The way I see it, I have not been able to ride it yet, but you would be paying $500.00 extra for a few stickers and emblems. Just my opinion...
Thanks,
Nick Schycker
SchytownToys
830-734-5326
That is true Nick, BUT, I would pay $500 extra for the Yamaha name and their backing of the product. Just me. _________________ Custom Buggy http://www.buggynews.com/topic13417.html
Sahara 150cc Converted to a 350
Kasea AB150
Blade 50cc
Polaris Sportsman 700 Twin
Nick,
I understand you putting your feelers out here to see what we think, and frankly thats a great Idea. Lets you know where you stand from the specs and pics. What better bunch of guys than this to give you an honest, if not brutal, opinion on a new product. Most of what I think has already been covered here by Spool, Jabo, Lemnad, and Turbo, but I'll add my 2 cents worth if only to give a little more insight on my personal train of thought.
There seems to be quite a mix of people and professions here on this site. Quite the melting pot Steve has created. This is a big advantage contributing greatly to our collective knowledge base.
I have spoke with several of the mechanics here and others not on BN about the enigma of the Chinese made "cloned" engine. From what we have seen thus far from the Eastern China engine builders even though they have "cloned" a particular name brand engine, it never performs quite as well as the original. In some cases there are no similarities in performance at all. "Virtually" is not a term to be taken lightly when it comes to performance engines. Cloned engines from China we have seen which are "virtually" the same are producing between 5 and 10 horsepower less than the "originals". Then there is the durability factor.
Honestly, would you pit a "cloned" version of a Yamaha or Honda engine up against its original counterpart in grueling durability/longevity testing such as Honda and Yama do? 100+ hours at full throttle past the redline is hard enough to match even for the big 3 over here in the states.
A "virtual" "cloned" Yamaha or Honda just isnt the same as a "real" Yamaha or Honda.
Seems there are some secrets that did not get replicated during the first few stages of mitosis on these things. Probably somewhere between Anaphase and Cytokinesis, but who knows.
Thats a clone joke, get it? HAHA
Anyway, all that being said. You might want to be careful how you advertise this product until you have actually tested them in side by side comparisons with its original counterpart in both performance and durability. Even then, saying: "Exactly the same in every way as the Raptor 350", leaves very little for the lawyers to sort out.
If I were in the market for this size and type of quad, and you had done the testing. You could attest that performance and ruggedness were "similar" to the raptor, and it was $1000 cheaper. I could feel reasonably good about buying one of these at that cost, even though I had no Yamaha support to fall back on.
So Nick, I say get out and ride one of these things. Beat it up and tell your customers how it performs from your own personal experience. Something Yamaha dealers dont have to do anymore because of all the happy customers who have bought one doing the advert for them. Its the only way to know for yourself and to be able to honestly tell your customers how it is. I hope they are as good. It will show that Chinese precision and engine building is getting better, and would provide a more economical allternative to name brand fun offroad.
One thing about stickers and emblems on a high performance engine/vehicle. The difference between a Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki, GM, Ford, Dodge, Ferrari and a Ching Shen. Is R&D and support. Millions of dollars worth.
Now I know exactly where you guys are coming from, feelings wise that is.. You are absolutely correct in the standards where the engine is built. Oh, trust me..we plan on getting two in the first part of may to totally trash. I know they are not buggies, but we will take some comparison videos, pictures, and some other shots. I really do appreciate the feedback you guys are giving me.
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