[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] K lets start out by sayin' I have been ridin' bikes since I was about 8 rode Bronco 50,Hondacl70,Hondacb175,Hondacb400,Yamaha,suzuki,T riumph,Harley,Etc.............. Just got into 4 wheelers cause of my son. you name it I have driven it.. however I have noticed in my short time on this site alot of people seem biased in thier opinion of the difference between Jap. & china ATV's.. Yes Honda,Kawasaki,Yamaha,Suzuki,Etc.... have been around for awhile. some of the china made bikes aren't built that well but alot of them are built verry good. All your Jap. bikes started out with the same complaints. But Japs. didn't even know how to make a Motorcycle until after WWII. when Harley couldn't keep up with military demand sent them to japan to help put them together. japan then later bought rights to build bikes.... K so jap. started makin. bikes & progressivly got better at it. however china did & still does SUPPLY ALOT OF THIER PARTS. So I say it Really Doesn't matter what U ride so long as your face is in the WIND your havin' FUN and it's built right................. Dennis P.S. May Post more on this LATER........... if it's not booted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I agree with what you say, but the lack of dealers, parts, service, consistency in build and use of parts, make owning them a roll of the dice for many. Especially with bigger quads. Is a used japanese bike with a parts distribution chain in place a safer bet at a relatively similar price? My 660 Grizzly is the only bike I ever bought new. I have kicked around the idea of trying one of the newer Chinese midsize bikes, as I don't mind wrenching. I just can't find any positive experiences for the Kazuma Jaquar. I even e-mailed Raceway and asked if they were ever going to carry them. Any body have a bigger(400-500) Chinese bike and what was your experience?

 

The off-brands just don't have the high quality materials, quality control, tight tolerances, and fit and finish of the big 4. They exist in a paradigm where doing it the right way the first time, isn't as important as a product with a very low price.

All I can say is that my friends who have bought the off-brands have all lived to regret it. Of 6 of them, not a single one was rideable after 1 year!!! They literally threw away their money. What seems like a good deal at first, turns out to be a bust later on.

 

Welcome to the forum Dennislinden! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

I have compared what is going on with the explosion of Chinese quads to when I was a kid. In 1970 I was 10 years old and mini bike sales were going crazy. There were about a dozen good mini bikes and hundreds of POS's. Today its sort of the same thing except very few of the Chinese manufacturers are doing anything positive for the sport. Let alone even standing by their machine when it breaks. I appreciate the point your trying to make but you do have to admit that my '69 Honda Minitrail was built pretty darn well considering it was from a start up company at the time. Nothing coming from China matches its reliability/dependabity. I personally think that switching from low quality steel to Chrome moly steel for the frames, etc...would make a huge improvement in Chinese quads. Sorry for rambling but didnt have much time to post.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>some of the china made bikes aren't built that well but alot of them are built verry good. </end quote></div>

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>So I say it Really Doesn't matter what U ride so long as your face is in the WIND your havin' FUN and it's built right.................</end quote></div>This is a key factor that some don't take into account. The Chinese product allows one who has a limited budget to get a quad under their feet and having some fun. If one researches well and chooses smartly, there are a few Chinese quad lines that are likely to hold up for a number of years with regular maintenance.

The fact is Chinese quads, even the best of the bunch, will have more problems and require more attention. The parts will fail faster than those on Hondas, Kawas, etc. They are made of lesser quality raw materials and produced and inspected to a lesser quality. Buying a Chinese quad "ready to ride" off the floor, after being professionally prepped, is not the norm; many are purchased online, delivered in a box, and assembled and prepped by the end user. Parts and support is more difficult.

Will they be as good as a Honda? Someday they could very well be in the same league but they are going to cost nearly the same. Until then remember "you get what you pay for" and that applies to buy any quad, new or used, Japanese or Chinese. But like you said in your OP the whole objective is to get your butt on an ATV and have the wind blowin in your face having fun!

 

Sure the Chinese atvs are cheaper in the beginning...But after a very short while when all the problems start you likely can't get parts or will have to wait along time to get them.....The constant maintanance and unreliability soon takes the fun out of riding.........For someone on a budget I would always recommend a used japanese machine...

 

Friend of mine bought a chinese quad offline for his yardapes. It made 6 trips around the yard before the rear axle broke with his 70# daughter on it and after 7 months is still sitting in his shed. Many phone, email has been no help.

 

Dennis, I totally agree with your final statement. The problem with much of the offbrand product is not so much in the design, most of these are retro-engineered from Japanese designs anyway. Rather it is materials and implementation that are lacking. Many of these things look great on paper, but fail within 6 mos of leaving the crate. That is how our economy is leaning though, we want cheaper and are willing to sacrifice quality for price in most everyday items. When the Japanese were first peddling motorcycles and cars the american people had to be won over a little at a time with quality and longevity.

 

I see a lot of parallels between this issue and motorcycle oil. I can never understand how someone can buy an $8,000 quad, pump thousands of dollars in mods into it, then insist on buying cheap $hit oil that doesn't protect their investment, all just to save a couple of dollars in the short term. (High quality oil is insurance!)

These are examples of false economy. In the long term with cheapie oil, they will be doing expensive rebuilds more frequently, so what's economical about that??? Same thing with the Chicom quads. The price looks good up front, but 6 months later it is sitting in a corner of the yard absolutely useless.......

 

K haven't responded in aWHILE........... However have noticed SOME? People actually get the BIG PICTURE!! (while others DO NOT...) I haven't divulged all every thing I have RUN to long a list JUST some of it.. Bein' in the wind (ridin'..) maitenance is the KEY!! parts yes they PLAY a MAJOR role however a little HOMEWORK! and parts are readilly available for ANY!!! machine! most of the LIFE of a machine is in it's (BLOOD!!) oil. without blood or if it's contaminated ALL things DIE! another thing too THINK about is a GOOD Mech. (DR.) if you will? ANY GOOD!! Mech. can figure out what it'll take to make it RUN & or improvise on parts.as far as the parts situation goes. as I stated earlier alot of the parts ARE MADE IN CHINA for ALL the BIG names so do A little Homework........... Dennis