Category: The Biz

Dealer Expo: New Blurs and Stellas

Ron Arnold (Detroit Scooter Examiner) has shared some Blur220i photos from DealerExpo on ModernBuddy. The two color schemes are “Gunmetal and White” and “White.” Branding is limited to small plastichrome badges, similar to the earlier Charcoal/Black 150 model.

All in all, pretty much what we expected, and great news, though I have a few minor quibbles. As a fan of the distinctive charcoal/orange early Blurs, the colors and branding are a bit boring, but I suppose this is not the time to be brave with colors. The horncovers are fake carbon fiber, which looks good, but I just hate fake carbon fiber. The saddest part is the new DOT front turn signals, which were apparently necessary after all.

Both colors featured gold wheels, which is a strange decision, but they look pretty good. Arnold points out that the front brake caliper was gold on both bikes, and the rear caliper was red, which is also strange, though these are probably preproduction examples. The bikes’ seats were different, one appears the same as the earlier models, the other looks similar but shaved-down a bit. Arnold says they plan to use the lower seat on both versions.

The Stella 4-stroke apparently will not be branded differently than its predecessor, but will feature some new colors. “Creme,” “Dijon Yellow,” and “Slate Blue” will be available in addition to the old “Avocado,” White, and Red. MSRP remains the same as the 2-stroke version, $3599, which is great news. Of course, the big story is that it’s rated at 140 MPG, (though you know how we feel about that.)

Sadly (very sadly, in our opinion) the 2-stroke version will no longer be available once current inventory sells out.

Which is faster? White is 4T, Purple is 2T (these are UK-market LMLs from Eddy Bullet):

Skipping Dealer Expo

As I’ve mentioned a few times, I’ve decided not to go to Dealer Expo this year. Part of the decision was simply practical and personal: I’m (sorry) not a fan of Indianapolis, the weather’s likely to be terrible, I waited too long to sort out accommodations, I have an infant son, and it’s just not a good time to spend money on hotels, food, and booze.
Continue reading “Skipping Dealer Expo”

Our Favorite Pro Journo

At 2strokebuzz, we pride ourselves on our many ‘scoops,’ stories we covered before the professional powersports media and other blogs. But we still get plenty of our news through the usual channels, and over the past couple years, one professional powersports journalist has really impressed us by often going beyond the usual re-hashed press releases and digging up some interesting stories. In just the past couple days, Guido Ebert of Powersports Daily has:

Ebert, like any modern journalist, rehashes his fair share of press releases and does favors for friends, but we’re all surely guilty of that, right? If you’re looking for more in-depth and professional motorcycle industry information than 2strokebuzz can provide, you should be reading blog.guidoebert.com or following him on Facebook or Twitter.

CARB approves Stella 150 4T

newstella2

Modern Buddy moderator Eric Almedral has posted the California Air Resources Board approval certificate for the Genuine Stella 150 4T, and confirms that it’ll be available in the U.S. in 2010. My bet is that it’ll be here sooner than later, and probably the Stella and it’s claimed 130MPG will be one of the few bright spots for the scooter industry at DealerExpo in a few weeks.

When we test-rode the bike last year, we didn’t really talk about its importance to the scooter industry and scene. Continue reading “CARB approves Stella 150 4T”

Chinese Food for Less!

Last month, a dealer sent us an “end of the year sale” email that he received — unsolicited — from a Chinese scooter importer.

2strokebuzz policy is to maintain a certain level of privacy regarding wholesale prices. Dealer markup on most scooters is pretty modest, and keeping that number a secret is only fair.

In this case, though, I think it’s only fair to consumers to show how low dealer prices have dropped on Chinese scooters. So we’ll list the prices, but not the importer. The importer in question is not a top brand, but they’re a brand that’s been around a while and advertises in scooter and dealer magazines, so they’re not a bottom-feeding internet outfit, either.

Here’s a sample of their DEALER prices on 2009 models:

150 Scooter: $400
150 “Deluxe” Scooter: $450
150cc ATV: $500
250cc Motorcycle: $900

Turns out, a few weeks later, the importer filed for bankruptcy, which is hardly surprising. But even if these prices are below their cost, what does that say about the quality of the scooters? Would you ride a 150cc scooter that cost $500 to build? Think about all the cost of all the individual components of the scooter, the labor to assemble it, and the shipping costs to deliver it across the country. Think about the cost of running a business, warehousing the scooters, supplying parts and service. And even if the importer is taking a bath on these bikes, the manufacturer in China surely made a couple hundred bucks in profit, selling it to the importer. Do you want to ride a 150cc scooter that cost $300 or less to make?

Do you want to pay $900 or $1200 for the opportunity? Dealers sell these bikes because they can mark them up 100% over dealer cost, and they still look like a bargain compared to the (quality) competition. So the importer is making more per scooter, the dealer is making more per scooter, and customer gets a particularly crappy scooter, without even getting the good deal that the dealer got. These sales hurt quality dealers and importers, who put a higher percentage of the customer cost into manufacturing and quality assurance.

Now More Than Ever…

Several people have sent us the Denver Post story about Sportique’s financial woes. That’s certainly a sad story worth reading, and proof that even the best scooter dealers are in big trouble right now. Sportique’s been around for twelve years and certainly has a reputation equalled by only a handful of shops, so if they’re in trouble, we’re all in trouble.

A lot of fly-by-night scooter shops (and a few good ones) have already closed down, and many more will close in the next few months. This attrition of dealers is actually a good thing in one way: we’ll finally see fewer strip-mall dealers selling questionable or illegal bikes with virtually no aftersales support. Dealers that survive are the ones that know their stuff and love scooters. Anyone who’s been involved in scootering for more than a few years knows the market is brutally cyclical, but scooterists in the know hoped to see these “good guys” — great shops run by true scooter fanatics — survive. These shops aren’t bandwagon jumpers, they knew what they were getting into. They realize that a hemorrhage of sales can be replaced with chirping crickets in a matter of months. A few shops have been around since the eighties and have already been through the cycle. But even with vision and responsible planning, the triple whammy of the global recession, the end of a scooter-sales boom, AND the winter lull is proving too much to endure.

So this is a call to arms: if you like your local dealer, they need your support now more than ever. It just plain sucks to be a scooter dealer right now. So if you’ve been considering a new bike, or a performance upgrade, or a new jacket or helmet, or a rebuild, now’s the time to do it, and it’s more critical than ever to buy local and support the people that have supported you. Your dealer’s prices might be a bit higher than online or catalog prices, but they’ve worked hard for your business and chances are, they’re up against a wall. Your dealer needs you. Fewer dealers and fewer sales means fewer new scooter models being imported and fewer new scooterists, and reduced parts and accessories availabilty. If your local dealer closes, you may be stuck driving to the nearest big city (or the bigger city past that) for service and accessories. If importers start shutting down, you’re going to need to learn foreign languages to find parts.

If you’re new to scootering, 2008 was as big as it gets, but the lean years are great, too. A smaller scene separates the real life-long scooterists from the trendies, creates tighter bonds between scooterists, and paves the way for the next ‘boom.’ We’re going to lose some dealers, it’s a fact, but we MUST keep the best dealers going. With just a little boost from customers to survive these worst-case-scenario next few months, the best shops will eventually thrive, even through the lean years ahead.

Taffspeed Closing

Venerable Welsh parts supplier/tuner Taffspeed Ltd. will close at the end of the month after 27 years of service to the worldwide scooter community. Ian Frankland is scheduled for heart bypass surgery, and his former employees will continue running the shop (and dyno) as “Welsh Scooter Parts.” The Taffspeed name will live on in Frankland’s “Taffspeed Special Products” which will still be available from the new shop.

Thanks for the tip, Matt, and best of luck to Ian and the new shop!

