Monsoon Scooter Rally 2012 at Navi Mumbai - TOI News

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THE RECENTLY HELD MONSOON SCOOTER RALLY AT KHARGHAR SAW AN ANTICIPATING CROWD CHEERING THE PARTICIPANTS
B B NAYAK

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-07-09/top-stories/32605558_1_navi-mumbai-penalty-riders



There were 39 daredevil dirt riders, but a few could complete the challenging task on the terrain course of the scooter rally held recently amidst heavy rains that lashed the city. The torrential rains that the city experienced over the last few days made the riding on the gravel-laden, winding course dicey. Virtually almost all the riders took a tumble or two and some even damaged their scooters due to lesser visibility of the course which was affected by knee-deep water-logging patches all through the densely forest at the foothill of Targhar village near Uran.

Many riders had to literally push and drag their scooters stuck in the slushy terrain to avoid penalty timing. But it was an amazing experience for motor sports lovers of the city who explored all possibilities to have a glimpse of the spectacular adventure held once a year in the backwoods of Navi Mumbai. Kharghar rider E S Shekharan was the medal hopeful but he disappointed the home crowd that made their presence felt all along the competition track.In the main competitive course, former champion and Mumbai resident Rustom Patel overcame unyielding conditions and a strong field to emerge triumphant in the 23rd Gulf Monsoon Scooter Rally, organised by Sportscraft. Rustom came up trump with judicious riding over the dirt tracts of Navi Mumbai to win the gruelling 35 km race with a penalty of 29 minutes and 54 seconds.
“I retained this title after several seasons of arduous struggle with consistent training. This was the most cherished moment after winning the show for yet another time which gave me an impetus to stay in the field when the race is going bigger and better every edition with new rides coming in to participate,” said champion Rustom.
While new entrant Muzzafar Ali from Bhopal who participated for the first time came in creditable second with a penalty of 30 minutes and 15 seconds, Chembur lad Kunal Rao had to settle for third position with a penalty of 33 minutes and 07 seconds. Defending champion and Mulund rider Avtar Singh failed to match the speed of medal winners this time due to a few falls along the course.
The show was kicked off from Parel after which the riders rode to the eastern side of the city for competition along the backwoods of Vashi, Targhar, Bombay Pada and Vovale.
The riders had to exercise extreme caution while negotiating the steep inclines and hairpin bends along the entire course of 35 km. It was also difficult riding through water logged areas but almost all riders went through the exercise rather efficiently.
Rustom Patel was also first in his class in the 110 to 160 cc class (4 stroke) while Muzaffar Ali and Nikunj Gala were second and third respectively in the same class. While four-time champion and Mulund resident Manjit Singh topped in the 111cc to 160 cc class (2 strokes), followed by Chinmay Bisht and Freddy Elavia on second and third position respectively. In the 80cc to 110cc class( 2 stroke), Kunal Rao lead the pack from the front, Ashish Nair was second while Sashank Shewale was third.

The Vespa Mailer...

http://vespaindia.com/

Fashion buzz - Vespa Comeback.....

Fashion buzz:

Kyle Pereira / Mumbai May 05, 2012, 00:34 IST

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Haute couture on two wheels? Kyle Pereira rides the new Vespa.

Oh, so cute!” the young lady squealed. Her attention was certainly not directed at me, for sure, but at the bright yellow Vespa I was standing next to. There were many more like her, who were instantly taken in by the little scooter wherever we took it. Called the LX 125 the world over, it is known simply as the Vespa here in India. Importantly, it heralds Italian manufacturer Piaggio’s re-entry into the ever growing two-wheeler market in the country. And no, the Vespa isn’t intended as a competitor to the very popular Honda Activa and Suzuki Access, but is being pitched by Piaggio as a lifestyle product.

And why not? Like the Beetle, the Mini and the Fiat 500, the Vespa too went from being a mere machine to a worldwide cult, soon becoming a fashion icon. It was a part of popular culture and inevitably attained star status too, having acted in over 150 films. But Vespa is closer to us Indians than far-flung Hollywood. The brand has been a part of this country right from the 1960s, when the scooters were manufactured in collaboration with Bajaj. The partnership dissolved in 1971, but this was not the end of the road for Vespa. In 1983, Piaggio and LML tied up to produce the scooters. However, in 1999, LML bought over Piaggio's stake and the collaboration came to an end.

As you’re reading this, brightly coloured Vespas are rolling off a newly inaugurated plant in Baramati, about 100 km from Pune. At Rs 66,661 (ex-showroom Maharashtra), Piaggio is positioning this example of alto moda on two wheels at a premium.

But this is no handbag. It’s a scooter and, as with scooters, its true calling is the road. Twist that rather bling throttle grip, and the 126cc, 9.9-bhp motor gets to work with a buzzy sound, hauling its light body, and rider, forward. It’s not frantic, but the greenery around seems to pass by quicker till about 70 kmph. Beyond that, the little Vespa begins to run out of breath.

