New Cabo scooter offers aggressive styling

Lance Powersports brings knobby tires to 50, 125 and 150cc models

There’s no denying that the new 2014 Cabo scooter from distributor Lance Powersports is an eye-catcher. The knobby tires certainly help the scooter set itself apart, and that’s what they’re meant to do, according to Lance CEO Gene Chang.

“We wanted to give our consumers, the younger ones, something more exciting and more rugged, and make it look like a not-so-traditional scooter,” Chang told Powerpsorts Business from his Mira Loma, Calif., office. “We’ve seen the Honda Ruckus doing well, and the Yamaha BW/Zuma, and the Cabo has that same style, the off-road look with knobby wide tires. It’s more aggressive and looks cool.”

Chang reports that Taiwanese manufacturer, SYM, sent its initial orders to Lance in April, and the Cabo has already become one of Lance’s best-selling bikes.

“We’re very excited about this year. We’ve been working on this Cabo bike for about a year and a half, and you’ll see that it’s a totally in-house design. It’s an exclusive design and you won’t find another scooter with the same design. We had a lot of input into the style,” Chang said.

The Cabo will be offered in 50, 125 and 150cc displacements. MSRP is $1,699 for the 50cc; $1,999 for the 125cc and $2,299 for the 150cc models. Matte green, matte red, matte black and matte white are the color options.

“Matte colors are pretty hot right now and in fashion,” Chang said.

Chang added that competitive pricing allows for about 35 percent dealer margins.

“It hit the ground running. Sales have been over our expectations. We’ll bring in a container from overseas and the next day it’s sold. The dealers are turning them over just as fast,” Chang said. “I’ve ridden that bike personally. It handles well, and it rides just as well on the street. It’s a really great quality bike with a really high value. The quality of the Taiwanese manufacturing is outstanding, and we have pricing that is unmatched.”

In Taiwan, SYM trails only Yamaha and KYMCO for the domestic market share lead. U.S. sales of Lance products, meanwhile, “have been growing. The industry is still a little soft, but we’re growing by leaps and bounds. When we first started in the U.S., we only had a handful of models. We’ve increased that twofold with more to come.”

Chang said that dealers are turning to Lance as a niche product that offers quality and variety.

“Lance has the special combination of quality, reliability and dependability, but we also have value pricing,” Chang said. “Right now there’s a void in the market in those areas. We offer reliable quality at an affordable price.”

Chang reports that Lance adds a dealer or two each week during the riding season, with 20-30 new dealers added per year.

“We’re really focusing on the scooter boutiques, the mom and pop shops, who see the value and variety. We have a product for any person who walks in,” Chang said. “It’s very unique that we can offer what we do to our dealers.”