Ducati Maxi scooter?

There has been mention, on two of the forums I visit, of a rumor regarding a maxi-scooter concept sketch from Ducati. I personally know little of the company other than their good reputation. It certainly would be nice to see another reputable company get into the mix with another maxi scooter, but I'd be more interested in seeing more low to mid-range scooters.

None of the Japanese manufacturers currently sell a 200 - 350cc class scooter here in the U.S. Kymco has one "200" that is really a 163cc, and three 25o's. SYM has three scooters that range from the 200 class to the 300 class. TGB has one 250. Piaggio group has several 200 - 300cc scooters under their various brands. So, where are the Japanese? Heck with that, where are the American companies (translated Harley and Buell)?

The answer is, the Japanese and American bike makers are focused on high performance/high cost sports bikes and cruisers. Here in America, and in the rest of the world, there is a lot of concern over financial issues. Very few people are going to have the money, or, if they have the money, be willing to spend a large sum on a luxury item. I believe that both the American and Japanese manufacturers have made a drastic error in judgement here.

Scooters under 400cc are not generally a luxury item, with the possible exception of Vespa. This was proven unequivocably by the surge in scooter sales over the last year. They are still selling well, and from what I understand, sales are starting to heat up again, though not as well as last year. Many people are becoming less concerned about how a vehicle looks or sounds, and more concerned with more immediate issues, like, "Will it cause me to go completely broke like my SUV did last summer at 1ompg?" Many folks are realizing that even though gas is "cheap" right now and hovering just below $2.00 a gallon, it will go up again. Many of those same folks are thinking ahead and looking to buy a scooter or motorcycle now.

Harley is in an interesting position. They are facing layoffs at many of their plants. Sales figures are dropping. They could, and I believe should, introduce a few lower end bikes, and perhaps a scooter or two, at a reasonable price-point. Their smallest cc bike is the Sportster 883 which isn't what one could call a small displacement engine. At $7000 MSRP, even the Sportster won't be an impulse buy for most people.

A simple fix would be to re-introduce the Topper. Give it more modern lines and a better engine, perhaps a 300 or 350, and price it at about $4000. Even better, put out a few variations with engines perhaps ranging from 50cc, 150cc, 250cc and 350cc. I imagine they would sell well, as long as they were a good product. The name itself would draw attention.

Unfortunately, it is unlikely that any such thing will happen. While I can see that selling 500 scooters at a profit margin of a few hundred dollars each is better than selling 500 high end motorcycles at a loss because nobody wants to pay for them, the mainstream manufacturers just don't seem to get it.