I love my motorized bicycle, but after seeing this I wonder how they do it.

Shadeslay

Shadeslay

New Member
So I was searching around for gas tanks my beach cruiser and stumbled on this site. Well anyway most of the tanks I see are $100+, I'll have too look locally. But some of these bikes have them. I have been wanting to add disc brakes to my cruiser and determined it might just be cheaper to buy a cheap mtn. bike. I'm looking at $300-400 to get disc brakes on my cruiser "new rims/spokes, forks, disc brakes and either have some one weld on a bracket or buy a kit".


But like I said I stumbled on to this site that sells scooter type choppers for around $400, disc brakes 4.5hp motors etc. I'm wondering how the heck they do it? I have to say if I didn't live in california where I know there is no way they can be made legal, I would likely get one. I'm certain I wouldn't give up my motorized bicycle, but I think it would just be a tinkering project instead of transportation.

Here's the site

Choppers - Mini Choppers Mega Sale Plus Free Shipping 4 Limited Time.

Bike I was looking at.

49cc 2 Stroke Mini Chopper On Sale. Mini Choppers - Kidsonroll.com


I love cali, but I wish it wasn't so strict on these kind of things. It baffles me how they can sell them so cheap, basically cheaper then me adding disc brakes to my ride and a new tank.
 
Re: I love my MB, but after seeing this I wonder how they do it.

you can get a mountain bike with disc brakes for $150-200 walmart,kmart.put the disc brake parts and wheels on your bike,plus youll have extra parts.
 
Re: I love my MB, but after seeing this I wonder how they do it.

That was the route I was most likely going to take, either a cheap mtn. bike or a frame with disc brake mounts. I have a full suspension mtn. bike all decked out with nice parts, just no place to put a motor "except for a rear mount". I like having one bike with no motor, so I'll just use the beach cruiser for standard bicycle and use the motor/parts for the other bike.

But I have to wonder how the heck they can offer those scooters for likely less money then it would take me to build my own equivalent MB.
 
Re: I love my MB, but after seeing this I wonder how they do it.

if one uses crappy metal and slave labor and ship on communist ships and sell through wal-mart. you can get the price down in the weeds.
 
Re: I love my MB, but after seeing this I wonder how they do it.

That bike has a fake plastic engine covering the real one.
 
Re: I love my MB, but after seeing this I wonder how they do it.

Well for the price I'm sure there are plenty of junk parts on these things. But it's less then what I paid for my last mtn. bike. After thinking about it, they are likely more of a pia then anything. But the price is low even if most of it is junk.
 
Re: I love my MB, but after seeing this I wonder how they do it.

Shadeslay,

They remind me of the pocket bikes that were so popular a few years back. The pocket bikes were really popular here in Florida.

I remember thinking the same thing...how can they do it do cheap? I went to several of the local stores to have a look, and couldn't believe the price, $300-$600 depending on the model. Most of the dealers, here in the tampa bay area, had the choppers in addition to the mini Cafe racers.

It wasn't long before they were made illegal to ride on the streets.

For now: the engine powered bicycles enjoy, legality-wise, a gray area in many parts of the country. Here in the Tampa bay area; engine powered bicycles are not considered motor vehicles and are allowed on the streets, as where the mini choppers would certainly be frowned upon just as they were a few years ago.

Jim

Jim
 
Re: I love my MB, but after seeing this I wonder how they do it.

Now to actually answer your question...:D

Walmart, Target, K-mart stores all have buying power in volume. They pay $16-$20.00 for a $100.00 retail bicycle.

The Chinese engine kits that we buy cost $22.00-$28.00, again based on volume. So given the volume pricing, in theory you could build a nice MB for $50.00 or so. All you have to do is buy several million dollars worth of inventory.

The mini-choppers are built entirely in China and then sold to dealers. In quantity the dealers are paying 25-30% of the retail value that you see!

So, in wondering how they can do it so cheap!...It actually goes to another level that will leave you truly astonished as to how they do it...because the retail mark-up is huge.

Jim
 
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Re: I love my MB, but after seeing this I wonder how they do it.

