CCW

[culcune]

The Ace is going up against the Suzuki TU250X which has sold poorly in the USA and is perceived to be better quality than a Chinese bike.

The Hooligan compares to the Qlink XF200 which I and others bought for $1395 delivered. Granted the Hooligan is a 250cc bike but Qlink has a 250cc XF ready for the market but rumor is Qlink still has quite a few XF200 2009s still in their warehouse. .

IMHO, the Heist is their only viable product and it has a limited market in the USA being a sub 250cc bike (actual 229cc).

The Ace has much more style than the TU. The Heist is gaining interest, although to those who like the bobber style. I think that CCW are selling a lifestyle like Harley, albeit on a smaller scale than Harley. Scooters are still big business, and CCW will appeal to those going into scooter stores to shop, and would rather have a bike (i.e. a first time buyer who wants to buy a scooter, goes to a scooter store, and ends up being extremely drawn towards full-size bikes sitting in the stop).

As far as lifestyles go, they will appeal to those into the whole 'retro' scene. CCW's upcoming scooter line are retro, like Vespas, and will sell to those specifically wanting scooters. Our internet channel has a solid base of viewers who are into old horror movies, and as we hit horror/comic conventions, we find there are multitudes of people into the whole 'retro' scene. In fact, CCW are advertising with us on a trial basis, and their commercials should be airing beginning this weekend. I am trying to set up a cross-promotion where they send bikes with us to the conventions, as I bet there are people who attend who did not even realize they wanted a scooter or bike!

As far as costs go, I do think we will have a wait and see with the price of the Hooligun. Keep in mind that the Hooligun is a 2011 model, while the Qlinks are 2009s. I do believe the $1400 XF/XP days are over with, commesurate with the increasing cost of fuel. Qlink will probably toy with the idea of a near $4k machine with the water-cooled XF/XP 250's, but that is due to them having a dealer network (read: financing which is why we have $6k Yamaha 250 enduros), before they have to reduce the price like they did with their XF/XP 200's. Since we never did see the Shinerays this way when they were first introduced 2 or 3 years ago, I am hoping they are reliable like the Pitsters or even the Qingqi 200's they replace. If the engine is in fact Loncin-sourced, then that should not be an issue as we have seen them here via the Pitsters.

The hooligan will have the Qingqi 250....that's already been covered.

I hope this remains true, MJH! Their photos show what is sold in Europe and here (with the captions stressing this difference below the slideshow of the Hooligun). The one they show as being for the US does not look like a Suzuki-based Qingqi engine. Perhaps, in the near future, they will introduce the Hooligun with the Loncin water-cooled engine...