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Post by A.B.Normal on Jun 4, 2008 13:15:56 GMT -5
spoke with them on the phone and the guy was gruff but seemed to know what he was talking about. Moved my opinion from the Roketa 250B to a Linhai 300 (Strada). I am definitely taking the leap and just moved enough funds to buy either.... Any last minute advice from anyone? HEEEEElllllp!  |
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Post by jspencer on Jun 4, 2008 20:58:38 GMT -5
I spoke to Jim at Bandit ( www.bandit-motorsports.com) -- they carry the Linhai line also. He likes the 260 better than the 300. Says there is only 18cc difference in the engines and the 300 weighs more, so the performance difference is very small. And the 260 is $300 cheaper. He thinks the 260 is better value for the money. I don't own either so I can't comment directly, just reporting on a conversation with a guy who seems to know his scooters. Jon |
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Post by A.B.Normal on Jun 4, 2008 22:35:53 GMT -5
I spoke to Jim at Bandit ( www.bandit-motorsports.com) -- they carry the Linhai line also. He likes the 260 better than the 300. Says there is only 18cc difference in the engines and the 300 weighs more, so the performance difference is very small. And the 260 is $300 cheaper. He thinks the 260 is better value for the money. I don't own either so I can't comment directly, just reporting on a conversation with a guy who seems to know his scooters. Jon Thanks so much for the information, Jon. I had wondered about that. |
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Post by scooterollie on Jun 5, 2008 8:45:20 GMT -5
I have seen the 260 and, of course, own the 300. Style-wise, the 300 is my preference. In addition to the displacement increase, the CVT variator and clutch on the 300 have been tuned to take advantage of the performance boost on the 300. I wouldn't be too certain about the weight difference. They both share the same chassis and I have seen specs listing their weight as being the same but since I have not hefted both, I can't say for certain. There is a 2 Hp difference but I think it would be difficult to pass judgement on performance between the two unless you had two scoots completely broken in to compare. Either way, it is, to a large degree, a matter of personal preference and both are fine scoots.
Yeah, John at Valley can be gruff at times but so can Jim at Bandit, as well as others. This is a really booming year and these guys get thousands of calls from folks. It can be hectic. Not really trying to make excuses for the dealer being short with a customer - shouldn't happen. I do think both of these guys are decent people to do business with.
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Post by A.B.Normal on Jun 5, 2008 9:31:16 GMT -5
I have seen the 260 and, of course, own the 300. Style-wise, the 300 is my preference. In addition to the displacement increase, the CVT variator and clutch on the 300 have been tuned to take advantage of the performance boost on the 300. I wouldn't be too certain about the weight difference. They both share the same chassis and I have seen specs listing their weight as being the same but since I have not hefted both, I can't say for certain. There is a 2 Hp difference but I think it would be difficult to pass judgement on performance between the two unless you had two scoots completely broken in to compare. Either way, it is, to a large degree, a matter of personal preference and both are fine scoots. Yeah, John at Valley can be gruff at times but so can Jim at Bandit, as well as others. This is a really booming year and these guys get thousands of calls from folks. It can be hectic. Not really trying to make excuses for the dealer being short with a customer - shouldn't happen. I do think both of these guys are decent people to do business with. That was my initial impression. I'm about to call John and try to make a deal.... YIKES! |
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Post by jspencer on Jun 5, 2008 9:40:14 GMT -5
Yossarian, please keep us informed on what you do and how it goes as you go through the process of ordering, receiving, and riding your scooter.
Jon
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Post by A.B.Normal on Jun 5, 2008 13:23:51 GMT -5
Yossarian, please keep us informed on what you do and how it goes as you go through the process of ordering, receiving, and riding your scooter. Jon Well, I just wired them the funds and we'll see where it goes from there. I started a "journal" of sorts to record what happens in the 250cc forum here and will do my best to give a blow by blow description of what happens. Regards, Robert |
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Post by woodstockman on Jun 5, 2008 18:41:25 GMT -5
Yossarian
I have successfully purchased 3 scoots from John at Valley without incident. You will be fine with Valley!
Woodstockman
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Post by A.B.Normal on Jun 5, 2008 19:41:47 GMT -5
Yossarian I have successfully purchased 3 scoots from John at Valley without incident. You will be fine with Valley! Woodstockman Thank you! I feel pretty confident about them so far. I tend to feel that I'm a pretty good reader of people and John came across as straight shooting to me. |
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Post by allworld on Jun 5, 2008 20:53:18 GMT -5
I purchased my scooter from Valley Scooters, the experience was very positive.
I haven't had any shipping issues, I would have like the MCO to arrive sooner, but I was able to register the scooter in the time frame I had planned, so............. nothing to complain about.
I hope that I don't ever need to use the warranty, if so then I will post my experience.
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Post by motortoyshop on Jun 5, 2008 23:18:10 GMT -5
I have worked with John for 3 years, and have always found him to be Honest and straight up with information about his products and the products he gets from other importers........I think anyone should consider him when buying a scooter.......of course that is after considering us.....LOL |
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Post by A.B.Normal on Jun 6, 2008 7:43:10 GMT -5
I have worked with John for 3 years, and have always found him to be Honest and straight up with information about his products and the products he gets from other importers........I think anyone should consider him when buying a scooter.......of course that is after considering us.....LOL Thanks for the information. That seems to be the general consensus around here. I feel good having ordered from him. That said, Welcome! It's good to see another dealer posting here. |
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Post by mikeb on Jun 6, 2008 19:05:16 GMT -5
I ordered my Linhai 300 from Valley and they were great. No problems with shipping. My friend also ordered his from Valley 2 days after me. It only took one week to get the scoots delivered.
