United Motors

[sheadouglas]

Close to the place that I go and ride the powerlines, I saw a motard looking bike that had orange and white colors very similar to a KTM. It said United Motors on the side of it. It's a sweet lookin ride. Is this a china-bike? I might go and knock on his door to see if he wants to go cruisin through some nasty mud :twisted:

[mdsuave13]

yep, its a china bike, they look like rebadged zongshen sierras i'm thinking? i do agree, they are sweet looking!

i dont know how those tires would do in mud, plus why get a SM all dirty

[RPM]

Yeah, the UM bikes are a high quality China bike. I know Bruce at EJ Cycles on this board is also a dealer of these bikes as well as Lifan.

[SamM]

I've been looking hard at the UM Chinese motorcycles. About a month ago, I drove to a UM dealer about 50 miles away and checked one out. It seemed very nice and well built. Actually, it was the nicest Chinese bike that I have seen so far. I'm selling my 2005 Yamaha WR250F and using the money to purchase a new Yamaha Majesty scooter sometime in March. I won't have a small streetlegal dualsport bike, not that I do now as the WR isn't streetlegal. Does anyone have one of these UMs or know anything about them. It may be the nicest China bike out there! I'd rather get one of the cheaper China bikes to ride than plate the WR. It's easy to do where I live but... it can still be a hassle.

A buddy of mine bought a Lifan GY-5 yesterday from a stocking American Lifan dealer. The GY-5 is a very nice bike. I was impressed with how well it was put together and the finish. I'd love to have one of those as well. I rode alone and it was a very positive buying experience. The Chinese are really starting to be up and comers in the US market. In a few years, we are going to see some very nice products coming out of China.

Thanks for any information you can provide about the UM.

[sheadouglas]

I went and test drove a 2005 KLR 650 earlier this week. When it came time to talk about the price I told them I couldnt give what they were asking. He was like, how would you like a brand new UM 200cc dualsport for $3600. I told him no thanx budd. I thought that was kind of high for a chinabike. I could have TWO lifans for that price! :o

[ambassador]

That is a nice looking bike..

[SamM]

I agree that $3600 is a bit steep for a China bike, but this bike is VERY nice. Like I said, I've seen a few of these Chinese bikes and the UM blows them all out of the water. The dealer that I went to has the off-road version of this bike. A kid knocked it over a tore off the handguards and license plate bracket. It's black, not my favorite color, but he offered it to me for $2400. I think I could get it cheaper if I showed up with cash. Which I would anyway!

Today, I found a GY-2 close enough that I could go pick up for $999. It's about 80 miles away. The bike has gold anodized aluminum wheels and inverted forks. I didn't think the GY-2 bikes came with aluminum wheels?

[ambassador]

It doesn't, they must be aftermarket rims, probably cost 1/4 of what the bike is worth... Not sure if the GY-2 come with USD forks?

[culcune]

Bruce will be able to tell us all in better detail, but I think they have something like a 2 year warranty on their engines. UM's are sourced from several manufacturers, including Hyosung for their 250cc + street bikes. Their Enduro/dirtbike lineup is unique looking, even though they are Chinese-sourced. (In other words, they are not someone's rebadged GY200) Their engine is either LIfan or Zongshen-sourced by my guess, but it does seem to be similar to the majority of our's engines; however there is a very comprehensive warranty backing it up, unlike the majority of us.

My guess is that you can get the price lower than $3K. Like the "big brands," UM is going after the credit market to sell their product as evidenced by their financing, but if they don't have as many takers as anticipated, they will lower the price to what the market will bear.

I think there is a link through this site, and I know I put a link on the Jetmotogroup's site as well, if you want to link to the group and go under links

C'mon, Bruce! I know you just gave us a recent UM lesson, but inquiring minds want to know!

[ejcycles]

Go to The UM site for all information.

http://www.umamerica.com/site/usa/index.html

[mdsuave13]

Originally Posted by ambassador

It doesn't, they must be aftermarket rims, probably cost 1/4 of what the bike is worth... Not sure if the GY-2 come with USD forks?

the gy-2 comes with inverted forks off of some places you can get them.. i've seen them both ways..

[culcune]

Originally Posted by ejcycles

Go to The UM site for all information.

http://www.umamerica.com/site/usa/index.html

Bruce, thanks for the link. You know, if I had a UM dealer anywhere near me it would be tempting to use my tax return as a down payment on their enduro, and finance about half of it. Their enduros, both the super-moto and their enduro, look like great bikes. I bet anyone near Bruce's shop could get a great deal on one :wink: , and you would have Bruce to take care of you to work on any warranty issues you might come across 8) .

[stixx3969]

Gotta be honest, I fell in love with the UM V2S-650 Sport Bike. Thier dual sport is sweet too but the seat looks like it would be a little hard on my arse!

[blimpman]

Having seen a 2004, 200cc version of the UM dirt bike in person and comparing to the latest good quality pictures on the UM website as well as looking at 150cc dirt bike models, there are big improvements...

Many of the parts look to be much better made. New rear swingarm and shock for sure. Frame is way different too. It has many of the refinements seen in newer Japenese bikes. Haven't ridden either so I can't judge that way but the new ones look sweet.... and too much $$$ for me even with MBD.

[bfe71730]

The motor on the UM is identical to my Kazuma except for the color, first one I've seen like this in quite a while. For the price they are asking, they could at least put a OHC engine in their new bikes.