[Castle81]

Since I know this forum has a lot of traffic, I figured I should post something about this, as the problem seems to be growing. Thanks go out to primalmu for bringing it up.

http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/mcd/3201818942.html

That is an ad from a local dealer for a Jin Lun JL250P. They are a chinese manufacturer. I cannot speak for their quality, nor will I attempt to. What I CAN speak for is dealer practices.

The msrp on a JL250P is $1750. What many of the dealers of these bikes do is pile on taxes and added fees to push the price up to over $3k in some cases. I would guess because it's easy to take a first time buyers head off, and eating is a habit these dealers are rather fond of. This would be bad enough, but people are terrible and the gift keeps giving.

The trend that's emerging now is this: people that paid nearly 2x msrp want out from under these things and start looking up resale values. When the truth hits home, they get angry, they get desperate, they want you to share their pain. The methods vary, but the goal is always the same. "Get my money back." Over charging on resale is the most blatant and common. Lately I've seen quite a few rebadged. Kawasaki seems popular. Several turned up as CBRs when the 250s first came out and were unfamiliar. Having cloned Honda mechanicals didn't help.

If you are looking into 250cc bikes, for whatever reason, BE AWARE that this is happening. Get as familiar as you can with the actual product lines of the "big name" manufacturers. You wouldn't study counterfit bills to know what one looks like. You get real familiar with the real, and listen to that voice that says " there's something wrong with this." Don't get taken.

 

[jrw69]

Good info! Hey Dods, can you post this in the newbie section? As you know there are pushes for some new kids to hunt down a cheap 250 to start on and could fall into this trap as well. Just a suggestion.

 

[Castle81]

Good idea. Go for it Dods. With the '13 Ninjette makeover, it's not hard to see what's coming. A lot of cats will have heard-but-not-seen the changes.

 

[jrw69]

I passed by your neck of the woods Saturday morning about 7am heading home from dropping my son off at my parents house. They are up by the race track. 820 bridge over the lake was awesome since the water was like glass.

 

[Dodsfall]

The dealers have to add the sales tax, which would be about $145 here, any delivery fees, which would probably be $200 or so, and title and plate fees. which may also be about $200 depending on location. A good estimate on the out the door price at retail would be around $2250 for one of those.

That's a great point about counterfeiting. It's another important reason to make sure you can physically see the title and go over it for any irregularities when buying used.

 

[primalmu]

Thanks for this thread Castle81. I went ahead and posted a warning ad on Craigslist to try to keep anyone from spending $3000 on a $1000 bike.

 

[Massey]

the bike looks like a bunch of cobbled together parts that were not really all ment to be used together. The engine is air cooled so being a "Honda Clone" I would guess it is a Rebel cloned engine as my CBR engine is water cooled. It looks part "Ebay" after market fairings and Ninja frame, with some extra angles to make it futuristic and racey looking. OH and a 4 speed trans with 1 down 4 up? I count 5 or the person making the ad has no clue.

Not really impressed here.

Massey

 

[Castle81]

You shouldn't be. It is a 4 speed. Is why i didn't mind using this seller as an example. Besides not being able to count, his otd price is $2700-$2900.

I can't find much info on the bikes themselves. Possibly a cloned honda twin. The rest is unknown or clones of pieces long out of production. Terrible build quality (suprise!). Also sold as a roketa mc113.