  What our editorial staff has to say - in case anybody is interested  + Vespa's New GTS Vespa presented us with all the details in late May: The all new GTS i.e. is coming - first to dealerships in Europe. We had a closer look at Vespa's new big scoot. + The LX is coming It's official: The new LX line is on the way, and will hit US stores in early summer. Scooter Press takes a closer look at Vespas modern classic. + Yamaha Xmax 250 Yamaha launche their new urban powerhouse with a quarter liter engine. Tested on country roads, the new Xmax is intended as a commuter machine for the cities. + Piaggio Beverly We review Piaggio's smaller displacement Beverly scooters - the 125 and the 250.  + Parsons Challenge Scooters and fashion just go together - find out where it might go soon through the eyes of design students + ArtVespa, London/UK We look back at the ArtVespa 2004, a high profile fundraiser and art event against addiction.  A mixed bag of all things scootering: what's going on, new parts for your scoot, ... |
 Piaggio USA Helps Host National Vespa Meet Amerivespa runs from June 2 though June 5 - Cleveland, Ohio is the place to be for the Vespa Club of America's 13th annual scooter event. Amerivespa (June 2nd through the 5th) is a national gathering of enthusiasts of vintage and modern European motor scooters, most notably, the Vespa. Scooter fans from all over the Midwest, North America and the world are expected to attend.  "We're excited to have the
rally in Cleveland this year!" said J.D. Merryweather, Vespa
Club of America president. "Ohio is well known nationally
for its great scooter scene. The club chose Cleveland because
of the city's strong scooter community, central location, history
and scenery." Each year Amerivespa moves to a different
part of the U.S. This is the first year Amerivespa will be held
in the Midwest.Rally participants will have a weekend full of scooter-related activities. The fun includes large group rides through Cleveland and the surrounding area, a gala dinner and awards ceremony, tech sessions and scooter sports such a slow race and obstacle course. Registered attendees will have the opportunity to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at a reduced admission price. There will also be opportunities for the general public to get a taste of the scootering lifestyle. On Saturday June 4th from 4 to 6 the public can visit the "Concours d'Elegance" scooter show where vintage, restored and customized scooters will be on display. On Sunday, a vendor fair with a variety of new scooters and related merchandise will be held outside of Vespa Cleveland (24771 Miles Road). Scooterists from around Ohio and the Midwest are contributing to Amerivespa along with Vespa club members from all over the country. Piaggio USA (the U.S. national distributor of the Vespa) along with local Vespa shops are playing a major role in the event. They are donating three brand-new Vespas to be raffled off to participants. To register for Amerivespa and to find out more about the Vespa Club of America check out www.amerivespa.org. Piaggio Releases First Quarter 2005 Results At a meeting on May 6 in Milan chaired by Roberto Colaninno, the Board of Directors of Piaggio & C. S.p.A. examined and approved the Group figures for the first quarter of 2005. The January-March quarter was the first consolidation including Aprilia. It reflected an expansion in the Group's business as a result of the acquisition, in terms of both breadth of offer and variety of geographical markets, and consequently a change in the relevant competitive scenario.  Consolidated net sales amounted
to ¤ 312.3 million, an improvement of 1.7% on ¤
307.2 million in the first quarter of 2004 at constant size.
Growth was achieved despite a sharp decline (more than 10%) in
Europe, Piaggio's core market. Strong progress was reported by
Derbi, in light commercial vehicles on the European and Indian
markets, on the US market (more than 50%), while Aprilia made
a recovery with 5.5% revenue growth in the first quarter.EBITDA totalled ¤ 25.9 million (8.3% return on net sales) and was almost double the ¤ 13.5 million of 2004 (4.4% of net sales). The result stemmed from a significant improvement in operating efficiency through the continuing turnaround at Piaggio and the start-up of a similar recovery programme at Aprilia. Amortisation and depreciation charges gross of goodwill amortisation were ¤ 21.8 million. Operating income amounted to ¤ 4.1 million, compared with an operating loss of ¤ 8.2 million in the first quarter of 2004. Net financial charges were ¤ 6.6 million, down from ¤ 7.6 million in the year-earlier period, in part as a result of the debt restructuring at Aprilia following its acquisition by Piaggio. Non-recurring charges, including goodwill amortisation and restructuring charges, amounted to ¤ 9.2 million, up from ¤ 5.7 million in 2004. The first quarter closed with a net loss of ¤ 16.7 million, an improvement on the aggregate net loss of ¤ 25.1 million a year earlier. Net debt stood at ¤ 517.2 million at 31 March 2005, an increase of ¤ 60.4 million from the figure at 31 December 2004: this was largely due to use of resources in connection with the seasonal nature of the company's business. Shareholders' equity was ¤ 215.5 million (¤ 232.1 million at 31 December 2004). Post first-quarter events On 27 April 2005 the Group issued a ¤ 150 million bond maturing in 2012, for institutional investors specialising in high yield instruments. Part of the proceeds were used to repay the Aprilia ¤ 100 million bond that matured on 2 May 2005; the residual proceeds will be used to consolidate and improve Group sources of funds. Commenting on first-quarter performance, Piaggio Chief Executive Officer Rocco Sabelli said: "The period marked a further consolidation in Piaggio profitability, thanks to the growth achieved by a number of business units (Derbi, light commercial vehicles in Europe and India) and also thanks to efficiency gains. Aprilia's first results are very significant and show that the company is well on the way to improving its market position and business performance. The net sales trend for April (consolidated progressive growth of +3.9% on 2004) is an indicator of the recovery being achieved throughout the group." Aprilia Scooter Raincoats  Against spring rain shower and
