New Q News

[2LZ]

The good news........
I went and visited my CB Guy yesterday and chatted for about an hour.
He said that his Q Link rep told him, yes, that indeed Q Link has decided to import the XP and XF 200's, for the 2011 year, due to popular demand.

The bad news.......
So far, they've decided NOT to spend the extra CARB cash and import the 2011 models for sale into The PRK! :x :evil:
It's a mere 25,000.00 additional cash to do so! That's all! 8O
My CB Guy is very upset. He wants to get his hands on a whole new batch. He told the western regional rep "I sold 41 bikes in April alone! I was selling 3 a day! That's not enough sales from just one dealer!?"

Hopefully, something on this will change.....but the good news is it looks like the other 49 states will be getting the tried and true XP/XF 200's!

[FastDoc]

Wow!

Your dealer sure sold a lot of Q's!

Glad to hear Q will continue with the air cooled 200's. Will they still be rebadging Shinerays?

I bet that we still won't see any sub $2,000 2011's for some time.

[culcune]

If your dealer is selling that many, I know JP is selling at least that many in SoCal, too. I wonder why there was no push to get more XF's and XP's into Cali when they were new :? ? Poor marketing IMO! It would have been worth the 25k extortion if they had expanded more there!!

If Konker is out, then they should start looking to head north with their lineup, or at least these bikes, seeing how popular the Konkers are with our Canadian posse. At least sell the XF/XP 200 Qlinks into Canada if no one else does, as well as the new XF/XP 250's (if no one else does).

I wonder if this will have any effect on the Hooligun from CCW? Qlink was the exclusive distributor for the Qingqi gy200 in the US, from what I understand, and I know that the 250 is, well, a 250, but it seems that there might be a conflict somewhere, if indeed, Qlink has the exclusive deal.

At least they have the level-head to keep the 200's rolling into the US. I had felt that this bike is the new standard in Chinese 200's taking into account all the mediocre GY200s that were sold over the past several years. Then again, the Lifan GY-5 has proven to be a decent workhorse, and with a new, improved one coming, Qlink might have some competition; but if they keep the price for the '11s at the $1999 range, it would be worth the step-up for some over the new GY-5 (which I assume will [should] cost less!).

[2LZ]

I went there again today in search of the fork issue for our Canadian friend with the Konker.... It was a very nice excuse for a morning ride on the Q! I have to tell you, I'm happier by the mile. It just keeps running better and more crisp as it loosens up.

That being said, I've discovered that my CB Guy's going to get a big batch of the new 250's..... They are CARB ready to go.
I'm just wondering if Q doesn't want to spend the money for the XP and XF 200's to compete against the new stuff here in the PRK?

He'd like to have both to offer. He stated that the new 250 is going to eliminate some buyers because it's to tall. :?

[Barnone]

2LZ,
So your dealer is getting the Q250 instead of the Q200 in California? That's good news because the 250 has rear disk plus additional power. Why bring in the 200 at all except for maybe more fire sale prices?

Wonder where that leaves CCW and their Hooligan? I'll be surprised if CCW stays in business for long with as few products as they have.

[culcune]

Barnone, don't count the Hooligun out--the new Qlink 250's are liquid-cooled Shinerays, not 250cc versions of the Qingqi 200cc. The 200cc Qingqis will offer buyers a lower-cost version if they find the top-line Shinerays too much $$.

I suspect they will limit how many 200s they bring in to keep the price at or near MSRP, and will not bother with CARB since they already CARB'd the 250 liquid-cooled bike, and since everyone in Cali is rich and can afford one

[Barnone]

culcune,
So you don't think that there will be competition for the limited Chinese 250cc market between Qlink and CCW?

BTW, Qlink had to give away the XF200s last year. I bought mine in the crate delivered for $1395.

[JTCAndrew]

Originally Posted by Barnone

BTW, Qlink had to give away the XF200s last year. I bought mine in the crate delivered for $1395.

X2 Got mine for the same deal on Ebay!

[culcune]

Originally Posted by Barnone

culcune,
So you don't think that there will be competition for the limited Chinese 250cc market between Qlink and CCW?

BTW, Qlink had to give away the XF200s last year. I bought mine in the crate delivered for $1395.

Barnone,

I do think there will be competition, but the bikes will be two different machines. I do think that Qlink should have pursued the Qingqi 250 so as to be a natural progression, rather than introducing a whole new bike from Shineray alongside the Qingqi 200.

The XF/XP 200s should remain at a low price-point to provide an alternative (or to set the bar for) the entry-level 200s that have flooded the market over the past few years. The (new, improved) Lifan GY-5 will be its main competition.

The Shineray 250 will be an alternative to the Japanese bikes like the Pitster XTR bikes were, but remember the discounting to get those out and about. Qlink might be helped a bit by an established dealer network who can offer financing (unlike Pitster's very limited dealer network) which helped them sell the early XF200s for close to $3k.

I won't count out CCW just yet, seeing the enthusiastic owners, and the fact that they sell the bikes through established dealers (who can usually offer financing). Personally, I await the 250 Hooligun...

[david3921]

There's a third bike from Qlink waiting in the wings also. Based on the silhouette on the Qlink website I'm guessing it's this bike re-badged.

Mmmm...beefy! It's a Shineray Xy250GY-4. It looks like it's called a Ranger (shades of past Qlinks) but I'm baffeled why it says Balance on it also.

[JTCAndrew]

Those look like 17" rims with some pretty beefy knobs. Kinda reminds me of a Yamaha TW200 - Sorta. :wink:

[2LZ]

I said to Mrs 2LZ tonight, over a couple of adult beverages...."How about if I sell your X-Moto to our friend....and go take a look at that new 250 Q Link has to offer...and you can then ride the XP 200, now that I have it all done!?" (killer sales point, right? 8O )
She said something about that dang new bedroom set again....or my manlyhood. :x
It's not going well, at this point........ I have to keep working on her. 8)
I got the same look when I told her about Doc's PP400. :evil:

[McKonker]

"If Konker is out, then they should start looking to head north with their lineup, or at least these bikes, seeing how popular the Konkers are with our Canadian posse. At least sell the XF/XP 200 Qlinks into Canada if no one else does, as well as the new XF/XP 250's (if no one else does). "

I would be delighted if Qlink would just sell parts to Canada. They don't even need to come here, just enable Canadian parts orders from their website and allow Canadian dealers to sell the XF/XP 200. I'm sure these bikes would be just as popular here as in the US if they were a reasonable price. At $3200 they are too pricey.

[FastDoc]

I got the same look when I told her about Doc's PP400.

Lucky you! She saved us some heartache on that one!

[SpudRider]

I'm very glad to hear QLink will continue to import the XF200, and XP200 bikes. I think this was a very wise decision. However, the price will undoubtedly go up. :roll:

Spud