Modern Vespa

I'm trying to understand Piaggio Australia's market analysis. I'm keen to buy an Aprilia SR GT 200. Here in Australia they've only released the 125 version. Doesn't make sense to me as we have large sprawling cities with long distances to travel so I would have thought the 200 makes more sense. We only have one class of bike licence so it's not like you can ride the 125 with a car licence or restricted licence. Then in New Zealand it seems they've released the 200 only. Why?? And the 200 in NZ is cheaper than the 125 here. Some of the price difference must be local taxes but it's a fair difference. No real point to this post. Just having a vent. Also annoying that the Moto Guzzi V100 Mandello was released months ago but we'll be lucky to see one in Australia this year.

Australia is a bit weird. Just look at some of the animals. By that, I mean the marsupials......

Bobo,

We have some of the same problems here in the USA. Scooter ridership
is a fraction of Europe or Asia. Great scooters don't make it to our shore.
It would not be so bad, but, you can see the variety of models being
distributed in other countries.

I expect they get distributed where they can sell the most units.

I was fortunate to get one of the limited number of 2022 Kymco AK550s.

So, limited market - long geographic distances to travel. We suffer on.
Also, I live in Frostbite Falls Minnesota where we are lucky to get in
a seven month riding season.

Bob Copeland

Not really relevant to a reflection of Piaggio products but more indicative of scooter sales in general here.

I've noticed that many of the online sellers of Chinese stuff are no longer selling 250 or 300cc scooters instead opting for 200 and 250cc motorcycles. Out of curiosity I went to YouTube to see if there were videos of these bikes. There are. What I immediately noticed was that many of the video makers were twenty and early thirties year olds riding these Chinese street and dual purpose bikes. The very age market scooters should be fishing in.

I used to be a part of the meetings to decide what scooters KYMCO Canada would bring in to Canada. I also worked for their flagship/corporate dealership here. I understand this is just OP venting, but in case anyone was wondering why things are like this, here's why:

There's a formal fallacy in OP's point, and maybe some of the replies to it, and that's where the frustration ("Why don't manufacturers just give us ___!") comes from.

The premise seems to be, "Because Australia is "like X", Piaggio Australia should import vehicles that fit "X" conditions."

No, not necessarily.

Don't get me wrong, the idea seems perfectly reasonable, until you remember people usually start their vehicle hunt with reason, but make the final purchase decision with feeling.

I also did motorcycle and scooter sales. Most people start their search with practical things in mind. But what starts as "I want to save money on gas, and save time on my commute, by riding to work" typically becomes "I want it to be red, I want it to look pretty, I want my friends to like it, etc."

If Mr. Spock rely solely on logic, the vast majority of vehicle buyers more closely resemble Homer Simpson. And that includes us. By and large we would probably all be better suited a wide variety of Japanese bikes, because we don't buy based on the conditions of where we'll be riding, we buy based on what we like.

If the powersports industry depended on sensible, logic-driven pragmatists, they would buy one japanese vehicle every 5 to 10 years and the industry would go belly up.

Piaggio America is gonna bring in what they are allowed to bring in based on Australian law, what they can bring in based on Piaggio HQ, and what they should bring in based on demand analysis.

There's a whole lot of Jeep Wranglers in the downtown parking lot even though there isn't an unpaved road is a 45 minute drive away. We don't buy vehicles logically. Manufacturers need to pick what to bring in accordingly.

I'm sure most of what you're saying is right adri but I can't see any logic in why NZ gets the 200 and Oz gets the 125. As a comparison, the only Piaggio scooters now sold in Australia are the Medley 150 and the Beverly 400. No 125s at all. And I'm pretty sure the biggest selling Vespa here is the GTS 300. I reckon the Aprilia SR GT 125 has been a sales flop for Piaggio here so they won't even consider bringing out the 200 now. Think I'll wait a few months more and will then probably buy a Medley.

It's really only a 174 so I should be right

See here: There is homologation requirements, which means not only making the vehicle legally fit and compliant, but also a high cost of testing which will determine the break-even point on vehicles sold. If it doesn't meet a certain threshold or ratio, the vehicle will not be imported.

