Adventure Motorcycle Magazine Subscribe Now

Page 4 of 14 FirstFirst ... 23456 ... LastLast
Results 31 to 40 of 137
  1. #31 the 'Rock'? 
    C-Moto Not-so-Noob
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Kunming China
    Posts
    12
    How is the progress going on this bike, Carl? This is my ideal bike with a few more of your additions:

    1-Gear rack (or better yet, 2 side boxes with same matte finish that someone else suggested for the tank -keep 'em snug in and flush with the back seat for a big waterproof bag. Drop the exhaust below the right box, add a heat shield)

    2-more enduro ready tires (and i'm with you on option 3 for tire combos: 19" Front 17" Rear),

    3-hand guards,

    4-stock mid-size windscreen, (or windscreen with hand protection combo)

    5-is the engine the new dohc?

    Have you sent a suggestion list to them yet? heard back? anxious to hear.

    Cheers,
    Adam
    Reply With Quote  
     

  2. #32 What the customer wants? 
    Honorary C-Moto Guru
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Gijon, Asturias, Northern Spain
    Posts
    580
    I suppose many of you have been motorcycle enthusiasts for long enough to have witnessed what happens when a manufacturer bows down to pressure or hints from magazines, or nowadays from blogs, forums, etc.

    The most accomodating of these makers, with a sizeable design facility headquarters in Europe, providing them with an "ear to the ground" as to what REAL enthusiasts want was YAMAHA:

    At one time or another those enthusiasts asked for the return of the single...marvellous, kickstarting...thumping engine characteristics...simplicity...blah,blah,blah.
    We got the Yamaha SR500, no electric starter, single, classic lines, etc. They even ran an ad campaign saying it was for real men, etc. Who bought one?, hardly anybody.



    Before that they gave us what we all wanted: a big parallel twin, rorty and manly and butch. Lots of vibes, low-down torque, character (whatever that may be), etc. This was the XS650. Sold some, but nowhere the demand the enthusiast said it would be.



    They then listened to the expert enthusiast demands in the more up-market mags, yes, the mighty Vincent 1000 V-twin. That was THE bike we all wanted, massive v-twin engine, lots of torque, cantilever rear suspension, spine frame....lovely. What's more we would love this updated Vincent to have shaft drive or an enclosed lubricated drive chain...
    We were given the TR1. Remember?, the Virago XV was derived from it. They hardly sold any TR1's despite all the clamouring from the REAL enthusiasts.



    Other makers tried to give us what we wanted with little success. Witness the failure of the Kawasaki W650, lovely bike though it was.



    If I were a manufacturer I would be very wary of "popular" demand. People tend not to put their money where their mouths are.
    Jincheng Monkey JC50Q-7
    Skyteam Dax replica ST110-6
    Zongshen ZS125-43
    Qingqi QM200GY-BA Super Motard
    Qingqi QM110GY
    Reply With Quote  
     

  3. #33  
    C-Moto Not-so-Noob
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Kunming China
    Posts
    12
    Good post forchetto. well said. And honestly, what a great selection of bikes to bring up. I want that tr1! And really, i want one of each of those just mentioned. But that's just your point, no? its easy to drool. As an architect, i know well how well the mouth speaks and how easily the wallet stays shut.

    But let us also talk about the tools for communication and collaboration that the modern world provides? How popular have super-motard bikes been in the past three years? its like they sprung out of nowhere. I think this is largely due to the sharing of ideas amongst an international community of bikers.

    Some companies out there owe their very existence to viral marketing and user-contributed r&d. maybe not so much in the motorcycle and auto markets, but 'popular demand' has a different meaning when the cross-section of markets is so well represented.

    If qingqi really wanted to hear from us, and there were enough of us throwing our two cents around, then yeah, i think it would be a good thing, resulting in a well selling 'instant classic' bike. One message board with maybe 2 or 3 threads (40 posts?) won't be enough, or maybe it will be.

    But, i think the point here is that at the very least our ideas are bouncing around coalescing, refining, and (maybe) influencing an ear or two. At least its fun to think so. :)

    Different tangent: There is also the direction that these guys took. Don't wait for the manufacturer to make your perfect bike, make it, well, build it out of the coolest components and sell it yourself. (at a premium) But damn, what a sweet bike. This is what i think of when i think of "the rock" (although the name might sound a bit like a clunker). And i think that a chinese company is well situated albeit under marketed to produce a competitor to other bikes that are soon to follow suit in this arena.

    Dreaming,
    adam
    Reply With Quote  
     

  4. #34  
    C-Moto Not-so-Noob
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Kunming China
    Posts
    12
    Oh, this is a great article about the terra-mostro.(its a link to a .pdf) Worth reading and relating directly to end-user contribution topics.

