Help my choose a China-bike in Australia!

[MJH]

1 USD = 6.49 CYN
1 AUD = 6.92 CYN

2,500 Australian dollars = 17,300.00 CYN
2,500 American dollars = 16,225.00 CYN

That should mean that an Australian dollar buys more from china not less. As dollars rise they increase imports as dollars fall import decrease if domestic options exist.

Imports into the USA are taxed less then 3% what are they taxed in Australia?

Also if the domestic market in china has been limited by changes in regulations, as the emissions controls have become stricter they then have only export of non-compliant models as a market, so the value of those models falls as the domestic market shrinks for them.

The Chinese make the most motorcycles and sell most of them domestically. However most of these look like export models and some were never offered for domestic sales.

I am wondering if Australia is in stagflation, no growth only inflation in prices, are the prices climbing on everything there? It’s big fear here in the US as less buy the suppliers raise prices to cover costs, it is called stagflation.

High prices on an import from a country that has lower costs….is not good. Higher prices should be only justified if domestically produced as it adds value to the domestic economy.

The Japanese manufacture here, they know that the economy of export markets is important as the sales into them.

[Kennon]

TDf-REf Sachs was european being German but that was such a long time ago once they started to cull the 2 stroke engines in there bikes it was time that they were sold from what iv been told

[ear_spear]

Hey, I bought a Kinlon KBR200RT a few years back and have ridden it every day as a commuter.. 12,000klms on it, haven't had to touch it except for the front brake microswitch and a blown instrument globe. It starts every day, rides ok, is cheap as chips to run and if you can live with the limited off-road capability and top comfortable speed of 80kph, I'd recommend having a look at one of these. Depends how much you want to use it off-road tho.. they're not the best off the blacktop.

[euphonius]

Dear EarSpear,

Greetings from China and welcome to the forum. Nice little bike there. There are a couple of members probably not too far from you with the same bike, and who have a ton of experience keeping it safe and on the road and modded/upgraded as necessary. Jape is legendary in this regard; the other member's name escapes me but Jape will know.

Good luck and please don't hesitate to post pix of the bike as well as the specific problems, as this always helps to jog members thoughts about possible fixes, etc.

cheers!

[ear_spear]

Thanks for the welcome, Euphonius.. Shanghai, hey? That'd be a long ride.. it's really good to get onboard with people from all parts of the world with a common interest, it does seem as though there are a few members who aren't too far away, maybe a little Oz adventure ride on the Chinese bangers is in order.. one day. Oh, I've already read a lot of Jape's posts.. and I'm sure I'll be picking the poor guys brains all the time for info and inspiration. Cheers!

[fried rice]

Hi, bought a new XING YUE 400y (sold here as a TORINO) enduro ?, cost was $4500 with 12 months rego new, It does 100+Ks easily but could use a smaller rear sprocket for mostly hyway use. Although im happy with the performance (4 valve head,6 speed box,elec start alloy everything etc ) im far from happy with the assembly after arival in australia. It seems that they arive here as a CKD ,ie front end not fitted ,rear wheel not fitted,handle bars, controls, brakes,pillion pegs etc not fitted, then a couple of school drop outs do their best to nail them together, So far i have found ,No speedo cable HHMMM, miss matched bolts on fork clamps,miss matched screws holding on plastic tank covers, cracked speedo pod where bolts hold down unit, cross threded bolts in rear pillion handle grips, grease impregrated front and rear mud gards (white plastics) have tryed everything and will not clean off. took 6 weeks to get speedo cable from SYDNEY dealer and they still cant supply an owners manual of any type.
So the manufacturing seems OK but the final assembly in Sydney is rubbish.

[bigdamo]

1 USD = 6.49 CYN
1 AUD = 6.92 CYN

2,500 Australian dollars = 17,300.00 CYN
2,500 American dollars = 16,225.00 CYN

That should mean that an Australian dollar buys more from china not less. As dollars rise they increase imports as dollars fall import decrease if domestic options exist.

Imports into the USA are taxed less then 3% what are they taxed in Australia?

Also if the domestic market in china has been limited by changes in regulations, as the emissions controls have become stricter they then have only export of non-compliant models as a market, so the value of those models falls as the domestic market shrinks for them.

The Chinese make the most motorcycles and sell most of them domestically. However most of these look like export models and some were never offered for domestic sales.

I am wondering if Australia is in stagflation, no growth only inflation in prices, are the prices climbing on everything there? It’s big fear here in the US as less buy the suppliers raise prices to cover costs, it is called stagflation.

High prices on an import from a country that has lower costs….is not good. Higher prices should be only justified if domestically produced as it adds value to the domestic economy.

The Japanese manufacture here, they know that the economy of export markets is important as the sales into them.

