OT Chinese Invasion

[ROCKETNM]

As most know, there are more and more Chinese manufactured bikes coming to the good 'ol US of A. They started out as mini-bikes but seem to be moving slowly upscale, if just in displacement. See the example below.

Of course the Japanese manufactures took a similar approach in the 1950s and 1960s. At present, I doubt any manufacturing country can compete with China on labor costs. The example below is all of $4000 USD.

Are Chinese bikes the coming thing? Who would not have liked to have had the first Honda motorcycle dealership in their town? Is it time to open up a Vento dealership?

[Diego]

> Of course the Japanese manufactures took a similar approach in the 1950s and 1960s

Not very similar at all. The Japanese at least built mostly street-legal machines, along with ones expressly intended for offroad sports--not scaled down cheapo imitations of real bikes that don't meet any kind of standards.

[Aussiebikerdave]

That pic above looks suspiciouisly like a photoshop mock up.

Looks like a Yamaha XVS 250 Dragstar with some Harley parts (eg aircleaner cover) mocked up on it! Well, I suppose the Japanese began be copying others so maybe it's their turn to be copied!

I would imagine that the gang of four from Japan would have a heavy stake in what will emerge as the half dozen main Chinese factories of the future. Remember that there were hundreds of tin-pot Jap factories in the fifties before things settled down to five which became in the end, just four. (Bridgestone was the fifth)

Davo

[ROCKETNM]

From what I have read, there are hundreds of Chinese motorcycle manufacturers operating right now. There are also apparently some joint development deals with Honda and even Harley-Davidson. Most of the Chinese street bikes I have seen are straight rip-offs of Japanese bikes. I suspect that there will be consolidation in their industry as well.

[tmiller11147]

Aren't the black and gray Rockets made in China?

[vonbonds]

On 2005-08-06 19:57, tmiller11147 wrote:
Aren't the black and gray Rockets made in China?

:lollol: :lollol: :lollol: :lollol: :lollol:

[Diego]

> Aren't the black and gray Rockets made in China?

No, you're thinking of the other ones. There's a reason why they're RED, you know.

[Aussiebikerdave]

On 2005-08-06 18:00, ROCKETNM wrote:
Most of the Chinese street bikes I have seen are straight rip-offs of Japanese bikes. I suspect that there will be consolidation in their industry as well.

ROCKETNM, While there may be a lot of Chinese ripoffs, if you research a little deeper I think you may find that some of those apparent Chinese "ripoffs" are in fact bikes that are produced under "licence" from the Japanese and some Euro brands as well, eg Piaggio. This is what I referred to earlier about the Big four having a stake in the Chinese motorcycle mftg market.

I think it's a case of if you can't beat them (on price) you've got to join them. It makes sense to lend them your technology for a stake in the profits. As the companies using Japan Inc technology grow and become established, the hundreds of current tin-pot co's will face the wall just as the hundreds of Japanese small companies did in Japan by 1960.

Come to think of it, the same story emerged in the Land of the Free by the thirties where The Motor Company, Indian, Excelsia-Henderson and only one or two others survived. By 1955, HD had it all to themselves.

Davo

[Michel]

"No, you're thinking of the other ones. There's a reason why they're RED, you know"


THANK YOU Diego !!!

[originalice]

I thank the Chinese will jump rite in the motorcycle market. Before they export, they git to practice on a Billion Chinamens. No small thang. If I was a motorcycle maker, I would be paying them some notice. I thank they have it down, I read an article in a mag about a couple China bikes.....wouldnt that bad, pretty good for what they were.
We will see some major bikes from China here in
The Republic of Texas before long. And I will be racing them on the hyways....
Say....5 years.