Probably the best promotion I've seen in the business

This is probably the best promotion I have seen in the scooter industry in years. Hopefully, it will lead to a lot of interest in the scooter scene. Behind the scenes scooter riders have been talking about all the promos for this movie for the last few years. Anything that involves mainstream movies ( especially one where the scooter takes a prominent role ) leads to long term interest. Our country is not one that sees scooters as real transportation like in Italy or Spain, but gradually that can change if you had more mainstream media coverage. 


I have to give it to Genuine, their LA dealer, and to Tom Hanks for making it happen. Shame he drives a beat up old Yamaha in the movie, but it's part of the story so who can complain. The Genuine Scooter Co. is sponsoring a national campaign to promote the new Universal film "Larry Crowne" starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts.

http://www.dealernews.com/dealernews/Aftermarket/Genuine-Scooter-Co-sponsoring-adverts-for-new-scoo/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/727556?contextCategoryId=48447

Spain might lower driving age to help promote scooter sales

Hot off the newswires is the fact that certain regions in Spain are considering lowering the driving age of a scooter all the way to 14 years of age. A little crazy since at 14, I still thought I could grow up and build myself a spacesuit. Maybe Americans aren't as mature as Europeans or something, but I think keeping it at 15 or 16 is just fine. You can't google teenage death without reading about some tragic accident in Italy or Spain where a 18 year old decides to race a scooter on a highway. Doesn't matter if its a car or a motorcycle people do stupid things, but lowering the age to 14 might be a little much. I mean where do you draw the line?


The real issue here is the One-point-three billion people in China which is the world's largest two-wheel marketplace and factory at the moment. It's flood of inexpensive units plus a recession destroyed the Spanish marketplace. To the point where even importers like CF MOTO Spain closed two years ago leaving hundreds of dealers without parts after spending a record amount of money on marketing and building up the marketplace. 


There are still a ton of small OEMs in Spain including MH, Rieju, Gas Gas, Ossa, Sherco, Volta Motorbikes, Motorbikes Alfer and Xispa, plus aftermarket companies like Turbo Kit, Italkit, Technigas and more that still depend on scooters for the majority of their sales. Everything is interconnected. 84% of the motorcycles are produced in the region of Catalunia including Yamaha Spain, the area produced about 60,000 motorcycle units counting both dirtbikes and scooters.


Spain's congress is taking immediate action this week to halt the closure of the Derbi factory in Spain. So let's see what happens. It would be a shame for Spaniards to loose the iconic brand. Basically Derbi would continue as a "brand" without a factory being made anywhere in the world.
http://www.europapress.es/motor/sector-00644/noticia-proximo-pleno-congreso-votara-contra-cierre-derbi-martorelles-20110531175038.html

New Honda concept might come to the USA MidMax Scooter.

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com is showing off some pictures of the New Honda Mid Max concept bike.  No details are given about the engine displacement, but the New Mid Concept will source the Dual Clutch Transmission which debuted on the VFR1200F.


BMW recently stated it will enter the US Maxi Scooter range with the new C1. That's good since the Maxi scooters are still profitable in both Europe and America unlike the 50 - 150cc range which is a saturated market. Many distributors still have tons of 2009 and 2010 units sitting in their inventories having to sell them to dealers at a loss. So Maxi Scooters have been doing well for companies such as Kymco, Yamaha, Suzuki, and Honda. Fewer numbers and higher revenues for the dealers means its an area the industry wants to see growth in. If this Honda comes to the USA it will be a good addition to the segment.

Back to the Future with Honda Scooters

Honda plans on going back to the future with the new Motocompo. I love it, it looks badass, it probably won't sell thousands of units, but it would get a ton of people into the stores and many Americans would buy it for the cool retro factor.


The original Honda Motocompo appeared 30 years ago. It was launched in 1981 and was designed specifically so as to climb into the trunk of a new car model of Honda Fit – the smallest car brand.

The new version looks much more serious. It is frankly more than the original Motocompo. The whole idea of the principle remains the same – all the most well-knit, and all surfaces as smooth. The instrument panel is built into a box like the iPhone, which also made removable. Conventional petrol engine. Judging by the size of the machine, it should already be at least 125-cc four-stroke machine, rather than push-pull “fifty dollars”, what was the original Motocompo.

According to experts, the new scooter can be represented either by the Geneva Motor Show in early March, or at the Tokyo Motor Show in October.

I'm sure someone will grey market import these and we'll see them at a rally in 2012.

If the Motocompo comes to the USA you better believe MRP will try one out and develop some parts for it.

