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Post by w650 on Oct 31, 2016 11:24:12 GMT -5
I had seen a really nice SSR Dual Purpose bike at Superior Scooters but it looks like they're moving on up.
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Post by oldchopperguy on Oct 31, 2016 13:05:29 GMT -5
w650,
WOW! I'm REALLY liking what I see in the SSR V-twin bikes, and even the vertical single... These bikes have a truly unique look that appeals to both the old-school, and modern rider!
Thanks for the post! Have a bone!
Leo in Texas
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Post by wheelbender6 on Oct 31, 2016 14:05:39 GMT -5
The SSR 250 dual purpose looks cool like a supermoto. I haven't heard anything about SSR reliability.
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Post by w650 on Oct 31, 2016 16:10:32 GMT -5
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Post by rockynv on Oct 31, 2016 23:01:48 GMT -5
Would be nice if SSR put a 450 into a street bike. Looked at the Benelli TnT600 also and it looks great however the price ($6,999 plus $295 destination charge ) is getting too close to what you can get an entry level Honda 700 or a real Italian Aprila Shiver 750 for. Aprilia motorcycles are considered by many to be the Italian equivalent to a Honda due to their quality. TnT600 $7,294 verses Shiver 750 on sale for $7,499.   |
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Post by w650 on Nov 1, 2016 10:57:25 GMT -5
I don't know if I'll live to see it but the Chinese are moving in like the Japanese did. Making 250cc bikes for under $3500 from a dealer is a strong step. Also, a little known fact. Benelli is owned by Qianjiang. The 300 series is built in China but designed in Italy. Not sure about the 600. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benelli_(motorcycles)Acquisitions like that will give the Chinese access to large engine technology without just copying. The ill fated CF Moto NK 650 appeared to be little more than an ER-n Kawasaki 650 re-bake. As noted elsewhere the VP of SSR used to work for American Suzuki. Those 250s SSR is importing look pretty good as economy/entry level models. |
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Post by rockynv on Nov 1, 2016 11:54:50 GMT -5
I don't know if I'll live to see it but the Chinese are moving in like the Japanese did. Making 250cc bikes for under $3500 from a dealer is a strong step. Also, a little known fact. Benelli is owned by Qianjiang. The 300 series is built in China but designed in Italy. Not sure about the 600. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benelli_(motorcycles)Acquisitions like that will give the Chinese access to large engine technology without just copying. The ill fated CF Moto NK 650 appeared to be little more than an ER-n Kawasaki 650 re-bake. As noted elsewhere the VP of SSR used to work for American Suzuki. Those 250s SSR is importing look pretty good as economy/entry level models. And Piaggio has been grooming ZongShen and a few others to produce better products maintaining a team of their own Italian engineers there to ensure their quality standards are maintained. Piaggio's main game though is really Aviation and AeroSpace so the motorcycle buisiness is just really to get a foot in the door. This appears to be working as the Chinese Military and Police are being seen more often now on Aprilia Motorcycles made in China such as the 850cc Mana and not the 250's they made 20 or so years ago. John Deere seems to be happy with using Aprilia 850cc engines in their high performance Gators here in the US so there is hope that some American bike builder could start using them too. Aprilia is not bringing the Mana 850 Automatic Motorcycle or SR850 Scooter to the US however the door appears open for someone else to buy the engines and build an automatic bike based on them here. |
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Post by w650 on Nov 18, 2016 11:34:52 GMT -5
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Post by Jarlaxle on Nov 19, 2016 21:47:46 GMT -5
Zongshen has their own importer: CSC is selling three 250cc Zongs now: an adventure tourer (RX3 Cyclone), a faired sportbike (RC3), and a naked "streetfighter" (RZ3)...all use the same liquid-cooled, counterbalanced, fuel-injected single. They also have the TT250, a dirt-oriented dual-sport using an air-cooled, carb's single.
