OK, today they don't 'copy'. They 'license the technology'. Same thing. Just common sense. If your industry is in a start up stage, the best way to get it rolling quickly is to license technology from someone else (except back then they didn't do weasel words, so they called it copy).
BSA copied the technology of what was, arguably, their best selling bike ever, the Bantam. The USA copied the whole of their start up missile and space technology from the Germans. The Japs copied anything and everything.
From the point of the 'Minister of Industry' it makes sense. You can ramp up fast, you KNOW the design works, if you have any problems you can go ask someone 'How do we fix this'. Beats spending 20 years and half your GNP redeveloping the wheel.
And from our point of view, it's also a good thing. We know the design is basically sound. Just think how dubious a bike would be that had the quality issues AND was an unknown unproven design!
A genuine BMW R75 SV is way out of range of most of us, doillar wise. The 'copy' is more affordable. I just think that they are too dear. I suspect that in China you could pick up a good one for the equivalent of a couple of thousand, probably much less.
Bookmarks