Impending flood of Chinese motorcycles

[mrchristian]

I know everyone has seen ads on craigslist put up by people trying to sell the really, really cheap Chinese scooters. Recently I've been seeing more and more of the nameless motorcycles with the ubiquitous plastic seat cover popping up:

http://ventura.craigslist.org/mcy/889553119.html

I've talked with a few legit importers of Chinese Scooters (they buy the bikes and pretty much replace EVERYTHING on them...sparkplugs, CVT belts, fuel hoses, etc) and (at least in California) you can't license a bike for the road unless you get the correct dealer paperwork you'll be SOL and possibly have to prove that you shipped it out of the state AT YOUR COST.

[flynrider]

Impending flood? I think the flood has been going on for several years. Several of my friends and neighbors have fallen for the cheap price and bought these things. They had a habit of bringing them over to my house for repairs, usually within a few weeks of buying.

I think the U.S. market will probably wise up soon and realize that the poor build quality on most of these bikes makes them less desirable than spending the extra bucks on a real bike.

It's kind of like the Yugo back in the 80s. Early on, a lot of people were sucked in by the low purchase price, but eventually everyone caught on to the nightmarish experience of owning one.

BTW, that Craigslist add cracks me up. $3,200 new? Hahahaha!

[Joey Hellfish]

I got to tell you, this flood of chinese motorcycles (not only scooters) in mexico is much worst, i think, because most people dont have any idea about what theyre buying, and they dont have the money for a better bike, you see so many of them in the street its not even funny, and then the ones that are over one year old are falling apart all over the city hahaha...
I have to admit i bought one of these bikes myself about 2 or 3 years ago, I knew it was chinese and that i wouldnt hold up very well, i rode it for about 2 years, and since im a mech engineer i kept it in very good shape, but as soon as i got a chance i sold it and im buying a honda.
So, mixed feelings when it comes to this subject, in the end they are crummy bikes that will fall apart and youll have to get another one...
Cheers
Joe

[dweiss]

I jusy bought one of those "crummy Chinese bikes"...the 2009 Qlink LG250. We'll see how it holds up, because I use it to commute on nice days (my work commute is 41 miles one-way). I will keep you skeptics updated.

I didn't buy it because it is cheap...I bought it because it is automatic...and since I have Lupus...even shifting on a Ninja or what-not was tough on my fingers and ankle...so I wanted something that was 'twist-n-go'...even easier to control than my old Honda CM450A...and lighter too.

Anyway...we'll see how it goes.

[pchast]

My wife has one and its been reliable for 2 years now. Only a couple thousand miles so far.