[ Ссылка ] Chinese motorbikes and products! Is this a good move for our sport? Or a bad move in the long run? Motorbikes like the Zongshen, Lifan, Loncin, CFMoto, Zontes, GPX Moto and Lexmoto... And then there's BMW and KTM cosying up to China with their Chinese adventure bikes. Historically, China motorbikes have been the source of many jokes. The poor quality steel has been called 'Chinesium', footpegs have snapped, and the list of quality control issues was usually endless. But some riders argue that Chinese motorbikes are in a similar position to Japan back in the 1970s... and that their quality control is now improving rapidly. Chinese motorbikes and products are flooding our sport. I am surprised at all the news reports and reviews proclaiming the cheap prices on Chinese adventure bikes are great for riders. But none of the social media influencers are talking about the potential negatives. So lets take a hopefully objective look at the Chinese motorbikes. In some cases, an existing Western brand uses a Chinese manufacturer to reduce costs with dual sport motorbikes. For example, a Chinese company called Chongqing Longting has supplied complete engines for various BMW models since 2005, and the components for many other models. Welcome to Cross Training Adventure, we are into all things dual sport and adventure on the east coast of Australia... with occasional detours to places like Vietnam, Cambodia, Romania and Canada. A few years ago, KTM partnered with the Zhejiang Chunfeng Power Company to collaborate on various dual sport motorbike models. The CFMoto website says they aim to manufacture all of KTM’s range of middleweight models powered by its new 800cc LC8 engine. Their goal is to make the Chinese factory in Hangzhou into KTM’s third global manufacturing site, alongside the Austrian and Indian factories for Chinese adventure bikes. In some cases, existing Chinese manufacturers are now expanding into Western markets with very cheap Chinese motorbikes. Examples are Zongshen, Lifan, Loncin, Chang Jiang, Zontes, Jinan Qingqi, Yinxiang, Chongqing Longting, and Zhejiang Chunfeng.In some cases, they change the name for the Western market, so Chongqing Longting is named Loncin, and Zhejiang Chunfeng is called CFMoto. In other cases, The Chinese company buys the name to an old manufacturer. For example, the classic AJS name in Britian has been used since 2014 to import rebadged Chinese motorbikes. A Chinese company, Qianjiang Motors, bought the rights to Benelli so that their Chinese made motorbikes had an Italian-sounding name. In 2014, SWM was resurrrected by the Chinese conglomerate, Shineray. The motorbikes are still built in Italy but with an unspecified amount of Chinese-made parts. Lets look at some of the potential problems. Quality control. Illegal copies. Slave labour. Geopolitics. Quality control. A common complaint is some Chinese manufacturers have a short-term aim of maximising profit and cutting costs in every way possible, often by substituting inferior raw products. It was very common years ago, and still occurs today. However, quality does improve when Western quality control standards are strictly enforced. There is a lot to monitor! One quality inspection agency said there are at least 28 problems that are common when importing Chinese products. However, in some areas such as electronics, some Chinese manufacturers have created their own successful quality standards. Today's Chinese motorbikes display this wide variety of quality control... from terrible to quite good. Do your research!Illegal copies. The Chinese have been notorious for illegally copying the designs of western manufacturers, but using very poor quality materials with the expected results. Our personal experience? Most detainees are forced to work by the Government-owned Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. An Australian study found that various brands, including BMW, were benefiting from slave labour. BMW issued the standard reply. Geopolitics. This a broad category that covers human rights, politics and the environment. Some riders want to purchase products from countries that have a good record when it comes to human rights, democratic systems, and some environmental laws in place for manufacturing. Unfortunately, most of these issues are getting worse in China. And China is threatening its nearest neighbours more in a military sense. Should this matter when buying Chinese motorbikes or products? Have you had good or bad experiences with Chinese motorbikes or riding gear? I'm keen to hear your stories! Chinese motorbikes and riding gear! A good or bad thing?
Music "Airglow" by Stellardrone
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