Italian Scooter market falls -18.2% first five months of 2011

ANCMA the Italian Motorcycle Association has reported worsening numbers in our motherland of Italy. Compared to the first five months of 2010, but where there was substantial aid incentives to OEMs like Malaguti and Piaggio, there is a worsening of -14.8% overall including big sport bikes. The scooter industry has been the hardest hit  with a -18.2% rate.


This is on top of 2009 which was a horrible year worldwide. June - August should be the best months of the year so this -18.2 gap in Italy should go down, credit markets have come back, but it's almost impossible to make up for the boom years of 2000 - 2007 that the Italian scooter market saw. 

In good news the US scooter market is up. Just don't go by any MIC numbers or numbers you see at Dealer Meetings because they don't take into account something called "reality" also they don't count Chinese OEMs. So if you want real numbers from the MIC or at a Piaggio meeting you need to compare to the sales of Kymco, PGO ( Genuine ), Jonway, SUNL / Massimo, Roketa, BMS, and all the pricepoint third tier Chinese brands that don't report to anyone. The real numbers will show there has been  a rebound in the US, but nowhere near the 2007-2008 figures we saw. 


Anything is better than 2009 and 2010, but what effect will the Derbi factory closing have on international markets? A smaller Spanish scooter sector? Italian manufacturing  closing? All these issues will have long term effects in 2012 and beyond for US buyers. Anyone who thinks all these factories closing in Europe won't affect global markets probably doesn't believe in cell phone radiation or the global warming for that matter. 


Everything counts in small amounts.

Even in Australia an interest in the Italian Scooter Market.

Cool article I found that just got posted online on the situation in Italy. As of today there is no news from the factory. MRP continues to buy parts, the parts export manager Silvia has reported to us that plenty of parts for the Malaguti lineup is still available and the new "Parts Only" company seems to be taking shape.

Ducati seems to be asleep at the wheel without any interest in buying the Italian brand. From what my friends at Ducati tell me they rather buy or manufacture a less expensive scooter model in Thailand or Malaysia and sell it in those markets only, simply giving up on the European scooter market.

As I reported yesterday the Spanish government is taking steps to prevent the last Spanish factory that assembles scooters from closing. There are a few dirtbike, enduro, and motard makers such as Reiju and MH, but none on the large sub-125cc scooter segment. The last factory is the Derbi factory which has been scheduled for closure next month.


Italian scooter industry dwindling

Apart from the Piaggio Group, only Malaguti Moto still makes scooters in Italy, but is facing tough times ahead...

Italy used to be a bastion of scooter design and production, but we're seeing more Chinese companies investing in manufacturing plants and being licensed to build European scooters to save costs. Apart from the Piaggio Group and Malaguti Moto, few Italian scooters are actually built in Italy anymore.

While Piaggio is not in danger of collapse, with strong brands such as Vespa, Piaggio, Gillera, and Aprilia under its umbrella, Malaguti Moto is looking precarious.

While we don't see many Malaguti scooters in Australia, and few are sold outside of Europe, the company has resisted moving its manufacturing plants to China, where Benelli, Italjet and other brands are currently produced.

Malaguti is bleeding money however, and is currently looking for partners to invest in its operation, and rumour has it that interest is coming from both Italy and North America. But the Italian scooter maker is unlikely to find any suitors to bail it out if two of the family owners, brothers Marco and Antonino Malaguti, insist on charging a potential new management team to rent their land, upon which the Malaguti Moto factory is located.

The stipulations that are being put on any merger or bailout package deal for Malaguti Moto appear to be turning off many investors, and news reports from inside Italy suggest that the company is seeking around $30 million, one third of which is reportedly to go directly to the owner brothers.

Several Italian motorcycle companies have gone belly up or sold off in recent times and industry has seen more prosperous times, but the fall of Malaguti will have ramifications for not only the Bolognese motorcycle industry (it is located not far from Ducati's headquarters) but also parts suppliers in the region.

There were rumours that Ducati might buy the company, because Malaguti has the exclusive contract to build Ducati-branded scooters for the MotoGP paddock, and Ducati has in the past expressed interest in promoting scooters. However the company has denied any interest in Malaguti, which may struggle to find a way out of its financial turmoil.

http://www.bikepoint.com.au/news/2011/scooters/malaguti/italian-scooter-industry-dwindling-24339

SYM still technically not in the USA

Back in April we got an email saying that SYM was back and that http://www.alliancepowersports.com/ formerly Lance was the new distributor. No word from Carter.

Here at MRP we continue to get requests for Carter GoKart parts and several SYM scooters since we have a lot of parts for the 50cc and 100cc units. We did import the SYM line briefly in 2003 including the DD 50 and Jet Euro 50cc / 100cc models. Still nothing has really happened, last I checked Peirspeed turned down the offer of distributing the line and the same guys who sold me the line back in 2003 continue to email everybody who is anybody in the states.

