MCN Show, Excel 2014 scooter roundup

[spaceprobe]

Give the poor man a break he is trying and he gets a lot of flack on here

[ollie]

Hi,

SYMUK, thank you for your comprehensive reply,

SYM UK wrote "MotoGB wholly own no less than ten retail sites, we hold on those sites franchises such as Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha, Victory, Indian.... So yes, I have probably had a far closer look at the new Kawasaki scooter than most people out there. The Joymax 300i does not need to worry! But I will leave that to your decision - not mine!"

Yes it is my decision and I like SYM scooters as I said in my previous post I have been loyal to the brand for a number of years and had good service from my local dealer. The 300 Joymax would seem to be the natural progression for me but as far as I have been able to ascertain unless I travel to a dealer "up north" I have little chance of seeing one let alone getting to test drive one. I don't doubt that the Joymax will stand up well against the opposition but will it suit me? I know the Kawasaki j300 and the Honda Forza don't because I have tried them. The profile of SYM dealers (previous post) aside there is no way that I would order a £4400 machine without ensuring it was a comfortable fit , not least because if you find you have made a mistake and have to change the bike the depreciation on trade in at a non- SYM franchise is painful as I found out when I got a quote for my Joyride against a Suzuki 400 AN.

You asked where I live I live on the south coast on the outskirts of Portsmouth, if a visit to your headquarters meant I could get to see and possibly test drive the Joymax and the 400 maxsym then I would happily make the trip at least then I could make an informed decision about any potential purchase.

[Ferret]

I have followed this thread quietly in the back ground and observed , SYM UK is the face of moto gb on here so he`s gonna get all the flack even if its a non sym related issue ,but look at the bigger picture yes they want to sell scoots and are offering good (on paper) warranties and after sales support with ongoing brand support . Facts are they are getting out there and picking up a lot of retailers at other brands expense especially the piaggio group .Many dealers who i know and see often say moto gb are looking after them with no issues thus far .This can only be a good thing for the end user "US" .Its true fact that they are not ramming bikes into dealers unless they want to diverse into the other brands that they promote ( moto gb) . In the back ground in many dealers you see dalims .keeways etc starting to fill the show rooms more and more and this is a continuing trend . The general public is being clever with what it spends on new items and dealers are really struggling to sell the normally higher price items .If sym uk and his team get this right they will sell more scoots to the uk market and we will see them in more dealers sooner rather than later .The potential punter looks at price ,quality,warranty,re sale and the biggy when it goes wrong customer service . There is another factor in wether it works or not which relates to the dealers them selves profit ,trust me i know that the main stream brands have hammered the dealers margins but moto gb has and does offer them a better reward on lesser priced machinery .I am not on commission or related or connected to moto gb or sym uk in any way shape or form i have purely expressed my opinions on the facts that i have seen before me .

[Globs]

We are opening new dealers every week
:
we are actively looking to support dealers:

I suspect retaining a dealer is far less work than wooing and setting up a new one while the old one leaves.
I.e. pouring water into a leaky bucket is all very well but people notice the mess on the floor, so if I can make a suggestion it would be to concentrate of keeping existing dealers happy first and always. When I heard you'd won Enfield my only thought was 'so that's where they've been spending their efforts'.

MotoGB wholly own no less than ten retail sites
:
I would respectfully ask you to go out there and find a 2014 Piaggio catalogue...... Maybe you will get one sometime in June!

1) As a dealer I'd be worried that the MotoGB owned dealers had an advantage.
- Are any of these ten stores near Cambridge (CAMBS) BTW?
- Are you now saying you're a large outfit after you recently claimed you were a small one?
2) What's a catalogue? This is 2014, I look on the internet and can easily find all details of Piaggio products

I am more than happy to invite you to Castle Adlington
:
Then, and only then will I respect your opinion expressed on the forums!

Thank-you for the offer, it is appreciated and had I lived in Wigan would be accepted. I'll have to struggle on without your respect if that's ok. After all, I tend to buy new scooters and bought two new SYMs, was on for a third and have given you much valuable advice and feedback, so if you don't have your respect already I suspect I never will.

However my real problem is lack of dealers and support near Cambridge and to avoid spending massive amounts of time on basic warranty and maintenance. On my Joyride I have a noisy dashboard fan and the engine light is still flashing a code at me. It's still under warranty I think but finding a dealer who can fix it near me is the challenge. With no online support/parts/diagnosis and no dealers you prevent me from giving you more money - it's not really my choice, I just have to adapt.


I appreciate you have your goals of finding new dealers, printing brochures, redesigning websites, chasing distribution deals etc, but from the customer viewpoint we only need some simple boring things:

1) Support dealers so well that they tell me how good MotoGB are to deal with, not how bad they are.
2) Forget about irrelevant time wasting project that do not direct assist (1) above. That includes brochures, website redesigns, new dealers and new brands.
3) Realise that people with no access to warranty work, information or spares won't be buying your product again.
4) Try attending the shows, with small cheap stands as befits both SYM and their market segment in the UK.

My requirements are really quite simple and the same as everyone else's, it's not rocket science. If that's too dull to a modern thrusting executive then could I suggest you add a blog section to the website and document some SYM travel news, perhaps showing a trip on a Joymax through France and around the Alps, an area in which is should excel. There are plenty of interesting things to do compatible with supporting your customers.

[Sgt Ernie Bilko]

My god. I have 8 years experience working in this industry both for dealers and manufacturer. So glad to be out of it.... the industry as a whole is incredibly mis-managed, always has been. Kawasaki and MotoGB seem to work hard with their networks, others who shall remain nameless decimate their loyal dealers and treat them like dog shit.

And on the other side of the coin I have to deal with a number of unreasonable, unbalanced customers who really take the piss. For instance if your going to buy a bike with an exposed chain, fucking learn how to adjust and lube it. Don't expect the dealer to do it for you, just because you can't be arsed. The UK is chock full of lazy fuckits and the 2 wheeled fraternity sadly is no different...

[Steve_D]

What's a chain?

[gn2]

Its a thing for turning camshafts.

[Steve_D]

When we went on a European trip a while back, two of us were on big Burgers and the other two were on an R1 and a MV Augusta F4. They had to stop and lube their chains a couple of times. Yuk. This year the two of us that had Burgers have now got touring bikes. I've got an FJR1300 and my mate has a R1200RT. Both shaft drives. Not a horrible greasy chain on either bike.

[gn2]

Not many decent smaller bikes with shaft drive these days sadly.
I can only think of the Guzzis.

[Sgt Ernie Bilko]

I'm looking after my chain on the SRV. Its a chore, but not too bad.

I do wonder though why Piaggio had trouble with the prototype GP800 snapping belts when it only kicks out 75bhp?