I Have One Of Those Choppers. Pd 150 On Craigs List. I Can Take Some Pics Tomorrow And Post Close Ups. If You Look At That Site Again, You Will See The 49cc Pull Start With Electric Starter/genererator On It. It Has The Grey Plastic Schroud. You Can See It Just Behind The Plastic Fake Moter, Down Low. It Is Below The Front Part Of The Seat, Low In The Frame. It Has A Centriffical 78mm Clutch And The 5:1 Ratio Gear Box. I Thought The Gas Tank Was Cool, But It Is A Plastic Cover Over A Small Tank. Craigslist Is Great For Me. Friday I Bought A Nice Mongoose Dual Suspension , Dual Disc Brakes And The Shimano Click Dual Lever Shifters (the First Ones I Ever Seen) W/fat Tires. $45. I Had To Drive 50 Miles One Way On The Interstate. Ron
 
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Re: I love my MB, but after seeing this I wonder how they do it.

Thanks Jim for taking the time to explain that. Those are some mind blowing prices. I think I see how retailers can do those super cheap sales every so often. I always wondered about that, because it never seemed like a good business model selling something for a loss and I've seen many a 1/2 price sales. And I do plan on enjoying my MB while I can, a few more years and I can't help but feel that there will plenty of regulations on them.


Neat Times, close ups would be great, how do you like the chopper? I've been searching craigslist the last few weeks, but have yet to see any decent deals. I'll just keep at it, I'm sure something will come up sooner or later.
 
Re: I love my MB, but after seeing this I wonder how they do it.

Shade, When You Find A Good Deal, You Usually Need To Jump On It Quick. I Bought The Chopper Almost A Year Ago. I Am Far To Large For It, One Of My Crew Rode It Around The Yard A Couple Different Times. I Bought It For The Engine And Gas Tank And For Parts. It Is A Cool Little Thing, So I Have Left It Together As I Have Accumulated A Collection Of Engines Etc. When Jim Gets His Engines Ready For Sale They Will Be A Great Option. Ron
 
Re: I love my MB, but after seeing this I wonder how they do it.

i seen somthing like that in northern tool company
400 dollars
with a 5hp engine
went a few miles faster than my go-kart
 
Re: I love my MB, but after seeing this I wonder how they do it.

I think Jim has a good explanation for how the Chinese do it. But only part of the explanation
is China. The other half is the good ol'USA. Because without the Lobbiest from companies
like WalMart, Target, Cabela's, Bass Pro, and others who get the land for them nearly free, nearly no taxes on them, and subsidies poured on them like a summer thunderstorm there wouldn't be "Big Box"
warehouse stores who could buy in Ultra-Mega-Volume. I don't mean to make any judgements
on this, but just stating what's documented.

If anyone here wants to read about the Chinese side of the equation look for this book at your
Public Library: China Shakes the World: A Titan's Rise and Troubled Future -- and the Challenge for America by James Kynge

(Kynge is an Englishman who grew up in China A former bureau chief of the Financial Times in Beijing, Kynge demonstrates how China's thirst for jobs, raw materials, energy, and new markets--and its export of goods, workers, and investments will dramatically reshape world trade and politics. China's appetite, though unpremeditated and inarticulate, has become a source of major change in the world. Napoleon said, "Let China sleep, for when she wakes, she will shake the world." )


Amazon.com: China Shakes the World: A Titan's Rise and Troubled Future -- and the Challenge for America: James Kynge: Books

On the American side of the equation:

Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and StickYou with the Bill) by David Cay Johnston

(The U.S. government is serving out a free lunch, but, alas, it's a feeding frenzy for those already fat on cash cows. As big businesses continue to reap the benefits of government subsidies--many unnecessary and unjustifiable--Americans are throwing away billions of tax dollars every year to make these companies richer.) When big companies can become }}HUGE{{ then the most likely supply
source for them to turn to is the least expensive source China.

Amazon.com: Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and StickYou with the Bill): David Cay Johnston: Books

There are many who don't like reading books in this world. Perhaps because they aren't good at
reading. But it is possibly the last best source of information left.

IF you don't like to read, you may find Books on DVD's to play where someone reads the book to you. as you work or drive. I've seen many such books at truck stops like Flying J where truckers listen to books read to them as they drive to their destinations while learning something. Some drivers I've talked to say they can only take so much CB & Country Music. Professional people such as Salesmen
and Businessmen often listen to these as they commute or travel so that time can be used to keep
them informed. There are large roadside book stores with books on CD/DVD along many of the interstate highways not to mention the Public Libraries.

But no matter what your ability, these two books can explain much about how they can do it
that cheap.
 
Re: I love my MB, but after seeing this I wonder how they do it.

I've heard about Walmart that their real profit is in their land that they own, getting money from all who builds there etc. The stores are just the magnet who starts the whole thing, makes people live, work and stay in that area. The profit in the stores are null compared to all of their other profits. So, things like those bikes are cheap (+-0) because it generates money in a larger perspective.
 
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