"Limited edition" + "racing pattern" = B
 

I just came across this on the official AL forum... old new to some I know.

I'm astounded. It's beyond my comprehension that someone could post something like this. X2 for someone who is a company representative.

Just wow. And selling a road bike with that shift pattern is not legal in the US.

Let this be a heads up to anyone shopping for a China bike. Know the kind of people who run the company you're dealing with if you're shopping for a bike from American Lifan.

I really feel sorry for the dealers who depend on these EDIT: "fine upstanding business professionals" for their products.

This is a cut and paste from the AL forum:


dmoore



Joined: 16 Nov 2007
Posts: 370


PostPosted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 10:39 pm Post subject: shifting Reply with quote Back to top
The next round of LF200(iii) have the traditional 1 down and 4 up shift patten. There was a limited edition in the last shipment that had the "racing" shift pattern of 5 down.

There is an modification fix to return them to the 1 down and 4 up shift pattern. We are waiting on Chine to ship them to us. As soon as they arrive and get into stock we will announce it.

In the meantime, if you are one of the "Lucky" owners of this limitied edition bike, might wanna hang on to it. It could be a collector cause there wont be any more ever available..

wink wink....

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Mine was 5 down. 2 more down throws you into 1st on the highway. It's a real killer. wink wink. :evil:

Now I find out I had the only collectable chinabike and I sold it. :oops:

This is an older discussion yes, and you are free to post your feelings, but please refrain from name calling.

The reason for the wrong shift pattern I believe is on Lifan China's end, due to the quake the factory producing the correct parts for the transmission was affected and this is just what was shipped, it is not what was ordered... David probably didn't word what he said properly, and I agree this should be called a recall and not an upgrade, but it was not A.L.'s intention to import these bikes with this shift pattern and I don't think anything posted on their discussion forum should be taken as a press release.

Arrrg... It just got my dander up to see something like that posted.
I do feel that it goes way beyond wording things wrong though.

It's probably best if this thread just falls into the black hole of deletion.
I really don't want to get anything started here...

So I posted it on Thumper Talk!!!! 8O 8O 8O :lol: :lol: :lol:

Over there I will say what I think about the matter!

Like I say, just nuke this one if you guys think it's better. (which it probably is.) I really feel a large chip forming on my shoulder. When I first bought my bike from AL I kind of went on a crusade for them... on and on about the "dealer network" idea and so on. Now they turn out to be less than honorable (that's me biting my tongue) in how they deal with the competition and the things they say to their own customers.
I don't need to say anything bad about them, just repost the things they say of their own accord.

It doesn't need to be deleted, don't feel like you can't discuss things here... I just asked that you refrain from the name calling...

As you saw on the AL forum, I too questioned this statement. I think it is important to remember though that it wasn't intentional and as far as I was informed was a result of the after math of that terrible quake they had in China...

If it were meant as a joke it's coming from the wrong source. Had just a regular forum member said something like that the entire context might have been different. As it is that statement comes from someone within the company, on the official company forum and carries a degree of weight as an official statement. The possibility exists that I'm wrong, but on the other hand I think the case I make is sound. What if it had been some other defect like really tight steering bearings? I could see something to the effect of "Oh, that's a racing setup, it keeps the high speed wobbles down."...

"NEW IMPROVED, NO NEED FOR AFTERMARKET STEERING STABILIZERS". I agree it was a bad idea to try to make it sound like it was not a problem. I followed that post on A.L. back when they were trying to say it was supposed to be that way. To me it was a hazard, not because of the shift pattern, but because there was no stop, allowing it to go from 5th to 1st.

Couple of points:

If I remember right, racing pattern was all up, not all down.

Does anyone know if the shift pattern was properly labeled on the engine casing? If not, Fadumpte Kakae!

This *is* a serious issue! ALi has now, knowingly "Knowingly Imported, and distributed motor vehicles not conforming to current model year standards" That's death. i.e. the DOT could revoke their conformity certificates. Scary, scary stuff. I truly hope this does not happen. The fallout would be catastrophic, not only for ALi, but for the China bike industry as well, and for a very, very long time.

It's a serious issue, and it warranted a serious response, not "Ha, ha. We Oopsed. Ha, ha It's a collector's edition."

Granted, Sometimes I post poorly thought out responses too, but I don't have to carry any legal liability for my words...

--Vince

I don't believe it was, and I don't believe that they were "knowingly" imported that way, I think they found out after the fact... From what I understand, AL is just waiting for the parts so they can make this right, and that they should be here soon.

This topic/issue is new to me...but obviously very serious.


I know mistakes happen. That quake was horrible, however, it doesn't excuse a mistake of this magnitude, IMO. And encouraging people to keep something this dangerous is akin to criminal.


As mentioned, Joe Schmoe can post almost anything, but to have that posted by a company employee on their "official" forum gives it more credence and weight.

Since I'm not posating directly to the person making said statement, I will refrain from expressing my opinion further.


Perhaps my rice bowl is not all they wish to break. 8O :?