So what is the deal, last I checked even the Alliance site isn't up yet.

We'll continue to do our best with the parts, but its just a sad situation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26tC6tdYDOk

MRP has a lot of Jet Euro and DD parts so if you need SYM Scooter parts contact your local MRP dealer. http://www.mrp-speed.com the source for SYM Scooter upgrades.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXzSVQryZbY

N-MP-09532C 70cc Kit 48mm Cylinder, Piston, Gaskets, Jet Euro 50 / RS 50 Big Bore Kit.
SKU: N-MP-09532C
N-MP-09532A 70cc Big Bore 48mm Head SKU: N-MP-09532A
SYM scooter upgrade by MRP
Works on Jet Euro 50 Air and RS 50 Air
Does not work on DD or Fiddle
To find a local dealer visit www.MRP-SPEED.com




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmOiUvBs1_w


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rm99QbjImPs

Spain's Congress to stop Piaggio from closing DERBI Scooters.

Seems some good news has come to Scooter fans in Spain as the congress moved to pass a law to stop Piaggio Group from closing the historic factory in Martorelles (Barcelona) where 200 workers continue to make the Derbi Scooter brand.

Many people forget Derbi first imported into the US in the 1960s and 70s as dirtbikes later resurfaced in the early 90s  thanks to Cycle Imports ( Ozzy Saez ) and later got shut down as Piaggio Group assumed control in late 03. Ozzy did an amazing job actually selling more units most years than Aprilia did despite being a much smaller operation ( another trend in the US scooter business the bigger you are sometimes the crappier job you do)


I drove my first Derbi right around that age 18 while at my dad Froilan's scooter shop. He happened to be friends with Ozzy and he's the guy who thought him how to import and sell bikes. So even if they were competitors at one point over the years we've done business and purchased parts from each other I still have a lot of respect for the legacy of these bikes. South Beach and Key West Florida are still covered in hundreds of Derbi Predators, Hunters, and Atlantis units that were sold thanks to Ozzys hard work. It was a dumb move on Piaggio USA's part to focus on the mess at Aprilia in 2006 instead of keeping Derbi alive and its a dumb move to start phasing out production in Spain.

Derbi is an iconic Spanish brand and it should be kept alive. Not something you can start manufacturing in the outskirts of Hanoi.


MRP still gets a ton of calls every week for Derbi parts and we sell a ton of them. 


Back in 2009 it seems Piaggio signed an agreement saying it would keep the factory and jobs in Spain and now its trying to break that agreement. Let's see what happens.


From http://www.finanzas.com/noticias/economia/2011-06-07/498976_economiamotor--congreso-insta-gobierno-impedir.html


Now if Mr. Prantoni, Antonino Malaguti, and everyone else in Bologna would get their act together they might find a way to save Malaguti Moto. Good for Spain for their politicians saving the iconic brand, leave it to some multinational company that is now focused on exporting all the jobs to Vietnam, China, and Thailand. A Derbi made in China won't be the same, but I doubt Colamino get's that.


In the meantime if you need cylinders, variators, roller weights, CDIs, AM6 parts for the GP1 we have exhausts from TK spain and other replacement parts from Italkit as well.


Not to mention disk brakes and brake pads, cables and hard to find Derbi items.


MRP has parts for both Piaggio Derbi bikes as well as the Derbi engines. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2eToXv4suA


Parts for Derbi Scooters at http://www.mrp-speed.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrVmTuvR52Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWYDE12HCYc

New Lambretta Scooter finally out in Europe

Sounds like the new Lambretta line for Europe ( not to be confused with the Adlys sold in the USA by Lambretta USA ) are finally making the rounds.

This new version made in Taiwan for the export market should be available in France sometime this summer starting around $4,000. Below is the video from the prototype we saw a few years back at the show. Some new improvements seem to have been made on it which is pretty cool. You can read more about it at:
http://www.twowheelsblog.com/post/5553/lambretta-is-back-with-the-2011-lambretta-ln

and

http://www.lambrettamotorcycles.com/models.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5YvE2-mvFw

AMERIVESPA 2011 MadAss Challenge

AMERIVESPA 2011 MadAss Challenge 

www.Peirspeed.com importers of the Peirspeed scooter line up and the MadAss by Sachs are giving the MadAss away as a door prize on Sunday at AMERIVESPA 2011.  

We also have the MadAss challenge where the “coolest” custom MadAss who enters will win a 2011 MadAss. 

The company has asked the Scooter Maven to be a celebrity judge to pick the coolest MadAss at the show. So show up, bring your ride. 

 

In the meantime if you want to upgrade or customize your MadAss checkout some of our upgrades

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Aew9pX6tL4


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82gz4ML_p-c