Aloha from Hawaii!

[Shawn808]

Aloha from Hawaii. My name is Shawn and I hope to be a frequent and hopefully welcome poster on this forum. :)

I am new here and new to scooters so please bear with me. I live on the island of Oahu here in the beautiful state of Hawaii and currently own a 92 miata. :)

I LOVE the old style scooters such as the vespas and such, however once I layed my eyes on the Vino I fell in love. Much like how the 1st gen miata is a revision of the old MGs and such the Vino is like a reborn Vespa, but like the miata a much more reliable vehicle.

I currently do not own a Vino yet as I am saving up money for it. (I want to get the black classic one with the tan seat and tan floor board cover).

The reason I am posting is I own a small coffee shop and was really considering incorporating my love of Vinos into my business. Calling it a Vino scoot Cafe or something along those lines. Selling aftermarket parts for the vino while also giving moped people a place to hang out.

I am not sure if any of you are aware but honda moped tuning is huge here in hawaii. They say we have some of the fastest mopeds in the world.

That is a good thing as well as bad. As I prefer the Classic scooters as opposed to the gofast people who want to go 90+mph on thier scooters.(I am 28yrs old by the way so I am not that old yet. ;))

From a business point of view I should cater to these "gofast" people also, however I am not sure if there is a market there for aftermarket parts for the Vinos and other "cruiser" mopeds. Or what the mark up is for parts, or how the business is for mopeds?? (Sorry I only know cars and the business of coffee)

If any of you have any comments or suggestions on this idea please let me know. When I visited europe many if not all of the coffee shops had mopeds outside and some even parked in the store. But then again thats europe.

Thanks! and I hope to make many new friends here.
Shawn C.
Owner Gotta Java Espresso

[Lennox]

great idea, you should have no problem succeding.

[sooznd]

Aloha Shawn. Your business idea sounds great. Some folks pm one of the online scooter groups I belong to mentioned a coffee/scooter shop in Rhode Island named Javaspeed which is very successful.
Here's their web site, maybe you can email them and exchange ideas.

http://www.javaspeed.net/root/

Best of luck to you!!

[King Vino]

Welcome aboard I believe fellow member Davey-boi was thinking of opening a scooter-coffee shop in Hawaii. You might wanna touch base with him.

Coffe and Scooter Shop Link (http://www.provoscooter.com/vbull/showthread.php?t=231)

[Shawn808]

Thank you all for your input.

My main concern is that my shop is very small and I am unable to sell or rent mopeds from it. Plus I am in the more "local" area and not in the tourist zone of Waikiki and such. So I doubt I will be able to rent many scooters. (plus competition here is HIGH for moped rentals last count there were 15 rentals shops on this island alone)

My other concern would be the modification and installation of parts. I would hate :mad: to hire another worker just as a tech to change oil and install exhausts, carbs etc. This also goes for selling mopeds. I KNOW as a dealer I would have to give a warranty and the matainance and complaints that comes with also.

Do you think it would be ok to name the place a moped cafe and just sell spark plugs, oil, tires, mirrors, baskets and such? (accessories and replacement parts)

I have been in the coffee business for 5 years now and have it down pretty good. I am just trying to get an insight into the moped industry and their needs and wants. and possible niche market my business. What do most moped riders always need and are looking for? I am located right near a university and have many stock honda/yamaha customers who go to the supermarket near my store.

Any advice or suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
Thanks again for your replys!
Shawn C.
Owner Gotta Java Espresso OR Vino Cafe?? ;) :D

[Lennox]

to bad your not in Amsterdam:D then I might have some ideas!

[rydah]

Shawn go to VTcycles and get a abruzzi, its about half the price of the vino and already has the japan lights.

[Shawn808]

Thanks Rydah are you in Hawaii too? I see the Abruzzis around alot and for the longest time I thought they were Taiwan Vino knock offs.

I know what the Vino looked like but when I typed in Abruzzi on Google I only got a few results. Do you know why they rebadged them Abruzzi? and is it a Yamaha?

Why are they so cheap?

[rydah]

Thanks Rydah are you in Hawaii too? I see the Abruzzis around alot and for the longest time I thought they were Taiwan Vino knock offs.

I know what the Vino looked like but when I typed in Abruzzi on Google I only got a few results. Do you know why they rebadged them Abruzzi? and is it a Yamaha?

Why are they so cheap?
the abruzzi's are just copies of the vino, the bike is not made by yamaha. if you just want that look then get a abruzzi and save yourself a bunch of money that you can use on hop up parts. i would bet money that the abruzzi and vino are made in the same city somewhere in taiwan.