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What would you say if someone told you that half of all the motorcycles sold worldwide every year were made in China? You’d probably wrinkle your forehead, stare blankly into space and blink your eyes in disbelief. China? Can’t be. What’s the catch?
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| You don’t need to be an anthropologist to know that motorcycling in China is very different from the U.S. |
There is none. It’s a fact. And someday fairly soon, you and the rest of the motorcyclists in the U.S. will come to know it all too well. In 2003, China produced a staggering 14 million motorcycles. According to one credible source, China has been the world’s largest producer of motorcycles since 1994!
Okay, so there is a catch: At this point, the Chinese do not make motorcycles that compete directly with the vast majority of those sold in the U.S. Most Chinese streetbikes are small by our standards, single-cylinder tiddlers in the 50/100/125cc range. A few Twins up to 250cc sneak into the mix, but there aren’t many models larger than that. And, of course, China produces a wide range of scooters, which make up a huge percentage of that country’s two-wheel production.
Actually, scooters and small-displacement kids’ dirtbikes are two categories in which Chinese bikes are already having a noticeable impact on the U.S. market. Both segments tend to attract buyers hoping to spend as little as possible, and the price tags on the Chinese offerings are only a fraction of those on their Japanese and European counterparts. With rare exception, the quality of these Chinese machines is significantly lower than that of the higher-priced bikes; but for people who only intend to casually putt around on the vehicles every once in a while, the trade-off can be worthwhile.
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| Editors Girdler and Miles performing emergency repairs on a Qujos Trailmaster 200. It didn’t finish the 1000-mile trip for our “Grand Tour” feature story. |
For residents of the world’s largest communist country, the motorcycle is not a recreational vehicle or an object of personal passion; it’s a utilitarian device that provides millions with their only reasonable, affordable means of transportation. Many citizens of China—as well as those throughout most of Southeast Asia—cannot afford cars, so it’s no wonder that country has one of the world’s largest concentrations of small motorcycles and scooters. Most of these riders also can’t afford the higher-quality Japanese motorcycles and have instead resorted to buying Chinese-built imitations—some legal copies, others not so legal.
Popular perception would suggest that these imitations are shoddily built and of low technical content, but that’s not always the case; many indeed are dreadful, but some are decent and still others are quite good. The better ones typically use proven Japanese engine, chassis and suspension designs that are only a generation or two old. The end results are durable, practical bikes that often cost a fraction of what the originals would sell for.
Potentially, Americans looking to get into motorcycling at minimal expense stand to benefit greatly from these savings, so what’s not to like? Well, at this point, quite a lot. For starters, how about an infant industry with little or no dealer network? How about very little buyer recourse should something break or fail? How about too many manufacturers, distributors and other middlemen clouding the market with false hopes, hollow promises and flat-out misrepresentations?
This may sound like doom and gloom, but the true picture is brighter than that. Considering that there are more than 100 supposed motorcycle “manufacturers” (most are actually just parts suppliers) in China, there’s bound to be some bad apples. Continue reading>>
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