It's been a while now since we published anything from our friend Quincy in Taiwan. His latest report on sales in Taiwan should be no surprise to anyone that follows whats happening in Formosa.
Retail prices for a 125cc scooter with electronic fuel-injection (EFI) system (to meet the more stringent standard) often surpass NT$60,000 (US$2,000), compared to about NT$40,000 (US$1,333) before. The high prices hampered many potential purchases and forced PTW makers to push lower-price, entry-level fifth-stage models.
We have more new parts arriving online this week from Stage6, Naraku, Malossi, Polini, Galfer, and more. Stay Tuned updates to follow.
We carry a wide variety of parts, but we've been adding some new OEMs such as Adly scooters which are no longer being carried by Hammerhead in the USA. Plus we're still adding more United Motors and CPI units.
In the meantime if you ever wanted to upgrade your Mini Quad or Kids ATV we have a full selection of Malossi Overrange Kits in stock now.
Customs is at it again. Back in 2007 every small dealer in the country was importing bikes directly from China. What ended up happening is that between EPA, Customs, and local port authorities we saw how three dozen stores closed. One store in Hollywood, FL lost $150,000 in Jonway units that were seized by EPA. The store folded up rather quickly after that. Everyone thinks its easy being an importer launching the next great scooter rental company or electric vehicle sharing program. The truth is there is a difference between being an importer, distributor, OEM representative and dealer. Some dealers don't realize what it means to be the agent of record or the one responsible for stocking parts and giving warranty, much less having product liability insurance when your the official importer. Being a factory rep is more than paying $400 FOB and figuring out later. It means if the scooter is defective or has misleading test data on the braking system the one the court is going to go after is the importer. History has a habit of repeating itself and the next waive of imports for 2012 will be the electrical scooter craze. Investors, Venture Capitalists, and small business owners all think they know what they are doing when importing motor vehicles. It's clearly not the same as importing chairs or household items from China. May 30, 2012
NEWBURYPORT — A new company looking to rent out electric scooters is raising the concerns of some local business owners who paid for advertising placements on the vehicles but have yet to see them zipping around the city.
Motoretta LLC owners Leon and Meaghan Gibbs of Newburyport tout their new business as a way to rent out greener modes of transportation for local residents and tourists visiting the area.
They blame the delay of the launch of their business on the U.S. Customs Authority in Boston, which they say has held up the arrival of their 32 scooters,
"We should open any day now," Meaghan Gibbs said. "(The scooters) are in Boston. We are now at the mercy of U.S. Customs Authority and union dock workers. There's a lot of work going on behind the scenes."
In addition to the proceeds from scooter rentals, the company is looking to draw revenue from the sale of advertising on the vehicles.
Matthew Kozazcki of Tendercrop Farm in Newbury thought the scooter rental idea was a great one and bought advertising for two scooters. He said he was told the scooters would be on the road around Memorial Day, but the entire holiday weekend passed with no sight of them.
"I don't know where they are," Kozazcki said. "I don't know what happened. It's too bad. I lost a couple thousand dollars unless they give it back to me, but I don't know how to get in touch with these people."
Sue Carelli, a manager at Agave restaurant on State Street in downtown Newburyport, also bought advertising for three scooters. She was originally told the scooters would be out by April, but the date kept getting pushed back.
"We paid in full," Carelli said. "We haven't seen anything and can't get any solid answers."
But Gibbs said the company has been regularly sending out emails updating people on the business.
Gibbs said the electric scooters, which were adapted to fit a 110-volt battery, were shipped from Asia.
The couple has experience in that continent, having lived in China, where they saw the electric scooters being used.
"This is a brand new business, a brand new product. We had a few stumbling blocks, but things are going through smoothly," Gibbs said.
Gibbs, who described the scooters as urban chic in style, believes the vehicles will be beneficial in providing additional transportation opportunities in the community.
"We're convinced Newburyport is the right place to start this," she said,
This isn't the first business the couple has tried to start in Newburyport.
In 2010, the couple planned to open a wine bar in the Brackett Heel building on Prince Place, but they were forced to pull out after running into problems with abutters.
