Genuine Scooters

Genuine Scooter Company.
Private
Industry Motorscooter
Founded Chicago, Illinois (2002)
Headquarters Chicago, Illinois
Products Stella, Buddy
Website genuinescooters.com
2007 Genuine Buddy

The Genuine Scooter Company is a Chicago-based distributor of motorscooters, notably the Stella and Buddy models. The company markets scooters and accessories through a network of over 240 dealers in the United States,[1] and in 2015 announced it would begin importing a 400cc air-cooled, single-cylinder motorcycle under a sister brand, Genuine Motorcycles in 2016.[2]

History

Founded in 2002 by Phil McCaleb the company was an outgrowth of the garage-based business, Scooterworks USA, which sold vintage Vespa and Lambretta scooters via a mail-order catalog featuring scooter parts and accessories. Scooterworks USA continues and specializes in aftermarket parts and accessories for Genuine, Vespa, and other scooter brands and parts for Chinese scooters.[1]

Genuine Scooters' first model was the model year 2002 4-speed manual two-stroke "Stella" model, manufactured by LML in India. The Stella was successful, and in 2006 the company began a relationship with PGO Scooters, a Taiwanese manufacturer. Genuine developed the "Buddy", an automatic scooter with a CVT. The Buddy features several engine sizes and versions ranging from 49cc, licensed as a moped in many US states, to 170cc. Later introductions were the Rattler 110 (since discontinued) and Roughhouse 50, designed more aggressively than the previous classic designs, and the Blur 220i, a scooter with a higher-powered engine capable of maintaining expressway speeds.[1][3] In 2010, Genuine introduced a version of the Stella with a redesigned four-stroke engine compliant with California emissions standards, and a 170cc version of the Buddy with fuel injection instead of a carburetor. Following these introductions, it received additional capitalization through investment banker Livingstone Partners.[4] In 2014, the Stella 125 Automatic was introduced, the first Stella with an automatic (CVT) transmission and a newly redesigned high output 125cc engine.

From time to time, Genuine produces special limited-edition scooters. These include a "GB150" version of the Stella with British-themed trim, a Black Cat Fireworks scooter similar to the Roughhouse, a high-performance "Psycho" Buddy 125, A high performance Riot Buddy 50 and Buddy 125, and (in conjunction with neighboring Ferrara Pan Candy Company) the Atomic Fireball Stella and a Lemonhead Buddy 50. In late 2015 they introduced the special edition 10-Year Anniversary Buddy 50 & 125, celebrating ten years of Buddy.

Products

Genuine Scooter Company features the following scooters in its product line as of December 2015:

References

  1. 1 2 3 http://www.genuinescooters.com
  2. ↑ Nathaniel Salzman (November 6, 2015). "Exclusive: Genuine to Produce Small Motorcycle for 2016". Scooterfile.
  3. ↑ Motorcycle.com overview
  4. ↑ Livingstone Partners press release (May 10, 2011), Genuine Scooters Recapitalization Deal, Motorcycle USA, retrieved 2011-07-01

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/9/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.