us at Motoworks Chicago as we present: “Art of the Ride,” a one person show of etchings, pastel drawings, and paintings by an artist who has been living and working in the city of Chicago for 25 years. The art presented here both celebrates the act of riding as well as Nelson’s use of social sarcasm.
An Opening Reception with English Ale is scheduled for: October 10, 2008, 5:00PM – 10:30PM at Motoworks Chicago, 1901 South Western Ave, Chicago, IL 60608. For more info: call Motoworks at 312-738-4269.
gringolandiastudio.com
motoworkschicago.com
(Thanks for the info, Mike!)
I finally caved in and set up a Twitter account… but I have an ACTUAL PURPOSE for it! I’ll use it to post scootering tips and I’ll also post quick bursts about rumors and upcoming stories. So, if you’re into that, we’re simply “2strokebuzz.” If you prefer not to join Twitter (you’re smart), you can still read the posts or subscribe to an RSS feed here.
I found those Lambretta parts…
…and your nunchucks: North Wales postman dumped 3,000 packages in woods:
A POSTMAN hid thousands of packages in woods and delayed many more because he “couldn’t be bothered” delivering them. (…) Scores of customers complained they had not received items including a set of nunchucks, parts for a Lambretta scooter, craft items, sports wear, DVDs and children’s clothing.
A likely excuse, scooter shop! Anyway, when the trial’s over, he’ll have no problem finding employment losing mail in Chicago.
Vespa, Piaggio rentals at EagleRider
International motorcycle rental chain EagleRider is adding Vespa and Piaggio scooters to its rental lineup in Las Vegas, Orlando, Los Angeles, and San Francisco this month. Just a press release rehash, but good to know (and good for PiaggioUSA sales figures, we bet).
PiaggioUSA 2008 Fall Dealer Meeting
From our spies at Piaggio’s fall dealer meeting:
Dinner meeting features Jay Leno: 45 minutes of stand up, closing with “when Piaggio called me they said, ‘we don’t have much money,’ and I said ‘I’ll do it free, I’m Italian, I want to support an Italian product, I like Italian bikes,’ then I get here and find out how your sales are up and your dealers aren’t exactly hurtin’.
M&M considers Malaguti
India-based Mahindra & Mahindra is considering a purchase of Malaguti Moto. M&M recently bought Kinetic Motors, and thus owns the rights to several Italjet models. Malaguti, like Italjet, produced several popular scooters five years ago, even making brief appearances in nascent American scooter market. Today, both manufacturers appear to be limping along selling a combination of 2003-era bikes and less-inspired newer asian-made models.
Piaggio integrates Moto Guzzi operations
Piaggio announced today that they’ll be incorporating the operations of wholly-owned subsidary Moto Guzzi into Piaggio’s infrastructure by the end of November, moving Guzzi production to Piaggio or Aprilia facilities, and “rationalising the technical, industrial, design and style operations of the two companies.”
Colaninno withdraws Alitalia bid
Piaggio chairman Roberto Colaninno and his group of investors have withdrawn their bid for Alitalia, after failing to gain support from the airline’s unions.
The birth of a PiaggioUSA PR blitz
PiaggioUSA is awesome, according to a story written by a PR guy who’s written other stories about Piaggio for several PR magazines. This story will be be re-written (with a few token quotes from the local Vespa dealer) and published as “news” by all major news outlets in the next week or so.