17,000 Parts Plus Massive D-DAY Like DIiscounts For Our Stocking Dealers
MIAMI, FL – May 27, 2012 – (Motor Sports Newswire) – New upgrades from Malossi, Naraku, Polini and more. Make sure to stock up this summer for all your racing needs.
MRP sells Replacement original (OEM) Scooter, ATV, GoKart parts as well as High Performance engine parts and tuning accessories from Stage6, SSP, Motoforce, STR8, Malossi, Polini, Hebo, Naraku, Top Performances, Arreche and others. Racing cylinder kits, exhaust systems, clutches, variators, carburetors, drive belts optic tuning accessories and more.
Based in Miami Florida since 2000 the heart of the American scooter import scene MRP distributes OEM parts for TNG (CMSI) select models of CF Moto Daelim Motors Korea ( parts should appear on website by mid July) Malaguti of Italy (www.Malaguti.com) Keeway Southeast (Keeway Vento QJ Andretti Yamati models) CPI Taiwan Powersports Factory Brands PSF Diamo Cubik (matches OEM Vento part numbers) as well as QJ and ZNEN (who manufacture bikes for a variety of scooter importers) such as FlyScooters Lance BMS Qlink models that were ZNEN corresponding to matching TNG parts.
Every scooter is someone’s first ride we help the dealers and consumers find those hard to find parts. Doesn’t matter what brand it is we’ve been doing the Chinese scooter parts thing since 2004 so we can help you find the right part.
Since January 2008 MRP has expanded by acquiring 10 closed US scooter parts distributors who have left the American market. The financial crisis caused many parts distributors to orphan thousands of vehicles on US roads as both dealers and distributors closed. Our company provides the largest service of its kind in North America helping dealers with orphaned brands. MRP has the inventory of United Motors of America, UM Global, Keeway Southeast formerly Cubik, BTB, Diamo USA / LS Motorsports / Italjet USA,CPI — TAIWAN Atvs and Scooters, Powersports Factory the former importer of Yamati, Benelli, Andretti scooters, TNG Scooters — CMSI Inc, and several Vespa / Kymco / SYM / Eton / dealerships that closed since. We might not have it all, but we are the best destination for hard to find parts such as Malaguti, pre-2003 SYM parts, RTX, and more. We have parts for MH Motorhispania of Spain RX Loncin Lifan Linhai Zongshen Wangye MS UTVs and CPI Taiwan. In addition the company distributes performance parts from Athena Malossi Turbo Kit Innova Vee Rubber Duro Bando Gates Powerlink Posh Maxxis Namura Scooter Ninja Slipstreamer and MRP.
Products carried by MRP can be obtain exclusively at select Motorcycle Dealerships and Repair Shops in the USA. MRP is the one stop wholesale ONLY scooter buggy and ATV parts distributor. For a list of retailers visit www.mrp-speed.comhttp://www.martinracingdealer.com/locator/index.php
We offer all the top brands at all the best prices. Airsal, Arreche, Athena, BCD, Kenda, Koso, Kymco, Leovince, Malossi, Motoforce, MTKT, Naraku, Polini, Stage6, STR8, Tecnigas and Yasuni for the scooters and bikes of: Adly, Avanti, Aprilia, Benelli, CF-Moto, CPI, Honda, Hyosung, Jonway, Kinroad, Keeway, Kymco, Lifan, Linhai, Malaguti, PGO, Piaggio, SYM, TGB, Yamati, Yamaha, Zongshen and many more
From Miami we service all the mayor stores in Key West, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Panama, St Kitts, St Barts, all the US Virgin Islands and one of our favorite places the Bahamas Islands. We've been there several times visiting clients and MRP is happy to be the main supplier of scooter replacement parts to the Bahamas.
If you have a scooter shop and need parts tomorrow only one company has daily shipments to the Bahamas! MRP!
New upgrades from Malossi, Naraku, Polini and more. Make sure to stock up this summer for all your racing needs.