This is why vehicles sold in Canada are often the same as those sold in the USA: Manufacturers don't have to pay for testing twice, certain compliances from the US will cross over into Canada, but it keeps costs down for our (tiny) powersports distributors. There is also what Piaggio Global lets them bring in. Typically the countries that do the most sales volumes have their first pick of choices. The countries that do less sales volumes get less "buying power" within the manufacturer family.

This is why countries like Canada get very small, or sometimes zero, of a given model despite it being advertised as being sold here. Ontario (roughly half of Canada's population), saw a total of ZERO 2022 Yamaha XSR900s, despite them advertised on Yamaha Canada's website... Production capacity is limited, so they're going to focus what they do make on the countries they know will sell, if anything is left over, the small fish can get some, maybe. Think we covered that one already lol.


Those are the three big reasons. If it isn't a checkmark on all three, there's a good chance you aren't getting it in your country.

Just had an SR GT200 as a loaner while the 20000km service was done on Gabriella. Interesting riding it on the road. I went to the launch of the scooter - on a kart track at Hampton Downs race track and was impressed with its abilities, especially its stability in corners. Riding it to work and back it still had that planted feel, courtesy of the 14" front wheel I suspect. However, the acceleration was disappointing compared to the GTS in real life. Would be a great little commuter as long as it didn't have to hit the expressway like I do. It gets breathless at 100kmh at 8000rpm. Great looking scoot, tall in the seat that's quite wide. Suits me at 6'1" but may challenge shorter legged people. Interesting with the engine stop/start system, instant response when the throttle twists, but the clutch takes instantly!
Sorry, that's a little off topic, but we don't get the 125 here and I guess that would be more challenged with 100kg of me on top of it.

chatting to my local dealer the other day he said since the primavera/sprint can't be imported into australia anymore until piaggio update these with _full abs_ they have been selling the sr gt 125 as a temporarily replacement in their line up. he still had a couple of primaveras in the showroom but was limited in both colours and number available in the warehouse - gonna run out completely soon.

Ah that makes a lot of sense. Just did a search on ABS laws here and any scooter 125 or over requires ABS or CBS. Explains why the SR GT 125 is here as it has CBS. I couldn't see that the law requires dual ABS but I assume that's the case. Also explains why we have the Medley 150 here as it has dual ABS. Would have been good if the local dealer explained that to me as I would think a dealer would know that. So no SR GT for me. Will have to be a Medley.

Yes I was shorthanding by just saying Full ABS. I should have said full ABS or CBS/linked

When I test rode the 125 the CBS was over the top. Had never ridden a bike with CBS before and found it a bit unnerving. The front brake grabs quite hard when you use the rear brake. I'm sure you'd get used to it but I didn't like it as I felt I had less control. There's no way to use rear brake only if you want to wash off a bit of speed as you're tipping into a corner, for example.

How about a Italjet Dragster 200 ?
https://italjet.com.au/dragster/

A bit too out there for me. And a lot more expensive. I've decided on a Medley 150. Went to the dealership the other day. They told me that the SR GT 125s aren't selling and they're dropping the price by AU$1100.

Hi Bobo,
I just bought a 2nd hand Beverley 400S in Sydney, one year old with a few upgrades for $9500, really nice bike and plenty of power. Not sure of your budget, but could be an option. Still made in Italy apparently 😁
Cheers, Jason.

I did consider it but I'm after a city run around and don't need a big scooter. It's a bit over budget too. I have my Moto Guzzi for longer out of town trips. I want something that's really easy to filter with but has enough grunt to stay out of trouble. The Beverly does look like a very nice scoot though.

JAS,

That is one fine looking scooter. I love the color combination.
Appreciate the photo. Do not be a stranger and post some ride
photos when you can.

Bob Copeland

Thanks!

It's my first bike for about 30 years and just got my licence, (I rode motorcross growing up), loving it so far!

Cheers, Jas.