Dreams are not quite free, but maybe opportunities can come along?

[Ronin]

There are many that look identical from several different manufacturers which makes it more difficult to say a bike or quad is okay or not. Take a note of the manufacturer and let me know. I'd be interested as I haven't heard about this particular company before.

I'll have a look. Oh, and please don't think I'm being negative for the sake of it. I worked at The Warehouse for 14 years. I have seen the best that they get out of china and it is seldom worth it.

[Edbear]

I'll have a look. Oh, and please don't think I'm being negative for the sake of it. I worked at The Warehouse for 14 years. I have seen the best that they get out of china and it is seldom worth it.

Yeah, I'll be interested to see their reply to my last email. I know that there is a lot of junk out there and if I was wanting to supply markets requiring durabililty I'd probably steer people towards the mainstream manufacturers and name brands. I'm thinking of light duty and specific products such as some of the pics I've posted.

[FJRider]

There are a couple of sensible vehicles in their range. I'll check out the regs re: registering for the road, but only for a couple of models I think are worth it, like the Supercub which is a popular classic, and this smaller electric scooter which would be great for holiday parks or a shop scooter or for a lifestyle block to go and get the mail down a really long driveway...

Great ... but how available are spare parts for them ... ???

[Edbear]

Great ... but how available are spare parts for them ... ???

Spare parts are almost generic these days aren't they? Of course I'd ensure I could support the products. I jsut got this back from their marketing manager, excuse the Chinese-English...

We have more than 20 years experience in making all kinds of motorcycle and machinery,
We have ISO9002 quality certificate, pls find in my attached files.

In the past, We have exported our products to many countries like Romania, Norway,
Denmark, Estonia, UK etc european country, as well to Argentina, Ecuador etc South america , and Russia, Middle East and some africa counries .

We have international standards european approval EEC for many models,
This year the Electric scooters and off-road motorcycles are deeply welcome in many countries,
We expect to have a long term cooperation with us, pls tell us if you have any question .

[xen]

I wouldn't trust their certificates, you can use agents (eg http://www.bizinchina.cc/)over there to check out the business history and then do quality checks before you send them final payment.

Obviously they can make good stuff as most things are made in China now, but a lot of $ has to be spent on getting the high quality materials, processes and QC down. Something the big firms can do but as a small player you're at their mercy which isn't a great place to be. I'd expect at least a few parts to fail on those machines, tricky thing is you won't know what will break until you (or your customers) do some hard testing and then it may change from batch to batch. The simpler it is the better, less moving parts to go wrong ! lol

[cheshirecat]

I believe a top Japanese trade diplomat summed up the primary difference between Japanese and Chinese philosophy as an interpretation of quality. The Chinese def is not the same as ours (as in western) either. They will say yes as a matter of cultural interpretation. To negate directly is to loose face, especially early in negotiations. Early in Chinese terms is a matter of generations not hours. They will think in terms of a thousand years to put a plan into place.

[Edbear]

I wouldn't trust their certificates, you can use agents (eg http://www.bizinchina.cc/)over there to check out the business history and then do quality checks before you send them final payment.

Obviously they can make good stuff as most things are made in China now, but a lot of $ has to be spent on getting the high quality materials, processes and QC down. Something the big firms can do but as a small player you're at their mercy which isn't a great place to be. I'd expect at least a few parts to fail on those machines, tricky thing is you won't know what will break until you (or your customers) do some hard testing and then it may change from batch to batch. The simpler it is the better, less moving parts to go wrong ! lol

Yeah, I was going to talk to a couple of people I know who have been importing for a while now to see how they're getting on.

I believe a top Japanese trade diplomat summed up the primary difference between Japanese and Chinese philosophy as an interpretation of quality. The Chinese def is not the same as ours (as in western) either. They will say yes as a matter of cultural interpretation. To negate directly is to loose face, especially early in negotiations. Early in Chinese terms is a matter of generations not hours. They will think in terms of a thousand years to put a plan into place.