MRP sells Replacement original (OEM) Scooter, ATV, GoKart parts as well as High Performance engine parts and tuning accessories from Stage6, SSP, Motoforce, STR8, Malossi, Polini, Hebo, Naraku, Top Performances, Arreche and others. Racing cylinder kits, exhaust systems, clutches, variators, carburetors, drive belts optic tuning accessories and more.
Web Site: http://www.martinracingdealer.com/
Online Parts Catalog: http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/d83097ef
MySpace Pictures and Videos http://www.myspace.com/martinracingperformance
Based in Miami Florida since 2000 the heart of the American scooter import scene MRP distributes OEM parts for TNG (CMSI) select models of CF Moto Daelim Motors Korea ( parts should appear on website by mid July) Malaguti of Italy (www.Malaguti.com) Keeway Southeast (Keeway Vento QJ Andretti Yamati models) CPI Taiwan Powersports Factory Brands PSF Diamo Cubik (matches OEM Vento part numbers) as well as QJ and ZNEN (who manufacture bikes for a variety of scooter importers) such as FlyScooters Lance BMS Qlink models that were ZNEN corresponding to matching TNG parts.
Every scooter is someone's first ride we help the dealers and consumers find those hard to find parts. Doesn't matter what brand it is we've been doing the Chinese scooter parts thing since 2004 so we can help you find the right part.
Since January 2008 MRP has expanded by acquiring 10 closed US scooter parts distributors who have left the American market. The financial crisis caused many parts distributors to orphan thousands of vehicles on US roads as both dealers and distributors closed. Our company provides the largest service of its kind in North America helping dealers with orphaned brands. MRP has the inventory of United Motors of America, UM Global, Keeway Southeast formerly Cubik, BTB, Diamo USA / LS Motorsports / Italjet USA,CPI -- TAIWAN Atvs and Scooters, Powersports Factory the former importer of Yamati, Benelli, Andretti scooters, TNG Scooters -- CMSI Inc, and several Vespa / Kymco / SYM / Eton / dealerships that closed since. We might not have it all, but we are the best destination for hard to find parts such as Malaguti, pre-2003 SYM parts, RTX, and more. We have parts for MH Motorhispania of Spain RX Loncin Lifan Linhai Zongshen Wangye MS UTVs and CPI Taiwan. In addition the company distributes performance parts from Athena Malossi Turbo Kit Innova Vee Rubber Duro Bando Gates Powerlink Posh Maxxis Namura Scooter Ninja Slipstreamer and MRP.
Products carried by MRP can be obtain exclusively at select Motorcycle Dealerships and Repair Shops in the USA. MRP is the one stop wholesale ONLY scooter buggy and ATV parts distributor. For a list of retailers visit www.mrp-speed.com http://www.martinracingdealer.com/locator/index.php
We offer all the top brands at all the best prices. Airsal, Arreche, Athena, BCD, Kenda, Koso, Kymco, Leovince, Malossi, Motoforce, MTKT, Naraku, Polini, Stage6, STR8, Tecnigas and Yasuni for the scooters and bikes of: Adly, Avanti, Aprilia, Benelli, CF-Moto, CPI, Honda, Hyosung, Jonway, Kinroad, Keeway, Kymco, Lifan, Linhai, Malaguti, PGO, Piaggio, SYM, TGB, Yamati, Yamaha, Zongshen and many more
Martin Racing Performance, a Miami-based supplier of OEM and performance parts, announced today that it has signed on five top US Scooter dealers for its new online drop shipping program. Joel Martin president of MRP announced “We have reached a milestone in online drop shipping since the dealer now has in real time the ability to synch with our inventory getting the part number, quantity, description, and pricing allowing them to sell for us straight to the consumer without seeing the product with 17,000 SKUs four times all the other scooter distributors in the industry.”
