Good Press For A Change

[kz1000st]

https://www.motorcyclepowersportsnew...76&bid=2429064

Diane sounds tough.

[sc00ter]

We have a local dealer that sells Wolf scooters. So far, so good. The Wolf scooters that are out in the wild get good comments from their owners when I get a chance to talk to them. Seem well built and pre-bullet proofed with real Yausa batteries and quality drive belts and halogen headlights that actually illuminate the road ahead. Im still a scooter snob as far as brands go but if I cared about the price point I would consider one of their larger 150cc models.

[wheelbender6]

The Rugby looks like a fun scoot.

[kz1000st]

What's important is that these scooters don't come online. Having a dealer behind them is very important. That the price for them isn't off the charts with dealer backing is a big plus to me.

[Smaug]

Looks like re-branding of low-quality generic OEM Chinese scooters.

Not for me. I'm staking my LIFE on my scooter. I need a scooter from a manufacturer with more experience and who actually isn't afraid to sell under its own brand. (rather than just letting everyone else re-brand and re-sell them.)

Diane should make enough money from that venture and then just buy a proper Yamaha/Suzuki dealership. (Honda is not serious about scooters in the US any more)

[sc00ter]

Not exactly Chinese but Genuine does rebranding with PGO, ADLY does it with Her-Che and United did it to late in their life with Hyosung. Look at where your smart or i phone is made. Its not where its made, its the quality behind it. That being said, Im still a scooter snob and use mine as my primary transport-just like Smaug. Whats really kinda funny is my Piaggio is made in Vietnam! KTM makes their Duke 390 in India. My local Wolf dealer would love to get me on one to help advertise the brand. I pound the miles on my scooter commuting and going on all sorts of rides so it would get a lot of exposure. The bonus is I park my scoots in the garage and keep them clean and waxed. But my inner scooter snob said Piaggio Liberty.

[kz1000st]

Originally Posted by Smaug

Looks like re-branding of low-quality generic OEM Chinese scooters.

Not for me. I'm staking my LIFE on my scooter. I need a scooter from a manufacturer with more experience and who actually isn't afraid to sell under its own brand. (rather than just letting everyone else re-brand and re-sell them.)

Diane should make enough money from that venture and then just buy a proper Yamaha/Suzuki dealership. (Honda is not serious about scooters in the US any more)

Not exactly a small manufacturer. They are rebranded Znens, the largest scooter company in China. They have sold scooters through Flyscooter, Puma and several other dealer only outlets. Wolf is the latest and longest seller of Znen.

Piaggio sold Fly 150s built by Zongshen for a couple of years and you can't pry out of them where the Liberty and Fly models, much less the Typhoons, are made. Common theory is in Vietnam.

[Smaug]

My point is that if the manufacturer doesn't want to be held accountable, then you'd better have a very good dealer with a knowledgeable mechanic nearby.

The Taiwanese scooters have a good reputation. In general, Taiwanese manufacturing has a good reputation. In my knife hobby, for example, the Taiwan-made Spydercos are actually considered slightly better than the American-made ones! (although I think it's just that they make the higher-end models in the Taiwan plant)

Chinese? Not so much. Where they become a good value is when you "got a guy" who knows the ins and outs. Knows which parts tend to be shoddy and which ones cause the problems. Often, it is just a matter of knowing that part, getting to it, and finishing it properly. Filing off mold flashing and such.

My experience on non-Japanese scooters was with my Genuine Buddy 125, probably about 2009 model. I loved that bike. Smooth, quiet, reliable engine. Best hand grips in the business. STRONG brakes. Fairly priced, even without being new old stock.

BUT... There were a couple important areas in which I could tell they were not as careful or experienced as Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki:

Headlight design. The beam was narrow and not too bright. Just a bad optical design. Probably the big Jap companies have specialized engineers working on this, and PGO/Genuine doesn't. I was on a country road one hot summer night doing 50. Suddenly, there was a doe in the middle of the road, just staring at me. By the time I saw her, it was panic braking time. I grabbed the brakes, and the front immediately locked up. Buddy washed out from underneath me and I was tumbling down the highway at 50 mph. It was not a good night for me. If it were a Jap bike, with the lights aimed properly, I would have seen her before it was panic time. This headlight, even though it was their halogen one, was not up to the task, even when aimed properly.

After that, I noted that with the Japanese bikes, the brakes are strong, but only if you squeeze them HARD. The Buddy had relatively large brake discs with small wheels = a lot more stopping power than was needed.

^ This was a Taiwanese scooter with a good reputation and good manufacturing quality. Just not world-class design. I don't even want to think about a Chinese one.

I have a buddy from a former job that has a TaoTao 150. He's an engineer and not afraid to tinker with his cheap bike. He read up on them and learned all about the foibles. Also his expectations aren't too high. After riding an equivalent Honda or Yamaha, that thing was a real rattletrap. Carb was bad, it would hardly start.

[kz1000st]

I recently parted with a 2008 Bashan 150cc. It had about 9800 miles on the clock and ran well for a 10 year old scooter. I knew from hanging around scooter forums that it was a 45 mph machine. Any more than that and you would be pushing it beyond its build capabilities. Was it a Vespa? Hardly but it cost one quarter as much at the time. If I kept it I would have expected a long life from it.

Here's the thing. Right now the scooter market is about 65% 50cc models. The 50cc GY6 was originally designed as an 80cc engine and downsized to 49cc. In my world it's the engine that gets you down the road and the 50cc GY6 has proven to be relatively a tough unit. Since all 50cc stock scooters are limited to 30 mph it will last a long time and has for most people. This is where companies like Lance, Wolf and Bintelli make their bread and butter.

Do the brand name companies have better brakes and suspension? Absolutely. But if you're using the scooter to get to the train station all that really matters is if the engine holds up.

Two years ago a young man from Michigan rode a Bintelli Scorch 50cc from Michigan to Key West with zero breakdowns. He admitted that his mechanical knowledge was lacking so it was all the scooter. In the last ten years the Chinese have gotten better and they're not the hazards they were eleven years ago.