Scooters a stylish solution to gridlock

Can't find a park? Fed up with traffic congestion and spiralling fuel costs?

If you've said yes to any of these questions, you fit the target demographic for Piaggio's latest release, the Vespa LX.

New Zealand fans of the feisty Italian scooters say they are a great solution to clogged city streets - and the message may finally be spreading further.

Owner of Auckland dealer Scooter e Motion, Goetz Neugebauer, says apartment living, traffic, oil-price spikes and the introduction of a new government levy on petrol, have all led to a renewed interest in the bikes. "Over the past three years my turnover has increased 50 per cent but it is not only the number of bikes sold that is up, but also the value of the individual bikes.

"My clientele has also changed. I no longer just get poor students coming in. I can see from the kind of cars pulling up outside ... "

The ET50cc at $4400 is his biggest seller.

Kevin Golding of Scooter World says petrol prices alone aren't enough to get Aucklanders out of their cars - but the city's traffic woes are doing the job. "If people can afford the gas they'll drive, but when they have to spend two hours on a trip from Birkenhead to Mt Albert that's a different story.

"I'm heaps busier, the workshop is busier ... 90 per cent of my customers have experience with scooters overseas and just see that they work."

Ian Beckhaus boss of Triumph Motorcycles NZ - ironically the local importer-distributor of the little two-wheelers - says the market sector has been turned on its head by cheap Chinese imports but demand for the Italian models has also grown.

"Price is becoming less of an issue; convenience and looking good sells bikes."

Numbers for bikes sold are difficult to derive from industry figures, but Beckhaus estimates New Zealand-wide last year in the under-50cc scooter market 2069 were sold, 96 from Piaggio (a 4.6 per cent market share).

In the year-to-date 1475 bikes have been sold, 51 of them Piaggios (a 3.5 per cent market share). Indications are that more than 3000 units will be sold over the full year and Piaggio expects a 25 per cent increase in its sales.

In 2004, 455 scooters were sold in the over-50cc class, 137 from Piaggio (30 per cent market share). To date this year 230 bikes have been sold, 73 of them Piaggios. The Italian badge is on target for full-year market share of 33 per cent.

Beckhaus says the numbers, while nowhere near those before the arrival of second-hand Japanese cars in New Zealand, represent about 30 per cent growth for Piaggio.

"It's fair to say that the scooter market is the fastest-growing sector of the motorcycle industry. That's probably influenced by three things: traffic, parking and petrol prices, and of course the perception that it is sexy to ride scooters."

In a reflection of growing sales and more affluent buyers, Beckhaus has begun placing Piaggios at Red Baron on Great North Rd - at 30 years, it's one of Auckland's longest-serving motorcycle dealers.

"Vespa is the Harley Davidson of the scooter world," says Beckhaus. "They are money in the bank; they retain their value, don't break down, are easy to use and remain faithful to the original design."

He expects to shift just over 100 of the LX - so named because the Roman numeral represents Vespa's 60th anniversary - in their first year in New Zealand.

But while you will be able to scoot effortlessly through gridlocked streets at a cost-effective 39km per litre - Piaggio also insists you'll be able to do so in style.

The Italians boast, though "utterly modern" - read electric start, fully automatic, front wheel disc brakes, helmet bay - the LX is also "timelessly elegant" and there is little argument that the 139th incarnation of Vespa has more than a little swank to it.

The LX is essentially a facelift of the ET badge launched in 1996 - itself a top performer with more than 400,000 units produced - and while remaining true to classic Vespa design it borrows heavily from the 2003 release, the Granturismo.

This is evident in the LX's tougher, more angular lines although it returns the rounded headlamp and chrome mirrors - the ET broke with convention in featuring an ellipse-shaped lamp, controversial stuff in scootering circles.

Neugebauer believes the LX, which will be released here in 50cc and 150cc models, will suit riders who thought the 200cc Granturismo was a little too much for around town.

For those who insist on taking scooters out on the highway, Beckhaus suggests they wait for the Granturismo 250, due for release here in September. It's a fuel-injected, water-cooled, multi-valve machine, which he describes as a huge step forward for scooters.

* THE SPECS - VESPA LX50

Two-stroke, auto lube
Electric start
Automatic gearbox
Fuel consumption: 36km a litre
Max speed: legal limit
Price: $4590 incl GST

VESPA LX150

Four-stroke, four-valve
Electric start
Automatic gearbox
Fuel consumption: 37km a litre
Max speed: 95km/h
Price: $6290 incl GST