Lookee what arrived at Taotao!
 

http://taotao.us/index.cfm/electric-...es/hellcat125/

I would probably put this bike at the top of my shopping list if I was in the market for a Grom-like-vehicle (glv ;) )

I like the model name. Exhaust location is good too.

My guess is the quality is a bit higher than the Ice Bears and the Boom/Baodiaos models. Taotao has been putting out higher quality stuff the past few years. Many people have noticed the upward trend in quality. There are numerous scooter rental places that utilize Taotao scooters because they are somewhat dependable and cheap and plentiful. I would want to see a comparison test of the Chinese glv's (Grom Like Vehicles--I made that up, lol) between the SSR Razkull, the Hellcat, the Ice Bear Fuerza and Ice Bear Little Monster, and the two Boom/Baodiao models. It would be a no-holds barred brawl to be the top of the heap!! :tup: I bet the Hellcat would be up there...

1295.95 at SPS. Not sure hwo that compares. I haven't shopped them.

http://www.superiorpowersports.com/1...mc-hellcat.htm

I'll bet that's a blast to ride on a tight winding road. People underestimate how well a small bike with low center of gravity handles.

I have a couple of Taotao ATVs made 10 years apart. There is a clear improvement in quality of the new one over the old, except in the engine which is identical. Still curious who supplies engines to Taotao or if they make those too.

Good question. According to my China Bike dealer in Sac, most engines are either Lifan, Loncin or Zong. I'd imagine one of the first two. It would be interesting to find out somehow.

powersportsmax has them at $969 and Powerrideoutlet has them at $1295 like Superior

http://www.powersportsmax.com/produc...ducts_id/21346

https://www.powerrideoutlet.com/scoo...-12-tires.html

I do recall a member here who ultimately saved over $200 ordering his Vader 125 from Powersportsmax, but it took him around (or over) a month to get the bike, and another few weeks to get the paperwork. There was a guy who ordered the same bike from Venommotorsports comparing notes with the powersportsmax guy, and he paid $1300 and got everything within a couple weeks. Powerrideoutlet seems to be in and out of business according to some members, but they did update their website with the Taotao, so that is a sign that they are recently in business once again :lol: .

I don't believe that Superior includes shipping, and Powerride states it outright in their link to add $200 for shipping. Obviously Powersportsmax is NOT including shipping.

I spoke with (reliable) Alan at Excalibur, and he said he will sell them for $1100 plus whatever shipping costs and he will back them up unlike the hit-or-miss of the above 3; but it couldn't hurt to call and confirm his $1100 price.

SSR's site has the link to the video and article from Motorcycle.com of the 4 way test of the SSR Razkull and 3 other bikes, and they all seemed to like the small bikes on the mountain road. As far as quality goes, you stated it with your ATVs and others with their scooters that quality is up--engines have always been the strong point no matter if the rest of the bike is falling apart :lol:

I will ask Alan if he knows about engines; we have discussed Taotao at length (and he is pleasantly surprised in the quality over the past 3 or 4 years as based on having to back up any issues with bikes he has drop-shipped. As far as the company goes, he thinks they make everything in-house in China. He laughs at how they seem to copy many competitors' products, and come to market so soon. Engines might be difficult to buy if a competitor puts their foot down with Lifan or Zongshen or Loncin, so Taotao might actually have the ability to manufacture those in-house. However, don't quote me since I am basing it on what I think I remember from old conversations with Alan and my own theories on how a manufacturer exists in China--engines seem complicated enough to be limited to a few large companies, so that could be the case. But until I confirm, they might have perfected the ability to reproduce engines in-house...

The Taotao company website says they produce 300,000 engines per year so maybe they do make their own clone engines.

Large Output
Taotao Group is a first-grade production enterprise in China’s motorcycle, electric vehicle and engine fields, and is the first corporation of China and the third corporation of world in aspect of attaining CPSC certificate from America. Our group has 4 casting shops, 4 welding shops, 2 mould shops, 1 injection shop, 1 hub-making shop and 1 heat-coping shop, and 16 production assembly lines for different products, as well as 4 plastic-spraying lines and 4 paint-coating lines. Our group has invested over 10 million Yuan in establishing a testing center for motorcycles, electric vehicles and related spare parts, more than 0.1 billion Yuan in production equipment and over 20 million Yuan in testing equipment or instruments. Our first-class production facilities, advanced testing equipment and skilled workers allow Taotao to produce 300,000 motorcycles, 300,000 engines, 300,000 ATVs, 300,000 electric vehicles, 100,000 running machines, 500,000 sets of fitness equipment, 300,000 steel & wooden doors and 2 million saw chains every year.