Interesting point, of course they aren't going to say their stuff is poor quality... If I do decide to take it further, it may be advantageous to talk in longer terms.

[Edbear]

Got some prices today. May or may not be competitive, but here's a ball-park on some of the stuff.

The Supercub 50 I should sell for $1095.00, possibly even just under the grand. That's the Honda Cub step-thru copy.

The small tractor, VT110TL for about $1500.00. The little trailer for $190.00.

The Electric scooter for $1800.00.

The VL400UTV for about $5695.00. The red one in my last pics.

The ATV trailer for about $900.00. It actually looks quite solid.

Final pricing will depend on import charges and shipping but shouldn't be too far off these if at all.

[Edbear]

This one I thought quite useful, could hang it off the back of your motorhome as well.

Price about $1695.00.

[Zamiam]

There are a couple of sensible vehicles in their range. I'll check out the regs re: registering for the road, but only for a couple of models I think are worth it, like the Supercub which is a popular classic, and this smaller electric scooter which would be great for holiday parks or a shop scooter or for a lifestyle block to go and get the mail down a really long driveway...

$5700 for the red one isn't too bad. Needs to be able to tow small trailer, quad accessories (e.g. fert spreader, harrows) and at that price it competes with reasonable second hand quads but is much more usable. Another thing worth considering is equipment for lifestyle blocks - e.g. mowers, trailers, fert spreaders etc.

[Laava]

but they dont want to pay for it ... Most want a Mercedes ... at Toyota pricing ...

Or better. Ssssssssssangyong

[Edbear]

$5700 for the red one isn't too bad. Needs to be able to tow small trailer, quad accessories (e.g. fert spreader, harrows) and at that price it competes with reasonable second hand quads but is much more usable. Another thing worth considering is equipment for lifestyle blocks - e.g. mowers, trailers, fert spreaders etc.

Yeah, there are a lot of importers though, so I'll be competing on price with the bigger gyus, although it seems I may have an advantage there, too. The company doesn't seem to have a lot of attachments, but does have the usual range of mowers, trimmers, etc. I did think the tillers were interesting, I'll post a few pics of the equipment they have.

[jim.cox]

The company doesn't seem to have a lot of attachments, but does have the usual range of mowers, trimmers, etc. I did think the tillers were interesting, I'll post a few pics of the equipment they have.

From my experience, the one thing most small block holders can really use is a small tractor with a mower. A back blade is handy for maintaining driveways. A loader and a tiller are also useful. I think you might find a good market for reasonably priced, light to medium duty examples....

[Edbear]

From my experience, the one thing most small block holders can really use is a small tractor with a mower. A back blade is handy for maintaining driveways. A loader and a tiller are also useful. I think you might find a good market for reasonably priced, light to medium duty examples....

Exactly my thoughts too. Toaster recently bought a small tractor-mower for his property and it cost way more than $6k. For this application I think they would be fine as the owner won't be using them like the local Council would. A big issue for block owners is simply carting stuff around and even on a real farm, there will be opportunity for something small and quick for smaller jobs, running errands etc.

[willytheekid]

No ed...don't do it!

I personally make an effort NOT to buy anything! from china, not JUST because the products are cheap and poorly made.....but mostly because I don't support SLAVERY! and Environmental destruction in the name of profit.

Slavery:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/15/wo...4.6160781.html

http://www.time.com/time/world/artic...635144,00.html

Pollution:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/wo...a/26china.html

http://www.chinahush.com/2009/10/21/...tion-in-china/

China is slowly destroying the worlds economy with slave labour, AND the environment with pollution and waste products...and they just don't care!

Don't go near them Ed, support a local company or another country that makes good products and pays fair wages, without destroying the environment during the process.

To support China's products, is to support the manner in which they are made and ALL of there dodgy business practices.

Sorry Mate, you know I always respect your point of view, and always wish you the best....but you asked for Honest opinions...thats mine.

Screw China!