Don Williams review at Ultimate Motorcycling of a Kawasaki KX450F with Christini All-Wheel-Drive conversion.
"When the KX450F was switched back to AWD, the bike easily and controllably topped the hill, making the rider wonder if an entirely different bike has been substituted. Quite simply, the difference in these sorts of situations (mudholes are another), the difference cannot be overstated. It's the difference between painless success and unqualified failure."I sort of have an ongoing fetish for these Christini rigs.
continue reading Kawasaki KX450F with Christini All-Wheel-Drive conversion...
Anyone who knows anything about bikes knows this: Bikes are all about sexy.
Power, handling, economy - whatever other reasons we have are all secondary. The bike has to look hot. And for those few super-perverse ones (like myself), a hot mess of duct tape, Krylon, rust and dirt looks pretty hot too.
One of the reasons why Chinese bikes have not taken off here is that most of them are styled like "sooo yesterday". Of course there are other reasons: limited dealer networks, bad reliability reputation, etc.
But Fugliness is the maker-breaker factor. With Suzuki now having 2 factories in China, you can be sure that China's well-honed industrial espionage moles are in full swing. What they learn from the Japanese will likely help improve manufacturing and quality control throughout the sector.
Once they improve reliability on the higher-power 250cc class powerplants, and on up into the 400-600cc motors - we'll see a horrendous shakeup in the global motorcycle industry. China's motorcycle manufacturing capacity is greater than the whole rest of the world combined... by a LARGE margin. They are like the U.S. in 1946 on steroids.
Very soon, these non-ugly semi-knockoff-styled machines are hitting our shores.
As a bike lover, and cash-strapped consumer, I'm pretty stoked.
I, for one, welcome with open arms our new Manchu Overlords.
Qlink USA here
continue reading Rise of the (chinese) machines - qlink motorcycles...
click for big gallery of Chinese bikes n' stuff
My girlfriend got me this Made in China biker flask from Pearl River Mart. Them Chinese make all kinds of stuff.
All motorcycle images from made-in-china.com
Foraging through the bountiful treasure trove known as the Global Interwebs, I found some chinese bikes that don't look like ass.
This tough-looking beast from Hi Bird tops the list. A 250cc Dual Sport pumping out 30hp. A bit porky at 300 pounds, maybe due to the weight of an electric starter. But the 5 gallon plastic fuel tank is the deal breaker - that will never pass DOT regs.
(more bikes below) --- Click the pix to see larger images ---
What's this? A blatant rip-off of the Sachs MadAss perhaps? Except with rims, handlebars and USD forks all pimped out in gold. It's a ghetto fantasy moped from some factory in China.
Everyone (as in every Japanese company) is fielding a 250cc Supermoto this year. Of course the Chinese will respond to any dominant trend. This particular one comes in a horny color scheme and a Space Age name to boot: the Apollo Orion Supermoto... available sometime, somewhere, somehow, or maybe not.
New sporting single... or vaporware? 500cc, 50 hp, 370 lb, EPA and CARB certified. The picture looks good. Yeah, i like the picture. Does it exist?
Motorcycle or Scooter? This stylish red thing appears to be a motorcycle. The shape is motorcycle-ey. A CVT automatic tranny, 300cc motor and 90 MPH top speed look promising. But WhatTHUHhellIZzit? It's sort of a mystery.
Side-valve boxer motors and drum brakes. What is old is new again.
I REALLY love these 45 inch (like that? I called 'em 45 inchers) knock offs of decades-old designs. Take your pick - with or without side hack.
Will these become available in the U.S.? Will dealer networks supporting chinese imports grow here? Will our current recession/depression kill, help or hurt the chinese bike market? Which brands (factories) will begin to gain a reputation for quality and reliability, if any?
Is China the Sleeping Giant of the motor vehicle industry as some claim?
I guess we wait and see.
click for more pictures
My favorite of the current crop of '09 bikes - the Kawasaki Versys.
It's beautiful in green. Gorgeous. Down for anything "Swiss Army knife" of a bike.
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