Companies bought by Piaggio a slow death?

[Kansas kymco]

It seems companies bought by Piaggio are phased out after doing some research. I was looking at a Aprilia scooter and decided to do a little research. The only scooters Aprilia offers are rebranded Piaggio's low cost models. Aprilia and Moto Guzzi are both owned by Piaggio.  I was reading about other brands Piaggio bought and no longer in existence.

[CROSSBOLT]

Sounds like J.D. Rockefeller: buy'em out or burn 'em down if they won't sell. Gets rid of competition either way...

[Stig / Major Tom]

Piaggio seems to have a hit with the Liberty 150i.
Do they own Gilera?
When I was first looking to buy a scooter - I loved such scooters as the Gilera Runner....


And the Peugeot "SpeedFight"....


Who couldn't love a scooter with names like those two!?

Sadly - I realized I'm 12 inches too tall and 100 lbs too heavy!
These babies are built for 5'4", 130lb riders. (like when I was 8 yrs old....)

Stig

[Kansas kymco]

Yes they own Gilera. , Piaggio seems to rebrand Piaggio scooters and sell them under the company's former name. They also own Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, Derbi and Scarabeo and the defunct Puch

[Neil955i]

And have a real problem with Aprilia or so I read.  Two of the flagship models are eating conrods and are subject to a world-wide recall.  Sounds expensive.  Will they rebuild the engines with upgraded parts or switch the engines?  Seems no-one knows yet...

[Kansas kymco]

And have a real problem with Aprilia or so I read.  Two of the flagship models are eating conrods and are subject to a world-wide recall.  Sounds expensive.  Will they rebuild the engines with upgraded parts or switch the engines?  Seems no-one knows yet...

That's not the only problem,  Aprilia is a shell of its former self Piaggio cannibalize the company. In North America Aprilia and Moto Guzzi are a novelty now.

I wanted a Scarabeo scooter so I did some reserch on Aprilia  and a concern about parts availability made me shy away.  I know people rag on Kymco about getting parts but I have found parts for 14 year old machines just takes a while to get them. 

[Super Dirt Dud]

I have found my Piaggio bikes to be great bikes currently I have a 2016 BV350 with lots of upgrades done to it my 2004 Aprilia 500 scooter a 2008 Vespa 150 and I sold my 2018 Aprilia Dorsaduro. last year .
For me the bikes have been trouble free and parts were always easy to get mostly due to bike tip overs or falls , not much mechanical issues at all .
Anyway the people who have them seem to be passionate about the bikes , but I look forward to getting a AK550 when they become available the 2004 500 needs to be updated for sure .

[Kansas kymco]

I have found my Piaggio bikes to be great bikes currently I have a 2016 BV350 with lots of upgrades done to it my 2004 Aprilia 500 scooter a 2008 Vespa 150 and I sold my 2018 Aprilia Dorsaduro. last year .
For me the bikes have been trouble free and parts were always easy to get mostly due to bike tip overs or falls , not much mechanical issues at all .
Anyway the people who have them seem to be passionate about the bikes , but I look forward to getting a AK550 when they become available the 2004 500 needs to be updated for sure .

Maybe you can answer this? I read the Aprilia 500 is the same scooter mechanical as the BV 500?

[klaviator]

Maybe you can answer this? I read the Aprilia 500 is the same scooter mechanical as the BV 500?

Aprilia made more than one 500.  I believe the scarabeo 500 is pretty much the same scooter mechanically as the BV500. 

[klaviator]

It seems companies bought by Piaggio are phased out after doing some research. I was looking at a Aprilia scooter and decided to do a little research. The only scooters Aprilia offers are rebranded Piaggio's low cost models. Aprilia and Moto Guzzi are both owned by Piaggio.  I was reading about other brands Piaggio bought and no longer in existence.

Maybe the reason piaggio bought some of these companies is that they were having financial problems to begin with.  Also, don't judge these companies by how well they are doing in the USA. 

Vespa and Moto Guzzi are doing well in the USA.  Aprilia sells some high end sport bikes that are highly regarded.  Piaggio also sells some scooters here under their own name.   

[Kansas kymco]

Maybe the reason piaggio bought some of these companies is that they were having financial problems to begin with.  Also, don't judge these companies by how well they are doing in the USA. 

Vespa and Moto Guzzi are doing well in the USA.  Aprilia sells some high end sport bikes that are highly regarded.  Piaggio also sells some scooters here under their own name.

The only Aprilia scooters I know about currently are rebranded Piaggio's .  The article I read said sales of Aprilia motorcycles have dropped considerably  in Europe from thier pre 2001 levels.  I know Aprilia sells some very high end race machines but dealers are few and far between in my area same can be said about Moto Guzzi dealers. The closest dealer for both is KS City.

You also make a valid point if Piaggio had not bought these companies they might have disappeared.

[JJJoseph]

the 2004 500 needs to be updated for sure

LOL! I should think so - it's about 18 years old by now!

[Viper254]

None of the companies they've bought have been all that financially stable. Gilera, Guzzi and the like weren't doing all that well, I don't think.

[Super Dirt Dud]

Maybe you can answer this? I read the Aprilia 500 is the same scooter mechanical as the BV 500?

I believe they are but the style changed a bit after 2006 and the were not as round I would load a picture of mine but I do not know how to .