Also breathtaking is the Vespa’s styling, especially, as mentioned before, to women. This Piaggio is nifty looking, with lines that show more than a passing resemblance to the Vespas of yore — a contoured and stubby front end leading to a rather curvaceous rear, but now more pronounced, with a crease line that defines the flanks. However, what mars the package is the prominent panel gaps that are inconsistent while certain plastic sections are still rough around the edges.

The chrome bits, sprinkled liberally all over, lend a nice, premium air to it. Small things like the smart-looking levers, the shiny kick lever, the rubber footboard strips and the Vespa badge on the lights prove that the devil is in the details. Underseat space is limited to just about enough for a single helmet, but the new-age, full face lids won’t fit.

To a bloke, however, it might seem a bit out of place to admit that the yellow (of course, there are other colours available) Vespa does something for him. It’s one of those things, I guess; petite Vespas in bright colours might be great fun to ride, but you don’t really want your buddy catching you on one.

There’s no doubt, however, about how well the Vespa will change direction at your whim. The monocoque frame helps, without question, and the 125 flicks this way and that with an air of ease that will surprise most scooterists accustomed to the usual lumpy riding dynamics of their steeds. I was having so much fun on this agile scooter that the only limiting factor that prevented the Vespa from dipping deeper into corners was the lack of grip from the Nylogrip tyres. These hoops are adequate on dry surfaces, but get a little skittish in the wet.

Another facet of the Vespa that will go a long way in keeping life cheerful is the scooter’s ride quality. Despite sporting an old school trailing link-type suspension at the front, the 125 will go over really bad potholes and you still won’t stir from your Roman Holiday state of mind; a weird grin plastered across your face as you roll down the road, with your make-believe Audrey Hepburn riding pillion.

That Hepburn lady would have to like you plenty, as she would have to sit awfully close to you, because of the limited pillion seat length. The rider’s pad is fine, more than ample actually. Although the breadth of the Vespa’s saddle is expansive, the pillion needs to stick really close to the rider in order to fit in. Audrey’s more than welcome then, but my colleague Aneesh? Not really!

Another grouse is the deadpan feel of the front brake. As if contending with a low tech drum brake isn’t enough, the wooden feel of the thing doesn’t help matters. Apart from being numb, the stopper really doesn’t do much stopping — pull in the lever with all your might and it still won’t cut speed quickly enough. A slightly longer brake arm should increase leverage enough to keep things from getting scary. Perhaps a softer brake lining material might slow down things more effectively. Or both! The rear brake makes up for the front, with its progressive functioning and good bite to leave behind a dark rubber line on the concrete.

On the whole, I’m certain that the Vespa will find favour with the glitterati, but as a working scooter, I’m not too sure it entirely fits the bill. Besides, the thing is too pretty to park anywhere other than outside a swanky spa or coffee shop. So you better dress up if you’re heading out on one — might as well earn some compliments for yourself.

A WASP’S TALE

Like many other great automotive ideas, the Vespa was the fruit of a determined effort to overcome severe adversity. After World War II, Italy was trying to pick up the pieces the years of fighting had left behind. During the war, Piaggio manufactured aircraft but with the cessation of hostilities, nobody needed military planes any more. Enrico Piaggio then thought of putting his Pontedera aircraft manufacturing plant to use in the production of cheap and reliable transportation for the Italian market.

Corradino D’Ascanio, an aeronautical engineer, was entrusted with the task. D'Ascanio disliked motorcycles. He thought of them as temperamental machines that loved to dirty the clothes of their riders. His machine had to be everything a motorcycle of the time wasn’t. It had to offer decent weather protection, keep road muck off the rider and be easy for both men and women to ride. The resultant prototype was called the MP6. Piaggio was thrilled and remarked that the MP6 resembled a Vespa, the Italian word for ‘wasp’. And so the iconic Vespa was born.

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Scooter Adventure: Sai Gon - Da Nang

Scooter Adventure: Sai Gon - Da Nang September 2011 from The Scooterist on Vimeo.

Vespa LX 125 to be launched in India - Dancewiththeshadows.com

Vespa is planning to start its third innings in India as the brand’s parent company; Piaggio is in final stages of building scooter manufacturing plant at Baramati in Maharashtra. It will reportedly launch a Vespa LX 125 as its first scooter. But why we call it the third innings?

Vespa in India

The production of Vespa scooters was first licensed by Piaggio to Bajaj Auto in 1960s. Vespa later sold as LML Vespa in partnership (from 1983) with Lohia Machinery Limited (LML) based in Kanpur. The partnership ended in 1999 after a long dispute between LML and Vespa. Hence, now, through Piaggio, the parent company’s strong market presence, Vespa is planning a strong footed third innings this time.

