Interesting Article : is Piaggio killing Aprilia ?!

[Tusayan]

I visited Guzzi a year or so before Piaggio took over, and most of the work on the factory had already been completed by Aprilia, for example new assembly lines and engine assembly and test facilities including multiple dyno cells and emissions test cells.  In addition, Aprilia had already developed the CARC bikes.  The only issue was that Aprilia ran out of money, which wasn't anything to do with Guzzi specifically.

[rocker59]

As I recall, a few years ago in Europe you could get a small scooter w/o having a special driver's license for it and scooter sales were high.  Then some or all European countries required to get a new scooter you first had to have a special DL and over there it costs a lot more than here to do that.   This new requirement hit new scooter sales hard over there and that's when Aprilia sales took a nose dive.

And the helmet law.

Italy ' s helmet law put sales into a tailspin.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

[rocker59]

I visited Guzzi a year or so before Piaggio took over, and most of the work on the factory had already been completed by Aprilia, for example new assembly lines and engine assembly and test facilities including multiple dyno cells and emissions test cells.  In addition, Aprilia had already developed the  CARC bikes.  The only issue was that Aprilia ran out of money, which wasn't anything to do with Guzzi specifically.

Yes, Aprilia dumped Beau Coup Euro into the factory. Unfortunately,  the scooter sales crash put them in a bind.

They had no money to move the Griso into production in 2003/2004.

They were done.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

[Tusayan]

The only thing of value that Piaggio brought to Aprilia and Guzzi was investment money to restore solvency.  Aprilia was a much better manager of the motorcycle business but was caught out by an unexpected downturn in the market that Piaggio could better weather.  Since Piaggio took over Guzzi has just floated along, letting the CARC bikes run their course to obsolescence and introducing the 1400, which is not a strong seller.  What's selling is the old small blocks, a very old Moto Guzzi design usefully updated.

[rocker59]

The only thing of value that Piaggio brought to Aprilia and Guzzi was investment money to restore solvency.  Aprilia was a much better manager of the motorcycle business but was caught out by an unexpected downturn in the market that Piaggio could better weather.  Since Piaggio took over Guzzi has just floated along, letting the CARC bikes run their course to obsolescence and introducing the 1400, which is not a strong seller.  What's selling is the old small blocks, a very old Moto Guzzi design usefully updated.

Saying that doesn't make it so.

The only CARC bike shown by Aprilia was a mocked up Griso in 2003. It didn't hit the streets until 2006, a couple years after the change in owners.  Every platform has its life expectancy, and I think we can all agree that the CARC line is long in the tooth and ready for replacement.

The small block line would be dead and gone, if not for Piaggio's smart move to develop the V7 Classics,  which hit the streets in 2009, and quickly became 50% of production/sales.

Hey man, I'm no Piaggio fan boy. But, Aprilia is the devil, as far as I'm concerned.  Guzzi would've been much better off in the hands of a motorcycle company back in 1999.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

[Tusayan]

Aprilia is the devil, as far as I'm concerned. 

I think that's affecting your point of view on Piaggio.  I don't much like Aprilia products either: with the exception of the Griso which was a re-do of the Centauro, the CARC bikes strike me as uninspired plastic BMW copies built like a scooter.  However, Aprilia didn't dismantle Moto Guzzi S.p.A and they did develop new Guzzi platforms and chassis designs in a short period.  They also allowed Guzzi to do the MGS/01 with Ghezzi & Brian, which was a nice bike that Piaggio killed.

In case you're interested, the GMG event with G&B bikes on display and the initiation of the MGS/01 mentioned in this webpage was in 2002, under Aprilia, with MGS/01 development done by G&B in 2003:  http://www.ghezzi-brian.com/en/mgs01-project/

As mentioned above I saw Griso prototypes in September, 2001, and the 1100 Breva was not far behind - development was all long done before Piaggio took over in 2005 and the injected small block Breva was introduced to the market in 2003.  What Piaggio subsequently contributed to that product line was the revised chain driven cam 8V engine, developed in Pontedera, which is why the Griso prototypes had a belt driven cam Centauro engine and the first production year 2007 Griso (and the early big block Brevas etc) had a 4V pushrod engine. 

All that stuff is finished now anyway and under Piaggio the future is seemingly budget bikes from Guzzis past: Tonti-derived small blocks adopting the big block V7 name, with Todero-inspired aero-hemi heads   Both those guys are long dead but apparently their work had lasting value.

[Mr Pootle]

As I recall, a few years ago in Europe you could get a small scooter w/o having a special driver's license for it and scooter sales were high.  Then some or all European countries required to get a new scooter you first had to have a special DL and over there it costs a lot more than here to do that.   This new requirement hit new scooter sales hard over there and that's when Aprilia sales took a nose dive.

Where in Europe?

[bmp72]

Where in Europe?

Well here in Switzerland for instance. When you have a car license, it takes 8 hours of lessons (no exams) and you get a bike license for up to 125cc.

[Rusnak_322]

Living in the Midwest, I had an Aprilia Mille a few years ago and now have a Moto Guzzi.

I swear, motorcyclist I met were more confused by a Moto Guzzi then a Aprilia. I had lots of people see my Aprilia and know about the brand, but hardly anyone has heard of a Moto Guzzi (granted they are usually Harley riders).

The worst thing that Aprilia has going for it is there love of Ugly stickers that seem to cover all surfaces of their otherwise good looking bikes.

[Mr Pootle]

Well here in Switzerland for instance. When you have a car license, it takes 8 hours of lessons (no exams) and you get a bike license for up to 125cc.

You’ve always (or at least, since in the 60s), been able to ride a moped on your car licence in the UK. A moped is pedal assisted, like the NSU Quickly. But the comments above have made me look for changes that have passed me by, and I find that you can also ride two wheelers with a top speed of 28mph, so no need for the pedals any more. That covers Wayne’s small scooters.
But please, you Americans,  remember that “Europe” is a continent and home to about fifty sovereign nations. Think North America. What is true of the USA is not also true of Canada.

[Mr Pootle]

Well here in Switzerland for instance. When you have a car license, it takes 8 hours of lessons (no exams) and you get a bike license for up to 125cc.

You�ve always (or at least, since in the 60s), been able to ride a moped on your car licence in the UK. A moped is pedal assisted, like the NSU Quickly. But the comments above have made me look for changes that have passed me by, and I find that you can also ride two wheelers with a top speed of 28mph, so no need for the pedals any more. That covers Wayne�s small scooters.
But please, you Americans,  remember that �Europe� covers about fifty sovereign nations, all with their own laws. Don�t be misled by the Brexiteers� parrot cries that �Europe� makes our laws. It doesn�t even make the laws of the member nations of the EU.

[Arizona Wayne]

My memory is so bad I can't remember details like what Euro. country I heard this about so put it out shotgun style and hope you Euro. riders will chime in with the countr(ies) I'm referring to. 

[oldbike54]

I read the sentence, but it's my understanding the only difference between a Vespa 250 GTV? and a 250 MP3 is the chassis, not the drive train of the 2.

Who made Tusayan an expert on this discussion?

 Go back and read it again , because you still aren't understanding what he said .

 Dusty

[normzone]

.... who would invest in purchasing Aprilia (and maybe Guzzis as part of the deal)?   

I've asked this question before - how much lottery money do I need ? I know where to hire my engineers at