How do they not compete with them if they are sourcing or getting them made in China .as has been said they will gladly get them made in China but they would drop the prices .
The best Chinese bike yet?
- Thread starter longdog
- Start date
In very brief summary, Euro/Japanese manufacturers cannot simply get whole machines made in China and import them worldwide without attracting tariffs. In particular, the EU have strict 'origin' rules but so do the majority of the countries that are their markets. Machines made in China by Chinese companies are currently low priced in the UK because of low tariffs but the government is very likely to raise these in the not too distant future. As you can imagine, the EU/UK motor industry is continually lobbying their respective representatives to restrict Chinese imports by increasing tariffs to preserve their workforces and profits.
I have a running discussion with a friend of mine who compares it to the Japanese imports in the 60s/70s. It's different. There is a lot of politics involved and I really don't want to waste my time giving my opinion. As my Old Dad used to say, 'Opinions are like arseholes; everybody's got one'.
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The best thing is for anyone who has had a Chinese manufacturer bike and had it for more than a year or two and covered 15-20k + to post reliability and consumables/warranty back up... They're the bits that matter. Some popular cheaper car Cos out there have had problems supplying parts leaving vehicles with longer term down time than should be expected...
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Might be good to limit percentage of vehicle must be manufactured in country they hope to sell in.In very brief summary, Euro/Japanese manufacturers cannot simply get whole machines made in China and import them worldwide without attracting tariffs. In particular, the EU have strict 'origin' rules but so do the majority of the countries that are their markets. Machines made in China by Chinese companies are currently low priced in the UK because of low tariffs but the government is very likely to raise these in the not too distant future. As you can imagine, the EU/UK motor industry is continually lobbying their respective representatives to restrict Chinese imports by increasing tariffs to preserve their workforces and profits.
I have a running discussion with a friend of mine who compares it to the Japanese imports in the 60s/70s. It's different. There is a lot of politics involved and I really don't want to waste my time giving my opinion. As my Old Dad used to say, 'Opinions are like arseholes; everybody's got one'.
Then possibly make manufacturers state how much cheaper they can produce them in China and adjust their prices .I mean why should they charge the same price if it was made in Germany or whatever home country if they can gouge the consumer when it’s made elsewhere.
Price control. Welcome to a Marxist Leninist world. Add it to the Five Year Plan, comrade, then shoot him.
went for a test ride on one of these yesterday, this is my view coming from a a lifetime of riding many many inline four motorcycles, did not suit me at all, but nothing wrong with the bike just me being used to big four cylinder bikes, so what did i like, quick shifter worked well, suspension very good i was one and a half up (big gal on back) , smooth engine at speed 70mph plus, every gadget you could name on the bike worked well, clear and informative display, for the 3 hrs i was on it it was very comfy for both of us, very little vibration, handled well enough , brakes were very good,
Make of this what you will its just my opinion and like ars-----s we all have one.
What i didnt like was how noisy (mechanicaly ) the engine was, also very very noisy from wind buffeting no matter where the position of the screen was set,
Make of this what you will its just my opinion and like ars-----s we all have one.
What i didnt like was how noisy (mechanicaly ) the engine was, also very very noisy from wind buffeting no matter where the position of the screen was set,
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That’s a good summary, Lee.
I am a firm believer that a lot of test rides are too short a duration, especially when it comes to a different engine configuration.
I was always lucky that BMW, Park Lane let me have ‘test bikes’ for an extended period, not least as they let me run some bikes in for them. Likewise, a small Honda dealership in Stanford le Hope. The Royal Enfield dealership (again a small place) is just the same, as they let me take a bike out all day.
With the plethora of ‘Adjust this, adjust that’ now available electronically, nobody is going to learn too much in 20 minutes, I guess…. Especially if that 20 minutes, starts and ends on Park Lane,,W1. It took me to about Colchester on the B roads to ‘understand’ the K1600, way back in 2011 or whenever it was.
I am a firm believer that a lot of test rides are too short a duration, especially when it comes to a different engine configuration.
I was always lucky that BMW, Park Lane let me have ‘test bikes’ for an extended period, not least as they let me run some bikes in for them. Likewise, a small Honda dealership in Stanford le Hope. The Royal Enfield dealership (again a small place) is just the same, as they let me take a bike out all day.
With the plethora of ‘Adjust this, adjust that’ now available electronically, nobody is going to learn too much in 20 minutes, I guess…. Especially if that 20 minutes, starts and ends on Park Lane,,W1. It took me to about Colchester on the B roads to ‘understand’ the K1600, way back in 2011 or whenever it was.
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An increase in the tariffs by the government looks very likely and this will test the appetite of buyers for these cars/bikes. It will also reveal the extent of the manufacturers warranty/servicing and spares commitment to franchised dealers. I suspect they are a bit nervous.
I am still traumatised from Lancia pulling out of the UK in 1992 and leaving me with a Delta that I couldn't get spares for, including service items.