Vespa versus Competition

The automatic-geared scooter segment in the country is currently led by Honda (Activa) and TVS (Scooty). Further, the world’s 4^th largest two-wheeler maker, Piaggio, is taking Indian two-wheeler market seriously and will launch its entire Vespa range apart from premium sports motorcycles such as Aprilia (RSV4 Factory) and some of its other brands including Derbi, Gilera and Moto Guzzi.

Piaggio and its plans for Indian market

Piaggio unveiled two of its iconic brand two-wheeler products in India on Thursday. They were the Aprilia RSV4 Factory superbike and Vespa LX 125 scooter. Ravi Chopra, CMD of Piaggio Vehicles India told Times of India, said, “Aprilia will give Piaggio the visibility and branding in the two-wheeler market and help us showcase our technological advancement.” He added that Aprilia will be a niche product and Piaggio plans to sell the bikes through dealerships in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai.

Talking on the upcoming Barmati plant which will have an initial capacity to manufacture 150,000 units of scooter per annum at an investment of 30 million euro, Chopra said that Piaggio is gearing up for Vespa’s launch and plan is to have around 70 dealerships by the end of this year. Piaggio plans to pitch Vespa LX125 as a value-for-money offering into the market.

Interestingly, since customers are price conscious, 100% localization is the key to price the products competitively and Piaggio will do the same with its Vespa LX 125. The company has already tied up component suppliers for this, and the plans are on schedule. Hopefully, the Vespa would come in around the first quarter of next year, according to Chopra.

Piaggio Vehicles Private Limited is a fully-owned subsidiary of Piaggio, Italy. The company has 760 sales points pan-India and besides the investing for manufacturing Vespa scooters, Piaggio is also setting up a facility to manufacture diesel and petrol engines at Baramati at an investment of 60 million euros.

About Vespa

Vespa is a cult brand in European countries. The success of Vespa resulted in the formation of the Vespa World Club in 2006, bringing together 35 international Vespa clubs and 685 Italian Vespa clubs. Currently, Vespa is produced at Piaggio’s plants in Pontedera, Italy; Vinh Phuc, Vietnam and soon at Baramati from 2012 onwards. So far, over 17 million Vespas have been sold worldwide.

Vespa 125cc LX 124 scooter will be Piaggio’s re-entry vehicle into India

Piaggio, who owns the Vespa brand of scooters, is all set to make a comeback to the Indian two-wheeler market as early as 2012.

This was disclosed after the company’s board meeting held in Milan recently. The first Vespa scooter to roll out of the factory will be the Vespa LX 125, which has been specially designed for India keeping into mind the various conditions here.

Piaggio plans to start production of the Vespa LX 125 in India according to Roberto Colaninno, Director, Piaggio & C. S.p.A.

Vespa brand of scooters have always had a special place in the hearts of millions. These scooters are known for their design, grace and simplicity. In fact, it is for Vespa that scooters have become famous around the world.

Piaggio plans to set up a new facility for its range of two-wheelers which would also be supported by Piaggio’s three-wheeler commercial arm in India, Piaggio Vehicles Private Ltd.

The total investment to setup the new plant is said to be in the region of 30 million Euros and would be invested in planned phases in the year 2010 and 2011. The new Piaggio plant would have a production capacity of 1,50,000 units annually and it will be fully operational by the end of 2012 when the LX 125 is launched. According to the plan, Piaggio will plan to sell 1,10,000 scooters by 2015.

India happens to be the second largest two wheeler market in the world after China, and the Indian market has grown nearly 7% in the last five years. This would be surely interesting the Italian two wheeler giant who was earlier in the Indian market along with LML. Piaggio is already in the Indian three wheeler market, and is one of the big players here. Hence that knowledge and experience would surely help in a big way for this re-entry into the Indian two wheeler market.

So far, there is no information on the pricing on the Vespa LX 125 when the company would launch it in India.Source - 

http://www.dancewithshadows.com/autoindia/vespa-lx-125-to-be-launched-in-india/

Vespa gears up for a third trip to India - The Times of India

The iconic Vespa is set for its third innings in India as parent Piaggio is in final stages of setting up its scooter plant at Baramati in Maharashtra.

The Italian company is looking to make inroads into the fast-growing scooter market that is currently dominated by Honda and TVS. And Piaggio has big plans for the market.

After launching the 125cc Vespa LX125 next year, Piaggio plans to bring in a fuller range that would include more scooters from the Vespa range apart from motorcycles from its other brands.

Piaggio, which has seven brands of scooters, motorcycles and small commercial vehicles, started its fresh two-wheeler campaign on Thursday with the launch of its premium Aprilia range of superbikes that would come in as imports and carry hefty price tags ranging between Rs 13 lakh and Rs 18 lakh. "Aprilia will give Piaggio the visibility and branding in the two-wheeler market and help us showcase our technological advancement," Ravi Chopra, CMD of Piaggio Vehicles India, told TOI.

