Yep, that's the way folks tend to look at it. I had a customer come in with a broken brake lever once and I didn't have one on hand to fit, so I went to a local motorcycle salvage to try to match one up for this guy. The old fella that ran it was about 70, but tough as nails. When he asked me what it came off of, I replied a Chinese ATV ... of course, he laughed and told me to throw that lever and everything that was attached to it in the trash can cause you ain't gonna find anything to fit them! Couldn't get a word in edgewise, but that's the attitude folks have about them. I just went back to the shop and ordered one from my supplier and had it in 4 days. The internet has opened a whole new avenue for parts and service that many old timers fail to recognize these days. Some websites are actually cross referencing the parts that are interchangeable such as
www.atvpartsusa.com which happens to have been put together by Redcat Motors for ease of finding what you may need. Don't think it has been fully developed to handle everything yet, but it is a positive move in this industry for sure.
You are right about the way the thought process works with the majority of people. I remember the first Japanese bike sold in my hometown was in the late 60s, oops ... there went my age, and it happened to be a Honda and was sold at George's lawnmower service. Folks said the same thing then and now look at the market.