I am still traumatised from Lancia pulling out of the UK in 1992 and leaving me with a Delta that I couldn't get spares for, including service items.
Agree completely. It was one of the reasons I hired a 1300 in Romania, as opposed to any other BMW. The others had 900 GSs.
And back to the original topic of this thread
i must admit the blue colour is stunning in the flesh imo.
My lad is leasing a Jaecoo. It's comfortable, great boot, drives ok and looks alright. No issues so far and decent range. Now ask me about the RR Evoque his friend bought for his other half, the Disco bought by my mate or the 2 RR's I saw broken down on the M6 last Thursday afternoonWell, you don’t now?!
Clearly learnt your lesson.
Really can’t be arsed repeating myself on a ‘flogged horse’ discussion, but the failings of Chinese bikes aren’t on their initial appearance or even riding them. It’s on the whole Chinese infrastructure. They like making stuff that’s good, but don’t ask them to fix or provide parts for. They just want you to buy another with all the money you saved on the initial purchase.
This ethos works well with white goods and TVs, but not with motorcycles!!
Next you’ll be telling me a fucking Jaecoo is as good as a Range Rover ffs!!
PS. I’m pretty sure you’d opt for early retirement if Chinese planes started showing up at Terminal 5?!
Aren't RR now known for having the worst reliability of any marque in any number of surveys?
So, OK, who's up for this?
Get Arsey and some of his mates to do say, 50,000 miles in three years on some of these Chinese bikes and that'll be evidence of how good they are.
I say this because during the 70s and 80s I'd usually average around 30,000 miles per annum, business and pleasure. Tried Jap bikes of the time and let's say that these were the main reason why I switched to BMW. Throw away the rose-coloured spectacles and remember what Japanese bikes were really like. Metal which resembled putty, chrome brake discs (!!) on Hondas and chrome which fell off wheels and mudguards within around 6 months. Drop the bike and the engine cases would crack or worse. Been there, done that. Mechanically, not bad but snapped engine studs and rounded-off screws etc made them very challenging to fix. Then someone said try a new VFR 750, they're amazing. Well it was until the engine ate its own cams after around 6 months. Guy I work with part time said how reliable his (fairly modern) Honda 500 is. Turns out he'd ridden 440 miles between the last two MOTs!
So anyway, I went over to BMWs. I still have four, plus several other bikes. Sold a R100RT a few years back with 204,000 miles on the clock. Sam Manicom's R80's probably done double that. Mechanically, the RT was still good but after a dozen or so winters, the frame was suffering from salt-related corrosion.
None of the Japanese bikes got even close.
So, stop being blinded with all the fancy gimmicks (new BMWs are no different) and come back with tales of how the bikes really perform over many miles on real roads. Maybe if you do 440 miles a year then Chinese bikes will be fine. When I was doing big miles, the Jap showrooms were full of s/h bikes which had done less than 5,000 miles and they too had probably been fine. But let's see what this Chinese stuff will do over some real miles over a few years.
So, OK, who's up for this?
Get Arsey and some of his mates to do say, 50,000 miles in three years on some of these Chinese bikes and that'll be evidence of how good they are.
I say this because during the 70s and 80s I'd usually average around 30,000 miles per annum, business and pleasure. Tried Jap bikes of the time and let's say that these were the main reason why I switched to BMW. Throw away the rose-coloured spectacles and remember what Japanese bikes were really like. Metal which resembled putty, chrome brake discs (!!) on Hondas and chrome which fell off wheels and mudguards within around 6 months. Drop the bike and the engine cases would crack or worse. Been there, done that. Mechanically, not bad but snapped engine studs and rounded-off screws etc made them very challenging to fix. Then someone said try a new VFR 750, they're amazing. Well it was until the engine ate its own cams after around 6 months. Guy I work with part time said how reliable his (fairly modern) Honda 500 is. Turns out he'd ridden 440 miles between the last two MOTs!
So anyway, I went over to BMWs. I still have four, plus several other bikes. Sold a R100RT a few years back with 204,000 miles on the clock. Sam Manicom's R80's probably done double that. Mechanically, the RT was still good but after a dozen or so winters, the frame was suffering from salt-related corrosion.
None of the Japanese bikes got even close.
So, stop being blinded with all the fancy gimmicks (new BMWs are no different) and come back with tales of how the bikes really perform over many miles on real roads. Maybe if you do 440 miles a year then Chinese bikes will be fine. When I was doing big miles, the Jap showrooms were full of s/h bikes which had done less than 5,000 miles and they too had probably been fine. But let's see what this Chinese stuff will do over some real miles over a few years.
So, OK, who's up for this?
That sounds like a cracking mission for sure, let’s see who rise’s to the challenge….
Now you're talking Comrade.
'Opinions are like arseholes; everybody's got one'.
And there are certainly plenty of those on here.....
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