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Post by shantyhag on Aug 8, 2015 16:48:51 GMT -5
Alas, Cyborg, the Bi-Metro isn't in their current line-up. Not sure if it's a matter of inventory or that they've discontinued it. I'll be happy to find out for you on Monday, though.
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Post by shantyhag on Aug 8, 2015 12:05:17 GMT -5
With the help of you guys (and many others) we did a LOT of research before deciding on a flagship brand. We're thrilled that we managed to get one of the best of breed franchises. We hope to do them proud.
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Post by shantyhag on Aug 7, 2015 19:56:30 GMT -5
Six weeks sucks, but listening to what Jim said about parts availability... if they did manage to fabricate a part for you and got it running well, then it sounds like you got a working trike for a song. Wish you'd had it all summer, I know, but it's got 1000 miles and if it works it could last for years.
Here's hoping your understandable frustration is soon replaced with fun.
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Post by shantyhag on Aug 7, 2015 19:40:03 GMT -5
In what I hope will soon land solidly in the 'GOOD' column, I can finally announce that we have officially become the San Diego dealers for BMS. We just got our dealer's license the other day, and are a couple of weeks away from carrying any inventory, but we're incredibly excited to be repping them and hope to help show the Southern most SoCal area what a great Chinese scooter looks like, and what a difference a great Brick & Mortar dealer can make. It's a work in progress, but we hope to serve for years to come!  |
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Post by shantyhag on Aug 6, 2015 22:38:41 GMT -5
Lots of great choices here, here's mine for the evening:
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Post by shantyhag on Jul 23, 2015 19:26:28 GMT -5
chinese scooter have your brand scooter,maybe after more years will be better.now i like it cheap  Well, ok, nice plug I guess. For those looking, it would appear that Chinese Online Motoparts [sic] might indeed have the part for YOUR brand of scooter. And as the lady said, "[she] like it cheap!" (Disclaimer: Neither Shantyhag nor affiliated entities endorse the above company nor stake claims as to the value of their prices, nor part availability. Information given is for informational purposes only. Sarcasm is given freely for smiles, with no warranties express or implied.)
(Possible Correction: Checked out JennMoto's profile and it's possible that "jenn" wasn't short for Jennifer. If I incorrectly identified gender in my post then I apologize). |
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Post by shantyhag on Jul 22, 2015 15:02:41 GMT -5
When we had our scooter dealership, we found it cheaper to get our Amsoil from a huge distributor than it was to become a dealer. There is an annual fee to remain a "dealer" Really? That's crazy. Do you happen to remember the name of the distributor? Also, as someone who is opening a dealership, I'd love to know more about what happened to yours. |
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Post by shantyhag on Jul 21, 2015 20:02:08 GMT -5
I'm requesting more information from the company about becoming a dealer and it appears that there is a spot for 'referral number'. If anyone out there is a dealer and wants the credit then please reply here or shoot me a message. I'll be happy to give the referral to you!
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Post by shantyhag on Jul 20, 2015 13:09:30 GMT -5
I suspect two things: 1) that the creator of these videos is probably on this forum and 2) that these have been posted before. Still, they were new to me and I thought that I'd share them in case they were new to someone else as well. He covers everything from valve adjustments to variator/roller replacements to broken belts. Hope this helps someone. (The YouTube link on the player will take you to his page). Um, this may be a better link to his playlist: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQ6IOhUBblU1bkRJ9MagPsKn_Mekq4ws8 |
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Post by shantyhag on Jul 19, 2015 4:22:45 GMT -5
... But hey, remember when it was Jap crap? Do you think japan would make the things they do today if it was all true? You know what's funny? That is exactly what I was thinking. Remembering back, before the Japanese companies started manufacturing here in order to keep their tariffs low, and how the Big 3 would kind of stoke up the anti-Japanese sentiment in order to mask the fact that they were just getting their butts handed to them in the quality wars. At that time Hyundai was the low-cost leader building crap that sold cheap. Hyundai followed the Japanese model and now makes absolutely beautiful cars and Chinese bikes have come a LONG way. The price on both reflects their relative position, I think. Eventually we're going to see African companies becoming the low-end providers of mechanical goods, and their quality will grow over time as well. (Added in edit: to clarify what I mean by "the Japanese model" is that they entered into the market by dominating the low-price, low end position and gradually worked their way up the food chain... Honda an Toyota were, in the 70's, both known for inexpensive, higher mpg cars... when the oil embargo happened in the mid-70's they were well positioned to take advantage and their name recognition grew. Ten years later and they were putting out arguably higher quality cars than the United States, and American companies were sending executives to Japan to train in their management methods. Hyundai followed the same path, as has Kia. The Indian company, Tata Motors, is now in a great position to do the same and may well be the next mainstream auto importer into the US. Likewise, I think the Chinese scooter market in the US will see an evolution from the low-cost leader to one where quality becomes the expectation. Will they ever be Vespa? Probably not, anymore than Toyota will become Maserati, but not everyone needs or wants a Maserati.) |
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Post by shantyhag on Jul 18, 2015 19:00:31 GMT -5
OK, so we were at a parade today, a celebration of rain and pride, and the shuttle let out right next to what we already knew was the local SYM and Lance dealer. We looked at the beautiful scoots both outside and in, and then proceeded to have a conversation with the guy about our plans. We listened to this guy badmouth all China scoots for maybe 1/2 an hour, telling us how we were certainly going to get sued over and over again, and how the BMS guys were begging him to come back but that he never would.
