New Member Here By DrRocco (Read 1,247 times)

[DrRocco]

Hey guys,
After browsing the forum for a while, I decided I had to join.  My wife lets me buy a toy every year at tax time and this year, it's a scooter.  As soon as Uncle Sam sends that refund check, I'm getting a scooter on its way to my house.  I'm definitely excited about it.  I've been wanting one for a couple years.  I've never owned a two wheeled machine.  This is gonna be fun.

I've decided on a Chinese bike.  Right now, I'm 95% sure it's gonna be the TaoTao Evo ATM-150.  I plan on buying it from Killer Motor Sports online.  There seems to be a lot of them on the road and there is a lot of information out there online about that bike its other Chinese brothers. I know that people caution against the Chinese bikes, but I feel like I've done my research and am fully prepared for the "fun" that comes along with these bikes.  First, it is just like I said, a toy.  If I bought a Honda, then I wouldn't ever get to tinker with it.  Second, as a first time scooter/motorcycle owner, I think a Chinese bike and all its gremlins will be a great learning experience to familiarize me with troubleshooting and repair techniques for two-wheeled machines.  Plus, with you guys here to help with the real tough stuff, how bad could it be?

The two main reasons I've decided on the ATM-150 are the 13" wheels and the flat floorboard.  13" wheels are the largest I can afford with the budget the wife gave me...which, by the way is about $1300.  I'm accounting for $1K to put a crate in my driveway, and $300 in parts/tools/manuals/safety gear before I ever start the thing.  While I don't have any experience to back it up, I think the flat floorboard would be nice for grocery runs.  As a Busch Light enthusiast, I'm really hoping there's enough floor space for a 30 pack there.  

I'd love to hear any feedback you guys have regarding my choice of scooter and/or choice where to buy it. Thanks for all the information you've already given me, and thanks in advance for all the help you're sure to give once I get this thing in my garage.

[tvnacman]

welcome!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have read mixed things on killer motor , dig a little deeper before you buy .

John

[DrRocco]

Feb 4, 2014 17:45:21 GMT -6 tvnacman said:

welcome!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have read mixed things on killer motor , dig a little deeper before you buy .

John

Any recommendations?

 I agree.  I've heard a lot of bad stuff about them too.  Their BBB grade is garbage.  That being said, every online dealer I've found gets horrible online reviews and BBB grades.  That tells me that either every online dealer is a crook, or that every Chinese scooter is complete garbage, or both.  Again, I don't have any experience to draw from, but neither of those conclusions seem correct to me.  I've read reviews from customers from a variety of online dealers.  Most have a common theme, "This thing didn't run out of the box, and the dealer wouldn't send me a new one for free."  I'd love to have a local B&M dealer, but I don't.  The nearest one is over 100 miles away, so it may as well be online.  Sure, some fly by night guys pop up in town every summer, but they don't last long.  So, being limited to online buying, I have to choose the best of the worst.  It's hard.  

I was emailing one of the guys at Killer Motor Sports, and was impressed by his responsiveness.  I brought up this issue to him in a very respectful and understanding way, saying pretty much what I've written here.  I told him that I really want to buy from them, but would love to hear the KMS side of these customer complaints.  I told him that the vibe I was getting was that the people filing the complaints were people who didn't consider what they were buying and were unprepared to do the work a Chinese scoot requires. His established 12 hour or so email response time dropped to...well, tomorrow will be a week and I still haven't heard from him.  I was on his side, just looking for some reassurance, and he disappeared.  Obviously, this scares me off, but I haven't found any other place I think would do better. 

[tvnacman]

Rapid and Valley . I have interacted with both .

John

[Alleyoop]

Welcome DrRocco,good to have you on the forum. As far as where to buy it is really the luck of the draw. Sometimes the one that people say is the worst may turn out to be really good with your order. I don't know what it is but I suspect it depends on the scoot you order. If it is just an on-line dealer that drops ships it all depends on the distributor and how long that particular scoot has been sitting in their warehouse.
Good luck and we are here to help if need be.
Alleyoop

[twowheeler]

I have ordered from Killer Motorsports with very good service in the last 6 months. I have also bought from Scooter Depot and good dealing there as well. I believe both carry that model. Add another Chinese scooter member!!!

[DrRocco]

Thanks for the info guys. tvnacman, do you have links for the places you mention? I Googled both, but multiple sites came up. twowheeler, That's a little reassuring. I'm surprised to hear you had a good experience with Scooter Depot though. They are actually last on my list of places from which I would consider buying, based off of what I've read online. Maybe I'll give them a second look. Alleyoop, based upon my visitation of bunches of websites, I'm inclined to agree that it's as much luck as anything else.

[cyborg]

Welcome good doctor

[kz1000st]

These guys.

www.gsmotorworks.com/street_scooters.cfm

The reason they cost more is that they're owned by Tao Tao and stock the parts.

[tvnacman]

They are both have banner adds at the top .

John

[twowheeler]

WOW thats a lot more!!!

Save some money and search more.

[DrRocco]

The service might be better from these more expensive shops, but is it so much better that I blow my entire allotment for parts and gear on the scooter alone? If so, then that's great. I'm skeptical though.

[cyborg]

Slow down take a deep breath do a little more research,,, choose wisely,,,,The guys here have all been through this,,, also Jim and cookies are dealers as well

[Bashan]

What kind of doc bud? Killer is good, he will make things right if there's a problem. Chinese scoots are Chinese scoots. They are inexpensive, quality is iffy sometimes, but easy to work on, and parts are cheap. Ramp things up to FI and ceramic cylinder liners and now, who works on it? Same with Jap and Thai bikes. I just got a SYM Citycom and I still haven't figured out the components. But that's because I've become complacent since it runs so consistent. I work on and own Sino scoots......they're...interesting. No guys, I'm not staying at Luke's house! There's some things a man won't do!! If you need help around this institution shoot me a PM.

I just reread your posts. Do not buy anticipating service or repairs. It is very problematic to get something done and it's much easier to learn how to do it here. We will help, I promise. Rich

[kz1000st]

Feb 4, 2014 21:18:11 GMT -6 DrRocco said:

The service might be better from these more expensive shops, but is it so much better that I blow my entire allotment for parts and gear on the scooter alone? If so, then that's great. I'm skeptical though.

I bought mine from them five years ago. I never had an issue getting parts under my warranty. What you could do is buy from Killer and if they balk about parts go to GS and buy from them. Most generic parts are available from Partsforscooters.com but if you need a Tao Tao specific part then GS will most likely have it in stock.