    I do want to thank you, Forchetto for being devil's advocate here. Its good stuff to talk about.

    adam
    Reply With Quote  
     

  5. #35  
    Administrator-tron CrazyCarl's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    NoVA
    Posts
    2,540
    NJ,

    Some of the suggestions have been sent to QingQi Int'l Marketing and RnD department. I haven't recieved any feedback yet and it may take some time to hear what they say/think. Language barriers slow communication a great deal and I haven't ever directly corresponded with the RnD folks except when I met them many moons ago.

    If there is any news I will be sure to post it on MCM though!

    CC
    ---------------------------------------------------
    Subscribe to the hippest, most happeneing Adventure Motorcycle Magazine around!
    Adventure Motorcycle Dual Sport News Magazine

    Help support MCM!! Buy "The Return - Riding Western China" DVD! -

    http://www.motocyclops.com/buydvd/

    Personal China travel info, photo and video site:

    http://www.carlparker.com

    Reply With Quote  
     

  6. #36  
    Honorary C-Moto Guru
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Gijon, Asturias, Northern Spain
    Posts
    580
    Thanks for your observations, NuJiangAmelliott. You're right of course. Nowadays a marketing department has lots of sources of what the people, not the poltroonish magazine writers, want, and they probably listen. The example of the super motards is a good one.

    As an aside, one of the features that the true enthusiast cried for was a fully enclosed chain. Yamaha responded with the finest ever system in that TR1.

    The 1980's Yamaha 1000cc TR-1 had a chain case filled with 1kg of bearing grease and the service schedule called for chain replacement at 60,000 km!!! many owners saw far more mileage than this out of their chains with minimum adjustments, less noise and a cleaner back end, as well as a continuously efficient drive system. All the above was achieved using ordinary non O-ring chains.
    Jincheng Monkey JC50Q-7
    Skyteam Dax replica ST110-6
    Zongshen ZS125-43
    Qingqi QM200GY-BA Super Motard
    Qingqi QM110GY
    Reply With Quote  
     

  7. #37  
    C-Moto Not-so-Noob
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Posts
    32
    Quote Originally Posted by forchetto View Post
    If I were a manufacturer I would be very wary of "popular" demand. People tend not to put their money where their mouths are.
    LOL! So true!

    Moto web boards are full of posts along the lines of "why don't they sell/import/build a bike like....?" Sometimes the manufacturer DID try to market a bike like described and was met with poor sales.

    Good example: I read a lot of posts whining about a desire for Harley Davidson to offer a sportier bike with better handling. Well, where exactly were the customers when they offered the FXDX, Sportster Roadster or Street Rod (all models now cancelled due to poor sales)?

    Best,
    PJ
    Reply With Quote  
     

  8. #38  
    Honorary C-Moto Guru
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Gijon, Asturias, Northern Spain
    Posts
    580
    Quote Originally Posted by PresterJohn View Post
    Good example: I read a lot of posts whining about a desire for Harley Davidson to offer a sportier bike with better handling. Well, where exactly were the customers when they offered the FXDX, Sportster Roadster or Street Rod (all models now cancelled due to poor sales)?
    PJ
    Very true. The 1977 Harley Davidson XLCR 1000 was the answer to real bikers dreams. A Harley Café racer no less. British bike enthusiasts got tumescent organs whilst looking at it They never bought any though...

    Jincheng Monkey JC50Q-7
    Skyteam Dax replica ST110-6
    Zongshen ZS125-43
    Qingqi QM200GY-BA Super Motard
    Qingqi QM110GY
    Reply With Quote  
     

  9. #39  
    Administrator-tron CrazyCarl's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    NoVA
    Posts
    2,540
    In the modern market, very rarely do products truly sell themselves. I think the trick is to market the hell out of whatever you decide to sell...just like anything else...

    CC
    ---------------------------------------------------
    Subscribe to the hippest, most happeneing Adventure Motorcycle Magazine around!
    Adventure Motorcycle Dual Sport News Magazine

    Help support MCM!! Buy "The Return - Riding Western China" DVD! -

    http://www.motocyclops.com/buydvd/

    Personal China travel info, photo and video site:

    http://www.carlparker.com

    Reply With Quote  
     

  10. #40 250 motard 
    C-Moto Regular flyingtiger's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Lingshui, Hainan
    Posts
    51
    How much mooooonay would that 250 Motard version sell for on the China showroom floor?
    Reply With Quote  
     

Page 4 of 14 FirstFirst ... 23456 ... LastLast
Tags for this Thread

View Tag Cloud

Bookmarks
Bookmarks
Posting Permissions
  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •