Chinese made Scooters are Good!

As more people in the United States migrate to owning a motor scooter to offset the cost of automobile operation, some strange things are happening in the marketplace. Owning and operating a motor scooter has not been historically common here, although ownership is escalating incredibly because they offer basic simple transportation while saving enormously on gasoline costs for people.The Chinese manufactured Motor Scooter has really come into focus as more people buy them, because they are so efficient and cost less. At least so far...

Some of the strange things happening include the belief that a Chinese mainland manufactured scooter is somehow inferior. That simply isn't true, since most are manufactured in factories with international ISO standards. More, many are partially owned by U.S. business interests, and other major international scooter giants whose brands are well known worldwide.
Another thing happening is some dealers in well known scooter branded companies are working hard to discredit the genius of the Chinese motor scooter, trying to protect their product from a price-value erosion from the competitive Chinese made scooter. A situation has developed wherein some scooter maintenance facilities, dealerships in some towns for Honda, Kawasaki, and others, simply refuse to service or repair a Chinese made scooter. Frankly this laughable, since there own products contain parts manufactured in China!

There is nothing really different about a Chinese motor scooter. Even a very basic motorcycle, or scooter mechanic can work on one successfully. That likely extends to any small engine mechanic who understands small 4-cycle engines and procedures in a rudimentary manner.

So the whole reason why people with Chinese machines are discouraged in finding someone to work on them is really rooted in the fact that people in the traditional product lines are protecting their profits! A Chinese made scooter costs way less sometimes. They have investments in product that they want to sell and service at much higher prices, so where is their incentive? Obviously the winds of change are blowing fiercely.

Some people think if it is made in China, we in the U.S. have somehow been short-changed and are losing money. Nothing could be more off-target and wrong to believe. Multi-million dollar U.S. companies have been built on the supply and factories in China, who serve our needs very well as our scooter market grows. These are companies like Motofino, T'nG, and others.

Sure, there have been start-up companies that failed miserably because they brought in inferior scooter products which did not perform. These Chinese manufactured machines were ordered to be made for the U.S. Market by U.S. interests and entrepreneurs who had no scruples about the quality of the product. They paid to have them made and branded according to their own wishes on an OEM basis. One can still buy these gray-market machines on Ebay. Fortunately, problem machines aren't quite the problem now with all our Government control on EPA, Safety, and imported vehicle requirement's, so it's tougher to bring in the bad stuff.

Motofino, which has a full line of very competitively priced Motor Scooters for example recently discovered their pre-mature engine failure rate was about one in eight thousand machines. Wonder what it was for GM in their Hay day of U.S. production?
Life happens. Maybe one day we'll all get fully aboard?

Unloading a Crated New Scooter

If you have a new scooter truck delivered to your home you still have the chore of unloading it, since the driver doesn't have to do that for you. This is not a tough job if you've got a couple guys, or one other guy to help you tilt and slide the scooter down off the tailgate, but it does take some effort. Pay attention to your footing.
Everything done at an angle, never lifting the full weight of the crate makes it easier and safer for you. All you do is guide and restrain, to allow the crate to settle to the ground slowly. The scooter is well packaged in a banded crate so that helps much.
Once you have the crated scooter on the ground you can move it by hand truck or other means.
Some people slide a common kitchen broom head under one end of the crate and pull the handle, making it slide. That's an old trick used a lot to load airplanes.
Otherwise, if you have no help to unload, you may elect to pay for a lift-gate truck delivery. Sure, it is expensive to pay for but far better than a medical bill for straining your back if you try to unload alone.