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Post by rockynv on Nov 20, 2016 9:05:40 GMT -5
Zongshen has their own importer: CSC is selling three 250cc Zongs now: an adventure tourer (RX3 Cyclone), a faired sportbike (RC3), and a naked "streetfighter" (RZ3)...all use the same liquid-cooled, counterbalanced, fuel-injected single. They also have the TT250, a dirt-oriented dual-sport using an air-cooled, carb's single. They appear to be following the Piaggio formula on their RC line of bikes with a high compression 250 putting out almost 25 hp and over 16 fl lb of torque with a 6 speed transmission which gives their RC3 model a top speed of over 9O mph riding on 17" rims. Less than 65 mpg is a bit disappointing however the 5.28 gallon fuel tank makes up for that giving you over 300 miles between fill-ups even if your only getting 60 mpg. $2,988.00 for a 2016 RC3 fully assembled with free shipping/crating and no doc fees along with a 2 year parts 1 year labor warranty. Even the TT250 Dual Sport while only 229cc and 16 hp is DOT Street Legal along with having an impressive 639 Lb Load Capacity making it a bit of a off road 1/4 ton truck. Its nice that they support the products they sell with a full line of parts available along with accessories. Having cartridge style oil filters instead of just a screen will probable extend engine life too. www.cscmotorcycles.com/BIKES-s/100.htmIt will be interesting to see if they bring out some 350 or 400cc bikes along those lines. |
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Post by floridagull on Nov 20, 2016 10:00:39 GMT -5
Then there's the Kymco K-Pipe:  125cc - MSRP $1999 - pretty sure this one is made in China like their other, lower-end scooters...  It seems that the Kymco Agility, Super 8, K-Pipe, and Like series are made in China, while the Compagno, Downtown, People, and Xciting series are made in Taiwan... www.kymcousa.com/showroom/mcs/k-pipe125/index.html |
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Post by cyborg55 on Nov 20, 2016 21:22:04 GMT -5
I had the major hots for the rx3 ,,,nice bike but 200cc too small,,,I have a 350 already ,,,I contacted the company and they told me they were developing a 450 but no release date in sight or anticipated,,,,then I had the major hits for the g400 c from genuine,,,,the dealers were taking order deposits and I contacted them on a release date,,,I got nothin,,,,
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Post by w650 on Nov 21, 2016 9:30:18 GMT -5
I think the Chinese are happy trolling the lower levels at the moment. None of the big players are selling street 250s anymore. They moved to 300cc and $5000 plus except for Honda's CB 300F at four large. All the various 250cc bikes the Chinese sell fill the entry level and bottom budget areas. 65% of all scooter sales are 50cc and the Chinese are flooding the market with inexpensive product that are doing the job.
Proof of that is the large number of small scooters out there and the dwindling numbers of MIC sales of scooters. The Chinese and Taiwanese are not MIC members.
I don't doubt that a 450cc engine in a dual purpose bike will come from China soon. SSR has an off road version already and is doing quite well.
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Post by rockynv on Nov 21, 2016 11:51:56 GMT -5
The problem is that a 250 unless there are some major breakthroughs in tech is not going to meet the new EPA and Euro standards without a drop in HP which is why many of the major manufacturers bit the bullet and jumped to a 300 or 350 cc engine. The Piaggio 350 cc puts out 6 hp shy of what a high compression 500 cc does but gives the fuel economy of a 250 cc while exceeding EPA and Euro standards. Honda with their DCT700 bikes is getting 250cc fuel economy and better from those 700 cc bikes. The Honda CTX700N DCT was recently on a Red Tag sale here for less than $5,000 making it quite a contender with many of the 300cc scooters.
Its many times not how many cc but how many clean mpg that are the more critical factors as manufacturers have to compete on a World Class level and make more efficient along with cleaner bikes. New carbureted 250 cc bikes or fuel injected without full lambda support may very shortly be banned from many major cities and possible entire countries. India just shocked their major vehicle manufactures by banning the sale and registration of diesel vehicles in major cities altogether regardless of whether they meet environmental standards and may shortly put further restrictions on gasoline powered vehicles. There is a lot going on right now with some countries having already enacted a cutoff date on the sale of any vehicles that are not Zero Emission.
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Post by w650 on Nov 21, 2016 16:24:23 GMT -5
It might be but people have figured out ways to meet emissions and add horsepower. An NC 700 might very well be meeting emissions and have high fuel economy but it's not entry level. It's big, it's powerful and it won't help a beginner, even with DCT. And look what they did to the Rebel. powersports.honda.com/2017/rebel-300.aspx#specificationsThe Chinese are filling a gap left behind by even the Japanese. Lightweight, low powered and unintimidating motorcycles capable of cruising the highways. They might make bikes that last forever but who keeps a 250 forever. $5000 for a 250 Dual Sport? powersports.honda.com/2017/crf250l/street.aspx#y4THwPP0H7H62KwE.97 |
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