I would definitely deal with them again.
Mike
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Post by A.B.Normal on Jun 6, 2008 19:23:09 GMT -5
I ordered my Linhai 300 from Valley and they were great. No problems with shipping. My friend also ordered his from Valley 2 days after me. It only took one week to get the scoots delivered. I would definitely deal with them again. Mike Great to hear! How are you enjoying it? Any tips you'd like to share on getting it primed for the first ride? |
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Post by mikeb on Jun 6, 2008 20:18:20 GMT -5
yossarin,
All I did was put gas in the tank and on the 4 th try it started. I didn't put enough gas in the tank so I thought the gauge was bad. Following scooterollie's advice I filled the tank and the gauge started reading. I also added a little sea foam to the gas.
Haven't had a chance to take it out and ride it because I'm waiting for the paperwork to get it regestered. But I can't wait.
Mike
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Post by A.B.Normal on Jun 6, 2008 20:29:43 GMT -5
yossarin, All I did was put gas in the tank and on the 4 th try it started. I didn't put enough gas in the tank so I thought the gauge was bad. Following scooterollie's advice I filled the tank and the gauge started reading. I also added a little sea foam to the gas. Haven't had a chance to take it out and ride it because I'm waiting for the paperwork to get it regestered. But I can't wait. Mike Sweet. Any probs putting on the windscreen? |
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Post by mikeb on Jun 6, 2008 21:19:12 GMT -5
I didn't put the windscreen on yet. It's missing 1 well nut that I will pick up tomorrow.
Mike
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Post by dlabrie on Jun 10, 2008 10:19:17 GMT -5
Hi, I've been lurking and reading for about 2 weeks now. I hope to but a 250-300cc scoot in the next 2 weeks. When I look up Valley scooters, I get a couple of different places. Can someone provide a link to this company?
Yossarian, I can't wait to hear how your purchase comes out.
Thanks,
david
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Post by A.B.Normal on Jun 10, 2008 12:07:57 GMT -5
Hi, I've been lurking and reading for about 2 weeks now. I hope to but a 250-300cc scoot in the next 2 weeks. When I look up Valley scooters, I get a couple of different places. Can someone provide a link to this company? Yossarian, I can't wait to hear how your purchase comes out. Thanks, david Sure. www.scootersus.com/Tell him Robert from ScootDawg sent you! |
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Post by scoot4him on Jun 11, 2008 9:03:23 GMT -5
Is it just me, or did they change their website yesterday? No Ricardo anymore? No Baron anymore? Those were the ones I was considering. darn it...
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Post by mikeb on Jun 11, 2008 20:56:03 GMT -5
They are not allowed to carry Lance anymore and I was told they will only be selling the better brands of scoots.
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Post by rerun2 on Jun 15, 2008 23:15:29 GMT -5
They are not allowed to carry Lance anymore and I was told they will only be selling the better brands of scoots. Well, I thought LANCE is the reputed 'better brands of scooters' oh well, what can you say, reckon anyone in business is entitled to put forth information in the most favorable light possible! If Lance is serious about becoming a truly superior brand of Chinese scooters, getting away from drop ship operations is an absolute must. It all gets down to service in the long run, that is just impossible for order takers without shop facilities. |
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Post by A.B.Normal on Jun 16, 2008 1:09:38 GMT -5
Yossarian, please keep us informed on what you do and how it goes as you go through the process of ordering, receiving, and riding your scooter. Jon Finally got a call from the freight company and it will be here tomorrow. I ordered on the 5th of this month and was told a delivery date of about one week so I planned my time accordingly to receive the scoot and do a thorough PDI. Another Dawg here who ordered the same bike who is in a neighboring state got his in four days. It sounded good. I have called several times for shipping information and have not been able to get a concrete answer other than it should have gone out on the 9th or 10th. Had some disappointed nephews that didn't get to see their Uncle Robert's new Scooter at Grandpa's this past Father's Day. We will see. |
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Post by bmaverick on Jun 16, 2008 11:27:30 GMT -5
Is it just me, or did they change their website yesterday? No Ricardo anymore? No Baron anymore? Those were the ones I was considering. darn it... Yes, there has been an update of selections at Valley Scooters this past week. Also, the prices have jumped up too.  I was about to pull the trigger on a Linhai/Yamaha 260cc, but the price is too far reaching at $2,799 for my liking. It will take well over four years to recoupe any costs getting that bike. So, I did take notice that Valley sells the Lance 250cc Touring Duke. It's only $2,499. However at two other on-line retailers like Valley, the price is a mere $2,299. The strange thing is, one of the other on-line retailers has actually links to the PDF owners manuals and bike instructions while Valley Scooters looks as if all the data word-for-word was pulled from that site without the PDF links. That seemed strange to me. Looking at three local scooter brick-n-mortar shops in the area, Valley Scooters is now within $100 price difference of the same selected models. The nice thing getting it locally is that the MCO, bike and easy DMV registration can be had in nearly less than a day for the Lance scoots. After talking with John this past week, some of the previous scoots he sold were not living up to his expectations nor availability. With fuel jumping up again since the corn crops are now flooded in the mid-west, scoot prices and availability is getting hard to come by. Personally, I would love to get a Linhai/Yamaha scoot, BUT, for the price of a used Yamaha motorcycle, I'll be in better shape. The Yamaha TDR 250 are plentiful around my area to obtain. It's a great starter bike overall. |
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