Stopped by the UM dealer again

[culcune]

Today, I went to the local UM dealer and I spoke with one of the shop owners about the UM enduros. He kept insisting that it is Korean-made. However, I had looked on the info plate, and it stated "Jiangsu Sacin" from China. He also told me that the engine was not Chinese after I pointed out that it looked very much like it was. He stated it was Korean. (I know that UM street bikes are Hyosung-sourced, hence the Korean connection, but c'mon!) In his defense, it could have been made in the vegetable garden in Albania, because the warranty is 3 years or 18 months, or something good like that.

I looked up the manufacturer and found them on alibaba.com, which lists them as Skyteam as well. I think Skyteams used to be imported into the states until UM rebadged them. Canada has the Skyteam brand listed on the search engine, as well, because I don't think you guys have United Motors distributors there.

I would love to have this bike, but would rather not pay the very premium price. I wonder if I could buy the bike, and sue the dealer for lying to me about the origin, and I would get to keep the bike for free?

(Disclaimer--please do not take some of what I said as serious. However, the dealer does not have the best reputation in Yuma from their days as a custom chopper manufacturer, and I can see why. Plus, he offered to sell me a Roketa enduro for something like $1800 out the door as they are an authorized Roketa dealer, too. No thanks!)

[katoranger]

What is the asking price? I am sure that the enduros are sourced from china with a UM sticker attached.

Is is this bike. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Other-Makes-SMF-200-United-Motors-SMF-200-2007-UM-NEW_W0QQitemZ160128479270QQihZ006QQcategoryZ6719QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Looks pretty good and it has a spark arrester.

Allen

[TeamCheap]

Yeah those look nice.
I like the frame around the engine and the bike in general but the price is way up there.Must be paying for that warranty, I wonder just how well they honor that warranty.

[katoranger]

I also noticed the full frame. It looks like a nice bike with the aluminum wheels and fancy rotors.

Do those waves actually do something? Allen

[jkomp316]

I like my Lifan, id buy another. If your going to pay $2500 for Korean, you might as well pay $3500 for Japanese.

[katoranger]

I would consider one at $2000, but that is all since I don't have $2000 and I would be bannished to the backyard if I brought home another bike. I really like the zongshen sierra and I they ever make a bigger one I will probably get in line.

Allen

[culcune]

The MSRP on UM's site says $2799, but this dealer has $2999 on the tag. He said it would be close to around $3500 out the door!

It is similar to that one on Ebay, but the enduro version with the 21" front, 18" rear (don't quote me for the exact measurements).

Its seems to be a great bike, especially when compared to the GY's that we all own, but $3.5K is getting a little rich for my blood. I would still get one over a TW200 or DR200 at the same price, all things being equal (read=brand new) as the warranty is quite long.

According to the dealer, he said he sold one of the UM 650R's crotch rocket and the guy who bought it seized the engine within a few hundred miles. Even though, his story went on, that UM could have denied the claim, it sent him a new engine, and since it took 45 days, they gave him another 6 months on his warranty (keeping in mind that this is the same dealership with little credibility as chopper builders, who just got into the Chinese bike business with Diamo and Roketa, and have just added UM, and one of the owners telling me that the dirt bikes and dirt bike engines are Korean made).

I agree, Kato, with the Zongshen Sierra/Qlink X-ranger bikes. Those are definitely not yours or my GY! They can be had for $2000 or less, and the two owners here ('beerslayer' and 'polygonfla'; although we haven't heard from either lately) have vouched for their quality.

The alternative to the UM is the actual Skyteam brand bikes. There is a dealer a few hours away selling the 125 versions of the enduro which looks in shape, not paint-job, like the UM. They list a used one with 64 miles for $1000, with the new ones going for an advertised $1699 (a little steep for a 125 IMO) which I am going to look into. Will keep you all posted on how that goes!

[culcune]

Here's the dealer and some of their bikes. Scroll down for the Skyteam.

http://www.epfguzzi.com/forsale/dirt.html


Here's Skyteam's home page:

http://www.skyteam.cn

For our friends to the north:

http://www.skyteamcanada.com/ (although there are none of the enduros showing--maybe not available?! :( )

[ejcycles]

Hi Guys
Ok, United Motors bikes 200cc are made by Zongshen & Skyteam, in China. The 150cc and under are made by Skyteam, in China. The 250cc and larger are made by Hyosung in Korea. Some of UM's scooters are going to be made by a different manufacturer's also. All "United Motors" motorcycles, scooters & atv's come with a 3 Year Limited Warranty.
http://www.umamerica.com/site/usa/warranty.html
Please be care interpreting their warranty as off-road & on-road are different. Open the PDF file to read the complete warranty.
What you are paying for in the inflated price is the warranty, as with any car/truck purchased New today, half of the price you are paying for is for the warranty.

[culcune]

Thanks for the reminder, Bruce. The dealer implied that UM stands by their warranty, and gave me the scenario where they allegedly helped one of his street bike customers who topped the bike out within 100 miles, and seized the engine. His implication was that they are so good, they will stand by their warranty. I didn't want to argue the China vs. Korea thing too much, but he said the enduros were made there in spite of the fact that the bike clearly stated "made in China" and had the name Jiangsui Sacin as the manufacturer that, at least on Alibaba, shows that they are located in China.

In spite of all that, and the fact that they have a negative reputation in Yuma (there are suprisingly no choppers around and that was their core business up till about 18 months ago) if I had the money (ok, credit) I would buy the bike from them, just because I think it is such a cool bike, and I think they are the only UM dealer in this state; and that the bike is not considered a GY (not sure what designates our enduros as "GY").

However, the dealer that I linked to in Prescott, AZ seems to be on the up and up and carry (or most likely, still have in stock) Skyteam enduros. The used one for $1k is tempting as in the back of my head, I figure I could always add an Ebay purchased 200cc engine (or one of Marlone's complete engines) sometime down the line (but seeing how I still have not done so for my Jetmoto, so we will see how that goes, LOL) and have the UM that I couldn't afford.

[STcoldcrzy]

if ya want a good chuckle look at the 2005 UM DS200 here is the parts listing pfd

http://www.umamerica.com/site/assets/documents/PART%20BOOKS/DS%20200.pdf