The Australian economy is going along just fine http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politi...418-1x6ac.html

The problem we have is a small population base.With only 22 million people our purchasing power is small we just can't buy the quantities the USA or Europe do.But I will take buying things more expensive ( I purchase most of my stuff on the net from overseas anyway) as opposed to being crammed in with to many people.

People complain about the huge disparity on prices compared to the States and it looks like middle men are/where getting good mark ups.

I don't know what the import tax is but I'm sure it far higher than 3% motorcycle retailers are complaining they make very little money on the sale of a motorcycle they make the money on spares and repairs.

Retailing Chinese motorcycles in Australia is fraught with danger for many reasons to many have come and gone another reason why I wouldn't buy a Chinese motorcycle the main reason they are crap.

Fried rice it probably wasn't the dealer who assembled the bike incorrectly more likely the Chinese.

[hglennister]

ive seen the kinlon 200 that my mate is 100kg i think and it goes well it would climb a bike wall it geared for hills i think and 2000 bucks its got you 12months warrenty but it all comes down for whan do you want to do with it

[japonly!]

As this is my first reply/posting I thought I'd introduce myself to hopefuly give my opinions some value, and serve as a warning to prospective buyers.
I am a Qualified Motorcycle Technician with almost 20 years experience working on all makes and models of Japanese and European motorcycles, I have worked extensively in Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha and Suzuki dealerships, and am greatly anoyed, angered and frankly scared for the safety of Australian riders due to the Chinese invasion.
Come on people don't be so bloody ignorant, these Chinese bikes are cheap for many bad reasons: poor design, poor reliability, poor performance, poor durability, poor build guality, poor fit & finish, poor quality materials, poor manufacturing and machining processes, etc etc etc! They are light years away from the pinacle of Japanese design and engineering!!!! Yes they are cheap, but you must ask "why" not just buy blind. I'd sooner buy a 30 year old used Japanese Motorcycle than a brand new Chinese built model. These bikes come standared with more faults than a fleet of Jap bikes will see in a lifetime of neglect and abuse, and it is down right wrong that our government regulators which are so tough on the major manufactures, making them recal a bike for the most miniscule slight imperfection, continue to allow this new garbage on our public roads. I am certain lives will be lost along with the many millions of dollars wasted by unsuspecting buyers in the first place. A comparable Chinese model (by basic specification only!) at $2000 represents far less value than a Japanese motorcycle at 10 times that cost. They are not nearly cheap enough for what you actualy get! The dealers who sell these brands and the importers are just looking to make a quick buck from the good retail margin these bikes have, I know first hand how many times this margin is later donated back to the Chinese bike Gods thru un-warrantied repairs and re-engineering at the dealer just to make these bikes work sufficiently to be handed over to their new owners.
You will hear comments saying that the Japanese bikes were the same when they were first built 60 odd years ago, however the Japanese had a goal to built their bikes to the best of their ability at that time, and many examples of those bikes are still running well, where as the Chinese in my opinion are purely building bikes to a price, at the expense of quality.
You won't see a 10mm hole for an 8mm bolt, or a gear lever with 2" of slop from brand new on a Jap bike!
For it to be "Good Value" it must also be a "Good Product" otherwise you are just trading price for quality (reliability, performance, safety etc) and they are not nearly cheap enought to represent anything like "good value"!
Many Motorcycle shops won't consider used Chinese bikes as trade-ins nor will their workshops touch them "more trouble than they are worth" is the usual response, "probably can't get parts" is another. In my experience correct parts are only available while that model bike is being produced, once the model is changed, or reolacced the spare parts also vanish!
They have little-to-no after sales support eg; Spare parts manuals or parts supply, Service manuals or even and accurate wiring diagram, there is no national technical service department to call upon for help, or extensive experienced dealer network. Please consider all the many reasons why the established manufacturers ask more for their product and know this; the dealer will almost always make less proffit selling a quality brand over the Chinese bike, so don't accuse them of being greedy for asking a highrer price!
If you still choose to buy a Chinese Motorcycle hopefuly it is now an informed decision, and with realistic expectations.
Please appreciate the time I have taken to share my views, I have nothing to gain from this other than the comfort brought by being able to educate the public somewhat on the too often un-told story of Chinese motorcycles.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post.

[Kennon]

that is the most long winded rant iv ever reade but the simple fact is you pay little cash you get little back its how things are in life you want quality you have to fork out for it i would of gotten a Sinnis apache supermoto if i hadnt got my spanish bike for a very good deal, most people only buy chinese built bikes for a year then have there full license done so there is the markety for cheap bikes, you want rubbish you pay under £1000 you want something that will last 2 years + you have to pay more for it