NEW PIAGGIO BV350 HITS SHOWROOMS
April 19, 2012 -
Newest Member of Piaggio’s BV Family Is Available Now
At the time, Piaggio hinted towards a North American release and confirmed that in March when they announced it as an early release 2013 model. Piaggio expected to have this scooter in dealerships during May, but the intrepid BV350’s have slipped thru the border and are now landing in American showrooms.
The BV350 is the same core scooter as the departing BV300 (and BV250 before that), but Piaggio has made a huge list of great updates. The QUASAR motor has been overhauled with a bump to 330cc (vs. 278cc for the BV300) and the addition of fuel injection and 4-valves.
Power is up to 33.3 HP (vs. 24HP for the 250), which is just 6 ponies shy of the heavier BV500. With the bump to 330cc comes a 10mph top speed boost to 90mph.
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STATE OF SCOOTER SCENE 2012 - PART 2: SALES UP 11.8%
March 17, 2012 -
Part 2 - Scooter Sales Rise Nicely in 2011
USA Scooter sales had been marching higher most every year from 2002 to 2008, with actual sales increasing from about 70,000 scooters up to around 200,000 in the peak year of 2008.
That all changed with the 2009 recession and subsequent lower fuel prices that combined to trigger a pancaking of the scooter market. 2009 sales were a staggering 59% lower than 2008, which led to a huge clog in showrooms as dealers had stocked up for another year like 2008.
Dusty showroom scooters were in everywhere 2010 except in buyers hands, as sales dropped 9.5% further despite the widely available discounts on surplus scoots. 2009 and 2010 combined sold less scooters than 2008. The motorcycling industry in general was hit hard by the recession, but no other segment suffered as hard as scooters.
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MP3 CITY 300 TAKING OVER IN 2013?
January 29, 2012 -
Piaggio replacing the MP3 250, 400 and 500 with new MP3 City 300
Rumour has it that Piaggio (USA & Canada) is scaling back their MP3 line from three models to one for 2013. Starting second quarter 2012, Piaggio is no longer accepting dealer orders for the soft styled MP3 250 and 400, as well as the bold MP3 500.
There has been some speculation Piaggio is axing their 3 wheeled line entirely, but most sources believe [see comments] they are scaling back to one model….the new MP3 City 300.
The City 300 was unveiled in late 2010 overseas under the awkward name ‘MP3 Yourban’ which Piaggio has wisely abandoned for America. One Piaggio dealer claims that Piaggio USA is training mechanics on the newest MP3 now, in preparation for a late summer launch.
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NEW SCOOTERS AT MILAN (EICMA) & TOKYO MOTOR SHOWS
November 09, 2011 -
New Scooters from Yamaha, Piaggio and Honda
It’s the season for motorcycle shows, with the important Milan (EICMA) and Tokyo motorcycle shows taking place in early November and December respectively. This year Yamaha, Piaggio/Vespa and Honda have all rolled out new designs.
Yamaha
Also of interest from Yamaha is an updated Majesty which gets new styling on the front end. No word yet if either of these updated scooters will be arriving in North America. Full press release from Yamaha.
Piaggio
The big news from Piaggio is a new X10 maxi-scooter with a far more modern/futuristic look than their current maxi, the X9. The scooter is going to be sold in some markets in 2012. There’s no word yet on North America, but this scooter looks like an obvious replacement for the aging X9.
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