Off brand motorcycles?

I find my self appalled and baffled. People buying a cheaply made, Chinese motorcycle, scooter, or ATV and thinking it is the best thing since sliced bread. I believe you get what you pay for and you aren't getting much besides a headache going the cheap route. The bikes I have saw do not hold up. I have seen busted frames, stripped gears, blown engines on practically new "warranty" returns. The worst part is, there are no readily available parts places in your town you can go to for a part urgently needed. So why?

Try selling a used Chinese-clone bike or atv... 'rotsa 'ruck! Disposable scooters just like rest of society.

My son ( 16 yrs old ) is a mechanic at a shop that sells these. Yeah, they are crap & they even tell that to the customers ! But at $1000 for a 150 cc fourwheeler, folks still buy'em.His shop gives a good warrentee & they do have parts in stock.

people are stupid, plain and simple

I bought a "Made in China" 250 cc scooter and would do it all over again. If you go into the cycle and change out the hoses and fluids, you can have just as good cycle as one that has a big H on it.

A lot of the blown engines are because of not letting the cycle warm up before the operator goes zooming off, then they blame the cycle.

If you think you will not have any problems with "Made in Japan" or others including the ones made in the US then you better check again.

Some people don't mind doing their own wrenching, but the problem is, most people don't even own the right tools or don't have a clue what a carb is, let alone know how to rebuild one. They are the ones who get stuck with a 250 pound lawn ornament.

They are cheap.

In California, they're also not street legal, since the gas tanks aren't outfitted with "CA Emissions Equipment" whatever the heck that means.

Per your profile . . hubby is a mechanic. He could be a parts and repair resource.
http://www.partsforscooters.com/Find-Rep...

Most Tank scooters are California CARB legal, and they have a huge parts warehouse in California.
http://www.tank-sports.com/
http://www.scooterbbs.com/bbs/dcboard.ph...

One of the best online China scooter vendor "business models" only ships in-house tested units . . others are evolving.
http://www.bandit-motorsports.com/
http://scootdawg.proboards59.com/index.c...

I own a Virago 250cc, an a Lifan 250cc which is a clone of the Virago, the Lifan uses most all parts from a Virago.
In 8 months the Lifanm has been flawless just like the Virago.
Don't forget Honda was a nothing trade mark years ago.