"Aprilia will be a niche product and we plan to sell the bikes through dealerships in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai," he added. Aprilia, a brand bought by Piaggio in 2004, was earlier slated to come to India in partnership with the Munjals of the Hero Group.

The company's Baramati plant will have an initial capacity of 150,000 units per annum at an investment of e30 million. Chopra said the capacity can be increased if required. "We are gearing up for Vespa's launch and plan to have around 70 dealerships by the end of this year. We plan to pitch it as a value-for-money offering into the market."

Chopra said the company was looking at 100% localization for Vespa. "This will enable us to be competitive," Chopra said. The company has already tied up component suppliers for this, and he said plans were on schedule. "The Vespa would come in around the first quarter of next year," he added.

The automatic transmission LX 125 carries the famed Vespa design and sports a single-cylinder four-stroke engine. The success of Vespa has resulted in the formation of the Vespa World Club in 2006, which brings together 35 international Vespa clubs and 685 Italian Vespa clubs to form a platform for the Vespa cult. Produced at Piaggio's plants in Pontedera, Italy; Vinh Phuc, Vietnam and soon at Baramati, over 17 million Vespas have been sold till 2010.

And while it makes a fresh pitch in India, the Vespa brand enjoys a long history here. Piaggio had first licensed the production of Vespa scooters to Bajaj Auto in 1960s. In 1971, however, Piaggio's licence was not renewed by the then government. The company also partnered LML Motors in 1983, which produced the P-Series scooters. But, the partnership ended in 1999 after long disputes between the partners.

Read more: Vespa gears up for a third trip to India - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Vespa-gears-up-for-a-third-trip-to-India/articleshow/7330328.cms#ixzz1C1PIIqQP

Piaggio to Launch Vespa LX125 in 2012 in India - Bikeadvice.in

According to Times of India news Piaggio, the Italian two wheelers and three wheelers manufacturing company is to enter Indian scooter market. Piaggio will launch its Vespa brand which was there in India before a decade. The company is in final stages of setting up its scooter plant at Baramati in Maharashtra. The company’s Baramati plant will have an initial capacity of 150,000 units per annum at an investment of approximately Rs. 200 crore (30 million Euro). The company can increased the capacity if required.
According to Ravi Chopra, CMD of Piaggio Vehicles India, “We are gearing up for Vespa’s launch and plan to have around 70 dealerships by the end of this year. We plan to pitch it as a value-for-money offering into the market.
The company is looking for 100% localization for Vespa LX 125. This will enable us to be competitive. The company has already tied up component suppliers plans are on schedule. The Vespa LX 125 would come in around the first quarter of next year.” It means that in the first quarter of 2012 Piaggio will launch Vespa LX 125.
This is the third time Vespa brand is going to launch in Indian market. The first Vespa scooters were launched in 1960 by Bajaj Auto in India. Bajaj Auto had acquired license from Piaggio which was last till 1971. After that Piaggio reentered in India in 1983 partnering with LML Motors in 1983 which was last till 1999.
Piaggio Vespa LX125 has four stroke 125 cc automatic transmission (CVT) engine which produces 10.7 bhp and 9.6Nm that too with retro type Vespa look. Brand Vespa is known worldwide. It has 35 international and 685 Italian clubs under the Vespa World Club. Till the date over 17 million Vespas have been sold.
Piaggio, which has seven brands of scooters, motorcycles and small commercial vehicles. It also owns Aprilia brand which it bought in the year 2004. After launching the 125cc Vespa LX125 next year, Piaggio plans to bring in a fuller range that would include more scooters from the Vespa range apart from motorcycles from its other brands.
The company’s has started its first two wheeler campaign with the launch of its premium Aprilia superbikes through CBU route will range between 13 lakhs to 18 lakhs rupees. On the launch Mr. Chopra said that Aprilia will give Piaggio the visibility and branding in the two-wheeler market and help them to showcase their technological advancement. Aprilia will be a niche product and they plan to sell the bikes through dealerships in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai. Earlier the company was planning to launch its two wheelers in partnership with the Munjals of Hero group.
India world’s second biggest market of two wheelers is catching fancy of every two wheeler manufacturer in the world. Nearly 11 million two wheelers sold during the year 2010. According to an estimate market size for two wheelers will double within five years from now. Past 6 months have seen tremendous growth in scooter segment which is more than motorcycle segment. The scooter segment is largely dominated by Honda, Hero Honda and TVS. With the entry of Piaggio consumers will surely have better, reliable and value for money scooters.

This is an article from from: BikeAdvice.in - The Indian Bike Blog