2011 Lifan offerings in the USA

[barnone]

Gardo,
Is this the Rhon? The engine is a Lifan so the bike is not totally proprietary.
http://www.motor-rhon.com/

[Gardo]

okay maybe not "totally" proprietary, but still their stuff

[barnone]

They probably make the frame.

[ktmracer]

[QUOTE=ChinaV;24262]Saw them in ChongQing at the show...



Wow, NICE bike...

[MJH]

LIFAN LF250GY-7 is EPA conforming for 2011 its certificate number is BLFNC0.25GY7-001
I like quoting hp, but admit its not the beginning or end for selecting a good bike, other factors mater.

The GY-7 is only a single with a single OHC 2 valve engine, it’s not to be confused with the Honda NX250 copies offered by other manufactures those engines are DOHC with 4 valves. The Lifan only is a five speed and the NX250 copies have 6 speeds. The GY-7 is rated at 12Kw @7000 rpm, it is a 172MM-2B engine it only offers 16.32hp and is really not anything more then a larger displacement water cooled version of other OHC engines they offer.

The claims of hp ratings on American Lifan’s site for its 163FML 200cc engine used on the GY-5 are exaggerated, it in reality offers between 13-14hp.

This engine the 172MM-2B is likely the same as the 163FML mechanically, which is not a bad thing the engines is considered durable by Chinese standards, the 250cc offers a 20% increase in power over the 200cc.

[MJH]

The Kawasaki KLX250S is rated with 23.12hp, that dual-sport also comes in a SF street version. They sell between $5,000 to $3,500.00 for NEW 2009, 2010 and 2011 models; within that price range.

The KLX250 is manufactured in Thailand, by KAWASAKI MOTORS ENTERPRISE(THAILAND).



The KLX can be discounted it carries a high margin, it is also often priced higher then more popular models like the NINJA250. The KLX250 is a gate keeper and a superior motorcycle over the Lifan model. In that Kawasaki can easily drop its prices on the KLX250. Kawasaki plays games with supply they do not offer these models in high volumes and in that keep the price high. But many dealer get tired of holding them and often sell the early models at a discount.

[CantDecide]

I was at a dealer this week looking at a KLX250SF, retail cost was $5000 as MJH said, with incentives down to $3999 (Same as a brand new Ninja 250r). Still a bit too expensive for me, but the bike was comfortable to sit on and looked great. My only issue with the SF is the take in super tiny, if you are doing any sort of long haul on it, you would need stop for gas every 100 miles. It is pretty much the only reason I've decided on a Ninja 250 instead. I didn't want to fit a larger tank to the KLX.

As MJH said, the costs of the KLX seem artificially high, I would suspect in part that is to protect the Ninja 250's sales, which probably have a much smaller margin. If the two bikes were competing for sales, they both might become unprofitable.

[MJH]

Cycle trader is good tool for seeing the spread over list prices on all models, it also lets you see the amount of inventory as it lists those by state and by model type. I've been scrolling through the EPA list of approved models, and noticed the Ninja400 is in the list… it’s not likely to be offered in the USA. Kawasaki is manufacturing many of its USA models in Thailand.

The EPA list is questionable, not complete and not 100% accurate…then again anything that is created by a human hand rarely ever is.

The KLR, Ninja and Versys all these 650 models are now made in Thailand.

The Ninja 400 has an MSRP in Canada of about $7,000.00, so even though it fits into the USA model line the price does not.

[MJH]

The KLX250 is priced I think to make the KLR650 price make sense, it feeds up to it. Kawasaki is drawing battle lines, they will likely offer filler bikes between 250-650, the 400 is an intentional tip of the cards. They may be ready to drop the KLX250 prices and actually they have just not formally. But they are and should be reluctant to lower the 650 models prices. The 400cc can and may become a bridge and sold for around $5,000.00-$5,999.00 in the USA, eventually.

So you could see $3,000.00 to $3,999.00 be the range for both 250 models and then a 400cc model between that price and the price of the 650 models. They have to be careful though because a 400cc motorcycle can theoretically please many, in that they may never move up to bigger bikes, which are more profitable.

I see the Japanese motorcycle industry as that of a fastidious Samurai and the Chinese industry as that of dirty waitress in dirty diner with a butter knife.

It’s not only the quality issue, its who do you want to deal with.

[moilami]

KLX is awesome but lately I have been (yet again) drooling for Royal Enfield 500 Classic (EFI). I think it might be the bike of choise for me.



Need to get rid of this street bike mania now