How about this crap from projo.com? Use BugMeNot to get a name and password so you don’t have to register to read the whole thing… I wouldn’t bother with doing that anyway. The most important part is this quote from Suzuki World in Warwick’s GM Mike Marfeo (Rhode Island) where he says:
“Increasingly, he said, women are after their own bikes, and by ‘bike’ they don’t mean ‘scooter.’
‘The only reason someone goes into a scooter is because of the weight of it,’ he said. ‘If they can handle the weight of a motorcycle, they’re going into a motorcycle.’”
Come on numbnuts! You are a GM for a Suzuki store. Your job is to make money. Suzuki sells only 2 scooters in the USA and the return on those bikes is probably no where near the return on an overpriced cruiser that goes for $10k PLUS! I’ll stop there… I’ve got work to do and I’m outta Prevacid.
23. April 2006 at 5:39 pm
Good call on the biased Suzuki quote, BUT, in fairness, the SATURDAY 22 April issue of the Providence journal had a front page article (with photos) on scooters and Javaspeed scootershop. Stella shoppers and an interview with a “Scooter Commuter” etc. I’m no projo shill, but they did scooters and Javaspeed a strong the day before.
Check out “High gas prices told to scoot”: http://www.projo.com/metro/content/projo_20060422_gas22.21fff35d.html
23. April 2006 at 5:57 pm
Fair… Fair… I really should have just shot my stink-eye at the GM of the Suzuki shop… No bad feelings agains ProJo. I did see that scoot article and it was all good.
That’s what I get for posting right after I read it. New rule… No typing when my hands are shaking. ;)
24. April 2006 at 1:01 am
That attitude of that GM of the Suzuki shop is why Honda doesn’t completely dominate the scooter market.
I’ve gone into major brand, Japanese powersports dealers. If you mention a scooter it’s often hard to get the time of day. If you do, you’re likely bullied, shamed, or otherwised talked into “a real bike.”
And that guy is kind of ignorant. I’ve ridden a GSX-R 600. It’s lighter than some 250cc scoots I’ve ridden. It’s not about weight, it’s about wanting something for a specific purpose. I would never buy a sport bike to commute on. Nor would I buy a heavy cruiser. A sport tourer, possibly.