How did you get into Scooters? Story of Malaguti USA

This goes out by request to Steve Guzman from the Scooter Scoop / Italjet America. We honestly believe Italian designs and brands can make a comeback despite new market realities and shifting production to Asia. Thanks for talking to us today Steve and supporting MRP we wish Italjet the best of luck in coming back into the USA. This is the story of how a small family business in Miami got into the US scooter scene and how I got into scooters. Before MRP was born in 2005 our previous company Malaguti USA was dedicated to importing the highest line from the only privately held Italian Scooter company left. Back in 1980 there were over 100 companies making mopeds and scooters in Italy now there are only two left which are Italian owned and assembled in Italy. Piaggio Group and Malaguti. Malaguti USA had over 150 clients. At its height 110 active dealerships in America in 2003 and of those only 39 remain in business today. The American market is a volatile difficult market, but somehow the Italian brand found a home and a following. We had a blast promoting it, filled with adventure, cool people, great dealers, owners, but in the end higher prices in Italy, a sliding dollar, an Asian scooter invasion, and sliding dealer margins were our undoing. Even the best companies have to close sometimes. We are hopeful that Malaguti will one day partner up with an Asian manufacturer and return to the US much like companies such as Benelli, Italjet, or better yet start manufacturing in Asia like Piaggio group with Vespa and Aprilia. Malaguti is still open and sold in a thousand dealers in Europe, they are still the only family operated company in Italy and we have the highest respect for a brand that has survived three generations, their town and factory being bombed in World War II, countless Italian governments, and ups / downs in the world economy. They are a true Italian brand and we remain hopeful they will come back to America someday when the dollar improves from its slide the last seven years. We continue to import the parts and we support all the Malaguti owners in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico who need parts with our new company www.MRP-SPEED.com any dealer that needs parts for a unit can contact us there. Despite not importing them we still stock parts, we still work with the factory, and we remain hopeful that Americans will one day still be able to import them again.
Malaguti USA 2000-2005

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[Dano853]

I bought a 2005 F10 a few weeks back. It has 7000 miles on it, which some Asian scooters wont ever see before they die. Plain white.. nothing fancy. But its confortable, quick, and dependable. I just hope it doesnt need parts anytime soon. Until i saw it on craig's list i had never even heard of them, but when i went to their website i was impressed.

[MartinRacingPerf]

@Dano853 F10 is still one of the fastest bikes for Racing. The F12 and F10 are now collectors items in Italy with many professional racers using them in Germany on the track because they are getting harder to find in Germany since Sachs stopped distributing them. I also got an email recently from an Italian rider who put a GY6 engine in his F12 which is extremely illegal but the cops in Italy dont know any better.

[PalmTwister]

Great promotions, but stay away from the beer! Drunks on scooters is NOT a good selling point. (That is a majority of the cycle accidents. Stick with HOT, WOW, SMART, CHOICE, and CUSTOM.)

Love watching all these videos.

[MartinRacingPerf]

@PalmTwister Thank you for the kind comment.

[tpattersontx]

This is how to build an empire, I'm studying for my MBA in Scooter Business Studies, and we should talk, you seem like the expert amigo!

[MartinRacingPerf]

@tpattersontx Thanks hope you got that MBA

[walker2508]

wow, that was a very interesting story.

thank you for sharing it with us

[ilianbumer]

where can i get the picture from 03:00 ?? Please who have it to give me i want it very much !!

[MartinRacingPerf]

@Scootertuner1000 2009 - Not made in Italy. Its CF MOTO or Znen. Anything after 2003 was made in China. It's a sad state of events. Malaguti has stopped making units in Italy, Italjet is all Asian made, Benelli is all Chinese, and so is Garelli. Only Piaggio Group now makes anything in Italy as of 2011 and that is in doubt for the future. Aprilia / Piaggio production is being made in Asia, even Derbi is set to close soon. Most Derbi / Gillera models will be Aprilia for export.

[MartinRacingPerf]

@Dano853 Click on places to buy, then web stores, all the F10 repair manuals are on the website in PDF. The F-10 parts are all in stock, make sure to look on Google or one of the sites using the exact numbers from the PDF manual for the F10. Use those numbers and we will drop ship it , you will get it directly to your house.

[Dano853]

@MartinRacingPerf can I buy direct from you or do I have to go through a 3rd party?  i called MRP and the guy said you were wholesale only. BTW Loving the F10. I put almost 200 miles a week on it.

[MartinRacingPerf]

@Dano853 we have all the parts in stock for the F10

[MartinRacingPerf]

@poisedonis Thank you sir, appreciate the comment.