Just as I gave up hope for a 250cc Qingqi in the US...
 

When CCW replied to me on Facebook that their 'da hooligun' would not be available in the US until 2013, I was considering compromising for a XF200 Qlink.

Glancing on the JP Motorsports site, I found this little surprise...

http://www.jpmotorsports.net/pre_own...R0&veh=2391215

Someone in San Diego needs to check these out!

Re: Just as I gave up hope...
 

It's nice to see the QM250 for sale in the United States. :) However, I still don't believe the $2,995 pricetag. 8O

Spud :)

I replied to culcune's post over at MCM. The headlight and tail light are the same as what was on the Konker sold in Canada. The headlight is adjustable unlike the Qlink's sold here. Also, the tail light is not LED. The big suprise?

There is an oil cooler.

Let the drooling begin....

Spud, the price is a little steep, but you have to take into account that 1. this dealership is in San Diego, California 2. They are the ones that put the 200cc Qlinks on the proverbial map at $2500 a pop (although they lowered the price over the years) 3. you can deal with them on the price 4. Combine 1,2,3 with financing.

David--I, too, responded on mychinamoto to you, but like I said there, good eye on the oil cooler, and I was not too familiar with the Konker as it was only sold in Canada while we already had the Qlink.

I do find the Qlink more attractive, over this Qingqi. I really hope that this isn't a one-container special; I hold out hope that it is not because I know that CARB certification is a whole extra hoop of regulations to jump through, and I doubt that someone would make the effort to pass EPA and CARB to sell a few dozen bikes in California.

BTW, JP is closed this whole weekend, so I will have to try to get hold of them next week, although I emailed the head sales guy, 'Smitty' requesting a quote.

I'm glad to see the QLink 250cc bike has finally arrived; please keep us updated! :) I hope QLink imports boatloads of these bikes, and the price drops below $2,000. ;)

Spud :)

Nice find :D .

JP Motorsports is a true real brick and mortar three dimentional establishment with a proven record of good service to Chinabike riders over the years :D .

This is also likely to prove to be a very good bike based ln it's pedigree :D .

With that said I hold to my $2,000 limit for Chinabikes. There are just too many good used Japanese bikes I see on a daily basis on CL for less money, or the same :wink: .

It isn't branded as a Qlink, and on JP's site with the pull-down menu for motorcycle brands Qlink is listed as it has been for several years, but a new, recent addition is Qingqi as a separate listing choice. I wonder what happened?

(as a side note, I had been eagerly awaiting the long overdue 'Hooligun' from CCW, but was told by CCW on their facebook page that it won't be out until their 2013 models appear [so could be introduced anytime next year] which made this that much more of a surprise!)

I would be willing to go up to $2500 for this new bike (maybe a little more with some arm twisting) since this bike is as close spiritually to my old DR250s as I can get without buying a used 1991 dr250 and finding supermotard wheels to throw on it (the supermotard wheels are a great modern upgrade for the old dual sport wheels, IMO)

Spud, culcune is right (as usual) about Qlink. Here's the full scoop as far as I can tell;

JP Motorsports is selling both the Qingqi 250 (Liger) and the Qlink 200. The 200 is a re-badged Qingqi.

Qlink is still selling(?) the 200 in both the motard and dual sport models. They are also supposed to be selling a re-badged Shinerays as their 250 motard and DS models. Both are watercooled. There is another 250 they are supposed to be selling that also looks like it's a re-badged Shineray. This one is aircooled. Nobody has seen the Shineray based models yet.

CCW is supposed to be selling a 250 motard that is a re-badged Qingqi.

...and the Pitster Pro XTR250X is the same motorcycle also.

Wonder if this bike or the Canadian counterpart will be offered in dual sport trim as well? I'm kind of doubting it though as all the pics I have seen are motard. Too bad, would be a sweet D/S!

Thank you for providing all the good information, David. :)

The Pitster Pro XTR250 LC2 Motard looks like a nice bike. It's water cooled, has 11 inches of ground clearance, and has a curb weight of 248.9 pounds. :) Is this one of the water cooled Shineray Bikes? Pitster Pro is asking $2,799 for this bike. However, I prefer dual sport bikes to supermoto bikes, and I think the price of a Chinese motorcycle has got to be $2,000, or less. ;)

Spud :)

Thanks for the vote of support, but I have lost some touch with the industry side of Chinese bikes the last couple of years. Oengus (here on CR) or MJH (his alter ego on mychinamoto) is the industry guru. I can find obvious background items of interest here and there, such as this nice surprise just when I lost some hope with CCW's recent announcement of their Hooligun not making it this way,and PP offering this bike in Canada.

And yes, Qingqi is a confusing brand name around the world. I think there are 3 different brands for the motard/ds in the UK alone!! S. America sells several of the bikes, too, under several different brand names. They have been gaining credibility due to the Suzuki connection in S. America with European and other motorcycle tourists traveling to S. America, buying one new (as opposed to shipping their own bike at great expense, or buying a beat-up used bike from the locals or another tourist), and successfully making a good tour of the countries there.

MICrider, the only bikes showing on Qingqi's site under 'adventure' with DS wheels are the 200 models--the 250cc bike only comes as a motard. Keep in mind, their site hasn't been updated for a few years, though, so don't lose hope yet!

http://www.qingqi.com.cn/en/productlist.aspx?cid=14

The taxidermy of CB's is complicated, and changing all the time. A simple fact is though that a Qingqi, or a Q-Link, is a quality machine no matter who sells it or the name on the tank. With that said however, my $2,000 spending limit remains for now.

Maybe someday if/when the brands are better supported and maybe the clone an XR400 I'd consider raising the limit accordingly.

I agree completely. You can find too many good deals on slightly used, Japanese motorcycles to spend more than $2,000 on a Chinese motorcycle. ;) However, if Zongshen, or another reputable manufacturer produces an air cooled, 400cc copy of the Honda XR400, I would spend a bit more for that particular bike. ;)

Spud :)

Agreed Brother Spud!

Here is an example of why I'd but used Japanese in that price range.

Beautiful STREET LEGAL XR400.

http://spokane.craigslist.org/mcy/2677302959.html

Wow! That's a great XR400! 8O As usual, you have made a compelling, cogent defense of your opinion, oh wise physician. ;) for $3,000 I would much rather buy that street legal, Honda XR400, instead of a new, Qingqi 250cc bike. ;) I bought my Honda XR650L for $2,000, and it only had 7,800 miles on the odometer. :)

Spud :)