chinese are coming

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soho
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Re: chinese are coming

Post by soho »

I bought this CHINESE Apache quad a while back from an XRV member who's father owned it and had passed away. Almost new and the original dealers offered them almost nothing for it. So I bought it. Although I didn't need one I can never pass up on a bargain !

I have to say it was a blinder, I was so amazed at it's 400cc's of performance but I only rode it around the farm land at my workshop and aftert six months I put it on eBay and got what I payed for it. The reason I sold it was PURELY because I was sure something would break and I'd never be able to the get parts.

The guy I sold it to was a proper rouge of a lad but genuinely excited as he had owned one that had been nicked and now wanted another. After triple checking all the notes he had given me I gave him the bike and he was gone. Here's the thing - after a 24 months or so, he sent me a text to say he'd been riding to work on it every day for two years and it had never failed or missed a beat.
( And I'm sure he wasn't a gentle and careful rider ! ) 8-)
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minkyhead
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Re: chinese are coming

Post by minkyhead »

i took a punt on abenneli 502 at short notice off ebay ..just wanted a bike to so scotland on .. paid 4 grand fully loaded with heated grips and panniers ... it was well put together and was surprisingly nice to ride .. did around 5000 miles on it ..in the end it was a little underpowered at 46hp ..but that want the bikes fault i knew that when i bought it engine was actially very nice ...
so i decided i needed somthing with a bit more braaap and was looking around .....it was then 1 year old with 5k up ...blackpool honda offered me 2500 quid ...hunts were a little better at 3000 ... it sold on ebay at 3600 so al in all not a disaster at all .but with a new ticket price of 5700 i wouldnt have been very happy if id bought it new
things i learned is the china mopeds have come on leaps and bounds ..and the depreciation is unaceptable if you buy new ...would i consider a 12 month old moroni at 4k ....most deffo
things are changing

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whats the wether forcast ..wheres me map
Tonibe63
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Re: chinese are coming

Post by Tonibe63 »

To break into the UK market the Chinese built bikes need to look at the Japanese/European dealer networks and the finance options they offer ie. well stocked importers for parts/knowledge and PCP type deals (which keep residual/balloon values artificially high). However, if the Chinese did that their new bike prices would also be a lot higher. The only reason why new Chinese bikes depreciate so much is because the Ebay market decides their residual value rather than the bean counters at the finance company.
Let's face it the location of the factory doesn't matter any more and providing that the Company quality culture is focused on European values and expectations they will produce good bikes that we will buy. This is where China is right now, which is why European badges are going on Chinese built bikes.
The only thing that will restrict them is Politics.
Open your eyes and you see what is in front of you, open your mind and you see a bigger picture but open your heart and you see a whole new World.
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Scott_rider
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Re: chinese are coming

Post by Scott_rider »

I keep looking at these. Not because I'm seriously thinking of buying one but I like the look of it. And there are a few of them for sale with hardly any miles plus one for sale that is a new, unregistered old stock model with zero miles for...£2,995 :shock: .

It's a an Italian/Chinese 440. I've no idea how good they are but I reckon it might cope with a bit of light trail work with a bit of tinkering.

https://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/new ... ariations/

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Richard Simpson Mark II
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Re: chinese are coming

Post by Richard Simpson Mark II »

With that SWM you'll get the classic 1970s Japanese riding experience, rod-operated rear brake and all.
Engine is basically a detuned and downsized XBR500.
If you don't expect much, it will delight you. But don't expect it to be like anything this side of the year 2000.
minkyhead
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Re: chinese are coming

Post by minkyhead »

whats the wether forcast ..wheres me map
Richard Simpson Mark II
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Re: chinese are coming

Post by Richard Simpson Mark II »

There's a lady in our village who keeps sheep, who purchased a Chinese agri-quad...against the advice of a local dealer who said he won't attempt to repair it when it breaks down.

The first thing to say is she has found it life-changing...she's enjoying many of the benefits we get from motorcycling, plus she can take it onto fields even in winter without making the mess that her Land Rover did. She's in remission from cancer, and that machine seems to have chased away her depression etc.

It's very reliable in terms of the driveline, but some components break repeatedly...engine top mounts for one.

But, it's cheap and easy to repair, and far better for what she wants than the Land Rover, which is not used often now. And the fixed and variable costs are a fraction of what the LR costs. The only thing it can't do is tow a big trailer.
nathanthepostman
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Re: chinese are coming

Post by nathanthepostman »

minkyhead wrote: Sun Jan 23, 2022 10:29 am
Aye it was good that Voge. Riding it back to back with the CB500x you'd never think it was the inferior machine. It rode very well.

As tonibe says, they just need to sort their image and infrastructure out before you'd put money down on one. Still feels like a gamble. Sinnis T380 already dropped after less than a year. They need to build stability and dealerships before you'd sink more than disposable 125 money on one.
NeilM
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Re: chinese are coming

Post by NeilM »

nathanthepostman wrote: Sun Jan 23, 2022 8:22 pm

As tonibe says, they just need to sort their image and infrastructure out before you'd put money down on one. Still feels like a gamble. Sinnis T380 already dropped after less than a year. They need to build stability and dealerships before you'd sink more than disposable 125 money on one.
It is no real surprise the T380 has been dropped, it was absolutely not the bike that was promised, and having waited over a year for it to arrive in the UK I was really disappointed when it eventually turned up. It was also clear from the very start that there was no love for the bike from the sale team at Sinnis, I have never seen such a low key, wet fart of a new model launch.

The Chinese are getting there. The manufacturing partnerships they have with major manufacturers have given them a short cut to high quality engine technology, as opposed to stripping and copying established brands, which is what they appeared to do until not so long ago.

Dealers, spares and service intervals are all key, get them sorted and they will really be on their way.
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Re: chinese are coming

Post by Richard Simpson Mark II »

I've spoken to a number of independent motorcycle repair shops about Chinese bikes.

They are difficult to work on because fasteners are of poor quality and seize and round off easily once the bike is a few years old.

It's hard to justify a couple of hours of extra labour dealing with this type of issue when say, changing a set of brake pads on a bike that is really only worth buttons.

They are probably OK if the owner is a proficient mechanic prepared to pre-empt such issues, but the type of owner attracted to this type of machine usually isn't.

The Chinese home market don't care: IIRC everything over 3 years old gets scrapped by law anyway so it's not an issue for them.
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