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Genuine, or The Genuine Scooter Company is a Chicago-based manufacturer 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] In 2018 it began selling a 400cc air-cooled, single-cylinder motorcycle, under a sister brand 'Genuine Motorcycles'.[2]
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Motorscooter |
| Founded | Chicago, Illinois (2002) |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois |
| Products | Stella, Buddy |
| Website | genuinescooters |
History
editThe company was founded in 2002 as an extension of Scooter works in USA, a vintage scooter business that sold vintage Vespa and Lambrett a scooters via a mail-order catalog. The catalog also featured scooter parts and accessories. Today, Scooterworks USA continues to specialize in aftermarket parts and accessories for Genuine, Vespa, Honda, Yamaha, and other scooter brands, including Chinese scooters.[1]
Genuine Scooters' first model was a 4-speed manual, two-stroke 150CC "Stella" model, manufactured by LML in India in 2002. 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 with fuel injection. Later introductions were the Rattler 110 (discontinued), the Roughhouse 50, designed more aggressively than the previous classic designs, and the Blur 220i (discontinued), a scooter with a higher-powered fuel-injected engine capable of maintaining expressway speeds.[1][3] In 2010, Genuine introduced a version of the Stella with a redesigned 150cc 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, and as a result of the economic crash of 2008, 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 diamond edition 10-Year Anniversary Buddy 50 & 125, celebrating ten years of Buddy.
In 2015, a second sister scooter company was created, 'Chicago Scooter Company to offer a value-based line of scooters to compete with the lower-priced Chinese scooters in the market. As of 2019, their two models are the "Go." and "Go. MAX", both 50cc 4 T-based scooters.
Products
editGenuine Scooters features the following scooters in its product line as of January 2019:
- Buddy 50 (50 cc, 2T)
- Buddy 125 (125 cc, 4T)
- Buddy 170i (170 cc, 4T, fuel-injected)
- Buddy KICK (125 cc, 4T, fuel-injected)
- Hooligan 170i (170cc, 4T fuel-injected)
- Roughhouse 50 (50 cc, 2T)
- Roughhouse 50 SPORT (50 cc, 2T)
- Rattler 50 (50 cc, 2T)
- Venture 50 (50cc, 4T)
- Urbano 50i (50cc, 4T)
- Urbano 125 (125cc, 4T)
- Urbano 200i (169cc) 4T)
Genuine Motorcycles as of January 2019:
- G400C (400 cc, single-cylinder, fuel-injected)
References
edit- ^ a b c "Home". genuinescooters.com.
- ^ Nathaniel Salzman (November 6, 2015). "Exclusive: Genuine to Produce Small Motorcycle for 2016". Scooterfile.
- ^ Motorcycle.com overview
- ^ Livingstone Partners press release (May 10, 2011), Genuine Scooters Recapitalization Deal, Motorcycle USA, retrieved 2011-07-01