Yet Another CARB Legal Dual Sport

[culcune]

I noticed these bikes on a few of the 'Manny' Texas dealership sites. Dongfang DF300RTT 300 dual sport--states 'CARB legal'; yeah, right!

https://arlingtonpowersports.com/don...8-inch-wheels/

These sites ALWAYS get it wrong. So, out of curiosity, went to CARB's site where they list the executive orders for bikes that obtained Gavin Nuisance's blessing to be sold there. Well, lo and behold, under Dongfang's list of model numbers, there is the DF300RTT listed!

https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default...--20231204.pdf

I know CSC's TT250 has long been California legal, and somewhat recently Boom's dual-sport received the CARB blessing--but via rebadging as an Amigo branded bike, the Amigo Baja 250. The problem was they have been hovering in the $3k range, although they do feature the same engine as the sport bikes with fuel-injection and 6-speed. Probably not the same bike as the Lifan KPX, but the KPX is not California legal, either.

Well, now in the $2k range and closer to the TT250 in price, the Dongfang offers a 270cc engine. It is slowly getting better for California buyers looking for low(er) cost dual sports that can be registered there.

Dongfang no longer have a US website, but do seem to be distributed via CRT https://crtmoto.com/ out of City of Industry, California.

[bigdano711]

Broncho? That's an unfortunate name. Log in to see price? No.

[Thumper]

It looks a lot like a Titan. They are claiming 270cc engine at 20hp. That is on par with Templar and KPX for about the price of a Templar X.

Maybe we will have a new member showing up with one and post some information. I wonder which carburetor they come with?

[culcune]

Originally Posted by Thumper

It looks a lot like a Titan. They are claiming 270cc engine at 20hp. That is on par with Templar and KPX for about the price of a Templar X.

But it is a 5 speed, and the suspension is not adjustable. Also, it doesn't appear to have the folding shift lever, and no indication about adjustable levers (and photos are not close enough to tell). For the same price, Templar X offers more features and a counterbalanced 6 speed engine. To be competitive, the price could be closer to the standard Templar ($1500) or Templar M ($1700).

Maybe we will have a new member showing up with one and post some information. I wonder which carburetor they come with?

The difference is that this is a low-cost dual-sport that can be registered in California; I, too, would go with the known X-Pro bikes because I know I could get any one of them registered in Arizona. I am not sure if anyone actually took the plunge with the Boom-made Amigo Baja 250 at least anyone on here. I was interested in that one to see how that fuel-injected engine and 6-speed transmission worked in a dual-sport; they had a good reputation from the sports bike owners (most bought through Venom as Venom-branded bikes); but that $3k price seemed too steep, even for Californians, more so considering they can get CSC's known bike, the TT250 for less. With this Dongfang, I wonder if the engine has the extra punch with its extra 50cc over the 22x cc engine sizes found in most Chinese dual-sports.

Originally Posted by bigdano711

Broncho? That's an unfortunate name. Log in to see price? No.

The CRT site seems to be more or less for wholesale buyers. I did put in the random Arlington Powersports link just because that did show a price of around $2200 which I think is fair considering its CARB legal status. I did not search around to see who else carries them (I put in 'DF300RTT' in a general Google search and they popped up among other retailers with other usual brands' dual-sports--but not the DF300RTT), so there may be lower prices...or higher prices...out there. I figured that price is a good baseline to start with.

[Thumper]

CARB approved. Yes, that is a difference, at least for those buyers living in CA. 49 state market is marginally bigger than the CA market. No really CA is huge.

It is surprising that the KPX with EFI isn't CARB approved. EFI and all typical EGR implementation should make it a shoe-in. I see the Amigo Baja still available. Maybe the cost of admission (certification) is the only real barrier. I'd bet the KPX is way better on emmisions.

[culcune]

All the other Lifan bikes are CARB legal, except for their two dual-sports. And yes, both are fuel-injected, so I have no idea why Lifan didn't try to push their whole lineup through. Heck even their Mini 150 went fuel-injected and became blessed by CARB.

I had spoken to Pete who owns Kronik Racing about the Amigo bikes, prior to them becoming Amigo-branded. He is one of the biggest Vader dealers and is at at Boom's headquarters once or twice a week picking up bikes and parts. When he told me they will be a bit above $3k, I told him Boom will be sitting on them. He did not know that Amigo had made an exclusive deal with Boom as they had with the CT70 clones which were also CARB certified. So, I am guessing the bikes were a bit pricey to produce because that $3k price is always there, even though they are certified under the same certificate as the sports bikes which were already CARB certified. So, certification didn't bump the price up because that was already a given cost.