Munkul
Jack of some trades, Master of none
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Its kind of hard to mess up building a CG.
- Thread starter premmington
- Start date
Yes the young lads want a geared 50 that looks "sporty", there's nothing in the premium makers line-ups so they end up with these.
They are not cheap either, a 50cc Yamasaki is £2450 iirc?.
mtt.tr
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You can use the cheapest nastiest steel, terrible, suspension, awful bearings and rock hard rubber
mtt.tr
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No bad for a working motorcycle, still loads of stuff to bring it all together. No one else is able to offer that.
I loved my ar50 that was pretty well made but that was a long time ago
I've only recently discovered my BMW f800r has a Chinese made engine in it.
premmington
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Are you trying to talk me into buying a Voge 300 Rally...
@Keithmac - "speak freely" - I value your opinion....
mtt.tr
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More Amps
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There's no doubt in my mind that the Chinese are capable of building high quality, well engineered bikes and cars (whether electric or ICE) the only area where I would suggest they are perhaps lacking is in their designs which too often are simply a copy of existing designs (just look at their versions of SUVs) Meantime, in order to generate a return on their investments, they are doing what so many have done before when entering a new market - go cheap and here they hold all the cards. they have a vast pool of cheap labour and are highly proficient at finding cheaper methods of production - the ultimate bean counters if you like. Given time, Western manufacturers will come under pressure to achieve lower prices while the Chinese manufacturers will gradually move their offerings upmarket - just look at what the Japanese manufacturers have achieved since 1945. they started off by offering cheap scooters and small capacity bikes before reaching their current state where their offerings are every bit as good if not better than traditional European manufacturers.
Are you trying to talk me into buying a Voge 300 Rally...
@Keithmac - "speak freely" - I value your opinion....
I'd say it all depends what parts support is like, that's main thing that let's Chinese bikes down.
Regular oil changed and valve clearance inspections go a long way and obviously you can do that at home.
What warranty are they offering?, we've not had a Voge in yet.
Looks a nice bike and if looked after ok should last a long time.
It's when fuel injection components go wrong and there's none available it gets problematic.
We have taken on Kymco as a main dealer and they do look well built machines, made in Thailand iirc?.
Jelly_Sheffield
Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.
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I don't think this is true at all, from previously helping to run a charity that gives young people the chance to learn engineering and manufacturing skills...
It was very clear that the interest is there, but the opportunities to learn, the space to do it, and the equipment to give it a go aren't nearly as available to young people today.
Consequently many of those who would enjoy it but aren't quite determined enough to throw money, time, effort, (or all three) at getting started simply see it as completely out of their reach.
So they give up, and go consume one of the many new opiates of the masses now available.
Personally I blame the parents! A whole generation who floating along on cheaper and cheaper access to credit, gave up on fixing things, DIY, and having a bunch of rusty tools in the shed for their enthusiastic son/daughter to raid... Teaching their kids to buy their way out of every problem, rather than any real skills.
Dozzer
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Was only speaking from my experience, (that's all any of us can) most of my friends are business owners or farmers, most would be over the moon if any of their offspring would take an interest in any hands on activity, most have fully equipped workshops at their disposal.
Maybe they are all to affluent, to worry about being self reliant?
the most keen is my friends youngest daughter, she drives the tractor & excavator more than her brother and will happily do maintenance on both, but she is an outlier.
A lot of it comes down to the silly licensing setup.
I'd like to see 50cc banned. The reason being that if you live outside a city it makes you a hazard and you get bullied off the road.
Then having to go through the same test multiple times is just extra expense. A 17 year old can pass their car test and jump in a Bugatti Veyron, so long as they can buy it and insure it. The same reality is there for bikes. Just the DM crowd make it harder for no good reason.
I'd like to see 50cc banned. The reason being that if you live outside a city it makes you a hazard and you get bullied off the road.
Then having to go through the same test multiple times is just extra expense. A 17 year old can pass their car test and jump in a Bugatti Veyron, so long as they can buy it and insure it. The same reality is there for bikes. Just the DM crowd make it harder for no good reason.
RonMig
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Nope, cos it doesn't have ABS, it's a 1989 model
Jelly_Sheffield
Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.
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Affluence probably plays into it, but also what they see modelled... If parents make it look like bloody hard graft, it certainly disincentivises their kids from getting in on the act.
My mate is a gas fitter, who also does general building and plumbing, works all the hours god sends, 7 days a week, can't say no to anything or anyone, nuts!
His son did an apprenticeship as a gas fitter with a different firm, and then agreed to join his dad's business on the proviso that he works a normal working week, only takes on a manageable workload, and has some semblance of work life balance, otherwise he'd go get a job working for an FM firm or something like that.
Seeing his son spending quality time with his new grandson in the evening, and having a decent number of weekends with his family, has now made my mate realise that the son, may in fact have been on to something.
My mate's wife who does the books, has also pointed out that in taking on only a sane number of manageable jobs, the son is now bringing in just as much cash as my mate, on significantly less hours.
Faced with the same scenario, plenty of kids just go "bugger that for a game of soldiers" and head in the opposite direction as fast as possible.
