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You know, you can keep repeating that message until you believe its true.
Go back and redo your calculations about how much your Chinese scooter costed you, but this time add $75/hour (typical repair rate) for all the labor you put into it for after-purchase issues - the kind of things that if you bought a dealer-supported bike, would be covered under warranty. Unless you've been amazingly lucky, you're already past the price of a brand new Taiwanese bike. Is your speedometer and gas gauge accurate? Is your instrument cluster even readable during the day (mine is built with convex plastic covers so that no matter where the sun is, glare makes it difficult)? Does all the instrumentation and electronics/buttons still work? How many hours did you put in to do the PDI? Did your brake rotors need to be replaced because they were warped (instead of because they were worn)? Did the super-thin key backs break when you accidentally forgot to push down on the ignition before trying to turn it? Is the frame welded/aligned properly, and did they even bother to get rid of the burs on the tubes before they welded it, or are the welds a stabbing accident waiting to happen while working on the bike? Is every single hose clamp on the bike a "1 use ONLY because of material quality" type which will need to be replaced if you ever have to take it off?
They simply are not a good value unless you're doing the repairs yourself, AND you believe that your time is free.
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