Why are there no threads about new bikes?

[Working_ZS]

Originally Posted by ChopperCharles

I agree about the Hayalon. There are a lot of better, cheaper alternatives if you want a naked sport bike. The bike would have to have been really, really good, or really, really cheap to sell. But the SG400 I think is a winner. Nobody else - nobody - makes a neo retro cafe racer and the next closest thing is a Royal Enfield 650... which has a $6000 MSRP, so probably closer to $6800 out the door. It doesn't have neo-retro styling tho, just retro styling. Then there's the Kawasaki z650RS, which is neo-retro but not a cafe... and a whopping $9000 bucks. The z900RS is even more. That's it, those are the only bikes even remotely like the SG400.

Obviously CSC was having a hard time moving the Hayalons, as they cut the price by a grand last year, and are not currently selling them anymore. (They're not on the CSC website) Meaning they sold all old stock and aren't going to get any new, in all likelihood. The SG400 is still on their site though, so it's obviously selling well enough to keep it around.

Charles.

I believe that the Haylon was a "freebie" - meaning that since it used the exact same TC380 engine as the SG400, it was able to piggyback on the same EPA/CARB approval and was a low risk venture for CSC. There were bound to be a few people who would buy one at MSRP, and if/when sales slowed, CSC could blow them out at cost and recoup their investment, as they've done. The SG400 was the prize all along. It will be interesting to see how the RX6 plays out; I'm in, if you're curious, I paid my deposit yesterday. I'll be getting rid of my Versys 650....hopefully that vaunted "Japanese resale value" doesn't let me down, lol.

And to address the original thread question - I believe it is due to the fact that we are a bunch of old farts, relatively speaking. Most younger generations do not frequent old style forums, it's pretty much social media all the way - Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and now TikTok. I glance at CSC's Facebook page from time to time and I see gobs of posts and questions from folks who I know I'll never see on these forums in a million years. CSC is obviously selling a ton of bikes and making money doing it, the fact that they are still here eight years later, alive and well and bringing in more and more bikes backs that up.

Now why aren't there more actual reviews? Easy...that shit takes time and money. A decent GoPro set up and video editing software, plus a high enough spec computer to run it and edit 4K footage ain't cheap. While everyone on ChinaRiders pretty much are, by their own admission. And yes, it has to be 4K or everyone will bitch about it not being 4K in the comments. Then you have to actually buy the bike. Which no one wants to do because if it's more than $2000, then they will just look for a "good, used Japanese bike". Horseshit to that, I say - but that's just me. I've spent damn near $25,000 on Chinese motorcycles, plus another $11,000 on "good, used Japanese bikes" in the last nine years and as far as differences in quality go, from the RX4 onward their aren't any. If you buy Japanese, you spend more and get less, plain and simple. Look at the CF Moto 800MT and 700CX bikes, and now the RX6, plus the Benelli offerings, and tell me which Japanese bikes at those price points can go toe to toe with them. Let me answer that for you - none.

The Chinese aren't screwing around anymore, they're bringing guns to a knife fight, intending to win. They're not confining themselves to the cheap 150cc-230cc CB or CG clone dual sport arena these days. Instead, they're going after the 400cc and up playground, which due to cost appears to not be ChinaRider territory. Which is OK by me, I don't need to see my bike reviewed to confirm to me that I made a good purchase. I do that myself by riding the damn thing. Hell who knows, someday I might even buy a GoPro and review my bikes myself, but it's not a priority right now, though apparently my pre-ordered RX6 has front and rear cameras built in, soooo maybe that bike gets reviewed first...we'll have to play it by ear.