Piaggio Drops Marketing VP, Sales Staff

Confirming rumors from last week, Dealernews reports that Piaggio USA has cut a few management positions, including vice president of sales/marketing and three sales directors. President/CEO Paolo Timoni looks into his crystal ball and speaks:

We don’t expect 2010 sales to go back to 2008 numbers.”

Thanks, Nostradamus! We’ve long mocked PiaggioUSA’s top-heavy management, expensive infrastructure, Harley-style marketing, and ridiculous sales goals, so maybe this is just the change they needed. PiaggioUSA does seem to slowly learn from their mistakes, so hopefully this is just a step towards a more sustainable model for long-term U.S. success, rather than the first step towards abandoning the U.S. market–yet again–when things look grim.

Corazzo behind New USTT Foundation

Our friend and Corazzo owner Bradford Duval stepped down from the presidency of the VCOA a couple months ago (Mike Bobadilla of Vespa Club Los Gatos took his place, btw) but he’s putting his time into another great two-wheeled organization. The new United States Tourist Trophy Foundation is looking to send Alaskan Jimmy Moore to the Isle of Man TT in May/June. The backers of the USTTF feel Moore is the man destined to be the first American on the podium in the races’ history, and they need your help getting him (and his bikes) there. Read more at RoadRacerX.com.

When that’s done, Bradford, Eric Almendral and I need your help getting Silent Ron to Dakar on a Blur 220EFI next winter. Eric and I have a new years’ resolution to make Ron the first American to not kill himself in the desert of South America on a Taiwanese moped.

Genuine Blur 220EFI and 4T Stella for 2010

Genuine Scooter company has confirmed the Blur is back, they’ll be importing their version of the PGO G-Max 220 EFI for 2010. MSRP is expected to be $3899. As a fan and owner of the original Blur and one of a few Americans to have ridden the 220 EFI, I’d say this is great news . As expected, the new 4-stroke Stella is also officially set for 2010 availability. Both should be on display at DealerExpo in February, but hopefully we’ll get a peek before then.

Note: That’s the Taiwan model pictured, we’re hearing the Blur will be available in Gunmetal and White.

Italjet refuses to die

Once upon a time — more than a decade ago — an Italian motorcycle company with a history of offbeat scooters decided to make a big push into the booming European scooter market. The designs, notably the Swatch/Vespa-hybrid Velocifero and the ahead-of-its-time Dragster captured the public imagination worldwide. Since Italjet were Italian, they inevitably botched it all up, closed up shop, licensed their models to Kinetic in India, then annually announced the rebirth of the Dragster (vaporware!) at EICMA while slapping “Italjet” stickers on cheapo Chinese bikes for the European market. One model briefly made it to the U.S. during this period, a cheap Chinese knockoff of their own late-90s Torpedo. Meanwhile, Kinetic chunked out one uninspired model, the ex-Italjet Millenium, as the “Blaze” for the Indian market, and teased the world with an occasional Velocifero press release.

But all that’s about to change! I’m going to bring Italjet back MYSELF!

Dear Sir,

Seasons Greetings for 2010.
We “Autoprima” situated in india city of Pune(near Mumbai) where this is Automotive industrial hub and the manufacturing company for Italian ITALJET scooters.
We are export dealer of KINETIC -ITALJET and having “italjet millenium 125 C.C. scooters 4 stroke and 100 C.C. 2 stroke in our stalk as well inventry of Parts . You may forward this to the perspective buyers of ITALJET scooters.We will apreciate if you contact us for further business oportunity.
Thanking you ,
Yours truly,

Prakash Kulkarni,
AutoPrima
Pune . India
Cell :00919823263107
E-mail: autoprima@hathway.com
emitest04@hotmail.com

Yes, I want a scooter so bland and outdated that it’s named after a point in time, ten years ago. I’m dialing as soon as I can find a replacement battery for my Nokia 101. Italjet is back, the end.