Retrobikes.com...BEWARE!!!

[TrailPunisher]

The Firehawk/Eagle branded clone trail 70 bikes were seling brand new from a licensed dealer for $550 retail last summer in Stuebenville Ohio and a 110cc engine upgrade was another $100.
Solo dealers/Fly By Nighters with box trucks were selling them at auto part shows and swapmeets in Ohio for $750.
I bought my Black one from one of those guys for $700 in 2004
These are nice examples of clone bikes with the machined one piece wheels, adjustable rear shocks, chrome chain guard and replectors instead of black plastic, good handlebars and clamps and an all black seat.
I went to Indiana in 2005 and bought a red Clone 2005 model with 37 KM on it for $375 from a dealer there.This is a not so nice example of a clone bike,the kind that gives all clones a bad rap. It is also similar to the ones I see for sale quite often with cast aluminum wheels, cheap black plastic instead of chrome, the gray and black seat.
A real nice example of a clone was on E-Bay last month, identical to my clone with a 110cc 4 speed electric start ,almost brand new and his reserve was $1,000, he indicated he paid about $1,200 new in messages with him.
If these guys can sell them and still make $$$ at those prices anything over $1000 is too much in my opinion.

 

[69ST]

The Firehawk/Eagle branded clone trail 70 bikes were seling brand new from a licensed dealer for $550 retail last summer in Stuebenville Ohio and a 110cc engine upgrade was another $100.
Solo dealers/Fly By Nighters with box trucks were selling them at auto part shows and swapmeets in Ohio for $750.
I bought my Black one from one of those guys for $700 in 2004
These are nice examples of clone bikes with the machined one piece wheels, adjustable rear shocks, chrome chain guard and replectors instead of black plastic, good handlebars and clamps and an all black seat.
I went to Indiana in 2005 and bought a red Clone 2005 model with 37 KM on it for $375 from a dealer there.This is a not so nice example of a clone bike,the kind that gives all clones a bad rap. It is also similar to the ones I see for sale quite often with cast aluminum wheels, cheap black plastic instead of chrome, the gray and black seat.
A real nice example of a clone was on E-Bay last month, identical to my clone with a 110cc 4 speed electric start ,almost brand new and his reserve was $1,000, he indicated he paid about $1,200 new in messages with him.
If these guys can sell them and still make $$$ at those prices anything over $1000 is too much in my opinion.

You get what you pay for...sometimes. It becomes a slippery slope when honesty and/or product knowledge goes out the window. The top-of-the-line Zongshen 108 engine alone still costs around $800 and thus they don't sell like they used to. Think those $300 ebay lookalikes have Japanese NTN bearings and uniform metallurgy? You can't tell without tearing the motor apart. It's possible for someone to sell a $200 item for $1000 but a $1200 item only gets sold for less than a G-note if someone is taking a loss. Higher quality levels still cost the same, or slightly more than they did 5 years ago. The lower prices that have become prevalent on ebay and elsewhere outside the world of "bricks & mortar" dealers are purely a result of cost-reductions. It's when such products are marketed as the higher-standard item they supplant that it hits the fan. Jincheng, aka Suzuki of China stopped manufacturing clone bikes because, at their quality standard, they couldn't be cost-competitve. The Jincheng bikes and parts were better made than what I'm seeing these days, even the chrome was far better.

There's still no such thing as a free lunch, so as always, it remains buyer beware.

 

[TrailRyd3r]

I can see a difference in quality between the first bike I bought in 2004 and the new bike I got this year. Every manufactuer is different, they all have their downsides and good points about em. I know clone bikes can never replace true Honda bikes, but with a little bit of work the repos can really do a good job, I know mine do.

 

[69ST]

For some, a clone bike bike may be an ideal starting point. Just go in with a clear idea of what you're buying.

 

[Bob Mahoney]

Retrobikes....

I figured I'd chime in on this one. I don't know about their bike sales because
I've never bought one of their bikes, but parts sales have been okay by me
with the exception of one order which they corrected for me. I ordered a OEM front
fender and got one of those low clone fenders by mistake. The SKU# stickers for the
OEM fenders were on the clone fenders, thus I got one of them instead. I called and
the parts guy was very nice and very apologetic about the mixup and shipped out the
new correct fender. All other orders from them were all just fine.


Bob Mahoney

ST125-6 Billygoat clone 125cc 4 speed manual

 

[rocket3081]

TrailRyder

I purchased a TrailRyder from retrobikes. The service was great from Joe at retrobikes. The little machine is FUN! And, besides, I know a coworker who paid more for a moutain bike without an engine! I plan to keep the clone and ride it! I didn't buy it for re-sale!