Mr. Martin went on to state “Many of the current distributors offer drop shipping files updated once a month or once a week for generic websites or are drop shipping from other retailers meaning they have limited choices. Our company is the first to offer them not only over 3,000 unique accessories, but real time links which will be the trend in the future, not a file but a real time link.” The company expects to sign on several major dealers in the next few weeks with the new 2012 program. To sign up or inquire about how to sell parts for scooters online contact MRP at http://www.mrp-speed.com
You can meet with MRP at Dealer Expo 2013 (http://www.DealerExpo.com) and at the new American International Motorcycle Expo in Orlando Florida (http://aimexpousa.com) MRP is also the first US scooter company to sign up for AIME. The new AIME show is a trade and consumer show for the motorcycle industry, timed to align with the annual reveal of new motorcycles, aftermarket products, safety equipment, and accessories to the press, motorcycle dealers, and consumers. It is intended to create a greater efficiency for the industry to conduct business with retailers, promote new product to the press and consumers, while creating a heightened interest for motorcycling as both sport and as a viable, green transportation alternative. It will take place Oct. 16 – Oct. 18 2013
MRP (http://www.mrp-speed.com) has consolidated much of the US Scooter Industry the past four years including the assets of United Motors of America (private label Hyosung and Wangye), Diamo Motorsports – LS Powersports, TNG Scooters CMSI, CPI Scooters Taiwan, Powersports Factory –Andretti by QJ, Cubik Motors – Keeway Southeast, Daelim Motors, having parts for almost every brands of Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean, and European scooter on the marketplace.
Based in Miami Florida since 2000 the heart of the American scooter import scene MRP distributes OEM parts for TNG (CMSI) select models of CF Moto China, Daelim Motors Korea, Malaguti of Italy (www.Malaguti.com) Keeway (Keeway Vento QJ Andretti Yamati models) CPI Taiwan Powersports Factory Brands PSF Diamo Cubik (matches OEM Vento part numbers) as well as QJ and ZNEN (who manufacture bikes for a variety of scooter importers) such as FlyScooters Lance BMS Qlink and more. In addition MRP offers racing parts from Airsal, Arreche, Athena, BCD, Kenda, Koso, Kymco, Leovince, Malossi, Motoforce, MTKT, Naraku, Polini, Stage6, STR8, Scooter Ninja, Duro, Slipstreamer, TK Exhausts, NG Disk Brakes, Zeibe Motor Cleaners, Tecnigas and Yasuni.
There's a really good article up on Dealer News today that isn't the traditional gas is up = sales are up article we see every year in Powersports Business, MPN, and Dealer News. This one digs a little deeper and I'm pleased that it didn't rely on quotes from the same three guys and the same three dealers we see in all the magazines the last ten years. Nope this one actually offers some insight from a top dealer.
Still they need to dig a little deeper and ask the real questions. Take pictures of the showroom and determine is it all flash or what type of scooter dealership is it.
I find a few things ironic in the article Dealer News just posted regarding a dealer who doesn't see himself as a scooter dealer, but wants to sell 500 scooters a year then takes pictures in front of a bunch of Vespa units. I think it was a misquote, but the truth is the scooters could be a great profit center even for traditional big four power dealers if done properly.
The owner Kurt Mechling is doing more than a few things right and is obviously on the pulse of what is happening. Traditional Powersports dealers are going into the segment normally held by smaller shops. Some good quotes in the article that made sense:
Mechling is making a good start, selling 42 units in first quarter even though he says he didn’t have enough 50cc units on-hand.
“Scooter stores exist because motorcycle stores shun and disrespect scooters,” Mechling says. “But we want to be to the powersports industry what sporting goods stores are to athletics; you don’t see football-only stores, or baseball-only stores, you see sporting goods stores. Hence, if it has wheels or a rudder, and engine or a motor, we need to be selling it.”
He sold 100 scooters in 2010 and wants to sell 500 per year. “That’s a pretty lofty goal,” says Mike Masters, the KYMCO scooter rep who services Performance PowerSports. “But it’s a great idea to set a lofty target and work as hard as possible. If he falls short, and he only doubles his sales, it’s still a pretty good year.”
Five-hundred units may seem unrealistic, but consider that the dealership is near Clemson University, home to more than 19,000 students. Let’s do some math: At the 50,000-strong University of Florida-Gainesville, there were roughly 4,500 scooters on campus last year. Using that ratio, Clemson students have the potential to be riding about 2,000 scooters. Considering that 4,000 freshmen arrive each fall, and many students move off campus after their freshman or sophomore years, you’ve got a growing market. “The best way to get around is on a scooter, and that’s why we think we can sell 500 scooters a year,” Mechling says.
