Quote:
Originally Posted by Dusman
Hey guys (and gals?),
1. I'm quite impressed with the fit and finish.
It was sitting beside a KLX 250 (they sell both Chinese and Japanese bikes). Welds looked good; relatively comparable to the KLX. It certainly did *not* look like it was welded together by a 5 year old. I looked the TBR7 over with a fine-toothed comb and was quite impressed. Of course, I didn't ride it, but I have two Japanese bikes, and just by the construction itself, it was quite impressive considering it was a fraction of the cost of my Japanese bikes brand new.
2. The "salesman" showing me the bike was the mechanic who put it together and he had nothing but good things to say about it mechanically-speaking.
He couldn't wrench on bikes at the time due to recently fracturing his collarbone so they put him on the floor as a "salesman". He told me, "I'm very impressed with these bikes and am thinking of getting one myself. China has really upped their game in the last few years in terms of quality control and production. I'd have no problem using this bike as a daily commuter or light trail/dirt bike." He works on both Chinese and Japanese bikes in the shop and assembles both out of the crate for the showroom. He told me that while they aren't quite as performance comparable, they *are* becoming near quality comparable in the parts that matter (i.e., frame, engines, brakes, etc.).
3. Some of the non-weight bearing parts looked a little cheap, but nothing that couldn't easily be replaced.
I'm thinking here of the gear shifter, which looked as if it needed a better spot weld than it had. This could probably be easily replaced with a shifter from a DRZ 200 or a CRF 230 as there is apparently some parts compatibility between those and the TBR7. The passenger pegs looked a little "chinzy", but they were solid as a rock. The plastics seemed to have the same pliability of the KLX that it was sitting beside. The drive chain also looked like a standard, cheap Chinese chain, but that could be easily replaced. I'd probably replace it right off the bat upon purchase.
4. Millenials are buying Chinese Dual Sports.
An interesting tidbit that he shared with me was when he told me that most of the customers that buy their Chinese Dual Sports are college students/millenials. He said they like bikes like the TBR7 because they want sufficient quality and reliability at an affordable price that will get them to and from work & school. I surmised that much of what influenced their decision to purchase a bike like this was you guys here at ChinaRiders and YouTube. Very cool!
Overall, given the mostly positive reviews I've read or watched on the TBR7, as long as this thing is properly set-up, it seems like a heck of a deal and millenials agree!
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This is true for a lot of the cheaper bikes, but there are still areas where you can tell they cut a few corners to meet those price points. Take care of it, make some appropriate upgrades as desired/needed, and going through the bike yourself to ensure wiring is routed away from hot things and not rubbing on others, grease is where grease needs to be, and keeping on top of the fasteners to make sure they don't buzz out and you can get a lot of miles out of these bikes reliably.
P.S. "Millennials" as a generation range from 23 to almost 40 years old. I was born in 83 and am technically a Millennial at 36 years old. So us "old" millennials also buy them, and then the new generation (not Millennials) do as well (basically college kids).
Lots of old farts buy them too, a large number of which are looking to get back into riding on the cheap. Sorry old farts.
