Zongshen

[MJH]

I would like the BS126-6 MAX with a Yingang 250cc 4-valve double overhead cam.
Can they put some CKD KITS together for that?

It would need some consideration for brakes and tires as well as the electrical.

That bike with a 26hp six speed would be appealing to me…if they can keep the MSRP under $3,000.00 USD and offer a 24 month warranty

All these manufactures need to offer managed services for their offerings, they need to offer turn key solutions linked back to the factory. In this example RACAL should be actually BASHAN PH and liked off the main website, same for the European site, it should be BASHAN EU….

They should all offer webpages that all link into one primary site within one common system. All the specifications and images standardized and also all technical documents and access to parts lists. That’s a matter of CSS and linked data tables. They are objects and the big call is for that of teams of object oriented programmers. They need to put some real knowledge and talent behind the marketing .

[MJH]

It is not uncommon to offer modularity or interoperability in a design, GM mastered it and others followed, the same model with different engines, sets and subsets, the base and what is shared and then what options can be added to that base creates a new set of data.

That is key, it is crucial to being competitive.

A platform for a motorcycle is its frame and engines are or can be interchangeable it is not uncommon and it is wise to offer that to the markets.

[culcune]

Buying the CKD kits seems to be in vogue, a good way to get in the market and also create local jobs. Many countries have tiered tariffs that allow discounts in respect of the local value added through domestic assembly , but albeit these are often corrupted by special people in special groups. That raises a questions as to who gets access to the market, the MVDP is like that of a gate keeper. Is it good gate keeper or bad one?

Mexico's Itallika is a perfect example of the question of who gets access to the market (not sure if they are buying CKD kits or not) as they are, or seem to be, the only Chinese manufacturer available there.

[MJH]

I Don't know about that Qlink is supposed to be selling in Mexico.
http://www.qlinkmotor.com.mx/news.php

so is VENTO
http://www.vento.com/web/pub/mex/default.asp?zone=MEX

it could be that they are just failing at selling in North America in general.

[culcune]

I was thinking of mentioning those two, as well as Pitster Pro, as counterpoints to my own argument. However, like Itallika, I do feel that all three are more or less "branded" bikes rather than imported and distributed in Mexico directly from China via importers/distributors. Itallika has seemingly dominated the market for off-branded bikes in Mexico, and as fairly recent incidents of strong-arming by Coke and Pepsi to its vendors leads me to believe that Itallika is more than coincidently the largest motorcycle brand in Mexico just by chance.

[MJH]

They are selling in Guatemala, Honduras and also Peru, it is difficult to translate their website much of it is graphic image files.

I thought we had free trade with Mexico? I wonder why we cannot get those in the USA? It kind of pisses me off the RT180 is selling in Mexico for $1,555.00 USD

[MJH]

They need homologated standards, I am not even sure the standards in Mexico are any different, it may be that only the procedures relating to certificates are. All these are class II and the standards in the USA are not that restricting on under 289cc engines.

We should be able to buy a motorcycle in Mexico and ride them back into the USA, the registration should transfer in the US…the reasons that cannot be done? I am actually covering that exhaustively and have been for some time now. It is a matter of the lack of homologated standards and standard documentation, there is no real reason for the blocks others then diverging bureaucracies.

China should not be offering lower standard for export and they will eventually stop doing that as the markets they feed stop accepting them, then it all gets forced upward.

The entire industry wants one common standard, it would make their job so much easier. it’s the consumers and their collective ignorance, misguided perceptions and overt manipulation into government that prevent such events.

[culcune]

Living here on the US/Mexican border, I see a few Italikas on the US side, but mostly commuters living in Mexico and working in the US. However, I am fairly certain that one could register one in Arizona, as I could have sworn seeing ads in the paper selling them here (there are people who live in the US and consider either side as their home--they get away with having Mexican registered cars for long extended periods of time while living in the US) so the bikes could just be sold to people who frequent both sides of the border.

This could be my next project--finding a 50cc Italika scooter or something like that and seeing if it is possible to register it in AZ. More than likely, if it could be done, AZ would be about the limit for the bike.

[MJH]

They are part of Grupo Salinas…
http://www.gruposalinas.com/contenido.aspx?p=Italikaes

Our Companies - Italika
Italika aims to give access to own transport to most of the Mexican population, allowing it to be more efficient in their daily activities in a comfortable, reliable and fun. Five years after its market launch, Italika is the number one motorcycle in Mexico covering 65% of the market with annual sales exceeding 200,000 units. Italika currently operates in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru and Brazil. It sells over 15 models to meet various needs such as labor, transportation and recreation.
To meet domestic demand and the Latin American market in September 2008 opened its assembly Italika in the State of Mexico, with a production capacity of 300,000 motorcycles annually. It also has cutting-edge logistics systems that allow you to guarantee delivery of spare parts within 72 hours in Mexico. Its service network consists of more than 500 centers with extended hours to ensure the maintenance and parts availability to customers.
Links
Official Site: www.italika.com.mx

They could expand into the USA and they should….they appear to be buying and assembling in Mexico to a capacity of 300,000 units annually.
They could offer the scooters for sure and a few models with larger engines like the 223cc OHC in bikes like this one. That is nothing more then a vertical extension of that model.



They can then extend horizontally with that engine with other models like the DM150

Clasica 223	DM223
*	DM150
Clasica125	*

[MJH]

They have this 125cc scooter they offer for $899.00 US, if they have a good support system then those would be accepted into dealership and basically cut out the online vendors.



Then offering a few other street bikes would also take care of that market niche as well.
Offering a full line of scooters and also a few beginner/commuter bikes, I could see that working.