However, magnanimously, he offered to send anyone looking for "entry level scooters" to us. He used that phrase over and over again. When we tried to explain that his prices were pretty much exactly the same as what ours would cost, he ignored that, and offered over and over again to send the rubes who might be looking for "China-crap" to see us.
It was the least fun 1/2 hour of my day and that includes the 45 minutes we stood in the pouring rain with no umbrella waiting for the return shuttle.
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Post by shantyhag on Jul 17, 2015 12:49:33 GMT -5
Those look great on your bike. The gauges are very cool too. Such a nice looking scooter. Very classy... Agreed! And at those decibel levels you're going to be heard over the loudest subwoofer. GHCoe... thank you for the LED calculator! RCQ... I hope sometime in the near future I can convince you to come over to the shop and let me see that beautiful machine in person. |
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Post by shantyhag on Jul 16, 2015 9:27:16 GMT -5
The standard ChinaTrunk is a 2-piece clamshell (upper and lower) joined in the middle with little screws. A plastic chrome stirip goes around the thing to cover the screws (and the i9ndernt where the 2 pieces meet). I couldn't find an aftermarket LED strip and had to make my own. An LED strip from a china supplier (about $15 deliverd to USA). Then a piece of clear vinyl tubing from Home Depot, cut into 2 shells lengthwise. The LED went into a shell and clear silicone was added. Then the OEM chrome strip was pulled off (just 2-sided sticky tape) and the LED assembly glued on. Maybe $20 plus labor - if you hired a college student you could make up 50 or 100 in a day's work.
I think this would be a GREAT dealer add-on...
Same with air horns. I think you're 100% correct on all fronts. As a practical matter, I have a question. My wife and I closed our restaurant after 5 years on the first of this year. It was a good thing, prefacing a move to San Diego and our intent to open a new one downtown. That has been delayed due to one thing and another and we're doing this now... we're really excited about this! But I digress. Our restaurant was a stand-alone building tucked back in the corner of a poorly lit parking lot as part of a daytime office mall. The landlords, notoriously cheap, refused to fix the ballasts in our sign and instead tried all forms of lighting tricks to illuminate it externally rather than pay to actually make it work. Finally, we got tired of hearing from customers that they couldn't tell if we were open by looking at the building and we bought enough bright LED ropelight to outline every corner, rail and eave of the exterior. We joked when we'd finished that it was the only spot in the mountains that you could see from orbit (except for a forest fire... when you live under constant threat you can get a pretty macabre sense of humor about some things). But over time we started to hear the same complaints from customers again. The lights had grown dim. Whether it was yellowing of the plastic tubing or dimming of the bulbs or, it seems more likely, a combination of the two, the LED lights didn't last for us long term. Have you noticed your lights getting dimmer over time, whether from UV exposure or simply bulb quality? We paid for and thought we had received about the best ropelight we could buy. Spent many hundreds of dollars on the things, only to have them not last long term. |
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Post by shantyhag on Jul 15, 2015 23:51:26 GMT -5
These things are all good profit margin items for you (or should be) and can easily double what you keep from the sale of a scooter - and they should be pretty easy things to convince most customers about at the time of sale (if they have cash). What's cool about being able to offer financing is that the lender will typically allow for "hard adds." The upsells you're talking about are easier when they finance because they don't cost a whole lot, but add real value to the bike and the banks will allow them in the loan. I was really surprised that the tach wasn't included in the Heritage cluster. It is on the 260, I'm almost positive. Your lights look GREAT! I was looking at an aftermarket trunk that had lights built in earlier. T'was on eBay, I'm pretty sure. I'll look in a little while and see if I can't find the link. |
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Post by shantyhag on Jul 15, 2015 23:31:25 GMT -5
]Looks like just labor rate, not shop rate. If I had to replace a cylinder I would charge for carb, intake, head, replacement too. You have to remove them to get to the cylinder and then have to replace them......Just saying! GHCoe, you're absolute right, but I'm pretty sure that's not the way it works. The customer doesn't have to pay anything to get the warranty work done, and the distributor only gives credit for the job performed. |
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