1. Store does carry a Chinese QJ model by Keeway, but the article doesn't really talk about the Keeway models their 140EQMB Jog 50cc units or the GY6 150cc units they are known for. How many Keeways did they sell compared to Vespa, Yamaha, Kymco, and Suzuki.
2. Dealer News obviously didn't mention this, but the dealer lists Hyosung as a scooter brands, but the factory hasn't exported any Hyosung scooters to the USA since 2010 and last production I believe was end of 2009.
3. The article makes no mention about what he is doing for parts and service from the other brands on the market. He offers one entry level brand Keeway, then a middle to high price level with Kymco, then the highest bracket with Vespa, Suzuki, and Yamaha. However, what about the less expensive brands because even among the Chinese Keeway is now expensive. How is the dealer dealing with service and repairs? Is he fixing anything that walks in or is he turning them away to the smaller scooter only shop for parts and service?
4. What about upgrades? 90% of Powersports Dealers that get into scooters do this the Parts Unlimited way where they showcase nothing in the shop except a few luggage boxes. Do they have exhausts? Do they have variators, clutches, LED lights, and other accessories or do they just put the catalog on the counter?
Yes you have the Yamaha Vino 125 and Tmax, but odds are against the store stocking a Vino 125 performance exhaust, a Tmax NG Disk Brake upgrade, do they carry anything for the Maxi Scooters from Suzuki like a TK Exhaust from Spain, how about for the Keeway any Stage6, Polini, Malossi, Naraku cylinders on the shelf? What about the GY6 parts or are they all just in time?
If I was a customer and I walked in asking for a GY6 Clutch upgrade for the Keeway would they have it? How about the Hyosung lineup? Since these are older bikes from 2010 and Hyosung doesn't have all the parts do they have third party support for them?
If the answer is no to any of these questions, then there's work to be done to bring it up to a higher level.
This dealer is on the right path and as the economy keeps changing students all over the country are going to be looking at scooters.
Funny when I went to the University of Florida we had maybe at most 200 scooters on campus.
To see the school with 4,500 units registered tells me I was ahead of the curve. Last time I visited a few years back I saw one of the units on the road I owned ( I would trade up every other month to a new bike often selling some of them to my fraternity brothers and getting a new one ) the city is now a top market.
What the article fails to mention again is that top market doesn't live off new units. The seven stores in town struggle. Only three stores are currently profitable for the last three years and the remaining stores live off of service and parts. Only one of them has consistently expanded. Often servicing older units which are Chinese and requires parts.
As we expand our selection of world class disk brakes in addition to NCY, Malossi, Grimecca, HMCM, NG Brake Disks, and Stage6 we have added Galfer Scooter Wave disks that somehow nobody is really promoting in the USA so MRP is stocking them. Yes in stock SSP Disk Brakes as well as Galfer must have items for your shop. Buy online from the places to buy section of our website.
SSP DISK BRAKE. Disco de freno Wave Stage6 made by Galfer BRAKING DISCS BY STAGE6 DESIGNED IN SPAIN. SSP DISK Product Code: S6-1216806-VA Small wonder that the SSP Monster Oversize brake disc in black steel is called like that: it has an enormous 260mm diameter, is mounted at 10 floating points and comes in a cool wave design. Racing style at its best! Braking performance is much better than with the stainless steel version, but is is also more liable to rust so you will have to make a decision: performance or style? A fitting adapter with SSP logo and a screw kit are included in the package. Available in a neutral and classy titanium-colour. Disco de freno Wave Stage6 made by Galfer Novedades de los campeones. El nuevo disco Stage6. Sistema 6 veces flotante y diseno WAVE radical. El envio incluye acople Stage6 RT y kit de tornillos para el montaje. Un producto High-Tech desarollado en cooperacion del Stage6 RACING TEAM y el fabricante GALFER. apto para el circuito. WAVE DISKS MADE AND DESIGNED BY GALFER SPAIN FOR STAGE6.