 

[TrailMan64]

Two Bikes buying a 3rd for my son!!

I found this post after purchasing a bike from Retrobikes. I'm honestly glad I didn't read it. I think that somebody may have been a little disgruntled to say the least. To be fair, I'm sure every company is entitled to at least one sourpuss experience... I know I've had mine with several companies in my past... One of them was (gasp) Apple computers.

Anyhow... Here's my full story:

I purchased my very first CT70 trail bike from Hooper imports in late 2005... very happy 90cc and it is smooth no problems. The Hooper head light bracket did break but I fixed it. I told them, but I think they forgot about me. For some reason they don't join it back to the frame at the top. Nothing that a little weld couldn't take care of.

The Retro Bike:
In January 2007 I special ordered the 110cc version of the Retrobikes.com Trail Bike. I ordered it through Jim and he knocked off another $100 for me... Brought my home delivered price to $1633.00. (Never hurts to ask) (great sourpuss antidote)

GOOD News: Bike arrived at light speed, home delivered, as promised and it looked better than even expected (overall)

The BAD news: The bike from Retro had minor damage clearly from the shipper. (forklift I'm guessing) In Retro's defense.. not their fault. I know what you're thinking but this actually could work out good for me. (read on)

The Resolve: I Called Jim and told him about the problem and hidden damage...he shipped out a 2nd one (that day) and picked the damaged one up for free!!! No complaints, he didn't even flinch. (I was completely prepared to work with these guys for more money off... Amazing!!! Great work...You can't buy that kind of service.. Anywhere! Period. I later broke a turn signal and called them, and they didn't charge me at all for a new pair!!! - ((Free parts! Me think me likes this!!!)) Again AAA+++ - Thanks guys!


Physical Comparison: I compared both bikes my Retro and Hooper... I don't see how they are the same...The controls are completely different. Since I have both, I can say honestly say that the two are not alike... Some things are similar but I can definitely tell that they are two completely different bikes.

Here are the differences from what I can see: The Hooper is noticibly thinner than the Retro frame... Not bad, just thinner and lighter.. The Retro is built like a little WWII tank. The controls between the two are like night and day... I like the Hooper better... The retro's controls are just bigger and more klunkier-[is that a word?] Nothing wrong.. I just like smaller refined buttons on my Hooper bike but they do seem more fragile than the bigger Retro buttons (but I'm not jumping off hills so it's okay). The engine is different (markings etc) The rear rack is thicker on the retro... I like the exhaust on the Hooper better (chrome is positioned just right for me... but a little high for my wife) I also like the Hooper because of the Blue color... Much better than the blah Honda like Retro Red... sorry I'm a metal-flake freak.

When it comes to service I think it's easier to get parts and service from the Retrobikes guys...I guess you really do get what you pay for. I'm at least elated with my purchase and yes, definitely would purchase from them again! Service and tech support is AAA+++ and I understand they offer a lifetime parts warranty for $200?? (I'm guessing, so don't quote me or flame me on this.)

However, I'm thinking about ordering our 3rd bike from Old Honda. They are a little more expensive than the past bikes I've purchased but I'm blindly wondering "will I still get what I paid for?" (I'm assuming so) Any good news? Bad News? What does anyone think about OldHonda.com?

I could go with one of the others. This time I'm thinking that Old Honda may be closer to the original Honda's... (Hence the name) LOL.... Who knows... I'm hoping someone with experience can tell me how they are with parts and service too. I'd go with Retro again but I want to play the whole field if you know what I mean.

I wish Rupp was still alive. I heard great stories about them!

 

[miamibeachmini]

Retrobikes WARNING

I didn't do my homework. I bought 2 CT70 clones from Retro last year. After assembly, neither ran. They looked like they were made from leftover parts. One tranny was bad, the other carb. There were bubbles and dirt in the paint. Also the VIN was wrong on one title, so I couldn't register it. After repeated calls to Retro went unanswered, I stopped the credit card payment. Retro still didn't respond, so the charge was reversed. I called Lifan and they told me the titles were frauds, that their VINs start with LF3, and these start with LPP. Meanwhile everything on the bikes is disintegrating. The trannies crunch, the chrome rusted within 4 mos. The electrical stopped working. Luckily I didn't pay anything, so I just bought a 1993 Honda CT70 on eBay. It runs perfectly and I'm having a blast riding it around Miami Beach.

Anyone want to buy 2 clones? They work like new...