TANK Motorsports drops 250cc units from production!

Right after I bloody BUY a Chinese 250cc scooter--one of the major makers goes out and cuts the lines from their production. Everybody now is talking about 250cc air-cooled scooters are the new things coming up. I am somewhat concerned about parts availability and just having bought a new vehicle, I am REALLY worried that I will get left out in the cold.

Next Hurdles--Distance and Licensing

Chuck just emailed me yesterday. I am not going to get the crate delivered to his home, but the shop of an auto mechanic who is a good friend of Chuck's! He says his friend has all the tools we would need--plus a fork-lift to unload the crate from the truck! How awesome is that???

With the plans for assembly finalized, I still need to figure out a couple things. The first is this: Will I make it home, riding this 2-wheel vehicle for 140 miles basically right out of the crate it came from China in? Not to mention what condition will I be in. I've never owned a motorcycle or scooter before. I've always done my point A to B in a car, truck, or van--always 4 wheels.

Well, I will have a few spare parts--like a battery, spark plug, etc. and a few tools. Plus I will have my cell phone. I'll leave early Sunday--its a 3 1/2 hour drive. Another thing is this--I'm not going to take the highway and try to deal with 70+mph. I'm staying on the state roads.

The final issue is licensing. I called the Kentucky state police. I said that I am buying a vehicle in Indiana, and I want to drive it back to Kentucky to license it. Would it be ok to drive it without a license--if I am driving it to GET it licensed. They said I should check with the Indiana state cops, but if it were in Kentucky, that would be ok if you have proof of ownership and you had insurance to cover the vehicle. I called Indiana just in case--the policeman told me that I would be a ticket if I did that. The only way to drive it is to license it. I asked him "even if I have someone follow me?" and he said if you drive without the vehicle being licensed and you are caught, you WILL get a ticket.

Well, then I thought of when I won the auction on my 1964 Ford Falcon. I drove all the way to Ohio, north of Columbus to get it. My brother Mike followed me home and we took the I-71...THROUGH Cincinnatti! So I'm guessing I'll be alright.

Mechanical Skills

Now, you just have to face this fact: If nobody wants to touch your MIC scooter, and the people who normally would support it are many miles away, then you had better be pretty confidant that you can work on your own machine. If not, you need to spend the extra to either get a top of the line scooter, or order your lower-end locally (for hundreds more$) so that you have somewhere to drag it when it's broke.

I had to see if I have the level of mechanical skill needed to work on a small-engine scooter.

Made-In-China Scooters, good, bad, and ugly

The first thing to get past is the idea that every single scooter out of China is crap. I know this can't be true because some people are satisfied. Heck, Darrel takes his on riding trips every weekend with his buddies. There ARE people around who've had good experiences.

I have heard the best and quickest way to get screwed is to order off of Ebay. I thought hell, isn't that what the feedback ratings are for? Everyone I have spoken to assures me that it doesn't matter. Order a MIC scooter off Ebay and you should go ahead and bend over.

You need to minimize problems. My research is telling me that the only way to do this, is to buy from a dealer who will fully support the purchase as much as they can, and who offers a decent warranty that they will uphold. Well, never having done business with any of them, how am I to know?

I have found out that Scooterbbs is very slanted against MIC scooters and any questions there will get you immediately flamed. The Scootdawg forum is friendly and helpful. If people tell you that your MIC scooter will be crap, they do it politely.

Something else I have learned was that when you order online, what you are getting is a some-assembly-required MIC crate-scooter that has not been seen by any American. They box it up at the factory where it is assembled, and ship it. Sometimes you don't get the scooter that you ordered. Sometimes you don't get the color that you ordered. Just about every dealer will not take back a scooter without a huge restocking fee, but also they will guarantee that the scooter you get will be of equal or greater value if it is not the exact model you ordered. If you don't get the right color--you just have to deal with it.