summer storms, here is a couple of new, useful products - in
both rider and passenger versions, and designed for facing sudden
weather changes. They take very little space when tucked away,
and thanks to the comfortable and practical pack, they can easily
be stored in the under-saddle vehicle bay. The Raincoats are easy to put on when in a hurry, thanks to the "poncho" head opening on both versions. There is also a special system for the second passenger legs. In fact the trousers are not fixed to the legs and several belts leave enough space for easy leg comfort. Details on the two versions: - Long driver raincoat: Reaches well below the knees. The rest of the legs and feet are protected by the front scooter shield. - Short passenger raincoat. Leg protection is integrated in pocket below the waistline. You can find the new Scooter Raincoats at the nearest Aprilia dealer, or go to www.aprilia.com Aprilia: SR, New Racing Rear Shock Absorber  A professional shock absorber
has come for those who want to make their new SR perform more
and more. Particularly right for difficult road conditions, for
accurately calibrating the vehicle behaviour, also thought about
the proper rider's style. Here are its main characteristics:- Manually adjustable in-4-positions spring preload - Hydraulic compression and reboud - Oilpneumatic piston of sintered steel (diameter 26 mm.) made of two independent lamellar placks for the rebound and compression with half elliptic harmonic steel lamellar system configuration - Piston guide shoe of the Lubrifon PTFE B70 type (compound modified loaded bronze) - Sliding of the shaft on DU pilot bushing - Polyurethane U94Q turquoise resin seal ring - Shock absorber rod diameter 12 mm. steel C43 with hard chromed superficial finishing from 2025 micron thick - Hardened steel spring CrSi painted with epoxy powders The absorber is supplied with a preloaded spring that can be modified to 4 positions according to the exigencies and uses. More info: www.aprilia.com Piaggio USA Selects CooperKatz & Company To Support PR, Marketing Encouraging more Americans to embrace scootering -- the use of motor scooters for a wide array of daily lifestyle needs - is the goal of an aggressive U.S. marketing push for the world famous Vespa and Piaggio brands, announced Paolo Timoni, CEO of Piaggio USA, Inc. Piaggio, the Italian manufacturer of Vespa and Europe's leader in the two- wheel sector -- has picked creative PR agency CooperKatz & Company to execute an integrated campaign combining public relations, events and online initiatives that engage its fervent customer evangelists. CooperKatz's charter includes media and online channel outreach that supports the Piaggio brands' appeal to consumers who value high-performance, style and convenience, while embracing an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional transportation. The intent is to educate the American consumer that scootering fits virtually every lifestyle, offering both practical and emotional benefits. Piaggio, which re-entered the U.S. market in 2000, now has dealerships in 85 markets, 15 of which opened in the last year. The company's new marketing campaign will include test drive events for journalists, blogs that engage discreet customer segments and studies that encourage municipalities to embrace scooter-friendly policies. "We selected CooperKatz for their creativity and unique combination of public relations, event marketing and online expertise that we believe will help support Piaggio in the growth plan for North America. Particularly intriguing were their ideas for using blogs to further engage our passionate Vespa owners," said Timoni. CooperKatz's Micro Persuasion practice helps corporations capitalize on the vast opportunities that blogs and other online channels afford to engage audiences in a transparent dialogue. "Blogs are a natural fit for Vespa," said CooperKatz principal Andy Cooper. "They're the ideal way to connect with the brand's loyalists and encourage them to become online evangelists." Yamaha announces Its MotoGP Scooter Deal  Yamaha is proud to announce a two year deal with
MotoGP series promoter Dorna that has seen the Japanese motorcycling
giant become the Scooter supplier of the MotoGP World Championship.
The agreement, which was sealed on the eve of the opening round
of the 2005 season held in Jerez, Spain includes
Yamaha supplying the championship organizer Dorna with a fleet
of limited edition 50cc BW's scooter which will be used through
the 2005 and 2006 seasons.Yamaha Motor Europe's Manager of the Power Two-Wheeler Marketing and Sales Division Robert Landman presented the new fleet of MotoGP liveried BW's to Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta at the Jerez MotoGP. The limited edition MotoGP BW's livery features the official MotoGP logo, race-inspired colour scheme as well as track maps of each circuit featured on the 2005 and 2006 seasons. In addition the liquid-cooled unit also boasts a carbon-fiber replica seat and trick instrument dash layout. Production replicas of the Yamaha MotoGP Scooter will be on sale from June at your local dealer. For more information on this and the rest of Yamaha's motorcycle range visit www.yamaha-motor-europe.com |